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
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…

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,…

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…

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,…

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…

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.…

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…

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…

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…

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.…

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.…

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…