The term "gesture drawing" means somewhat different things to different people, but the defining characteristics are that the drawing is done quickly and that its purpose is to capture the essence of subject, rather than to present a realistic rendering of details. Gesture drawing is often thought of as a pedagogical tool--it is hard to imagine an art school that does not have at least one classroom packed with students trying to capture 30-second timed poses--but it also has many practical purposes.
Why bother with drawing something in a time period so frustratingly short? Gesture drawings are an excellent method of studying humans and animals in motion. They can help artists better understand the exertions of muscles, the effects of twisting on the body, and the natural range of motion in the joints. They help artists to place emphasis on movement, action, and direction, which can be overlooked during a long drawing.
Regular gesture drawing can be a fantastic way to increase your artistic skill. I recommend you start every day with at least five minutes of 30 second gesture drawings. Or, use it as a warm up to a longer work session. You will be amazed at the difference it makes.
Generally sketching is not meant to be a precise and exact representation of the object. It is simply a way of capturing the essence of a scene.
Gesture Drawing is a perfect example of this. This type of sketching is basically capturing the movement of the subject quickly before the moment is gone. This can mean drawing the subjects as simply as possible, avoiding any details and just laying down the simple shapes.
Croquis is another exampel and by far the best training for an artist, it requires a skill for proportions and composition. As humans we all have a sense for the human body; even if you are not artistically trained, you will recognize a sketch that depicts a model correctly.Gesture drawings are works of art created in an extremely short amount of time, traditionally 30 seconds -- and certainly no more than two mintues.
http://pixelovely.com/tools/gesture.html
