To my understanding, both gesture (how a character moves, the energy of a figure's movement or posture) and gestures (what a character does) are crucial to drawing for Animation. They say everything about character and story. I like to dip into a book of excerpts from Leonardo's prodigious notebooks.
Here is a quote from Leonardo Da Vinci on the subject:
'A picture or representation of human figures ought to be done in such a way that the spectator may easily recognise, by means of their attitudes, the purpose in their minds. Thus, if you have to represent a man of noble character, in the act of speaking, let his gestures by such as naturally accompany good words; and, in the same way, if you wish to represent a man of brutal nature, give him fierce movements; as with his arms flung out towards the listener, and his head and breast thrust forward beyond his feet, as if following the speaker's hands.'
