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Why do artists create them?

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Let's break it down...

A gesture drawing is a quick, loose drawing in which an artist attempts to capture the subject as a whole. Since gesture drawings are rapidly made, they typically consist of an overall impression of the subject and do not include any fine details. Why do you think artists create gesture drawings? Try to guess by looking at these images. Then click on them to see if you are correct!

Warm Up
Artists often use gesture drawings as a way to warm up before beginning to work on more time-consuming work. It is a great way to get into the artistic mindset, relax your hands, and get into the proper posture for working. Gesture drawings allow you to adjust your surroundings if needed without interrupting your work.

Improve Hand-Eye Coordination
Gesture drawings force the artist to concentrate on what they see and do not allow them to look down much. This helps improve their hand-eye coordination and increases their ability to observe their subjects realistically.

Plan
Many artists use gesture drawings to quickly lay out the composition for an artwork. This allows them to position their subject(s), think about whether or not their composition works well, and change any aspects that need to be changed without losing a lot of work time.

Gesture drawings have many uses for established artists, but they are even more useful to beginners. Many beginning artists struggle with getting too involved with the details of their subject, which can make a drawing difficult. Gesture drawing forces you to see the basic shapes of your subject before going in with details. It also helps you practice taking in the whole subject instead of just focusing on one area.