Contour versus gesture drawing - two of the most basic yet fundamental techniques of drawing in animation.
Additional source: Contour photography (Felix, 2014, p. 2).
Contour drawing, in its simplest explanation, is a defined outline around the edge of a subject that builds a rudimentary form (South, 2017, p.1), while gesture drawing is a free form of sketching that is neither abstract nor realistic (South, 2018, p.1).
Contour drawing is characterized under three types: one continuous line, cross contour and outline drawing. Each of these can stand alone as an independent piece of artwork, or is used as a foundation for a final artwork. For example, some minimalistic art pieces implement the one continuous line technique where the entire artwork is done without removing the pen from the paper (see figure 1).
Figure 1 - One line continuous contour drawing, Kris Trappeniers (Trappeniers, 2012, p.1).
Other art pieces are solely done using lines going across the form with a fixed beginning and end that creates the surface of the object called cross-contour (see figure 2). And lastly, a pure contour drawing is an outline of the object with clean edges that define the object - a vital skill for character animators (South, 2017, p.2), after which the details are added to develop the final character.
Figure 2 - Cross-contour hand drawing (Travis, 2013, p.1).
Gesture drawing, on the other hand, helps to explore the form and feeling of figures by drawing what you see in the most rapid movement (see figure 3). It employs expressive marks by means of creating direction, rhythm, points of tension and weight/depth of the subject (South, 2018, p.1).
Figure 3 - Line of Action (figures) for gesture drawing, example (Lemay, 2014, p.1).
How is contour and gesture drawing applied in animation (figure 4)?
Figure 4 - Contour and gesture drawing in animation, Gesture drawing for Animation by Walt Stanchfield (Brodie, n.d., p. 165)
Contour: Since contour drawing is a basic outline of a shape or form, it is often used in storyboarding and 2D character animation. As seen in figure 5, it is usually advisable to only draw the outlines of characters to depict pose and mood, shape and form, anatomy of the character, weight and depth, and line and silhouette (Brodie, n.d. pp. 155-157) because detailing is time consuming and unnecessary.
Figure 5 - Gesture drawing for Animation
by Walt Stanchfield (Brodie, n.d., p. 156)
Gesture: Gesture drawings are in fact the basis on which the contour is applied. This is because a gesture directs the perspective, points of tension, rhythm, depth and volume through arcs and stretches (see figure 6). Gesture drawings are most important for animation in order to build the right proportions and stretches (movement of characters).
Similarities and differences of contour and gesture drawings:
In my opinion, both forms of drawing involve movement, however, gesture drawings are grounded by the direction of the movement while contour drawings are subtler. Both drawings are foundational exercises for animation, nevertheless, contour drawings have a clear form and structure with precision and details on its finalized outline whereas gesture drawings are merely undefined rough/wavy lines that act as a skeleton for the draft.
Figure 6 - Line of Action, gestural
sketches (Contreras, 2014, p. 1).
Reflection:
Here is a small artwork I tried three years ago in which I implemented a cross-contour inspired style of drawing, with ball point pens, of the singer - Adele (fig.7). Although the lines are not parallel or drawn in perspective according to Amiria Gale in her article about Line Drawing: A Guide for Art Students, I believe that the patterns I used to develop this design do give it "the illusion of three-dimensional volume" (2018, p.1). I did not intend to copy or incorporate a style of art in this artwork, hence I wouldn't call it a cross-contour art piece. However, if seen critically, it does include subtle features of contour drawing such as outlines, lines going across the form to build a surface and a bit of one continuous line technique too - the fact that the lines are not straight but curvy gives it a more creative outlook.
Figure 7 - Portrait doodle sketch of singer, Adele (image owned by owner)
Usually, while thinking of compositional ideas, I draft my imaginational thoughts into gestural figures until I am satisfied and then draw a contour around it to finalize my overall layout and structure. However, my final piece tends to look quite different from my initial sketches as I build details and modifications along the way, or eliminate some details because I want to add in some creativity. Nevertheless, the video below by High School Lessons (2014) gives a critical tutorial on what contour drawing really is and how and why it is essential to "train the eye" to draw realistically at first.
(High School lessons, 2014) Example of how contour drawing of a hand is done and how it can stand as an independent piece of work.
References:
Brodie, L. (n.d.) Gesture drawing for Animation: Walt Stanchfield (pp. 155-157). Retrieved (2018,
February 19) from http://www.floobynooby.com/pdfs/gesturedrawingforanimation.pdf
Contreras, R. (2014, January 2). Comic Art reference Line of Action [illustration]. Retrieved
(2018, February 19) from http://comicbookgraphicdesign.com/comic-art-reference-line-action/comic-art-reference-line-action-2/
Felix, A. (2014, July 19). Experimental Photography and Illustration Work [photograph].
Retrieved (2018, February 19) from
Gale, A. (2018, January 12). Line Drawing: A Guide for Art Students. Retrieved (2018, February
22) from https://www.studentartguide.com/articles/line-drawings
High School Art Lessons. (2014, July 23). Contour Drawing: The hand [Video file]. Retrieved
(2018, February 19) from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4--9L6oIyk
Lemay, N. (2014). GRIZandNORM: Tuesday Tips -Line Of Action [illustration]. Retrieved (2018,
February 19) from http://animationtidbits.tumblr.com/post/90576443956/grizandnorm-tuesday-tips-line-of-action-the
South, H. (2017, October 18). Beginner Art and Drawing Lessons [blog post]. Retrieved (2018,
February 19) from https://www.thoughtco.com/beginner-art-and-drawing-lessons-4122136
South, H. (2017, October 22). Learn Contour Drawing With this Simple Exercise [blog post].
Retrieved (2018, February 19) from https://www.thoughtco.com/an-introduction-to-contour-drawing-1122539
South, H. (2018, January 10). Sketching 101: What is Gesture drawing? [Web blog post].
Retrieved (2018, February 19) from https://www.thoughtco.com/sketching-101-what-is-gesture-drawing-4125487
Trappeniers, K. (2012, August 7). Ink draw [artwork]. Retrieved (2018, February 19) from
Travis (2013, January 29). Cross Contour drawing: Assessment due Feb 5 [4th picture].
Retrieved (2018, February 19) from http://drawingincollege.blogspot.ae/2013/01/cross-contour-drawing.html
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