Figure Gesture Drawings

Oksana started drawing figure at the end of 2017. Majority of these drawings were created during life drawing sessions at TSoFA studio from model. Oksana prefers to use willow charcoal for figure gesture drawings as it’s the softest and most easily movable media. Her favorite paper for practice is 18 x 24 rough newsprint. However, she used any other available paper such as construction paper or anything with rough texture. These drawings are called gestures, because they’re meant to capture movement of a fleeting pose. During these life drawing sessions, the model would first pose for 2 minutes, then for 5 minutes and so on with the longest pose of 20 minutes. Therefore, all of these drawings are pretty quick and rough. Some of these Oksana uses as reference for more detailed drawings.

Discord gesture. Charcoal drawing of two standing female figures. First one is pictured from a side, she’s walking away to the left. The second figure is pictured from the back and she’s walking away from the viewer.

Discord Gesture

These two poses look like a discord gesture. Something along the lines of “Fine. Fine!’ has transpired here and now they’re walking away in different directions. Who’s going to say “sorry” first? That’s what imagination is for! ;D Each pose in this drawing took about 7 minutes. I like the flow of lights and shadows…

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Sketch of two standing female figures. First one is shown from a side. Her hands are behind her back. One leg is bent in the knee, the other one is straight. The second figure is show from the back. Both of her arms are on her hips. Her legs are positioned as if she has stopped in a middle of making a step - one leg is straight, the other one is slightly behind.

Two Standing Figures Sketch

Here’s another two standing figures sketch. This could also be a drama-lama sketch, because there’s definitely some tension between the two. The one on the left totally didn’t do it, but the one on the right knows this story too well. Anyway, hope they work things out! I didn’t mark how long these sketches took,…

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Charcoal drawing of two standing female figures. One is viewed from the back, the other one from a side. Back view figure is standing with one arm on her hip and one leg kicked to a side. The side view figure is stretching her neck with one arm bent in the elbow and placed on her neck. She's looking up.

Life Drawing of Two Standing Figures

Here’s another life drawing of two standing figures. Each gesture took about 7 minutes. I used willow charcoal on newsprint to draw these. I like the energy of these two figures. The back view one looks confident and ready for the day, while the side view figure is a little bit tired as if after…

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Charcoal drawing of a female figure from a side view. She's bending forward and leaning on a barstool with both of her arms. One of her legs is straight, and the other one is bent in the knee. The drawing is very loose, but the figure is well defined.

Forward Leaning Figure

Here’s an unusual pose for my gesture drawings, a forward leaning figure. I like the energy of this drawing, because I can really feel that stretch in the back and the arms. This sketch took about 7 minutes, but I like how I defined most of the figure. I didn’t have time to redefine highlights,…

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Charcoal drawing of a side and back view female figures. Both are standing in a relaxed pose. The first one has legs crossed, the other one stands with the weight on her left leg, and the other leg is slightly kicked to the side. It looks like figures are conversing with each other.

Side and Back View Figure Drawings

These two side and back view figure drawings took 7 and 10 minutes each. The side view pose is more complex, and as the result it’s less finished. The back view pose is rather relaxed and straight forward, so it looks more finished overall. This sketch gives me an idea of a conversation. Each figure…

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Charcoal sketch of two under 5-minute poses of female figures. First one is facing the viewer. She's standing with both of her arms up on a support beam. Her weight is shifted on the right leg, while the left leg is kicked all the way to the side. The second figure is unfinished, she's turned away from the viewer. Only her spine and upper legs are defined.

Under 5-minute Poses

In this set of under 5-minute poses, one figure is well defined. But the other one is pretty much a ghost. I either got distracted and didn’t finish the second figure, or the pose wasn’t favorable. The first figure took 5 minutes, and the second one — under 3. I used charcoal on newsprint paper.…

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Charcoal drawing of two standing female figures. It's almost the same frontal pose, except for the arms. The first figure has arms above her head, the other figure has one arm on her hip and another one on a barstool.

Stages of Drawing – Gesture

This sketch depicts two stages of drawing. The very beginning of drawing which is construction lines, and the later stage which is shading. It’s about 10 minutes difference between these two figures. These two poses look very similar at first, but in reality they’re very different. The first figure is simply standing with the arms…

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This charcoal drawing on gray paper features same pose from two angles. One from the front, and one from the back side. The figure stand with weight on one leg and one arm on the hip. The other leg is relaxed and extended, but the other arm is bent in the elbow and placed on the shoulder of another figure. It looks like a repeating pattern with alternating front and back view.

Same Pose – Two Angles

And the drama continues in the next 20 minutes! This set of drawings took about 10 minutes each, and it’s the same pose drawn from different angles. I like the placement of these two figures on paper, it looks playful and intriguing to me. It feels like a beginning of recursion, each person holding its…

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Depicted in this charcoal drawing are two standing female figures. One is pictured from the back with her arms on her hips and legs in a wide stance with one knee bent, she's looking at the second figure. Figure two is in a dramatic pose as if spinning or leaving, hence the name Drama Lama Drawings.

Drama Lama Drawings

These two gesture drawings took about 5 minutes each. I used soft charcoal on newsprint paper. I like the overall capture of the poses. There’s clearly some drama between these two, but we’ll never know for sure. It amuses me to come up with random stories for these figures, even though it’s the same model…

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Three female standing figures are depicted in this trio in time drawing. Each figure rotates half a turn, from front, to side, and finally to the back view. The drawing is very rough, there are no details in feet or hands, and the lines are very coarse. The drawing is done with charcoal on gray paper.

Trio in Time Drawing

Sometimes, it’s just one of those days when drawing simply isn’t flowing and even coffee doesn’t help. That’s what happened in this trio in time drawing. I like the composition of the figures, but their roughness is a little underwhelming. Each one took only five minutes, but I feel like I could have done more.…

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In this short pose drawing a female figure is pictured from the back. She's standing with weight on one leg, the other leg is moved to the side. Her right arm is down, and her left arm goes across her chest. She's looking straight, away from the viewer.

Short Pose Drawing

Short pose drawing is great for capturing the living essence of the figure. It’s the dynamic gesture that makes charcoal come to life. This particular gesture is more complete, and it took me 7 minutes to draw. I didn’t have the time to re-define lights and darks, but I got proportion and pose pretty well.…

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Three figures are depicted in this two-minute gesture drawing. All of the figures are standing, one facing to the side, another to the front, and last one away from the viewer. The figures are very loosely drawn, but the lines create a lively feel.

Two-Minute Gesture Drawings

Here’s another set of two-minute gesture drawings. I drew these very loosely, but I like how lively they look. This is the case when accuracy is overrated, and these wiggly lines translate into movement and emotion. It took just a few minutes with a charcoal stick, but eventually will transform into a finished drawing. By…

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