I I am having fun doing this. Snow has been coming down for two days and I love that I found a nice indoor spot where I can look at the animals walking/flying eating near the window. The cats also seem to be very happy, with me joining them to watch some cat tv haha

Gesture drawings from our highway travels today.  Moving vehicles similar and different.  

I found gesture drawing very interesting and was surprised a few times on what I was able to get down based on what I saw or observed--these "surprises" were perks to keep at it.  I can see how using these glimpses would be useful leading into a more refined rendering. I noted that subjects (thinking birds specifically here) look so different depending on the angle and position, I've always thought about a classic "side pose" or "wings spread in flight" as a way to depict a bird (such as our first exercise). Doing these gesture drawings of pictures of animals in motion and then actually watching animals in motion I started noticing interesting details and positions that would be nice to work on.  I can tell this will take some time to become useful in the field or as "studies" for more structured works.  The quick drawings don't require setting time aside for a full "art session" to apply our developing craft.  Looking forward to some in the field opportunities!

I have be practicing and used the Cornell Bird Cams to observe. It was a challenge! I found myself repeating the fox video and captured just small amount at a time. With the constant movement, it proved to be the most challenging. I will definitely continue to practice.

I have been practicing trying to capture some of the birds on the videos provided on the Cornell website.  I am enjoying learning more about the birds and find it really challenging to try and draw them.  

I love trying to capture postures and movement. This is an artistic skill I have felt was beyond me and is something in other's art that always impresses me.  Whimsical and real.  I started really loose and had fun with the exercises.  However, I decided I needed to try the foxes twice - once in real time, and once using video-pause (my eye-to-hand skill is a little too novice for that young one's constant movement, so the pause helped me see).   I then used our dog as the open gesture assignment... initially, pretty easy -- apparently, we are incredibly boring and much of her day is spent resting... so then I used a video clip (and some "pause") to try to capture her in play.  It was a little weird when I started tightening up again - seeing elements I didn't like, so I realize I will need more reps of this skill, but again, I absolutely love trying to develop this ability. Thanks so much for the tips.

Squirrels are plentiful in my yard.  They use the trees as a highway to go up and down the street.  This time of the year they are down on the ground alot.  I guess they are preparing for winter.  There are so many of them, it made for a good subject for the lesson.

I found Canada Geese to be one of the easier subjects for practicing gesture drawings because the don’t scare and they move pretty slow. I attempted to draw a squirrel but that turned out to be more entertaining than productive.

I find that gesture drawing helps me pay attention to smaller details.  I enjoyed this exercise very much.  I think I have tried to draw with too much detail in the past and it has made me think that I am bad at drawing.  While I think I may still not be very good at drawing, I have a new view of drawing - sure I may never be Rembrandt, but drawing can be part of what I do and can be fun for me.  The weather outside is bad today, but I plan to employ this technique at the first chance I get outside.

I found that I try to draw too much detail and need to learn to gesture draw the outlines of the subject.  Gesture drawing is bringing my attention to the dimensions of the subject rather than the small details markings.  I definitely need to practice gesture drawing more to get past the learning curve.  But I like it and hope to get better at it.  Practice, practice, practice I guess.

The thumbnails are so tiny it's challenging to put the detail in after the fact. I will try this making a larger gesture page and then add the details. Pintails have such lovely feather detail. Detail was added 10/22/19

I really enjoyed trying to capture the constant shifting and moving. It felt as though I was getting to know the animals better than I would have with a photo.

i really love gesture drawing because it helps me stay loose. i find it fun to try and keep up with the subject, but also note that it can be frustrating. In the fox video, the kit is so active, and i really wanted to capture that playfulness, but when they won't sit still, it can be really tough!  

Here's how I refined my 1 minute gesture drawing of the wren!

I used my dog this afternoon, this is hard to do but fun in effort and challenging my observation skills.

It helped me identifying quickly the basic shapes of the animals (foxes) and details like the head shape, ears, but just the shapes. that way I draw just the basics like the triangle of the face and ears. Also i could see the straightness of the front legs and the size of the tail. It was hard to draw them because they moved so fast. The duck was more easy for me.

Challenging! 30 seconds to draw an - Elk? - but wow, loads of fun! Then trying to capture the pintail making all those elegant preening motions! Had to force myself away from drawing what I know and drawing what I see.. I think this is almost like stop-action photography and captures the life, the movement of a bird or animal, with such simple lines... thought I'd share my scribbles to encourage others - if I can do it, anybody can do it!