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tigrin In reply to jhubert [2007-12-05 21:39:32 +0000 UTC]

Cool, thanks

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jhubert In reply to tigrin [2007-12-05 23:28:03 +0000 UTC]

No problem.

Feel free to add any other good tutorials you know to the wiki as well - I've set permissions so that anyone can edit it.

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Kiverah In reply to ??? [2007-07-07 01:36:08 +0000 UTC]

That was very informative. Just the thing I was looking for. Thank you so much.

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Mutant-Despot In reply to ??? [2007-04-17 23:42:19 +0000 UTC]

Excellent tutorial. I'm going to have to read that a few more times to pick everything up.

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GalaxyGoddess In reply to ??? [2007-04-10 00:29:58 +0000 UTC]

Thank you.

This willl be very helpful in a drawing I'm working on ^.^

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TheRaptor-Wolfy In reply to ??? [2007-03-22 21:36:34 +0000 UTC]

I like this. But I wish that I could print it out... but for one I wouldn't want to offend you and two... it is being a real pain in the butt and my computer won't do it so I could print it. It has good ideas though, that I would like to have access to and I don't always get the internet.... so I wanted to print it so I could have something to look at. Sorry for talking so long...

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tigrin In reply to TheRaptor-Wolfy [2007-03-26 15:59:18 +0000 UTC]

uh, I might have the source file with the text or something... want me to try and find it?

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TheRaptor-Wolfy In reply to tigrin [2007-04-03 23:48:14 +0000 UTC]

Would you? That would be awesome, I really liked the turtorial.... If you can't find it that's fine.

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tigrin In reply to TheRaptor-Wolfy [2007-04-04 06:13:35 +0000 UTC]

It doesn't have any of the pictures, but....

Dynamic Posing tutorial-

This tutorial is going to cover the basics of bringing motion into a still image. I'm by no means the authority on this- I will suggest further readings at the end if you want really comprehensive information on this. This is just kind of what I consider to be the basics, based on what I've figured out and what I actually use in my own art. The information in this tutorial builds on previous information. Please try and read this tutorial from beginning to end - you'll just be confused if you skip.

The first and most important thing, before you begin, is to understand what is happening. Start out by answering these questions about your drawing-

1. Where is it taking place? Is it inside or outside? What is going on? Is the subject alone or are there other figures in the scene? What is the mood of the setting?
2. Who or what is the subject? What are they doing? How do they feel? What has the character JUST done and what are they going to do next?

That may seem like a lot to consider, but you should know pretty much everything about the image before you begin. Of all the questions above, probably the most important, when it comes to your character, is the last. This is "destination", one of the basic principles of acting. You need to know how their previous motion affects the pose you are capturing, and how it will lead into their next movement.

The next thing you should keep in mind is line. A drawing is basically a combination of lines. Lines are important for coming up with the best composition for your image, as well as for conveying the right attitude in your subject. What are the basic types of lines?

Horizontal and Vertical- Pretty basic. Horizontal lines go side to side (180 degrees), vertical lines go up and down (90 degrees). These lines are very stable and generally indicate something that is still or taking a lot of weight, since weight travels easily through straight lines. I will cover weight and how its movement affects a pose later in the tutorial.

Diagonal- Diagonal lines are straight like horizontal and vertical lines, but can travel in any direction (any degree but 180 or 90). They indicate movement and a transfer of weight.

Curve- Curved lines are actually thousands of straight lines put together. Curves indicate a smooth flow of movement and weight.

Again, a drawing is a combination of all of these types of lines. To make your figures appear to have dynamic movement, you have to understand how to best combine the different types.

For example:

(straight drawing) - Here is a basic line drawing of a furrecat, composed entirely of horizontal and vertical lines. Boring, right? The straight lines don't give the pose much interest. Your eyes flow straight across the lines, easily reading over the pose. It is stiff and lifeless. This may work for character designs, but the mechanical precision will make your illustrations appear very contrived.

(diagonal drawing) - Let's take it up a notch. The diagonal lines start to bring in weight and movement. Though he's a stick figure, this guy isn't a feather weight. Imagine the mass on top of and around the lines, and how they weigh down. If the figure is in motion, imagine where the most weight is being placed, and what directions it's being transferred. This figure is standing still, but gravity is still weighing down on him, There is motion in the weight balancing in the body. The diagonal lines give you a sense of this motion. You could stop here, but I still find this figure to be too tense. The motion should have a little more flow to it.

(curvy drawing) - Here, I've used curves to follow the flow of the forms. The main line, going down the spine, flows down the curve of the neck, through the downward curve of the ribcage, and up over the curve of the hips, arching into the tail. The curvy lines give the figure an elegant flow, as well as indicate weight and form. The curve I use the most is the "S" curve. Arcs indicate a whip movement, and have both flow and dynamism (yes, that is a word). Arcs are the basis of animated movement, since most movements are done in arcs - try moving your arm without part of it arcing somewhere (if you want an indication of how bored I am, I just tried this for ten minutes in my school courtyard).

Even with the curves, this pose is still pretty boring. This is where you can really have fun. Twist those lines around. Really throw the weight around the form. Be creative.

Your figure does not have to be in motion in order to look like it's moving. Here is a drawing I did of Tigrin in kind of a generic, dynamic pose. I figure, right before this pose, he might have been running up to this spot. He stops, brings his head up and back. His tail follows his previous motion. Right now, most of the weight is being thrown into his front legs, which are planted at diagonal angles to take the tension. The momentum travels heavily into his front legs, then flows back into his back legs. The back legs are also planted firmly at diagonals to push the momentum back up into the body and balance it out. Notice how the figure is at rest, but you still get all this information about how the weight is moving in the body. Weight and its flow are extremely important to making a figure seem dimensional and real. I've drawn lines to show how I see the flow of the pose. Your typical eye path begins at the top left. Your eye then flows down the curve of his neck. The stop throws it back along the curve of the spine. Gravity brings you down the curve into the curve of the tail. The tail throws your eye around and forward into the weight in the front legs. The diagonal lines throw you back up against the spine, down into the legs, then back up to the upper left.

Seems pretty complicated, doesn't it? Again, this is something I eventually learned on my own through a lot of observation and analysis. With practice, it'll work its way into your mind. If you want to practice analyzing how weight flows around a form, try looking up stock photos. I have a whole folder of figures. Here's one:

Hehe... yeah anyway. So here is a human figure frozen in the middle of an action, apparently some kind of dance. You can imagine he has just thrown his arms back and leaned on his left leg, and is about to push off that leg. You can tell that leg is taking weight because it is a straight diagonal. This allows the weight to flow easily down to the ground. His body curves down towards that leg, emphasizing the abrupt stop in motion as well as the momentum going into the leg. The uplifted arms highlight the upper body being thrown upwards, as the lower body turns downwards. The angle of the left leg leads you up into the curve of the body, again showing how the weight is being thrown into that right leg.

Your figure does not have to be on the ground in order to have dynamic movement. The flow of the weight is still important, but not as important as the flow of the lines and forms. Here is another stock photo. Imagine this girl has just jumped into the air and twisted around, and is about to twist back. I notice right away that this pose has a very prominent and twisted S curve. The line curves down along the ribcage, and whips around into the legs, twisting again down into the lower legs. This pose is also a good example for my next point: twisting forms. The way the figure is twisted, with the upper and lower body being forced to face opposite directions, creates tension. This gives the form a feeling of dynamic movement. The way she also has her arms going different directions is another clever way to show tension and opposing forces.

Twisted forms can bring dynamic movement to even relatively static poses. I noticed twisting form for the first time in my cat, Frodo. For some reason he likes to lay on his back with his upper and lower body in opposite directions. Analyzing the forms and lines underneath, I see how the body is being twisted along the spine. Although he's lying still, he looks like he's making a dramatic leap through the air from the way his body is twisting.

If you apply all these principles together, you can create poses that are not only more dynamic, but more expressive as well. I will cover expressions and body language more thoroughly in a separate tutorial. Keep in mind that facial expressions aren't everything. The pose says a lot about what the character is thinking and feeling. To get an idea of what the pose is communicating, try blocking the character in entirely with black, creating a silhouette. The silhouette should give you most of the information about what the character is doing and expressing. For example:

- This furrecat has an angry expression. The drawing alone would give you a basic idea of what the character is feeling. However, if you black in the pose:
You see that the pose doesn't give a whole lot of information about the character. The figure is calm and at rest. It contradicts what the face is trying to say.

- This furrecat is expressive both in face and pose. The pose combines diagonal and curved lines to indicate movement. The way the lines and forms are cramped together show how much tension is in the body. If you black in the pose, you can still see this tension. The expression on the face is also more extreme, so you can see the snarl even in the silhouette. Unlike the previous drawing, this furrecat's pose has attitude.

I won't go too deeply into how to use line to create eye path in a composition. However, when you have more than one figure in a picture, you should be aware of how their movements interact with each other. A sure way to make your picture monotonous is to have all the characters in the same pose. I once saw a painting of dozens of all horses in the same position of a gallop. This just doesn't happen. If you want the figures to work dynamically together and have a real sense of movement, vary the poses and positions of the other figures. If the figures are interacting, alter the flow of the lines in a way that they will lead the eye around into each other. This will give help the figures seem like they belong together and balance while being visually dynamic.

I once heard that art is pushing something as much as possible without pushing it too far. Creating dynamic poses is kind of like this. Push everything as much as possible, but not so much that it contradicts what you're trying to communicate.

In summary:
- Know what you're trying to communicate.
- Know where the action came from and where it's going.
- Use horizontal, vertical, diagonal, and curved lines in a combination that best describes the movement and attitude. Know what kind of flow these create and how they create eye path.
- Be aware of the flow of weight and how this affects form and movement.
- Know what silhouette the pose is creating and decide which pose will best communicate the attitude and action of the character.
- Be aware of how the lines of the pose interact with the environment and composition, as well as any other figures in the same scene.

Hope this tutorial was of some help. Again, this is just how I do things. I think too much, maybe. Really, this just takes a lot of practice and experimentation on your own time. The best way to learn is through experimenting! If you don't take risks and learn from your mistakes, you won't advance. Live a little.

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TheRaptor-Wolfy In reply to tigrin [2007-04-16 23:23:42 +0000 UTC]

Thanks!

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kurainoryu In reply to ??? [2006-09-08 06:08:44 +0000 UTC]

This is was really helpful! Now I can make my characters interesting! Domo Arigatou!! T_T

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Islandzadi In reply to ??? [2006-09-07 05:39:16 +0000 UTC]

*eeps* Great tutorial! I often forget the fundimentals...

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SirLadySketch In reply to ??? [2005-11-15 21:16:03 +0000 UTC]

This is really helpful!! Thank you for posting it!

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