A gesture drawing is a laying in of the action, form, and pose of a model/figure. Typical situations involve an artist drawing a series of poses taken by a model in a short amount of time, often as little as 10 seconds, or as long as 5 minutes. Gesture drawing is often performed as a warm-up for a life drawing session, but is a skill that may be cultivated for its own sake.
In less typical cases the artist may be observing people or animals going about normal activities with no special effort to pause for the artist. For example, drawing from people on the street, performers, athletes, or drawing animals at the zoo.
The primary purpose of gesture drawing is to facilitate the study of the human figure in motion. This exploration of action is helpful for the artist to better understand the exertions of muscles, the effects of twisting on the body, and the natural range of motion in the joints. Basically, it is a method of training hands to sketch what the brain has already seen. Staying "focused" means sustained concentration. Gesture drawings may take as long as two minutes, or as short as five seconds, depending on the focus of the exercise.
The practice allows an artist to draw strenuous or spontaneous poses that cannot be held by the model long enough for an elaborate study and reinforces the importance of movement, action, and direction, which can be overlooked during a long drawing. Thus, an approach is encouraged which notes basic lines of rhythm within the figure. The rapidity of execution suggests an aesthetic which is most concerned with the essence of the pose, and an economy of means in its representation, rather than a careful study of modeling of light on the form.
For some artists, there is a calisthenic logic: just as an athlete warms up before exercising or participating in sports, artists use gesture drawing to prepare themselves mentally and physically for a figure drawing session. The fast pace of gesture poses helps an artist "loosen up" to avoid a stiff drawing style.
The artist who undertakes gesture drawing also receives the benefits of self-training their drawing ability. This kind of very rapid drawing of the figure builds (through the act of frequent repetition) an instinctive understanding of human proportions which may aid the artist when executing more extended works.
For some artists, a gesture drawing is the first step in preparing a more sustained work. Other artists, who seek to capture brief moments of time in a direct manner, consider the gesture drawing to be the end product.
Drawing from life is often preferred over photographic reference as it allows the artist to view the model from multiple angles and without distortion of the lens or lighting. Additionally, the repetition of short drawings without pausing forces the artist to work intuitively.
Drawings longer than two minutes are usually not considered gestures, as they inevitably grant the artist more time to measure and plan the drawing, or to begin to define the form with modeling. Once the artist begins measuring, erasing, or otherwise improving the drawing, they have ceased to gesture-draw and begun rendering. They will be improving the complexity of their current drawing, but they are no longer practicing their ability to draw correctly from an instant impression.
An animator is an artist who creates multiple images, known as frames, which give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, and video games. Animation is closely related to filmmaking and like filmmaking is extremely labor-intensive, which means that most significant works require the collaboration of several animators. The methods of creating the images or frames for an animation piece depend on the animators' artistic styles and their field.
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In visual arts, a model sheet, also known as a character board, character sheet, character study or simply a study, is a document used to help standardize the appearance, poses, and gestures of a character in arts such as animation, comics, and video games.
Body for Life (BFL) is a 12-week nutrition and exercise program, and also an annual physique transformation competition. The program utilizes a low-fat high-protein diet. It was created by Bill Phillips, a former competitive bodybuilder and previous owner of EAS, a manufacturer of nutritional supplements. It has been popularized by a bestselling book of the same name.
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A figure drawing is a drawing of the human form in any of its various shapes and postures, using any of the drawing media. The term can also refer to the act of producing such a drawing. The degree of representation may range from highly detailed, anatomically correct renderings to loose and expressive sketches. A life drawing is a drawing of the human figure, traditionally nude, from observation of a live model. Creating life drawings, or life studies, in a life class, has been a large element in the traditional training of artists in the Western world since the Renaissance.
Six moments musicaux, Op. 16, is a set of solo piano pieces composed by the Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff between October and December 1896. Each Moment musical reproduces a musical form characteristic of a previous musical era. The forms that appear in Rachmaninoff's incarnation are the nocturne, song without words, barcarolle, virtuoso étude, and theme and variations.
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Croquis drawing is quick and sketchy drawing of usually a live nude model. Croquis drawings are usually made in a few minutes, after which the model changes pose or leaves and another croquis is drawn. The word croquis comes from French and means simply "sketch". A croquis is often an outline silhouette, for use by a designer.
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Acroyoga is a physical practice that combines yoga and acrobatics. Acroyoga includes many types of partner and group acrobatics in which at least someone is lifted. As such, it also draws on traditions of circus arts, cheerleading, and dance acro.
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Watsu is a form of aquatic bodywork used for deep relaxation and passive aquatic therapy. Watsu is characterized by one-on-one sessions in which a practitioner or therapist gently cradles, moves, stretches, and massages a receiver in chest-deep warm water.
Clutch performance in sports refers to the phenomenon where athletes excel under pressure, commonly known as "in the clutch". These moments can occur at any point during the game, and involve plays that significantly impact the outcome of the game. Athletes are required to summon strength, concentration and any other qualities necessary to succeed and perform well. This phenomenon is observed in many sports including basketball, hockey, football, and esports, but the phrase is most commonly used in baseball.