Why Do My Poses Look Stiff? 5 Things to Check First

Peeps, have you ever spent a bunch of time drawing a character, added all the details, and then looked at it and thought, "Why does this pose still feel stiff?"

I see this a lot. Before worrying about muscles, clothes or linework, let's check the structure underneath.

1. Check the rib cage and pelvis

These are two of the biggest masses in the body. Look at their tilt and rotation. Are they reacting to each other, or do they feel like separate pieces?

2. Decide where the weight is going

If your character is standing, which leg supports the body? Your hips, shoulders and supporting leg all respond to that choice.

3. Find the connections

Instead of attaching the limbs wherever they look right, identify where the shoulders and hips actually connect to the torso.

4. Let forms overlap

When parts of the body move closer to you, they overlap the forms behind them. Try it with spheres and cylinders first.

5. Read the silhouette

Can you understand the pose before adding the details? If not, adjust the big forms first.

A little exercise

Draw one pose using only the rib cage, pelvis and simple limbs. Now redraw it with a different weight shift and tilt. Notice how much changes without adding a single muscle.

Wanna give this a try? Grab my free drawing lesson below and practice along with me!

WATCH THE LESSON

Happy drawing, peeps!

Rod