Gesture drawing is a great method of practice as it is a significant exercise that can help you fully grasp how to draw a body.
The practice of gesture drawing involves making a quick and simplified sketch of your subject matter (typically a human body).
When gesture drawing, you are trying to plot down the main elements of the figure in quick and simple linework to capture the general feel of the body and the pose you are trying to communicate.
This is very helpful in allowing you to get a feel for the flow of the body and how to visually communicate body language, gestures, and poses, in a very simplified manner.
To do gesture drawing, all you really need is a pen and paper, or maybe a drawing tablet or an Apple Pencil and iPad, and some sort of reference.
This can simply be an online reference image, or if you wanted to try gesture drawing the traditional way, you could use a live model—maybe even try to find a class to attend.
Then, all that’s left to do is start sketching the body as simply and quickly as you can, ignore specific details, and instead try to draw the flow and linework of the body.
Remember to give yourself a time limit, ranging from half an hour to under a minute.
As well as this, don’t use an eraser. Just let your pencil flow as you try to capture the essence of the body.
This time limit and lack of eraser will force you to really try and quickly plot down the main elements of the human form, making you more easily grasp any important details and therefore providing you with a better understanding of how to draw a body.