Gesture
The action of a figure is usually expressed as “gesture.” It means the movement and attitude of the figure. It is body language and all of those subtle differences that characterize individuals, whether they are human or animal. In this regard, when I refer to the model, I mean not only a model posing for short poses of thirty seconds to three minutes, but also people who are not posing and are in real life situations. We use essentially the same learning procedure in what is referred to as the “quick sketch.” It will be assumed that for the sake of learning, at this point, they are the same. Other terms used for what we call gesture are “attitude” and “body language.”
Gesture is the single most important element in the drawing.
No matter how well a drawing is rendered, without that feeling of individuality that we experience in looking at real life, the drawing is nothing more than an academic exercise. Long before we can actually see a person’s face, we can recognize him by all those elements that make up that individual, such as his general bearing, proportions of his body, how he dresses, how he walks, and holds his head.
I am going to present this material in a series of steps stopping to explain and clarify points as I go. In reality, of course, it is never quite this neat or simple. Many of the steps are actually done simultaneously. The total is a summation of the action in simple terms and is essentially what this lesson is about. The illustrations are examples of this total which is what you should, in a sense, see before you start the drawing.
You are not only learning to draw but to see.
Practice looking at your subject and then drawing it from memory. When doing gesture sketches, you do not usually have the luxury of models holding still while you draw. Practice this skill continually wherever you happen to be – on the bus, watching television, or in the shopping mall. In looking at the action, or gesture, it is important to try to grasp the total before you put a line down. Practice looking at your subject and then drawing it from memory. This exercise is particularly useful when you don’t have your sketchbook with you (which should never happen), or are in situations where it is awkward for one reason or another to be drawing. When drawing in your head, go through the same steps and use the same imaginary lines you would if you were drawing on paper. You draw with your mind, not your hand. Then when you can, redo the drawing on paper. With practice you will be amazed at what you can do, but it takes practice.
By Glenn Vilppu
Glenn Vilppu teaches life drawing at the American Animation Institute, the Masters program of the UCLA Animation Dept., Walt Disney Feature Animation, Warner Bros. Feature Animation, Dreamworks and Rhythm & Hues Studios. Vilppu has also worked in the Animation industry for 18 years as a layout, storyboard and presentation artist, most of this time was spent working at Disney. His drawing manual and video tapes are being used worldwide as course materials for animation students. Glenn Vilppu has, in effect, either through teaching them directly or teaching their teachers, trained an entire generation of professional animators.
This article first appeared in the June 01, 1998 edition of Animation World Magazine. It was taken from the first in a series of articles on drawing for animation. The lessons are based upon the Vilppu Drawing Manual and will in general follow the basic plan outlined in the manual. This is the same material that I base my seminars and lectures on at the American Animation Institute, UCLA, and my lectures at Disney, Warner Bros. and other major animation studios both in the U.S. and in their affiliates overseas.
To be continued in Lesson 1: Gesture, part 2…
P.S. To watch a preview of the Chapter 1 Gesture Video, go here.
I’m little confuse that how should we draw meaning from model,or photograph,or memory or both photo and paper or so on.
Draw from all of these sources that you mention – the key is to be thinking about how it feels to actually take the pose yourself, the pinching and pulling of the muscles, and so on. Think three-dimensionally while you are putting the lines down onto the paper. So even when you are working from a photograph, you need to be seeing it in your mind as if it were the real model in front of you, always analyzing the pose in this way.
Meaning that I can draw from live model or Photograph of a model or taking a snap of my own pose or seeing myself in mirror by making a pose or real life like when another people do any activity like a dancer when dancing, a sportsman when running or playing.But one another thing is that should I completely see my subject or model when drawing like without seeing on my paper but just concentrating on subject/model or Should I look at model as well as on my page/sketchbook or first seeing on model like first I see any action in outdoor for example like a woman is doing yoga or a boy is playing tennis then I capture any action whether in 20 seconds or in 2 seconds then I came back at my home & draw that same action on paper as a Gesture from my memory ? One more confusion is here that should I feel the action of a subject/model physicological or sometime physically means when I see any action of specially human figure then not always but sometime if necessary should I do the same action by myself for example of a yoga pose …when I see the pose then can I make the same pose by not drawing but physically doing that same yoga or action or just feeling in mind and draw ? Or I think if I understood your reply absolutely right then I should do all of these things or practices when I darw Gesture. Because of these Practices,I’ll be able to draw from my memory & Imagination later on.And one thing about timing that what is the time limit of a Gesture drawing ? two minutes from curve lines to elipces/circle or wrapping lines or 30 seconds……. ?
Yes, all of these things you mention are good to do. Remember – there are no rules, just tools. There are no rules about how to get used to doing the gesture drawings, just use as many of them as you can and it will all make more sense to you. The timeframe you mention 30 seconds to 2 minutes is about right, the goal is to keep it quick and moving and not to get stuck in trying to create a finished drawing. It might take you more time at first as you get used to analyzing the poses and getting it down on paper, but If you find you are going too much in depth with 2 minute poses, then shorten your time a little bit.
Thanks Vilppu.I’m completely satisfied with your answer & all of your words are making Great Sense for me & now It’s Time to getting start.Thanks Very Much.