Gesture

I asked my model to adopt a couple of stances that indicate gesture. These are just a few sketches in different materials. It tends not to matter which materials I'm using for very quick sketches.

For this excercise, I literally recorded the figures in the most basic outline before moving onto the next. I have the fortune of being part of a karate club, so finding models for this part of the assignment was very easy. Drawing them is a different thing entirely!! For this exercise, I didn't ask anyone to stop what they were doing, or hold a pose, I just sat in a corner whilst the class was going on and captured as much as I could. Which is actually harder than it sounds. I tried to capture as many gestures as I could. I found it easiest to capture the figures when the students were doing something called kata. This is a series of prearranged moves set into a pattern that has to be learnt for your next grade. It was easiest to sketch when they were doing kata because each kata requires different timing so certain stances are held for a period of time.

There were two fellow karateka that I drew in these sketches, both of whom are black belts, and so have been training for many years.  I think they were the best people to draw within that the class on this particular day because they were so dynamic. When I started to concentrate on sketching the way in which their bodies moved when training, as opposed to just watching, I started to notice miniature details that made a difference to their  entire "performance". The way a leg was bent; or a hand was held, their posture, by adjusting their bodies in slight ways, they were able to make things look cleaner and sharper. I learnt a lot about movement and about my own training, improvements I need to make to look more like they do. But seeing the way in which they move, and the balance and concentration it requires makes me appreciate the arts even more; theatre, dance, performances. Things that require a certain discipline and grace are wonderful to watch and I find it inspiring.

If it wasn't for karate, this exercise would have been very difficult to complete; unless you are a part of something active where you can ask people to pose for you, or just be able to sit quietly in a corner while people carry on with what they're doing, you have no choice but to use images from the Internet/magazines etc. 

I think I have caught the gesture of all the figures; just by making a few marks that indicate movement and which has the right balance can indicate how a figure is moving.