Question hub
What is gesture drawing?
The answer
Gesture drawing is a fast sketch, usually thirty seconds to a few minutes, that records a pose's movement, balance and attitude. It captures the whole pose, not its details. It matters because the energy of the whole body is decided in the first few strokes, and fussy detail can hide a lifeless pose. Artists begin with a line of action, then add the tilt of the shoulders and hips and the direction of the limbs. The aim is life in the figure, not a finished picture, so unfinished pages are normal.