A Short Glossary of Gesture and Figure Drawing Terms
These are the core terms used across our gesture and figure drawing guides. Gesture drawing captures the movement of a pose before detail. The line of action is the single curve that carries that movement. Weight and balance describe how the body stands against gravity, often in contrapposto, where the hips and shoulders tilt in opposite directions. Value is the lightness or darkness that makes form read. Construction, proportion and foreshortening describe how you build the figure once the gesture is found. Each term links to the guide where it is explained in full.
Terms
Gesture drawing. A quick, whole-figure sketch that captures how a pose moves and where its weight sits, before any outline or detail. Usually 30 seconds to 5 minutes. See the gesture drawing guide.
Line of action. A single long curve that captures the main movement of a pose from head to foot, drawn first and used to build everything else. See what is the line of action.
Weight-bearing leg. The leg that carries the figure’s weight in a standing pose. Drawn as a firm, straight support. The other leg, the free leg, carries little weight and can relax or bend.
Free leg. The leg that is not carrying the weight. It is free to bend, step out or cross, and it balances the firmness of the weight-bearing leg.
Weight and balance. How a figure stands against gravity. A figure is in balance when a vertical line from the pit of the neck falls over its base of support. See how to draw weight and balance.
Contrapposto. A relaxed standing stance where the weight rests on one leg, so the hips and shoulders tilt in opposite directions and the spine curves gently. It is what makes a standing figure look at ease rather than rigid.
Plumb line. An imagined vertical line used to check balance and alignment, often dropped from the pit of the neck to the ground to see where the weight falls.
Ribcage and pelvis. The two large masses of the torso. Drawing them as simple boxes or ovals that tilt against each other is a fast way to give the torso structure and life.
Rhythm. The way parts of the body lean and turn against each other rather than stacking up straight. Rhythm is what keeps a figure from looking stacked and stiff.
Construction. Building a figure from simple three-dimensional forms, such as boxes and cylinders, on top of the gesture. It gives the figure solidity and helps it turn in space.
Proportion. The relative sizes of the parts of the body to each other and to the whole. Correct proportion keeps a figure believable.
Foreshortening. How a form appears compressed when it points toward or away from you, such as an arm reaching at the viewer. It follows the rules of perspective applied to the body.
Contour. The edge or outline of a form. Distinct from the line of action, which runs through the form along its movement rather than around its edge.
Value. The lightness or darkness of an area, independent of its colour. Value describes form and light, and often does more than outline to make a drawing look solid. See how to see values.
Blocking in. Placing the big shapes or big values first, as simple flat areas, before any detail or blending.
Study. A drawing made to learn something specific, such as the values of a scene or the anatomy of a hand, rather than to make a finished piece.
Negative space. The shapes of the empty space around and between the parts of a figure. Checking negative shapes is a reliable way to catch proportion and pose errors.
Prepared with AI assistance. Reviewed by [editor name], [date]. drawstead is published by fnx.io, makers of Drawing from References and Drawing from Life. Our guides are made to be useful with or without our apps.