You feel as if your drawings are lacking some fire to make them stand out? Do you get a flat impression from your action scenes?
If you’re a beginner artist struggling on how to draw badass poses, I am about to share something that might be just right for you!
With it, you will quickly learn how to sketch and draw badass poses for your manga, comics, animation, or any other projects.
This simple trick will definitely help you craft eye-catching character sketches.
The Problem with the front “Presentation” Poses
Usually, when we start drawing our character from the front, we tend to make the character stand straight. We can call that a “presentation” pose. These poses are okay, but they’re not very exciting. In short, they lack the ingredients that grab the viewer’s attention.
So, how do you make your poses more energetic and dynamic?
Action is Key for your Dynamic Poses
In general, it is while you are doing something that your body creates a dynamic pose.
Naturally, you can observe interesting poses when someone is running, walking, jumping, etc..
Because for some reason, our eyes find it pleasing or let’s just say “interesting” to watch a body in movement. And without effort, the eye will detect interesting shapes from these actions. These data collected by your eyes are going to help you get how to draw badass poses.
I genuinely believe that it takes root from when humans were living in the wild and it was vital to notice anything in movement in order to prevent any potential danger.
Well, who knows?..
So with that X-Circle, its lines will help you capture these shapes without much effort.
Use them as a guide to draw your character.
I usually use the X for the main direction of movement. And the outline of the circle helps you strategically place the body around to emphasize “a movement” to the eye.
Use the X-Circle Method!
So, in order to overcome that little struggle, I use the X-Circle Method.
And what is the X-Circle Method exactly? – you might ask me.
Actually, nothing.
It is something that I totally made up iN ORDER TO HELP YOU understand what is visually pleasing to the eyes, and how you will be able to catch the eyes of the viewer by making cool poses within very few steps!
Yeah I know, I’m too kind for this world 😌
Keep in mind that the appeal aspect of your drawing is something very important in animation.
There will be a post (or more) about that fundamental principle later.
Now, quickly go through the following steps to get ready to sketch:
- Draw a circle.
This circle will help with its arcs to draw your cool pose.
- Cut the circle into four equal parts with a cross.
Do it by drawing a vertical line and a horizontal line through the middle of the circle.
- Turn them into diagonals.
Flip the circle 45° in order to get an “X”.
Your circle should now look like the well known X-Men logo 😉
These diagonals and the circle outlines will serve as guides in order to draw your character in action.
So, now let me explain to you how that trick works, so that you can create dynamic poses with it.
How does it actually work?
Use the circle and the X as your base in order to build any pose around them.
This will force you to think about how the body moves during your desired action.
After a while, you will get used to it and your brain will start to see these shapes naturally in manga, comics, animation, in other people’s art, in sport, and actually a bit everywhere.
Even though artists don’t necessarily draw a circle and X for their characters’ dynamic poses, you will be able to notice the circle in their artworks as well.
I made up that trick to help you understand and recreate dynamic movement yourself.
Energize Your Poses!
Now you are able to sketch and make any pose more interesting!
Using that trick will make people want to look at your work longer. Even if your character is standing still, it will be felt full of energy !
Practice! Practice! Practice this method!
And soon, you’ll be drawing dynamic poses without even thinking about it!
Tips to Remember
- The X-Circle is a guide. Don’t be afraid to go outside it and experiment.
- Think about action. What is your character doing?
- Look & study other people’s art. See how other artists make their dynamic poses.
Final Thoughts
This tip on how to draw badass poses is not science proven, but it’s just something that works so far, for almost any dynamic poses.
Think of it as a starting point. You are warmly encouraged to experiment so that you can find what works for you along your journey.
Use this trick as the base for your daily sketches and see your art improve in no time!
Tell me,
what’s you trick to draw your character in interesting pose?
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Click here to enjoy the YouTube video I made about this topic:
