Back to: Foundations of Art
Artists of yesteryear, in their pursuit of classical or traditional art instruction, spent long hours practicing, studying and recreating scenarios, objects and subjects in their “free” time. Over the years they devised and/or discovered the benefits of gestural drawings.
These drawings are formed by lines that are regulated only by the fast flow of the instrument used to mark the surface, such as the image included here.
The aim is not to achieve specific details but the essence of the work forged by quick lines and resembling a “doodle” drawing. But in any case, it is an organized doodle, which flows throughout the figure, be it human, animal or inanimate object. Notice how, with just a few lines, we can see an orchestra conductor at his full directional apogee.
What you should do in this task:
Take a picture from the internet, magazine or book and try to draw the lines you see in the picture, with the pencil or marking instrument of your choice. You can do it slowly, but it will have more positive effect if you try to do it at a high speed that you don’t feel comfortable or in control of the instrument. Let the lines flow as in the video below, where I demonstrate my creation process for an illustration of one of my characters (there is no audio in the video):