Bring energy and excitement to your stories, and develop fluid gesture drawing mastery with this simple guide designed for the storytelling illustrator.


Have you ever wondered how feature film animators create characters that feel elastic and full of life? Movement and energy are vital to a compelling story, and your best path to creating that energy in your work is through learning the finer details of gesture. Gesture takes stiff, wooden character designs and makes them exciting — and perfect for compelling stories.



In this course, feature animation character designer Brooklyn Walker covers industry tested techniques and exercises you can use to bring life to your characters, including the Flour Sack Method, the Bean and Noodle Method, and many, many more. 

This course covers several methods of gesture drawing, with demonstrations by Brooklyn based on image reference. This course does not contain nude models.

In this class you will learn:

  • The best materials for gesture, and why you need something “forgiving and unforgiving”

  • The major differences between gesture drawing and figure drawing

  • Why you need to name every pose before you start

  • How to do the Flour Sack Method, the Bean and Noodle method, the One Line method, and more

  • How to recognize and use basic shapes to define your characters

  • How to use empathy to create more vital, interesting poses

  • Extrapolation, and the simple technique behind drawing other people’s characters in new poses

  • How carrying your sketchbook everywhere can supercharge your skills

  • How to build a compelling gesture portfolio

Stay on track with your art goals!

Try it for FREE and explore 100+ illustration classes designed to kickstart your learning. Get the guidance you need with a curriculum developed by working illustrators. Stream unlimited art classes anytime, anywhere!
Get Started For Free
artist rabbit holding art tools

Join now for access

*Try SVSLearn for free. A credit card is required to start the free trial, but there is NO CHARGE during the trial period. After the trial is up, you will be automatically enrolled in the subscription and charged, unless you cancel.

About the Instructor

Brooklyn Walker

Brooklyn Walker is a character designer and illustrator living in Los Angeles, California with her daughter and husband. She graduated from Brigham Young University in 2018 with a BFA in Illustration and is currently designing characters at Sony Pictures Animation. www.brooklynwalkerart.com

Course curriculum

  1. 1

    • Course Introduction

    • What is Gesture Drawing?

    • Naming the Pose

    • Practice Exercise: Naming the Pose

    • Introduction to Construction Methods
  2. 2

    • Line of Action

    • Practice Exercise: Line of Action

    • One Line

    • Practice Exercise: One Line

    • Flour Sack

    • Practice Exercise: Flour Sack

    • Assignment 1 Introduction

    • Assignment 1: Basic Emotions
  3. 3

    • Bean & Noodle

    • Practice Exercise: Bean and Noodle

    • Basic Shapes

    • Practice Exercise: Basic Shapes

    • Silhouette

    • Practice Exercise: Silhouette

    • Negative Shape

    • Practice Exercise: Negative Shape

    • Assignment 2 Introduction

    • Assignment 2: People as Shapes
  4. 4

    • Tornado Drawing

    • Practice Exercise: Tornado Drawing

    • Drawing Through the Figure

    • Practice Exercise: Drawing Through the Figure

    • 3 Attempts

    • Practice Exercise: 3 Attempts

    • Assignment 3 Introduction

    • Assignment 3: Weight and Wait
  5. 5

    • Minimalist Gesture

    • Practice Exercise: Minimalist Gesture

    • Faces and Hands Only

    • Practice Exercise: Face and Hands Only

    • Assignment 4 Introduction

    • Assignment 4: Hands and Feet
  6. 6

    • Empathy

    • Practice Exercise: Empathy

    • Extrapolation

    • Practice Exercise: Extrapolation

    • Assignment 5 Introduction

    • Assignment 5: Heads
  7. 7

    • Beginning and End of an Action

    • Practice Exercise: Beginning and End of an Action

    • Models in 360

    • Practice Exercise: Models in 360

    • Two Figure Interaction

    • Practice Exercise: Two Figure Interaction

    • Assignment 6 Introduction

    • Assignment 6: Two Figure Interaction
  8. 8

    • 24/7 Sketchbook Challenge

    • Final Assignment Introduction

    • Final Assignment: Portfolio

    • Conclusion
  9. 9

    • Children Playing Video Reference

    • Male Swimsuit Part 1

    • Male Swimsuit Part 2

    • Male Swimsuit Part 3

    • 360 Male Swimsuit

    • Male Clothed Part 1

    • Male Clothed Part 2

    • 360 Male Clothed

    • 2 Figure Part 1

    • 2 Figure Part 2

    • 2 Figure Part 3

    • 2 Figure Part 4

    • 2 Figure Part 5

    • Female Swimsuit Part 1

    • Female Swimsuit Part 2

    • Female Swimsuit Part 3

    • Female Swimsuit Part 4

    • Female Swimsuit Part 5

    • Female Swimsuit Part 6

    • 360 Female Swimsuit Part 1

    • 360 Female Swimsuit Part 2

    • Female Clothed Part 1

    • Female Clothed Part 2

    • Female Clothed Part 3

    • Female Clothed Part 4

    • Female Clothed Part 5

    • 360 Female Clothed Part 1

    • 360 Female Clothed Part 2

    • Additional external resource:

  • 1000+

    non-nude model photos to draw from

  • 20+

    downloadable practice exercises and assignments so you can master the art of gesture

  • 30

    videos with nearly 2 hours of instruction and demonstration

Reviews

5 star rating

Intro to Gesture Drawing is Amazing!

Charity Munoz

Being a person who tends to draw very tight and tense at the start, this class not only gave me ways to immediately have my drawings be more relaxed and simp...

Read More

Being a person who tends to draw very tight and tense at the start, this class not only gave me ways to immediately have my drawings be more relaxed and simplified, but was so thorough in the covering of all the ways to simplify and think about each drawing, that it cast them all in new light for me. Thank you so much! A game-changer class that I will definitely be coming back to after I spend more time practicing the recommendations given.

Read Less
5 star rating

A Fantastic Course!

Joseph Buenning

Brookyln's course is fantastic for anybody wanting to learn about gesture and even character design. I really enjoy seeing her process and I'm grateful for h...

Read More

Brookyln's course is fantastic for anybody wanting to learn about gesture and even character design. I really enjoy seeing her process and I'm grateful for her sharing different approaches to constructing gesture drawings. Another thing I'm loving about this course is seeing how decisive Brooklyn is with her lines--everything has a purpose! Fantastic course and thank you for making this available to everyone!

Read Less
5 star rating

Its relevant and does not mislead

PRINCE MAROKANE

great course and very interactive.

great course and very interactive.

Read Less
5 star rating

Gesture Drawing 👍🏻

Dawn Pope

This was amazing. Loved it.

This was amazing. Loved it.

Read Less
0 star rating

One of the best and thorough course

Vincent VanOplynus

Read Less
5 star rating

Great

Tom Bates

Read Less

Ready to start your creative journey? 

Get the guidance you need on the path to becoming a better artist.

Try it free for 14 days!