Hi! I Really Liked Your Last Tips With Shading And I Know It's Not Really Your Thing With Giving Tips.

Hi! I really liked your last tips with shading and I know it's not really your thing with giving tips. But do you think you have any tips for anatomy or posing? I just really like how you can draw different characters in different sizes and shapes .I absolutely love them.💙

It took me over a year to think about how to answer to this question, so sorry for the super late reply! 😅

Leaving the obvious “study anatomy” aside, a very useful tip is to base your characters on simple shapes (and don’t add too many details! You can do that later!)

This not only applies to body shape but can also be applied to faces! it’s a great way to draw different types of people!

But let’s move on to the pose. The secret is all in the line of action! It usually follows the spine and helps to make the pose more dynamic and less static. It’s more easy to see in creatures without legs or with a tail!

(For those who view the post through the tumblr app: the post continues, but for some mysterious reasons it can only be viewed on the PC or via your mobile browser. Sorry for the inconvenience. 🙄)

Another important element is the rhythm. Unfortunately it’s a concept that I can’t explain very well, so I’ll try to draw it. XD

See how in the left arm the lines alternate between straight and curved? This is an important element to give rhythm to the figure and support the line of action (which can also be seen in this arm)! Instead look at how stiff the arm on the right is with all these straight lines!

The line of action gives you a general direction, while the rhythm helps canalize it through the use of lines!

But let’s take an example. I will use this drawing I made in 2008. Look how horribly ugly stiff it is!

Let’s try to redraw it using the line of action and giving it some rhythm!

Much better! ✨

If you want to study in deep the topic of line of action and rhythm I recommend to look at Glen Kane’s art! 

Finally the best advice of all: save a lot of drawings by the artists you love the most and trace them. Let me be clear: DON’T POST THEM ANYWHERE. This is just an exercise! Trace them, but think well about each line you trace. Why was this arm put like this? Why is this pose so effective? Trace and analyze the line of action and the rhythm! 

Eventually you will notice how much your art will improve! ^^

I hope this will be helpful! ^^