How much should you practice gesture drawing?

In our previous post, we talked about taking a more in-depth look at Warren Louw’s gesture drawing framework

But before we do this— let’s answer the question: “How much should you practice gesture drawing?” The myth is alive and well. Practice makes perfect—but this couldn’t be further from the truth.

Yes, practice is important—but so is what you’re practicing. Practice the right technique—and you can work for DC Comics—just like Warren Louw. Practice the wrong technique—even for hours every day—and you’ll be no further ahead 6 months from now.

Don’t just take my word for it. Take a look at this quote from a Deviant Art Article where the master himself—Warren Louw—shared this exact point:

“Long story, short. I am where I am today because I have a lot of experience just copying realism and my favorite artists (ever since I can remember till about 17 years old), but since I realized I wouldn’t get far by doing just that, I decided to teach myself how to draw out of my head… …So after a few years of much hell and frustration, studying and trying to create my own art that I was happy with, 2008 came my way.”

Even Warren Louw—a master artist who has worked with DC Comics—struggled for years using the “practice, practice, and practice” approach. You, yourself, are probably even doing this right now.

Wasting precious hours of practice, when you could be mastering gesture drawing. So, how can you do this too? Right here. Right now. You learn from a master who has a proven framework that… well… works. Building blocks that stack on top of each other—practicing techniques to create DC Comics worthy art.

Just like Warren Louw does. So, what does Warren Louw’s gesture drawing framework look like?

First, you start with flow — the most basic foundation and important gesture drawing fundamental. You then mix in some contrapposto — breathing life into your gestures with counter angles within flow.

Next, you factor in perspective and form — the viewpoint where you’re coming from is critically important—completely affecting the forms of your gestures.

Taking this to the next level, you work on foreshortening and angles — a more in-depth version of perspective. You hit this with some dynamic flow — or as we like to call it: the flow continues.

Finally, you sprinkle in a dash of alternate ways to flow — which include various ways to expand your gesture drawing horizons. As you can see—the above framework appears simple at first—but has taken Warren Louw years to master.

It’s designed to build off each step, one at a time. Helping you to not jump around from technique to technique—giving you the tools you need to master gesture drawing… …Faster than you thought possible.

How can you learn more about the framework above? Saving yourself hours of frustration and practice, practice, and practice? Just click here to learn more about 21 Draw’s Gesture Drawing Course—created by Warren Louw himself.

And soon, with some hard work and patience, you’ll be creating DC Comics worthy art.