Fun Skill building: Quick gesture sketches to build drawing skills

✏️Have you had challenges drawing that bird that flutters around or the cat that keeps changing position?

✏️Do you avoid sketching moving subjects?

Here's something that can help! A resource and alternatives, plus step-by-step on how to gesture sketch.

Sometimes I practice quick gesture sketches or contour drawings with Line of Action .

It's a great resource that displays a slideshow of images that changes at a certain intervals (default 30 seconds). You can choose various types of images-

I like to use the 30 second intervals to practice gesture sketches because

• Its not enough time for your inner critic to interfere

• the photo disappears and moves onto the next one, so you don't have time to judge your sketch against the photo.

• the purpose is NOT to make a perfect picture--

•  its honing your ability to see larger shapes to capture the general image or feel of the subject on the page...

• Practicing gesture sketches will help improve your drawing too!
  

Gentle reminder: you are not drawing a picture to make it look good-- just practice seeing and sketching general shapes! 😀

Direct link to the Animals page:

• Or from the main website to select Animal Drawings-

• Chose your Category- (type of animals) The rest of the default settings will give you 30 second images but you can pause the slides at anytime or lengthen the time.

Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Keep scrolling on how to gesture sketch.

Alternative if don't have internet or wifi access

Here are other ways you can practice gesture sketching

1. Pull out your old nature calendar (i have used page-a-day calendars- like to use those images for class sketching)

2. Your phone or photo album --scroll through your photos.

3. Look around outdoors: in your garden or outdoor area- pick a stem or tree in the distance

4. Look nearby: use your hand in various positions, a coffee mug, vase of flowers, shoe, wristwatch, plant

5. Magazine- you can get something at the library

6. Book of animals- also at the library

7. Online resources, Live webcams are fun (you can find some here).

   You can pause the video and sketch various frames with the animal in various poses

How to do gesture sketches in a nutshell:

• Use a light touch with your pen or pencil.

• Work quickly, overlapping circles

• Look for the basic shapes of the body-- oval, circle

• the Line of action-- where the movement is- like through the head body and tail. Draw single lines for the legs and flesh them out if you have time.

• First Focus on the larger body parts: torso, chest, head, then the ears, tail and legs.

• Avoid the details of the face, unless y o u have time at the end.

• Again, you are just capturing the general shapes. not a finished picture

• This gesture sketch can also become the base for a more detailed drawing

After sketching still images, try something moving- like a video or webcam, or go out into nature! Your ease with sketching will increase with practice, and your drawings will look more pleasing to you.

How to get more help:

If you want a guided experience, come join me in the Spark Collective for an online co-journaling session where we journal with others like you.

Join the Spark Collective: a collaborative of people wanting to nurture and sustain a deeper connection to nature and their inner nature through creative practice of nature journaling.

Members enjoy 2-3 workshops a month, plus 2 co-journaling sessions, time with Melinda, sharing work and conversation with a creative community of like-hearted people!

More info and your free trial here.

How can I work with you one-to-one mentoring?

You can book a call with me here and we can discuss your needs!