Critique, please! Thnx!

please see my gesture pics of the last weeks here:

http://wordslye.com/portfolio/gestures-new/

Very cool gestures, I like the line work. Very free lines :D

If anything, I'd say work on your line of action, in some of the gestures your line became a S shape, and the line should/tends to be a C shaped curve.

but all in all Great work, would love to see more :]


-chris

Chris, Thanks for this! I've seen some of your remarks on other critigue queries and appreciate this feedback immensely.
I'd registered "many" clicks on my gesture page, but hadn't received any feedback until now!
Now I know to keep up my efforts ... find the time ... make the time to practice :-)

-- Stu

Hi Stu!

I've been looking through your examples and I think you did a great job capturing motion. I concur with Chris, avoid s-shapes more.

Your gestures are also a bit on the crowded side. There are so many lines happening, but I feel like half of them are there for no reason and just clutter the figure. Sometimes it's hard to see what the pose is, which defeats the purpose of gestures.

https://wordslye.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/dsc03319.jpg?w=1024&h=768

When I see this image, my first response is a frown because it's hard to make out what is happening. I don't recognize the top right gesture as being a person, and the bottom right one reminds me of a stickfigure holding a chainsaw.

Can you explain what you were trying to achieve in these? What are we supposed to see?

Remember that gestures are there to help you get a feeling for motion *and* proportions. It doesn't feel like you're trying to draw a figure at all, and if what you get doesn't look like a person, it's really hard to build on this foundation to create a realistic looking drawn person.

I strongly recommend breaking a gesture down into the following parts:

1. Draw the line of motion.
2. Add a shape for the head, torso and hips, preferably like shown in our guide https://line-of-action.com/gesture-basics-2-torso-and-hips/
3. Add reference points for the joints
4. Add limbs from these joints.

That's it. Try to avoid scribbling in more details and lines, but focus on the form and shape of the model you're drawing instead. Try to avoid drawing cartoonized silhouettes or shape muscles, stick to 'stickfigure' basics.

Stylization is the step that happens after you've grasped the basics. :)

Hi Sanne,

Thank you so very much! I appreciate very much the time you have invested in me here.

I haven't been gesturing for a week or two now, but I will go back to it with newly found energies, thanks to your input.
Yes, I scribble too much and I should concentrate more on what gesturing is about.
I will read up on the link you provided, again (https://line-of-action.com/gesture-basics-2-torso-and-hips/) :-) and attempt to keep to the guide line.

Did you take a peek at my figure drawing activities? I go to an adult leisurely evening stint for figure drawing once weekly where we draw for up to 15 minutes per pose:
http://wordslye.com/portfolio/figure-drawing-new/

Loads of thanks again,
Stu

BTW:
The link to one of my gesture images you provided (https://wordslye.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/dsc03319.jpg?w=1024&h=768) is a "gesture" using a reference from the "competition site" *****.com (removed by author before publishing post).
The top right is a ninja jumping in the air with a boot pointing to the observer and holding two knifes.
The bottom right is a lady figure standing pretty statically, but holding a chainsaw.
I guess, I see the reference in my mind when I look at my gesture results, so that currently makes me a poor critic of my own work.

No problem Stu!

I want to reiterate that gestures ARE also about motion and fluidity in poses - but proportion is very important too for most artists. Technically your gestures aren't wrong, but you didn't specify what you wanted to improve upon. Drawing recognizable figures is generally considered favorable for an artist's improvement.

I just looked through your figure drawing activities and they're lovely! Very nice grasp of angles in many of them. :) Proportions are sometimes a bit wonky (which gestures help with!) but overall I can't find a whole lot to add.

(Also, you're more than welcome to link to other sites, the site exists for the purpose to educate and share, we don't consider other sites doing something similar competitors - more like partners in crime!)

Hi Sanne, hi everyone!

I have done a few more gestures today:
http://wordslye.com/portfolio/gestures-new/
... most of the time, I'm not sure if I'm capturing the gesture correclty, the "dot per joint" approach doesn't really satisfy me. The later attempts with an abundance of C-curves is much more fun, has more fluidity for me and I can imagine continuing that way ...

I am targeting better and believable figure drawing results. Also, I am training my eye and hand at improving the speed and exactness of my first gesture.

Looking forward to a future, when I return home and draw or paint using what I have seen during the day. The motives are all out there!
Hopefully, I will then be capable and confident enough to paint or ink a finished painting regularly, starting in x few years (x: less than 5 ?).

Hi!

I'm back :-) And I've started on my gesture skills again (link to gestures below).

I'm looking for feedback on:
- have my proportion skills improved
- am I still cluttering too many lines
- are the figures distinguishable
- have I caught the line of action (or are the gestures too static)
- are there enough C-lines? if any at all

Please take a look at my latest attempts here:
http://wordslye.com/portfolio/gestures-new/

Looking forward to your greatly appreciated feedback!

Stu

--
http://wordslye.com