Drawing moving figures or a changing scene can be extremely challenging.  A large part of that challenge, however, is your own conception of the purpose.  By taking a step back from trying to pin the action down to a static conclusion, and instead making a drawing which is a record of the movement and action itself, we can begin to reflect on how to balance movement and form to create a dynamic image.

First of all I sat in a busy shopping centre where I could watch people walking to and from the exit and I tried to make quick sketches of them.  My sketches were all static images with no sense of movement in them at all.

A5 sketchbook with black drawing pen

I then sat at my laptop and watched videos of busy street scenes.  I tried drawing with water-soluble ink then added a little water and this helped a little, the blurred shadow implied a little movement.  Also the use of linear perspective implies that the figures are moving from the foreground to the distance.

A3 sketch book with black soluble drawing pen

I thought about what the brief said about ‘making a drawing which is a record of the movement’.  This made me think of photographs of moving cars where the head lights create light trails and these certainly imply movement.  I looked at some images on my laptop and made a quick sketch of light trails.

A4 black sketch book with soft pastels

I thought some more about shadows and looked at some photos of crowds of people on-line.  Joining the shadows together makes your eyes follow the line of people and this implies movement, although not at a fast pace.

A3 sketch book with black sharpie

I played about in my sketch book some more, thinking about faster movement.

A3 sketch book, various drawing pens

I tried another with fine drawing pen.

Finally I just went for a feeling of fast movement in a wandering line.

Reflection

The final piece does, I think, portray a sense of motion, not necessarily of people; it could be traffic or a river even.  Looking at all the pieces together I think I prefer the one below, out of all of them.

It depicts people, and implies that they are walking.  The two figures at the bottom cut off at the edge look as if they are walking into the composition.  The scribbles at the top aren’t even definable as people but I think it still looks like a line moving forward.  The white paper with no drawn ground etc makes it more abstract and the contrast between black and white adds drama.  The more I look at it, the more I like it.