I think this will help me with observations as a get more comfortable and relaxed with gesture drawing. It's hard with animals that you have never drawn before, but maybe that's the whole point. To draw them you have to observe where their ears are, for example, and the proportions of their body. Definitely helps when you loosen up. I started doing more of that with the bird cam. I noticed, however, that it seemed like it was a cool, damp morning there, and the birds seemed to be a bit lethargic, lucky for me!

gesture drawing of birds at our feeder today during a snow storm.  added in the feeder and some garden fence over some birds.  A good viewing and slowing down to identify some of the birds.

This was hard and I will need loads of practice to do this well.

My house wren was hiding on the opposite side of my bird feeder. I kept drawing the feeder and captured his motions when he appeared.

Well this was definitely interesting! In looking back at the gesture drawings made from the videos I'm pleasantly surprised to see they actually bear some faint resemblances to what I was looking at. Also noticed that in an effort to focus on the quickness of the  gesture, the size of my drawings are huge, often filling the page and all mostly much larger than the size in the videos relative to the full screen. Having 2 minutes to gesturize the Pintail Duck was a luxury and yielded satisfying sketches because I was able to capture multiple positions. On the other hand, the Red Foxes were moving too quickly for me to sketch much although, yet again as I look now at the drawings there is more there than I initially realized. Absolutely the best part was going outside to our deck and gesturizing the birds that came and went at our feeder, plus some birds hanging out in the bushes and trees, and a squirrel or two on the ground. Perhaps because Liz shared her bird feeder page with us, I found it easier to make my sketches smaller and fit lots of gestures for multiple birds on two pages. As with so many other things in life, it's Practice, Practice, Practice! Because I am not in a hurry at the bird feeder, being quite content to sit and wait and watch, when a bird alights on the feeder the gesture drawing gives me an opportunity to appreciate the portion of the bird that is being sketched; it lets me hone in on the uniqueness or specifics of the bird. Those observations might not make it into the sketch (my eye-hand reaction is nowhere near as quick as it needs to be to gesturize) but they make it into my visual appreciation.

I'm slowly learning to like gesture drawing, even though I've long recognized its value. I'm not sure if I'm really learning to settle with imperfection yet, no matter how much I theoretically believe in process process process, practice, practice, practice, revise, revise, revise. But what I really am beginning to enjoy is drawing lightly--to capture the arc of a movement, a turn of a head, a lifting of a nose or beak. That suggestion--just going for that--I'm beginning to find it not only edifying but entertaining. :)

This was a very difficult exercise for me. All of the animals around my feeders move at super fast speed. I found just sitting in a cold sunny spot was as enjoyable as trying to capture the critters on paper. I agree with others it would be better to have ducks, Canada geese and bigger subjects to observe and draw. The sun is also a factor. It is easier to have the sun at your back. Having access to a nature area or preserve would also be of help. It all takes practice. The suggestion of watching a nature cam was a good one. In our area there is an osprey cam, but I will have to wait until next spring to watch.

I got a kick out of my jumping fox drawing because it has so much energy. The pic of birds on a wire I’m posting not because it’s a great drawing but because I’ve always thought birds on a wire were all the same and in 2 minutes I produced proof that they aren’t. They move around, they face different ways, they have different postures. I’ve been doing a lot of bird sketches and every time I see something new.

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!