1min gestures. i'd appreciate some feedback :)

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1--_EwmRXQ2PQiqzdn3YFBddZyUA2mlIv?usp=sharing

the ones in blue are 1 min gestures (i think some might be 2min). the ones in ink are 5 minute gestures.

You're very definitely focusing more on the outer contour than on the line of action and unfortunately it is not helping you :(.

It's ok if a 1m drawing is messy and incomplete. It's fine to have a line of action and that's it. Seriously!

I'd really suggest doing a 30 minute class with the tutorial turned on. Just do the tutorial. Accept that your drawings will be a mess and ugly. And see how your drawing feels the rest of the day. Usually it feels subtly, magically better and you can't say why it's better. That's what got me addicted to doing figure drawing.

(The reason why it works is a 30m class is designed to work as a warm up exercise, and warming up really does help)

Hey there, eteng. Say there, nice work on your lines of action and rhythm on those satires of figure drawings!

Well, if I was to give a very totally honest critique, it would and could be that I really don't think that the outer contour is helping you out there. I feel that you need to lighten yourself up with long lines with life.

Why don't you please go for 146 minutes of 20 second poses of figures????????? (146 x 60/20, 8760/20=438 warm up practice sketches)

I really feel that it's OK to accept that your 20 second doodles will become more and more sloppy than the 30 second poses.

The reason why you could do this suggestion is because, you'll be able to strengthen your lines of rhythm and lines of action even more gutsily and spontaneously than before.

Good morning, afternoon or evening; good luck, and I hope you've found this completely and totally informative and educational and liberating, creatively.

Hi!

It's nice to see that your studies include more than just one minute poses. It's good to give yourself a little more time to explore what is actually happening within the pose. I also like the class setting on the site for that. I would agree with the other advice given about contour lines. I found it hard to get away from just focusing on the contour as well. A professor of mine put it in these terms, think about how hard it is to copy a curve, a line or a perfect circle. It's really unfair to yourself to put that expectation on your every mark. To make it "match" what you see perfectly. The point of a gesture is to communicate the idea of a pose to yourself or to a viewer not to copy a pictuer perfectly. I'd say a way to get away from just the contour of the figure is to focus on the large shapes of the poses and the line of action in the pose. Other things to note are the rhythyms of the body. Particularly where the model's body stretches or squashes, and where the curves and straight lines are throughout the pose. I hope that makes sense and is helpful to you! Good luck with you practice.

I think you got some good flow going in some of the blue drawings, however I would strongly suggest that you go buy some soft lead pencils (6B or similar) because the you can vary your line from very thin and light to very dark and wide. With a pen, like you are using, all the lines will be the same darkness and width. This makes it impossible to put down light sketch lines to experiment with as you are developing the shape. Not even the masters can nail every line or stroke on the first try like that. You ned to move your arm and put down some long light pressure lines of action. When you find the shape and it feels right you go on to the next. Go check out Tim Gula for example. He is a master so he can put down his lines fast and with authority, but see how much he is sketching and moving the whole time? This is how you get better and learn shape. Good Luck.