Gesture is what gives life to a figure. It is what helps it not have that stiff, lifeless, look that so many beginning artists seem to do when they first start drawing

A Gesture study I did today

Here is an example of a gesture study I did just today. The main thing to think about when you are drawing a quick gesture are the lines of action, the lines of action are the lines that best define the pose. Once you find those lines of action you are suppose to exaggerate them as much as possible in order to make the figure dynamic. Doing this will give the pose more energy. When you look at lines you should think about the energy behind. To help you understand the dynamism needed maybe you can try drawing these lines while playing intense music. I see a lot of artists define dynamic lines as energetic but I think aggressive is a good way to describe it too. Remember that the lines should not look meek or unsure. The lines should be moving and whipping around. Gesture lines have attitude and are not afraid to show it.

When you first go into drawing a figure. You want to do the following as well:

• Keep everything loose. Your hand should not be tense. Your stylus pen or pencil should be effortlessly skating across the paper or tablet.
• Try to limit the amount of lines you use. For example consider defining the gesture with only 5-6 lines. The first 1 or 2 lines should be the main lines of action, and the remaining 3 or 4 lines should be chosen consciously. If you draw like this then it forces you to think about the lines you are putting down.
• Try to be fast. Use a website called quickpose.com to do quick 30 to 120 minute gesture studies.