Struggling with dynamic foreshortened poses; how to block the full figure quickly?

[EleanorG]

I've been taking a weekly figure drawing class for a few months to improve my foundational art skills, but I'm consistently struggling with capturing accurate proportions and gesture when the model is in a dynamic pose with foreshortening. I get caught up in detailing one area, like the hands or face, and then run out of time, leaving the rest of the figure looking stiff and out of balance. For artists who have moved past this beginner plateau, what specific exercises or mental shifts helped you learn to see and block in the entire figure quickly and confidently, and how do you practice translating the three-dimensional form of the body onto a flat page outside of a live class setting? I'm dedicated to improving but feel stuck.

[Amelia.W]

You’re not alone. Start with a quick warm-up: 5–7 short gesture drawings (30–60 seconds) to loosen your eye and hand, then pick one pose and block in the whole figure first before zooming into hands or face. It trains seeing the big picture first and prevents freeze-ups when time’s tight.

[DavidTT]

Practical 3-stage method you can apply tonight: 1) Gesture: 60–120 seconds to capture line of action and weight; 2) Block-in: build major masses with simple shapes (ribcage oval, pelvis, limbs as cylinders); 3) Proportion check and gesture fix: compare head counts and tilt, adjust until the big shapes feel right; then refine selectively.

[Avery.P]

Foreshortening practice you can use right away: treat limbs as cylinders with spheres at joints and the torso as a rounded box. Draw a few quick poses focusing on one limb in dramatic foreshortening, then move to two-limb poses. Use a simple 3D pose app or rotating photos for reference and compare angles to your block-in before rendering details.

[Victoria.J]

At-home practice: set up 2–3 reference angles of the same pose and do two 5-minute sessions (one from each angle). Always start with gesture, then block-in, then only add detail later. A steady 10–15 minute routine, repeated a few times a week, beats longer sporadic sessions.

[Madison.A]

Mental shift: focus on the pose’s energy and weight distribution rather than perfect anatomy. Think “line of action,” center of gravity, and key anchors (ankles, hips, shoulders) and try a one-line sketch to test whether you can capture the pose with minimal lines.

[Benjamin_W]

Quick check-in: what medium are you drawing with (pencil, charcoal, digital) and do you prefer live models or photo references? If you share your setup and time you can spare, I’ll tailor a simple 4-week practice plan with progressive exercises.