Hello! In this tutorial, I'm going to show you some useful considerations and tools you can use to update your pose designs.

Designing a Pose

This is one of the best ways to convey a character's personality and attitude. Before I start drawing, I like to ask myself: What aspect of this character do I want to show through the pose? This aspect can be a personality trait, an emotion, a situation they are in, or a body trait... or all at once! Let's look at some simple examples:

1) Pose to show a personality trait:

In this case, I think the pose and gesture help interpret the character as something mischievous and playful. They leap cheerfully into battle and those characteristics can be seen in their pose. This type of drawing requires you to take into account the entire character design and their personality, so you can imagine HOW that particular character will move.

2) Pose to reinforce an action or attitude:

 

 

Look for references for the pose you want to draw, especially when you want to draw a real action, like someone falling or getting scared. This can be intertwined with the previous point, because in the same situation, each character will react in their own way, but you can also develop a situation without thinking too much about the character itself. In these examples, the monkey and tigers are too simple, but I wanted to focus only on the action that took place in each drawing: a fall and a scare. I recommend practicing drawing poses without thinking too much about the character, so that the pose is not limited by the character's design.

 

 

3) Pose to highlight a body feature:

Think about which part of the character is most important for their design and create a pose that highlights it. In this case, I wanted to keep the waist clean in a "fluid" pose and an arm behind the head. Starting from these two considerations, I made the rest of the pose and designed the body and clothes accordingly. In this setup, I tend to design the entire character as I go, so I just focus on the pose I want to make.

About Flow and the Line of Action

The line of action is what gives life to the pose and, therefore, to the character. This line simply summarizes the entire pose in a single stroke and is extremely useful as a starting point for building the entire pose and the character's body structure. Exaggerating the fluidity of the line of action can add A LOT of life!

 

I recommend practicing loose, curved lines that try to convey a complete pose and its general attitude. This is especially important when designing the pose itself.

 

 

To that line of action, you can add a simple structure for the body. This is a complicated part of the process, because it often ends up rigid. For these cases, I want to highlight a very simple and easy trick that will help you add dynamism to poses.

 

Like many classical painters and sculptors did before us, use the CONTRAPPOSTO technique (sorry, I don't know what it's called in other languages, "counterpost" could be in English). This is a technique that helps to dynamize a pose, creating imaginary axes that connect both shoulders, hips, knees, and even eyes. Tilting these axes in different directions helps add movement and flexibility to the pose. Let's look at this more directly:

In the first case, the axes are totally horizontal, while in the second case, the tilted axis works as a guide to vary the pose. Pay special attention to the opposite directions of the shoulders and hips! these two axes are the most important!!

 

So, let's combine the line of action and the axis with opposite directions:

 

 

The line of action and the axis should help each other to orient the view and generate a path through the drawing. Use the pose design to guide the viewer through the important points of your image. For this, even a wrinkle in the clothing can be useful! let's look at some examples:

In the following image, you can see how strands of hair, the pose and hand position, a purse, the edge of a wing or tail, can be used to generate imaginary directions within the drawing itself to reinforce and accompany the line of action.

About 3D References, Tangents, and Empty Spaces

Sometimes I have the pose a bit messy in my mind, so the 3D models that Clip Studio provides help me a lot to visualize and correct it. So, to start, I want to show you two different uses of a 3D model:

A) You can use it as a direct guide and draw directly over it. Depending on your drawing style, this may not be the best way because it makes you adapt your style to the model. This can make your drawing feel a bit crooked or stiff, compared to your previous drawings. This is also true for images if you draw directly over them!

B) The other option is to use the model only as a reference, drawing next to it to help set up the structure correctly and thus maintain body proportions. This allows you to have the pose already defined by the model and then focus on drawing the character using your own style. This also gives you the opportunity to change the pose a bit to your advantage, and according to your personal preferences. In the following example, you can see that I took the opportunity to exaggerate the posture of the upper body a bit, I also changed the proportions of the face and made a more delicate pose with the hand holding the fan.

As you can see, if I place the two drawings side by side, the pose remains the same, but I would say that the one on the right looks more consistent and dynamic than the other.

Of course, this is my personal preference, as I prefer to slightly exaggerate the curves and angles to make the character look a bit sexier / more flexible / agile. Still, we can compare the silhouettes of both drawings and study whether the pose is easy to read or not...

To this, I can make several comments:

 

1) In area 1: Drawing B has less space between the head / hair and the arm... the strands of hair almost touch the fabric, and that generates a point of tension that draws the eye to an irrelevant place. Still, in the same section of drawing A, the empty space makes it easier to read, but the angle of the arm also makes it stiffer.

 

2) In area 2: Drawing A has more space, as the torso is less contorted than drawing B. But, drawing B can be easily read even though it has fewer empty areas, as the arm and fabric also match the tilt of the hips, which gives it more movement than in drawing A.

 

3) Area 3: In drawing A, this space is almost nonexistent and it is a bit difficult to read the position of the leg, but this is somewhat compensated by the tip of the shoe that can be seen behind the front leg. Drawing B has a wider space between the two legs, but that position hides the shoe behind the front leg.

 

So, let's take these considerations to fix the entire pose and get the perfect drawing! First, I'll start by modifying the 3D model itself a bit. If you select the model layer and the editing options don't appear, press the button I marked:

So I changed the model a bit to clarify the silhouette following the previous study, also putting more emphasis on the face, which is the part I care about most. (I give explanations on how to precisely move 3D models later)

 

 

Then I drew the character again, also getting rid of the bow on the waist, which was bothering me. Let's compare the three silhouettes:

As you can see, in this way the silhouette is clearer in drawing C. I even managed to show the shoe behind the front leg and still maintain an empty space between both legs. Still, I had to sacrifice the ribbon and the sleeve size to keep the empty spaces. You should always consider the location, quantity, and size of empty spaces to balance the pose.

 

Note that "empty spaces" do not always mean truly "empty" spaces; it's about selecting where to put more information or detail and how to give this feature enough distance from other important spaces, so that each can be viewed independently. Let's look at an example:

 

 

In this drawing, the initial sketch had very little space between the cup and the face, and also the arms seem to be too close to the torso. By moving the arms slightly to the sides, the resulting space makes it easier to read the look on her face independently of the glass, and also leaves a little space to add a small bow on the ear; At the same time, the pose now seems more relaxed and more synchronized with the character's situation. So, in this case, there is more "space" but it is not "empty", and it allows the pose to be more easily legible.

 

 

So, now that we are at this point, let's talk about TANGENTS. In drawing, tangents are lines that get very close to or even touch other lines, but do not cross them. This type of line makes it difficult to read the pose, or simply makes it difficult to establish the distance between things, or simply confuses the viewer. Let's look at some examples:

 

 

Seeing these simple errors, I then fixed two of these drawings a bit:

Basically, the way to fix this problem is to add more space between the tangent lines or make them cross each other. In conclusion, you should avoid tangents; except when your drawing style is based on this for artistic purposes, as in the following example:

 

 

3D Modeling Your Character.

Clip Studio can help create new body shapes for your characters with the use of 3D models.

 

If you modify the standard human model to adapt it to the shapes you are looking for for your characters, you can have a solid base and a good perspective to draw that same character in different positions and from different points of view; without losing structure and proportions, and adding variety to character designs.

 

This resource has its limits, as you cannot change absolutely all parts of the model, but it is still very useful especially for human or anthropomorphic characters, and for use as a guide for poses and perspective.

 

This resource also allows you to modify the 3D model as a guide for stranger body shapes so you can use it to draw even fantastic creatures like demons, fairies, elves, etc. (I also uploaded a tutorial for this type of character! You can see it on my profile)

 

Follow these steps to add a 3D model to your canvas:

 

 

Let's look at the most important buttons for modifying the model's pose:

1) Camera rotation around the model

2) Camera movement: up, down, left and right.

3) Camera movement: back and forth.

4) Model movement: up, down, left and right.

5) Model rotation in all directions

6) Model rotation: left and right

7) 360° model rotation

8) Model movement: forward, backward, left and right, along the ground line.

 

A) Put the model back on the ground.

B) Save the model's pose as permanent material.

C) Save the body shape, modified and all, as permanent material.

D) Copy the body pose from an image (automatic)

E) Lock / unlock the pose of the selected joint or body part.

F) Rotate the model horizontally

G) Restore pose

H) Restore scale

I) Restore rotation

J) Adapt the model's shape to the parameter you set

 

 

To change body shapes, you must modify their measurements. When you press button (J), the following menu appears:

 

 

1) Restore default body shape.

2) Save the modified body as permanent material.

 

 

Modifications are made by selecting the entire body or just one of the parts of the human silhouette that appears in the menu and moving the white cursor to change the length and width of the part you selected. This cursor works within a Cartesian axis, allowing the combination of parameters (long and wide arms, or short and wide arms, or long and slender arms, etc.). Below this axis, you can see the numerical coordinates of the modification you made within the axis, which will be useful in case you need this precise information about those changes later.

 

Below I will show you how I modified each part of the body to create the base of what could be a fairy or an alien... just as an example of the uses this tool could have when creating a character.

 

 

In this way, you can change the standard model to create different, more diverse and interesting bodies for your character; you can also move them to specific poses and use them as a guide for drawing.

 

To save the modified body as permanent material, follow these steps:

 

 

See the model I made for the fairy body next to the normal model that comes with Clip Studio and compare the difference in proportions between the two bodies. Notice how a different body provides very interesting silhouettes for a character. Then all that's left is to place it in an interesting position!

Once you have modified the body, change its position by moving the joint and changing the direction of the different sections of the body. You can select any of these modes by clicking on the parts of the model:

 

-One click will show the joints. This allows you to move an entire limb while moving the joint and changing its position. For example, if you want your character to raise an arm, if you lift it by pulling the wrist, the entire arm will change position to follow that movement. The joint you are moving will change color and turn yellow when you are moving it.

 

-Two clicks will show the angles of the selected part. This allows you to move each part individually, rotating them or moving them at an angle. For example, with this method you can extend the arm and move the palm of the hand up or down. Use the colored lines to change the position of the selected part. each of them moves that body part in a different direction. The line will change color and turn yellow when you move it.

 

 

You can save the model's position independently of the body shape. This allows you to place any other model in the same position whenever you want.

 

To save the pose:

 

 

How do you transfer that saved pose to a different model? Easy! First, drag the selected model to the canvas. Then, find the saved pose in the menu by following the steps in the image below, click on that material, and drag it over the model that is on the canvas. Make sure you are on the model layer and have the model selected (it is necessary that the buttons to move the model are visible, as in the image)

 

 

Combining Character Design and Pose.

So, now that you've studied a bit about proportions, posture, empty spaces, tangents, and 3D models, let's look at a complete example with one of my original characters. She started as a fox, but then I also drew a human version. Let's see how we can take advantage of everything we learned to explore this character:

 

I started thinking about the character, her role, her job, her personality in general. Several traits came to mind: she owns and works in her own bar; she is very independent and can defend herself; kind and caring but with zero tolerance for bad customer behavior. She is always in control of her bar and always watches everyone. She is tall and curvy, sensual even if she doesn't try to be.

I studied the "bartender" stereotype to design her clothes, and I designed her hair trying to convey a bit of the shape of a fox tail.

I tried many poses with both body types (anthropomorphic fox and human). This step is important, because you need freedom to design the pose and 3D models can restrict that, so it's better to just draw first.

 

 

Then I changed two models to match the proportions of the anthropomorphic body and the human body respectively, according to my design.

 

 

Then I selected a pose from the sketches and moved the models to match.

I added a wolf / fox face to the model to help me with the muzzle perspective. You can download it from the assets at:

 

 

If you need a free version, you can also download:

 

 

 

 

Then, I drew the pose using the models as references. Finally, on another layer, I simply added the clothes, hair, and detail to finish the lineart.

Additional Possibilities of the 3D Model.

So, let's look at some additional tools to make the most of 3D models:

A) Shadow and light.

This can help you a lot when painting! You can change the light source if you need to, like this:

 

 

And you can also remove shadows on the body and ground in this same menu.

B) Manga Perspective.

This setting allows you to automatically modify the size of some body parts to exaggerate the appearance of distance between them. Let's compare.

 

Without:

With:

C) Automatic Hand Poses.

You can also automatically modify the hand pose with an axis similar to the body proportion we saw earlier. Follow steps 1, 2, and 3 to set up the pose, by clicking inside the triangle, you can set the pose with the mouse.

 

 

Note that you can lock the pose of each finger individually by clicking on the icons I marked with the letter B.

You can also save hand poses independently of the body using the icons I marked with the letter A.

Acknowledgements and Contact:

Well, and these are some (many) considerations that can help design more solid and dynamic poses!

Thanks for reading and I hope it was useful!!

Please don't hesitate to tell me in the comments if you have any criticism or suggestions that help me improve.

 

If you like my work, you can find me on these social media:

Instagram: @barbara_brutti_ilustraciones

Furaffinity: @barbara_brutti

 

And I also have a Patreon, where you can support me and see all my work processes for only 1 dollar!

https://www.patreon.com/barbarabruttiilustraciones