When you get used to drawing illustration, comic or manga, or you are doing story boarding in animation for multiple characters, you may think “ I want to try a different composition! However, When you want to place several people in one picture, you maybe confused about how to draw them. Good friends, twins, couples, rivals, idol groups, super hero groups… each of them has a different relationship with the other, and each has something they want to express, but it’s boring to just put their faces together. In this tutorial I’d like to introduce some ideas for composition & placement when drawing multiple people.

Here you’ll learn

1.Placement ideas for two people

2.Three person composition idea

3. Placement idea for four or more people

1. Placement Ideas For Two People

Parallel( about the same size & side by side )… Recomended for showing how close they are. If you put them in parallel and add contact( hugging, holding hands, kissing), they become even more intimate.

Savior tip :) When you’re going to do illustration or you’re planning poses for comic or animation, don’t rush for details and backgrounds. First Decide what you want to show the audience? what emotion you want to express in your drawing? Then draw your pose without details without facial expression and see that, is your pose is telling the emotions what you want ? if yes then well done:) you have done it right.

I have drawn these two people without any details and facial expression, can you tell something about this picture? Yes you can feel that they’re good friends and they are talking about something, a friendly and joy feeling is coming out of this pose.

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This is another example of a two people posing. What is this picture telling you?

 

answer. There are two friends and one friendA is showing something to friendB

feelings you might getting from this picture is : give Surprise, have seen something scary or telling let’s go there.

Symmetry

For when you want to show the presence of opposite, rivals. It can also be used for twins.

2.Three people composition Idea

Take advantage of the “triangle” in a three person composition!

Placing a person along a triangle is called a “ Triangular Composition”. By following this rule , you can create a well balanced image no matter where you place them. This is especially recomended for three people.

you can use this for “trio” friends who hangs out together and they are good friends. This composition also can be used for three superhero groups or any other groups .

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This is another example of a triangular composition.

By seeing this picture you will feel that three peoples are chasing someone or you also can feel that, two peoples chasing that front people.

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Add Perspective In Your Composition

Here by adding perspective in triangular composition for three people, this is looking more dynamic and dramatic

Strengthen or Weaken the Size

When you want to so power relation or different in personality.

You can see that here foreground person is looking superior and top corner person smallest in these three peoples, which is telling that he is some kind of irresponsible person. While 2nd person is looks like he understood his responsibility better than him.

3.Placement Ideas For Four Or More People

As the number of people increased, the space allocated to each person becomes smaller, so if you arrange them in normal parallel manner, non of them will leave a lasting impression. Use creative composition to create an eye -catching picture. In addition to the triangular composition, it’s recomend to to use circular composition, which is arranged along a circle.

This can be used for friends groups who are enjoying together. They are hanging out in a picknick place or in a movie or in any other place.

you can also create a different impression by aligning or not aligning your gaze and body interaction. When they are aligned, everyone seems to be focused on a single goal, which gives a sense of unity. If they are not aligned, a good sense of distance is created and the impression is stylish. Depending on the expression, it can also look serious.

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How to create a good pose?

The first thing you want to do is choose a solid foundation for your group drawing base. This means placing pose that tells a story. Think about, it every group of friends or family has their own life own vibe, their own way of interacting. Your drawing should capture that essence.

Thank You

"Thank you so much for reading this tutorial! I hope you found this tutorial helpful and learned something new. If you enjoyed it, leave a like and follow for more :). Feel free to leave any questions or feedback in the comments below—I'd love to hear from you! Until next time, keep creating, stay inspired, and I'll see you in the next tutorial!"