Why Gesture Drawing Is the Real Starting Point for Learning Figure Drawing
When I first started learning how to draw the human figure, I began in the worst place possible: anatomy.
I remember buying all these advanced anatomy books right away—studying muscles, memorizing names, and obsessing over structure. But then… I realized I was wasting my time. At that stage, anatomy was just too much. I was missing something way more foundational.
That something is gesture drawing.
What Is "Gesture Drawing"?
I first found out about Gesture Drawing from this video by Proko, a video that is now a real institution among self-taught artists:
“How to Draw Gesture” - by Stan Prokopenko
So what we learn from this video is that Gesture drawing is a quick sketch of the human figure that captures the idea, movement, and story of a pose in just a few lines. The key here is speed: you don’t have time to obsess over details. Instead, you focus on what matters most.
Forget about muscles, bones, and especially shading. Your only goal is to summarize the pose as simply and clearly as possible. It’s the foundation of a great figure drawing.
Why Gesture Comes Before Anatomy
Let me show you what I mean 👇
Imagine this figure I made as a kid (yes, it's creepy… I feel like Sid from Toy Story).
BUT ANYWAYS… If you look closely, the anatomical details are all technically correct: muscles, structure, proportions. But the figure is stiff, lifeless, and completely static.
Why?
Because anatomy, on its own, doesn't make a drawing feel alive.
You can get every muscle in the right place and still have a figure that looks robotic. On the other hand, even a simple stick figure can feel dynamic and expressive—if it has a strong gesture.
Gesture drawing is the foundation for everything that comes later.
How I Practice Gesture Drawing
Over time, I found a few essential principles that completely changed how I approach gesture. Here's what helped me most:
1. Focus on the Story
Gesture is all about capturing the essence of a pose.
The action: what is the figure doing? Are they sitting, jumping, falling, stretching?
And beyond that the emotion: what are they feeling? Are they focused? Joyful? Angry?
A good gesture makes all of this immediately clear in just a few lines. That’s the beauty of it—you can express a full human experience in just a few lines. Think about that!
2. Use a Timer⏱️
Yes, gesture drawings should be timed! That’s an important part of it.
Usually anywhere from 10 seconds to 2 minutes per pose. At first, this felt impossible—but over time, it taught me two powerful skills:
How to quickly analyze a figure
How to simplify the figure
There’s no time to overthink (or overdo). And that’s a good thing.
3. “2 + 2” Lines
To draw a human figure quickly, you need simple, fluid lines. I rely on 2 foundational types:
Straight lines → Strong, energetic, full of tension. NOT STIFF!
Curved lines → Softer, more graceful and relaxed
From combining these I get another set of 2 types of lines:
Zig-zags → Sharp, angular tension (built from straight lines)
S-curves → Flowing, organic movement (built from curved lines)
Mix and match them to express ANY kind of pose.
4. Skip the Details
With only a few seconds to work, anatomy has to go. That comes later, with time and practice.
For now, simplify everything. Don’t worry about muscles or even accurate proportions. Just capture the energy and intention of the pose.
5. Draw From the Shoulder
This was a game-changer for me: draw from your shoulder, not your wrist or fingers.
It gives you bigger, smoother lines and helps avoid stiffness.
6. Loosen Up!
When I first started, I was super tense when drawing gestures… and you could see it in the lines I was drawing.
Just relax! These aren’t portfolio pieces. They’re just exercises… they’re a WIP.
7. Don’t Worry About Proportions
Your early gesture drawings might have giant heads or tiny legs… and that’s OKAY.
Proportions improve naturally with time (and practice). Focus on the story first, and trust the technical side will catch up.
8. Be Consistent!
Like anything else, you only get good at gesture drawing by doing A LOT of it.
On days I didn’t feel like practicing, I’d tell myself: just do one. And I always ended up doing more once I got started.
It will take hundreds or even thousands of gestures to get really good. Enjoy the journey!
Gesture Drawing helped me in some unexpected ways…
Besides improving my figure drawings, gesture drawing had other surprising benefits:
Taking a Step Back: I stopped obsessing over tiny details and started seeing the big picture. In drawing and in life.
Better line quality: I stopped using short, messy lines and learned to draw long, clean strokes. And this improved my drawings in general.
Flow: Gesture is EVERYWHERE! Not just in people, but in trees, rocks, animals, landscapes…Nothing in nature is stiff. It’s all flowing and organic. Gesture Drawing made me realize this and appreciate it even more.
In my opinion, gesture drawing is harder than anatomy, but it’s also more essential.
Without it, your figures will feel lifeless… no matter how well you know anatomy. Gesture is what gives your drawing energy, purpose, and emotion… LIFE. It sets the tone for everything that comes after.
So take your time with it. Practice consistently. And don’t worry if your early attempts look bad (mine definitely did… if you want to take a look at them, watch my video about gesture drawing:) 👇
