gillian gestures posts
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Drawing Challenge: June 2025
I know I'm technically not here for June, but I couldn't leave you without a good old drawing challenge for June! The Drawing Challenge is usually only open to member Pencil Tier and above. But for this month, I am opening it to ALL members! If you would like to have some feedback on your drawing of this reference then please join us! This reference also includes the SKULL!! Conté tier members have access to a tutorial on How to Draw the Skull. So, if you have be practicing your skull anatomy here's a chance to incorporate it into ...
Drawing Challenge Feedback
Draw over feedback for our Mermay themed Drawing Challenge! Thank you to Bill, Claire and Lawrence for sharing their interpretations of the reference. We will definitely need to do another Drawing Challenge in the future where we are using our imagination to project a character onto the model! Check out the video about to hear what feedback each artist received, even if you didn't submit a gesture this month, it's always helpful to see what other artists are doing and the feedback they receive - because likely, it will help you too! Sta...
Updates
Hey sketchers!Did you know that May 2025 marked the 2 year anniversary of this Patreon?! 🥳I can’t believe it has been 2 full years already.I started this as a way to share my knowledge of gesture drawing. There are lots of great figure drawing tutorials out there, but it was difficult to find dedicated gesture drawing tutorials.Since May 2023 I have made over 130 videos to share with you all!That’s a lot of content!----------Looking back on the previous 2 years, I’ve been able to see what has worked and not worked for my audience but a...
How to Draw: The Skull
To be honest with you all (I feel that we have that kind of relationship now) I don't really draw the skull! Sometimes I have to teach it at the College but it's not something I've spent a lot of time with.However, true to form, when I take the time to sit down with these things in an effort to make the best tutorial videos I can for you guys, I get super into and learn so much!What helped me A LOT when drawing the skull, was the knowledge I had of drawing the head (face and all) with the Loomis Method. I can't remember if I...
Realtime Video: Mermaids 🧜🏽♀️
The theme continues for MerMay! This will be the last themed video... so for those of you who are sick of mermaids - this is the end! Hahaha!In this video I'm drawing from a mixed mermaid pack from Studio Grafit - I think it was a promo pack, so it had a variety of models and settings.I begin the video by briefly describing the technique I use for turning humans into mermaids. But if you would like a more in-depth tutorial on that, you can access my 'How to Draw: Mermaids' video on the Conté Tier along with 100+ videos from the lib...
Mermaids!
In preparation for the tutorial on How To Draw Mermaids (now available to Conté Tier!) I curled up with my cat Frank and a good movie to warm up and practice drawing mermaids again. It took a while to get into the flow of it again. It's been a few weeks since my last life drawing class. It's surprising how quickly you can become rusty. Does that ever happen to you?This is a collection of the mermaids I drew last night - minus the ugly ones :/ I've also been drawing in Adobe Fresco instead of Procreate. Does anyone else use Fresco t...
How to Draw: Mermaids 🧜🏽♀️
Mermay is well and truly underway and it's time for us to explore some mermaids in our gesture drawing practice.Finding the perfect reference for drawing mermaid gestures can be tricky, because we know how notorious they are for not letting humans take their photograph! But in this video, I will show you how to take human photo reference and adapt them to create your own unique merfolk.I love doing this because it really forces us to use our imagination, to not simply draw what we see. This is always the goal with any gesture drawing, but s...
Upcoming Tutorial: How to Draw the Skull
Happy Saturday sketchers!I had planned to go to a local Urban Sketchers meetup today but as always in this city, it rains and it storms and we can’t do anything outside when we plan for it! But that’s ok, because that allows me to spend more time making tutorials for you! Still to come this week - How to Draw Mermaids and a Realtime Gesture videos devoted to mermaids all in celebration of Mermay. Both these videos are available to all paid members. And the following week Conté Tier members will have access to an anatomy tutorial on how to ...
Model Pack Vote!
I feel like we have been drawing LOTS of females recently, so this vote is for THE BOYS!Do you have a preference for drawing male or female models?From what I've observed in my classes, artists tend to find the female form easier to draw, somehow it just clicks easier with the flowing lines than male anatomy does. If this is you, then this will be a good challenge to get more confident at drawing the male figure.PRIMAL MANI keep bringing this pack back with the hopes it will win! 🤞Strong character and clear anatomy!EXPRESSIVE MALESomethi...
Realtime Gestures - Kimono
It's been a long wait for you to see this realtime video!The last vote we had was way back in March, and then I took a break throughout April, but we are finally back with the Vote Winner from March - Mitsuru in a Kimono.This was actually very difficult reference to draw from. Due to the limitations of movement the model had because of the nature of a kimono being quite fitted and restrictive, there was not a huge range of dynamic gestures in this reference.However, I did what I could with it and there were still areas to play with pushing ...
Drawing Challenge: May 2025
New month - new Drawing Challenge!And I'm sure you have noticed that it is not just any old month... it's MerMay!What is MerMay?MerMay is a month-long art challenge where artists create a mermaid drawing each day in May and share it online with the hashtag #mermay. Hosted by the lovely Lauren Barge @lb.illustrates and Whitney Pollett @WhitneyPollettPersonally, I do not have the stamina for a month long drawing challenge but I will draw some mermaids, here on Patreon, throughout the month of May!If everyday Drawing Challenges are your th...
Calendar: May
Coming up in the month of May - all things mermaid and more!MerMay is upon us and it's always super fun for me to draw mermaid-y things inside of gesture drawing. This month on Patreon:Week One:Realtime Gesture - vote winner from March - GeishaMay Drawing ChallengeWeek Two:Tutorials: How to Draw Mermaid Gestures!Voting PollWeek Three:Realtime Gestures - you guessed it... Mermaids!Throwback ThursdayWeek Four:Anatomy Tutorial - The SkullDrawing Challenge Feedback Are you excited about Mermay? Share any mermaid drawings you have in the Communi...
Life Drawing Sketches
How lucky am I? That same model I told you about in the previous post modelled AGAIN at the drop in life drawing class. I was able to attend and give my full attention to drawing her poses, without having to teach! This session was a range of 1min, 3 mins, 5 mins, 10 mins, 15 mins and one 35 min. Of course you know I didn’t draw one image for 35 minutes… I like to move around the room and draw the same pose from different angles. There’s so much to learn about the figure and the pose when you view it from different perspectives. Have you ...
New Model from Class
Hey everyone! Thought I would share some of my gestures from this morning’s life drawing class. I like to warm up with a few gestures at the same time as my students, cause I have also not drawn much in the few days before class. Today we had a model that I have never drawn before! We have both been with the college for years but our schedules never overlapped. Her name is Christine, she is a burlesque performer in the area and her poses were all glorious! So much contrast and appeal. If you are in the Ottawa area be sure to catch her around ...
Taking a Break for April
Hey sketchers!I wanted to share an update for the month of April: I'll be pausing membership payments until May 1st.This month is going to be a busy one for me, as I'm wrapping up some big projects—my school semester, Yoga Teacher Training, and an Illustrated Book project. To ensure I can complete these properly and give them my full attention, I need to take a bit of breathing room. But don’t worry—I'll be back in May with a clearer schedule and ready to dedicate the energy and time to Patreon that I truly want to!In the mean...
Drawing Challenge Feedback: March
This month's Drawing Challenge featured Dria from The Dynamic Muse. I choose this reference because I was in an Egon Schiele mood and wanted to let you lot try your hand at drawing a thin figure and possibly play with pushing the anatomy and style of Schiele. This was my version of the reference (TBH - I forgot about the Egon Schiele thing by the time I got to this gesture!) Also guilty of not listening to my own advice - the arms do NOT feel the same length here >.<Check out the video to see how our artists did and some of the feedback I g...
March PDF Download
Another month of Gesture Drawings to share with you! The main gestures I looked at this month were the Egon Schiele inspired realtime gestures and the Cartoon Casual Pack. Lots of female models! I will try to draw more male figures next time :/ Download the PDF below!Gillian
How to Draw: Skeleton 101
When it comes to gesture drawing, understanding the skeleton is like levelling up to dynamic, appealing, believable drawings. It serves as the foundation for every pose, movement and expression we want to capture from the model. In this video we will explore why artists of all levels can benefit from studying the skeleton and I will give you step-by-step techniques on how to incorporate your knowledge of the skeleton into your drawings. ----------Why is is helpful to study the skeleton?Identify proportions and landmarksSimplify complex formsImp...
⚡️ New Tutorial: Skeleton 101⚡️
All the essential things you need to know to start understanding and drawing the skeleton in your gesture drawing! Available NOW on Conté Tier + Sketchbook Tier.Understand the placement and motion of the skeleton:How to use key skeleton concepts for drawing any body type:
Throwback Thursday: How to Draw from your Imagination!
Probably one of the top goals for most artists who support this Patreon, is the the ability to draw anything they want from their imagination!In this Throwback Thursday video, we are looking back at How to Draw from you Imagination!----------If you are (or aspire to be) an animator, character designer, storyboard artist, comic book artist, illustrator, concept artist, etc. one of the most important skills you must have is the ability to draw from your imagination.It’s wonderful being able to look at a human figure and make a fairly decent dra...
How to Draw: Extreme Perspective
Being able to draw extreme perspective - or any perspective for the matter - allows us to have a lot of fun creating and pushing poses to be more dramatic, cinematic, impactful. When poses have extreme perspectives, the 'camera' needs to be very close to the subject, creating an feeling of intimacy and an unusual view that we don't normally see people in, except those closest to us. In this tutorial, I break down the key elements to keep in mind as you draw extreme perspective and show a walk through demo of drawing from an extreme ...
Realtime Gestures: Schiele Inspired
This was a super fun session to draw!You may have noticed that a few weeks ago I made an Artist Study video looking at the work of Austrian artist, Egon Schiele. He has been one of my favourite artists since I learned about him at Art School. I was so happy to finally make a dedicated Artist Study video about his work and his style. If you are interested in seeing my breakdown of his style beforeyou watch this one, you can check it out HERE. (You will need to be on the Conté Tier membership for access)----------ReferenceIn this Realtime Gestur...
Realtime Gesture Video: Cartoon Casual Poses
Our vote winner for February was Cartoon Casual Pose Packfrom Studio Grafit.This is the pack that I am drawing from in today's Realtime Gesture video! Draw along with me or just watch me do my thing for tips and tricks on how to improve your gesture drawing. This pack gave me lots of opportunity for story tellings poses, being playful and really thinking about the character. Things I talk about in this video:StorytellingCamera anglesDirectionPlanningCheck out the video to see what I did with this reference pack and maybe dust off your penci...
Egon Schiele Inspired Gestures
Coming next week! A realtime video where I explore the style of Egon Schiele in my own gesture practice with model Dria from Dynamic Muse. Available to all paid members next week.Are you familiar with this artist? What do you think of his work? Gillian
Drawing Challenge: March
New month, new Drawing Club Challenge!!!If you are a member of the Conté Tier, you might have seen my recent artist study of Austrian Artist Egon Schiele. I wanted to give youthe opportunity to try you hand at some Egon Schiele inspired anatomy and poses - but you don't have to draw it in his style! You do you!-----What is the Draw-Along Challenge?The Draw-Along Challenge is all about taking a reference photo (provided by me) and tackling a specific theme or technique each month.Some tips for this reference:BEAN: Use the bean to capture th...
Drawing Challenge Feedback: February
Thank you to everyone who took part in last month's Drawing Challenge.It was not an easy one and you all did very unique, unexpected things with it. Check out the video for full feedback!Stay tuned for the March Drawing Challenge coming soon!
PDF Download: February
Another month gone by and another PDF download!Download all the drawings that I created for you in the PDF below. This month I drew:Pin Up ModelFunny ManSchiele Inspired GesturesStay tuned for what is coming up in March!Gillian
Sneak Peek: Egon Schiele Artist Study
Join members of the Conté Tier as we explore the art style of Egon Schiele!Learn how I used the study of some of his iconic artworks to draw these:Gillian
Artist Study: Egon Schiele
Yey! We are finally back to another Artist Study!And I have been wanted to look at this artist's work since I started this Patreon! I was recently talking about him with my students and it got me excited again to look more deeply at his work. What is an artist study?If you are new to this Patreon, you may not be familiar with what an artist study is!Essentially:we take time to study the work of another artist by looking closely at their work, we analyse elements of their work that we find interesting we do small studies of their works in th...
Principles of Animation: Secondary Action
12 Principles of Animation SeriesAn essential technique used in animation but how can we use it for our gesture drawing practice and also our creative projects outside of gesture?A Secondary Action is an additional movement that complements the main action. Like when we walk our arms may swing at our sides to help our momentum. If an animator were to simply animate a character walking but their arms were not moving at all, it would look very awkward and unbelievable.We want to think about the same idea in our gesture drawings. Even though we do...
