Intro

Hi guys, today I'm gonna show you my process of drawing cool poses using Clip Studio Paint, which are five steps:

Step 1: Gesture drawing

Step 2: Using 3D model

Step 3: Adjust perspective

Step 4: Re-sketch

Step 5: Finishing

Though it seems like a lot of steps but don’t worry, when you get used to all these steps, you’ll see how fast you can draw a cool, dynamic pose. I hope in the end of this video, you guys can get the better skills in drawing poses.

Let get started!

 

Step 1: Gesture drawing

A lot of people struggle with drawing poses, include me in the past. Normally I would take my own pictures, using references on the internet, Or jump right into the 3D models, which is not quite effective in my opinion. The poses still look stiff somehow and it doesn't look natural as I want, even the simple standing pose.

so, instead of using the old methods that I normally do, I would do quick gesture drawings. Here is how:

Gesture drawing is just a quick sketch of the model's pose, It doesn't need to be accurately since it's only a base to help you visualize how your character is acting. When you do gesture, draw as simple as possible, either using stickman or simple curves.

 

Step 2: Using 3D model

Now, base on the gesture drawing, you can use the 3D model and adjust it however you want. For example, I use the gesture I just drew earlier as a reference. People may find it's time-consuming but when you get used to the Clip Studio 3D model, things become faster and easier.

You don't need to spend so much time adjusting the model because we're not gonna follow exactly 100% the model’s pose when we move to the next step.

Step 3: Adjust perspective

We all know things that are closer to the camera always look bigger, so if you want the pose to look more dynamic, use perspective tools wisely. It plays a very important part in drawing, in general.

Step 4: Re-sketch

At this step, I would do a final sketch base on the 3D model and adjust it more to make it more dynamic such as zooming a feet, spread the arms, etc…

When we draw human pose, we must use a lot of curves because human are not robot. If we use straight lines, the pose will look stiff. On the contrary, the more curves you use to draw poses, the more natural your character’s pose will be.

Step 5: Finishing

The final step is finishing, which is using the line art to finish your drawing. I would add clothes, hair, accessories and do some final fixing for the character. Here’s how I go from gesture drawing to final line art:

Voila! Your character now looks cooler than you expected!

3D boots I used for the drawing

Extra tips!!!

Here are some extra tips that I usually apply when drawing poses and it may helpful for you guys.

Imagine the human torso as a pillow can help you a lot to draw a perfect, natural pose in all angles from bird's eye view, front view, side view to distortion.

The more you practice, the more poses you can draw. So let’s take your pillow out and draw! ^_^

After finish drawing the torso and head, you can move on to draw arms and legs. Always save them for later. You can use different colors to help you look easier with the poses.

 

The circle things I drew in red are actually the ruler to help us visualize how arms, legs (and other body parts) look like in 3D dimension and base on that we can draw clothes match with the body of the character. They’re also work effectively when drawing hard poses where arms and legs aren’t fully shown.

 

Don’t need to draw a lot of them because it may make your sketch become messier and hard to look. If you draw a simple pose, you don’t need them either.

Last but not least, drawing poses in different camera angles is the key to make your character's pose looks cooler and also improve your skills. Your drawing will look more lively and more beautiful with unique camera angle. Let me give you an example:

There is nothing wrong with this pose but you still find it not cool enough. “What do you want from a simple standing pose? Want it looks more dynamic, there’s no way.” Actually there is! just try drawing the pose in different camera angle and also combine with the perspective rules, you’ll see :3

The perspective grid I use is an excellent tool to helps draw poses in 3D dimension and in different camera angle. If you know how to use it wisely, any pose can become cooler like this standing pose.

That’s all for the tip, I hope it will be useful for you guys. Thank you for reading/watching <3