In the last thread, I shared about color. Now, I want to share a new one.
What is a good pose in art?
Or
Why am I struggling to draw a pose?
A good pose is always telling a story. Pose is a narrative device in visual language, especially for character design.
We know a personality, a trait, or a story with a pose.
Analyze these poses.
Are those good poses?
You maybe know what the purpose of the pose is, shy or timid.
However, what happens if we see the silhouette of the pose?
Those poses aren't failed. However, they are still weak.
It lacks readability. It lacks NEGATIVE SPACE.
The first pose can be read not as timid anymore; it can be angry.
The second pose's right hand can be read at the back of the body.
Which area makes these poses weak?
Arms.
A lot of poses are weak because the silhouette of the pose can't tell the story. At the arms, there isn't any negative space, which makes the pose unreadable.
Some artists love to glue their hands to their ribs, belly, or behind. However, they forget about the elbow. The elbow needs to flare out from the body a little bit. It will create a triangle gap of negative space between the arm and the waist, which is powerful for storytelling.
So I created this, basically this is one character, but I created three different personalities.
I think what I have created represents each personality of the character.
Confident, Timid, and Carefree.
However, the timid pose, I am not actually proud. The best way to draw a timid pose isn't from a front view, but a 3/4 view, like carefree, because a lot of shy/timid poses, their hands are always in front of the body. Even with the elbow out from the body, the pose is still weak. I need to recreate it again.
If your character silhouette isn't working, you can adjust the pose, or you can adjust the camera angle. Like my own pose, a timid pose is hard to draw because their hands are always in front of the body, which shows how scared the character is as they want to become small. Secondly knees of a timid person are also the knees that bend like trying get down a little bit. So that pose isn't fully working; potentially, it will work if I rotate 45 degrees.
A great pose is about the readability of the pose. How do I make a pose then?
There is a way to make a pose.
It called
LINE OF ACTION.
It's a single imaginary line of the body that runs through the axis of the character's body.
There are three types of lines of action.
- The C Line
This is the simplest curve. It creates a clear direction of motion like a character hunching forward, reaching up, or arching back. Like your character makes a single motion. Usually, this line is for a strong, confident, or natural pose.
- The S Line
This is more complex and implies a change in direction of movement. It adds grace and rhythm to the body. Usually, this line is for elegant and feminine people.
- The I Line
Avoid using the I Line.
There is a simple rule in drawing poses or creating poses. The feet is forbid to be at the same angle. Even if your leg is rigid like "I" line, you need to rotate the feet, like opening to the outside.
As in real life, when we stand, we rarely distribute weight 50/50 on both legs. We shift to one side, causing one hip to rise and the other to drop. This naturally breaks the "I" line and creates angles in the legs. If you are waiting for somebody, you aren't standing rigid like "I", you sometimes open a little bit of your feet. Your feet aren't perfectly symmetrical, like toes pointing forward, or heels aligned. So with this, it will make your pose a little bit more "C" line.
Line of action is a tool to make your pose asymmetrical.
After that, you can add three lines of Contrapposto or Counter Pose at the head, shoulder, and hips.
These three lines must oppose each other. If the head's line is tilted to the left, the shoulder's line needs to tilt to the right, and the hip's line needs to tilt to the left.
As you can see, the sketch poses I created in the middle one failed because there isn't any counter pose, resulting in a stiff, 'stacked' appearance. To fix this, even in a shy pose, I need to drop one hip and tilt the shoulders in opposition, or rotate the body to break the symmetry.
How about we check without the arm and the hair?
Without any arms and hair, the pose still conveys the personality and trait of the character, except for the middle.
This is why the Line of Action and the Counter Pose are the best tools for you to draw a pose.
This is why Silhouette tells you the Why, it reveals and shows that the pose is weak or unreadable. Line of Action and Counter Pose tell you the How; they are the tools you use to fix it.
Basically, if you want to adjust the pose without rotating the body or changing the angle, it's hard. You can focus on the three lines of counter pose: head, shoulder, and hips.
A great pose is usually around SILHOUETTE, LINE OF ACTION, and COUNTER POSE.
Even when your character is standing still, you still need to make the character balance.
What is a good pose in art?
Or
Why am I struggling to draw a pose?
A good pose is always telling a story. Pose is a narrative device in visual language, especially for character design.
We know a personality, a trait, or a story with a pose.
Analyze these poses.
Are those good poses?
You maybe know what the purpose of the pose is, shy or timid.
However, what happens if we see the silhouette of the pose?
Those poses aren't failed. However, they are still weak.
It lacks readability. It lacks NEGATIVE SPACE.
The first pose can be read not as timid anymore; it can be angry.
The second pose's right hand can be read at the back of the body.
Which area makes these poses weak?
Arms.
A lot of poses are weak because the silhouette of the pose can't tell the story. At the arms, there isn't any negative space, which makes the pose unreadable.
Some artists love to glue their hands to their ribs, belly, or behind. However, they forget about the elbow. The elbow needs to flare out from the body a little bit. It will create a triangle gap of negative space between the arm and the waist, which is powerful for storytelling.
So I created this, basically this is one character, but I created three different personalities.
I think what I have created represents each personality of the character.
Confident, Timid, and Carefree.
However, the timid pose, I am not actually proud. The best way to draw a timid pose isn't from a front view, but a 3/4 view, like carefree, because a lot of shy/timid poses, their hands are always in front of the body. Even with the elbow out from the body, the pose is still weak. I need to recreate it again.
If your character silhouette isn't working, you can adjust the pose, or you can adjust the camera angle. Like my own pose, a timid pose is hard to draw because their hands are always in front of the body, which shows how scared the character is as they want to become small. Secondly knees of a timid person are also the knees that bend like trying get down a little bit. So that pose isn't fully working; potentially, it will work if I rotate 45 degrees.
A great pose is about the readability of the pose. How do I make a pose then?
There is a way to make a pose.
It called
LINE OF ACTION.
It's a single imaginary line of the body that runs through the axis of the character's body.
There are three types of lines of action.
- The C Line
This is the simplest curve. It creates a clear direction of motion like a character hunching forward, reaching up, or arching back. Like your character makes a single motion. Usually, this line is for a strong, confident, or natural pose.
- The S Line
This is more complex and implies a change in direction of movement. It adds grace and rhythm to the body. Usually, this line is for elegant and feminine people.
- The I Line
Avoid using the I Line.
There is a simple rule in drawing poses or creating poses. The feet is forbid to be at the same angle. Even if your leg is rigid like "I" line, you need to rotate the feet, like opening to the outside.
As in real life, when we stand, we rarely distribute weight 50/50 on both legs. We shift to one side, causing one hip to rise and the other to drop. This naturally breaks the "I" line and creates angles in the legs. If you are waiting for somebody, you aren't standing rigid like "I", you sometimes open a little bit of your feet. Your feet aren't perfectly symmetrical, like toes pointing forward, or heels aligned. So with this, it will make your pose a little bit more "C" line.
Line of action is a tool to make your pose asymmetrical.
After that, you can add three lines of Contrapposto or Counter Pose at the head, shoulder, and hips.
These three lines must oppose each other. If the head's line is tilted to the left, the shoulder's line needs to tilt to the right, and the hip's line needs to tilt to the left.
As you can see, the sketch poses I created in the middle one failed because there isn't any counter pose, resulting in a stiff, 'stacked' appearance. To fix this, even in a shy pose, I need to drop one hip and tilt the shoulders in opposition, or rotate the body to break the symmetry.
How about we check without the arm and the hair?
Without any arms and hair, the pose still conveys the personality and trait of the character, except for the middle.
This is why the Line of Action and the Counter Pose are the best tools for you to draw a pose.
This is why Silhouette tells you the Why, it reveals and shows that the pose is weak or unreadable. Line of Action and Counter Pose tell you the How; they are the tools you use to fix it.
Basically, if you want to adjust the pose without rotating the body or changing the angle, it's hard. You can focus on the three lines of counter pose: head, shoulder, and hips.
A great pose is usually around SILHOUETTE, LINE OF ACTION, and COUNTER POSE.
Even when your character is standing still, you still need to make the character balance.