Questions about the Gesture & Contour poster

What’s on the Gesture & Contour poster?

Gesture against Contour, side by side. Gesture: 30 seconds to 2 minutes; Gesture: Whole figure at once, from the core; Gesture: Records action, weight and direction; Gesture: Line runs through the form, not round it; Gesture: Wrong proportion is acceptable; Contour: 10 minutes to an hour; Contour: One continuous edge, slowly; Contour: Records the exact shape of an edge; Contour: Eye on the subject, not on the page; Contour: Wrong proportion is a failure; Gesture first, contour after. A precise outline around a lifeless pose cannot be resc…. Blind contour, never looking at the page, is a training exercise. It is not a way to make a finished drawing.

Who is the Gesture & Contour poster for?

Gesture & Contour belongs to the Art & Design section rather than to a school year, because design is not something one grade owns. Anyone learning drawing can pin it up — a beginner, a student mid-course, or someone revising years later.

When should you use the Gesture & Contour poster?

Use it to pick the right approach for the time you have in front of a model. A wall chart earns its place by being glanceable from where the work is happening, so Gesture & Contour belongs on the wall where that design work actually happens, within glancing distance, rather than filed away.

What other posters go with Gesture & Contour?

Blocking In, Figure Proportions and Cast Shadows sit alongside Gesture & Contour in the Art & Design section. Printed together they make a wall rather than a single sheet, which is how a reference set actually gets used.Blocking InFigure ProportionsCast Shadows

Is the Gesture & Contour poster free to download and print?

Yes. Gesture & Contour downloads as a free PDF with no account, no email and no watermark, like everything else in the Art & Design section. Print as many copies as you like for a home, a classroom, a library or a tutoring group; reselling the file is the only thing the licence rules out.Read the licence

What size does the Gesture & Contour poster print at?

Gesture & Contour is a vector PDF laid out for US Letter, and prints on A4 with Fit to page — the same file, no separate download. Because every mark on it is drawn rather than photographed, it stays sharp enlarged to A3, A2 or A1 at a copy shop. Colour carries emphasis only, so a greyscale print of Gesture & Contour loses nothing.Printing guide