[nt]

Hey how do you people come up with an action pose or actually any kind of pose when creating a character???

Cheers!

[Jamison]

I too am new to drawing the action pose, this link (http://www.antsin3d.com/loomis) was provided to me earier, it shows lots of different positions on how the body is positioned. it helped me alot; just thought i'd pass on the knowledge .

[nt]

Hey thanks Jamison! I checked it out and the pics looks super good! I'll need to start reading those pages right away!

[feebsaint]

I'll try to help, since there are no images posted here yet

The basics of action that I'm offering, simply cover breaking from straight-on, boring, blocky poses.

Actually, Straight on, blocky poses can be pretty damned cool, if you're going for a symmetrical design, and/or portraying the embodyment of solidity... but that's not what we're going for here, so I digress.

Here are the two images I just did, explanations immediately under each respective pic:

• The horizontal arrows in first (left) frame, are indicating the position of the hips and shoulders. The figure is drawn straight on, and nothing is happening.... zero action.
  
  
• The second (middle) frame shows mild action. The shoulders & hips are now in contra pasto, (sp?) where one goes up, the other goes down... like while walking the left arm swings forward, & naturally, the left leg is back... while the right side performs the opposite function, providing balance in motion. Also, I've pointed the figures head out and up. With contra pasto, the spine can not ...not bend. Man, that was an ugly explanation :P
  
  
• The third frame incorporates more movement, a pose -that while balanced- is not front-on, and is high action. Not only is there contra pasto in the shoulders/hips going up and down, but its present in the swiveling (twisting) of left hip forward, left shoulder back. I used alot of arrows here, because alot of things are happening. The back leg is foreshortening, the foreleg is coming at you (also foreshortening). The same thing is happening with the arms.

I hope this helped. Here is an example of incorporating it with a bit more detail:

• Here's an action shot (layout) of Santa Clause making sure there are no mice stirring on X-Mas eve. Like any good figure sketch, he's wearing his bvd's... so as not to permanently scar the impressionable youth.
  
  
• Notice the principles applied here... his right shoulder (our left) is up, while his right hip is down. Since he's leaping, I took the liberty of bending a couple of rules... normally the downward hip would tote a leg that was bending, while the upward hip would have a straighter limb. ... also both his left arm and leg are the most forward appendages... but it still works well, because the contra pasto of the shoulder/hip relationship provides the balance.

Again... hope this helps. I'd recommend (though I haven't really studied them), "Drawing Comics The Marvel Way," and "Dynamic Figure Drawing." (Hogarth)... as they cover these principles extensively... as do many other figure drawing books out there. I'm a particular fan of Andrew Loomis, but most of his stuff is out of print, but normally available in libraries (and can be bid on at ebay). I have 3 of his books, and recommend him above all others.

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~-Mike May-~

mikespencil.com

"I Draw Stuff"

[feebsaint]

Just thought you might be interested in the dicionary definition of my biggest outline in the point above... contra pasto. I could not find it at dictionary.com, but I did find the following:

quote:

---

1. con�tra�po�si�tion (kntr-p-zshn)
   n.
   
   An opposite position; antithesis.
   
2. contraposition \Con"tra*po*si"tion\, n. [Pref. contra- + position: cf. f. conterposition.] 1. A placing over against; opposite position. [Obs.] --F. Potter.
   
   2. (Logic) A so-called immediate inference which consists in denying the original subject of the contradictory predicate; e.g.: Every S is P; therefore, no Not-P is S.

---

------------------
~-Mike May-~

mikespencil.com

"I Draw Stuff"

[S4Sb]

Wow, thanks a lot Mike!

Hope you got time to do such things more often

[feebsaint]

S4Sb...

quote

Quote:

My response:



(I hope so, too)


------------------
~-Mike May-~

mikespencil.com

"I Draw Stuff"

[nt]

All I got to say is:
Thank You!

[tripclaw]

feebsaint: you just made my night! i was just trying to draw some action poses and couldnt get it right and almost gave up. but i come here and now i shall attempt again with my new knowledge.. thanks!