Gesture and Figure Drawing
Develop essential figure drawing skills for animation!
Save up to $50 on Spring Term classes by signing up before March 8th.
Teacher Artwork by Mike Wiesmeier
Gesture and Figure Drawing
Train your eye to capture the human form. Through gesture drawing and constructive methods, students will learn to express energy, proportion, and anatomy in their figure work.
A structured study of human anatomy for artists—starting with skeleton and joints, then moving through major muscle groups. Emphasis is placed on rhythm, proportion, and expressive structure to support gesture and character work.
Together with perspective and Space, this class gives you the skills to draw the human figure in dynamic environments
- Course Type Art Fundamentals
- Duration 10 weeks
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Skill Level
Level 1 Level 1
Strong fundamentals in traditional drawing, painting and sculpting are the foundations to create amazing artwork.
This level is about solidifying the fundamentals, getting a refresher on the most important art principles, and learning tricks to create realistic drawing and paintings.
- Language English
Schedule
Online - Spring 2026 - Thursdays from 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM* EDT - Starts April 9th - 10 weeks with Mike Wiesmeier
Onsite - Summer 2026 - TBA
Please note that we observe Daylight Saving Time, so classes may shift from Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) UTC−4 to Eastern Standard Time (EST) UTC−5 or vice versa during the term.
If you are unable to attend the live online class, you will still have access to video recordings of the class lectures and will still receive personalized feedback from your instructor. However, for Onsite Classes there will be no recordings provided.
It should be noted that students should set aside a minimum of 3 hours per week to complete assignments for this class. Students may even require a bit more time (4-5 hours per week) depending on how quickly they can work through assignments.
*Please note that this class' duration is subject to change (to either 2 hours or 3 hours) depending on the number of enrolled students.
Prerequisites
Skill requirements
To enroll in this course you should have:
- A foundation in gesture drawing, including basic anatomy and proportions.
- Ideally completed our Foundations of Drawing class or have equivalent practice/experience.
If you are unsure of your skill level, please contact [email protected] for additional guidance.
Language and age requirements
You should have at least intermediate level English to take this class. Please be advised that there could be artistic nudity in our classes. Students should be 14 years old to enroll.
Required Materials
You will be needing a sketchbook and pen/pencil for this course. You also have the option of using a laptop/tablet or desktop computer. Coursework may be done traditionally (with sketchbook, pens, etc.) or digitally (with a Wacom tablet, Photoshop, etc.)
Tech Requirements for Attending Syn Studio Online Classes
Minimum Requirements
- A strong uninterrupted broadband wired or wireless (3G or 4G/LTE) connection with a minimum 600kbps bandwidth (up/down).
- A Laptop/Desktop computer equipped with a single core processor (at least 1 GHZ processing speed) or a smartphone/tablet with equivalent processing capabilities
- Good speakers/earphones to listen to the classes
- Browser - IE7+, Safari 5+, Firefox, Chrome
- Operating System - Windows XP, Mac OS 10.6, Linux distro based on 3.0 kernel, Android 5.0, iOS 10
Syn Studio Recommendations
- A strong uninterrupted broadband wired or wireless (3G or 4G/LTE) connection with a minimum 1.5Mbps bandwidth (up/down). You can also connect to the internet directly using your ethernet cable to improve your experience.
- Laptop/Desktop computer equipped with a dual core processor with at least 2 GHZ processing speed and a 4 GB RAM
- High Quality speakers/earphones to listen to the classes
- Browser & Operating System - We recommend using the latest version of the browser and operating system for an optimal online classroom experience.
Course Outline
*Please note that the following outline is subject to change slightly at the teacher's discretion.
Week 1 - Introduction to the course
Why learning some anatomy is important - range of movement; the importance of sketching the anatomy loosely; introduction to the skeletal anatomy and types of joints; bones have rhythm; examples of skeletal anatomical references from master Disney artist Marc Davis
Week 2 - Introduction to the muscular system
Muscle shape is dynamic - is the muscle in tension or relaxed - applying the animation principle of ‘squash and stretch’ to how we think about the muscle shape; the importance of the silhouette of the muscle shape; introduction to studying muscular anatomy from the masters - the ecorché draw-over
Week 3 - The upper body muscles 1
Head and neck; origins and insertions and why they matter;
overlap of muscles; master study: Michelangelo
Week 4 - The upper body muscles 2
Origins and insertions; overlap of muscles; expanding our sources of study; Strength Training Anatomy; anatomy master study: Peter Paul Rubens.
Week 5- The upper body muscles 3
Dorsal muscles; origins and insertions; overlap of muscles; expanding our sources of study; Strength Training Anatomy; anatomy master study: Giuseppe Ribera.
Week 6 - The lower body muscles 1
Origins and insertions; abdominal muscles - torso package; anatomy master study: Auguste Rodin.
Weeks 7 - The lower body muscles 2
Origins and insertions; hip to legs; Anatomy on show - anatomy dissection theatre and Body Worlds; expanding our sources for study; anatomy master study: Solomon J. Solomon.
Week 8 - Going beyond the ideal body
Body types; how varying density of fat and aging affect the figure morphology; anatomy master study: Heinrich Kley.
Weeks 9 and 10 - TBD
Testimonials
Registration
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Questions and Assistance
Feel free to send us an email at [email protected] or give us a call at 514-998-7625
Please consult our FAQ; most of the commonly asked questions are answered in detail there. If you cannot find the answer to your question, please feel free to fill out the form below, or, send an email to [email protected]