These Challenges are derived from Michael D. Mattesi's textbook called Force: Dynamic Life Drawing for Animators.
Take the whole Textbook Challenge page-by-page, idea by idea!
1. Line Quality Challenge - Use variety in your line quality to express movement and the force of the pose. Pages 3 and 4
2. One Story Challenge – Draw small and think big. View and capture a pose as one story. Page 5
3. Directional Force Challenge – Draw and emphasize directional force curves (convex or concave) that best show the force of the pose. Page 8
4. Applied Force Challenge – Draw an arrow or arrows showing the direction(s) of the force applied to the pose. Page 15
5. Leading Edge Challenge – Clearly indicate the leading edge of the pose.
Page 17
6. Rhythm Challenge – Emphasize rhythm to show the interplay of forces in the pose. Page 23
7. Balance Challenge – Emphasize the balance of the pose showing the position of the legs and space between the model’s feet on the ground in relation to the upper body. Page 36
8. Angles Perspective Challenge – Accentuate angles to show the perspective aspects most important to the pose. Page 57
9. Box Challenge – Draw a perspective box in relation to the pose and the position of the model in relation to you, the artist. Page 57 – 59
10. Eye Level Challenge – Draw the model in a way that clearly indicates the eye level of the viewer. Page 61
11. Feet in Perspective Challenge – Draw and emphasize the relationship of the model’s feet in relation to the pose. Page 62 and 64
12. Blind Flight Challenge – Draw the model’s force and landscape quickly without looking at your paper. Page 68
13. Release your ego Challenge – Adapt a technique that you think is effective from a fellow student. Page 68
14. Semi-Blind Flight Challenge – Trust the force Luke. Look at your drawing only once every 30 seconds in a 2-minute pose. Page 68-72
15. Sculpting the Force Challenge – Address large structures first then smaller ones feeling the forms in your mind as you draw. Page 72-73
16. Overlap Challenge – Accentuate overlapping forms to show spatial aspects most important to the pose. Page 82 and 87
17. Centerline challenge – Accentuate the curve of the spine. Page 83
18. Anatomy Force Challenge – Heighten the importance of a specific anatomical structure in the pose. Pages 84-86
19. Foreshortening Challenge – Force more space in your drawings by exaggerating the foreshortening in the pose. Page 88 – 94
20. Silhouette Challenge – Accentuate the figure as a positive shape in the negative space of your drawing. Page 98-101
21. Appeal Challenge – Emphasize the appeal of a character through your drawing of the pose. Page 104
22. Oblique Force Challenge – Show how force moves obliquely through the body in a pose. Page 105
23. Straight to Curve Challenge – Show how the curve is the energy that moves through the body while the straight helps give structure. Pages 106-114
24. Hard and Soft Challenge – Show the hard bone and soft muscle forms that are important to the pose. Pages 119-120
25. Asymmetry Challenge – Show the unique opposing asymmetrical forces of the muscles in the limbs important to the pose. Page 120-124
26. Reaction – Leap of Faith Challenge – Fearlessly go after the concept and feeling of the pose. Page 127-136
27. Combination Challenge – Strategically use combinations of challenges as you draw the model. Label the different challenges/techniques as you see on pages 137-139.
28. Clothing Material Challenge – Indicate the texture, softness, hardness, thickness, thinness by wrinkles and folds of the fabric on the model. Pages 143-150
29. Cloth around form Challenge – Show how the force and structure of the clothing relates to the force of the pose. Page 150-159
30. Fabric and gravity Challenge – Emphasize where the clothing falls from, flows, or wraps around forms of the figure. Page 154-163
31. Clothing Character Challenge – Emphasize the relationship of the figure and pose to its costume in describing a character. Pages 165-168
32. Intuition on Location Challenge – Write down what you think your model is expressing as a caption to your on-location gesture drawings. Page 169
33. Staging Challenge – Indicate the relation of the model to something else. Show the posture of the person in relation to an object. Page 173=175
34. Multiple moments Challenge – Draw a person in multiple moments in an activity to capture more personality. Pages 176-181
35. Relationship Challenge – Capture the interplay and directional forces between 2 or more figures. Pages 182-188
36. Crowds Challenge – Depict the general shape of a crowd, then break it down into the most important individuals. Pages 188 -192
37. Comparative Anatomy Challenge – Draw animals in relation to humans. Page 194-199
38. The Whole Dog/Cat Challenge – Draw small drawings of dog’s or cat’s body as a whole. Page 200 -204
39. Zoo Challenge – Draw as many distinct animals as you can during a visit to the zoo noting the differences between plantigrades, digitigrades, unguligrdades, primates and birds. Pages 205-222