# Expressive Gesture Drawing and Portraiture | Domestika

> A course by Graceina Samosir · Illustration · Beginner
> 20 lessons (4h 21m) · 95% of the 56 student ratings are positive

“I want people to be captivated by the infinite possibilities of drawing and to explore their life, relationships, and community,”

Graceina Samosir is a professional artist whose work has appeared in magazines such as _Art House Press_, _El Malpensante_, and _InCorrecto_. Her illustrations and paintings have also been showcased in multiple exhibitions, including a solo exhibition in 2018.

In this online course, Graceina shows you how to create a collage filled with rich lines, tones, and character. Study themes like self-portraiture and the human form, and learn to use brush pens, charcoal pencils, and chalk pastels to develop captivating drawings, before transposing them into a unique digital collage in Photoshop

## Who is this online course for?

This course is for anyone who is enthusiastic about drawing.

## What is this course's project?

Develop a series of drawings using different techniques and materials, and transpose them into a digital collage in Photoshop.

## Requirements and materials

You only need basic drawing skills to take this course.

In terms of materials, you will need drawing tools specified by Graceina in the course, and access to Adobe Photoshop.

## Content

### Introduction

Hey! Welcome to this Domestika course and thanks for joining me.

In this unit, I will share with you a little about myself, my background, and my personal values, as well as some of my favorite artists.

### Preparation

Now that we're acquainted, I will go through my most frequently used materials, including graphite pencils, brush pens, chalk pastels, and different types of paper. I will also show you some of my recent drawings—like my ink and wax pencils drawings—and present to you my references. You will see the pictures that I will be using throughout this course. 

To conclude this unit, I will guide you through some warm-up exercises that will reinforce the skill of mark-making. Then, you will assemble your own reference bank of images.

### Prompts

With the preparations in place, it's time to learn how to draw different subject matter! For the purpose of this course, let's call them prompts. 

In this unit, I will guide you in drawing the human form with a charcoal pencil. Then we will pick up our brush pens and chalk pastels to draw a self-portrait, a scene composed of multiple characters, and an activity that portrays movement. 

To draw the human figure, I will go over techniques to generate loose, gestural lines. For the self-portrait, we will cover principles like value and tone. Afterward, I will briefly touch upon the rules of perspective while drawing a scene. Finally, you will learn how to utilize color and repetition to convey movement and abstraction as we draw an activity.

### The Collage

In this unit, I will demonstrate how I combine everything I've made so far to create a collage. How? First, I will gather all the individual drawings. I will scan them, digitize them, and archive them accordingly. 

Then, I will make minor edits and merge them in Photoshop. I will come up with a couple of compositions and then select the one I like the most. Finally, I will share them on various social media platforms, including Domestika. This will serve as a guideline to help construct your own collage for your final task.

## Audio and subtitles

**Audio:** English

**Subtitles:** Spanish, English, Portuguese, German, French, Italian, Polish, Dutch, Turkish, ro, id

[Expressive Gesture Drawing and Portraiture](https://www.domestika.org/en/courses/4700-expressive-gesture-drawing-and-portraiture)