When artists say my characters are too stiff, what do they mean? I have drawn line of actions before drawing something.
A lot of people have explained to me but I am still unable to get the results.
ok… I hope I haven’t wasted an entire night… I stayed til 4 am just to get my concepts right…
Please do be frank about my new drawing even if they cause a stroke or hypertension…
I am going to sleep… I await your honest opinions
Check out the drawings and DVDs of master artist / teacher Glenn Vilppu. More important in a drawing than individually rendered details is the overall motion / gesture of a drawing. Glenn has articles on AWN as well. 
Do you take life drawing lessons? That’s really key I think.
I have a teacher who teaches me life drawing but of course I have have been practising very hard for over 2 years I have been stuck at the same level. I think I need a break…
but of course just recently, my teacher has revealed some stuff and he has mentioned that I have more or less understood the internal structure but the problem is the stiffness and the like from anatomy drawings.
TTYO,
Believe me I know the inherent frustrations in learning how to draw traditionally. I have been doing so for years, and have only just cracked the surface of this complex skill.
I would really recommend getting the DVD on Gesture from Vilppu. It might really open your eyes. Then again, you may need a different figure drawing teacher. It helps to have a variety of approaches.
Why not start up a Sketchbook here:
Personal Anatomy & Sketchbook Threads
http://forums.cgsociety.org/forumdisplay.php?f=200
There are lots of people around to give you support and advice. Check out the Sketchbooks of others. I think that many are struggling through the same problems, and getting better through practice. Taking a break is well understood, but sometimes it helps to have a variety of people giving you feedback and support.
Rebeccak is right, A great way to get more movement in your drawings is to make a really quick gesture of the image first, and not over-think the underlying stuff. Getting that gesture down isn’t to get the shape of the image so much as to quickly (it’s usually good to spend less than a minute or two on your gesture or even do them over and over from eithe ra life model or reference over and over for like, 15 seconds for each pose) to get the “escence” of the figure. Then you can go over this gesture or draw from it to get that flow you see in real life. Doing this repetetively over and over and over and over is a really great excercise.
Another great way to keep you characters from being stiff is to follow the rule of Opposing Curves.
One thing you can do is to simply pose in front of a mirror (or have someone else pose for you), and then note how the body redistributes the balance in various poses to keep itself from falling down. Then you can apply that principle to all your character drawings, and will be able to turn it up a notch for exaggeration or cartoony effect.
Yes! I keep a small mirror right next to my monitor just in case I need a facial expression or hand gestures on the fly. This is a great tip!
I feel your pain, so sore…so stiff…
I had this problem a while back but i noticed that on top of it i also had problems on proportion. And in the end this is what the core of the problem was.
Because i had not yet internalised my awareness of proportions to the point that it was 2nd nature - as it should be - i would spend a large time of drawing poses towards getting proportions right, in doing so the pose was no longer dynamic and fluid. It was the complete opposite - stiff and rigid.
So basically what im saying is until you have that awareness of proportions to the point that it is second nature, your poses will continue to look stiff.
Dont stress though because with spirit, discipline and some quality guidance from the usual cats (loomis, hamm, hogarth) you will gain that awareness sooner then you think.
And trust me the effort is worth it, the ability to draw figures straight from the dome is an awesome thing - and it scores major cool points with chicks…ahh…honest.
Hello
Can’t claim fame at fluid drawings myself, but to give honest comment.
Your upper 4 drawings look too posed, and have stiffness because they don’t convey much sense of motion or weight.
The lower ones I think do show more fluidness, especially the last one where the quick lines you put down to lay out the motion are still visible.
Try a looser line technique in your work, quick stuff to just get the sense of motion; also if you have someone around who can take poses for you watch carefully to see how their bodies moves to get into those poses. Watch how muscles interact to shift weight about to create motion and balance.
Don’t try to over think your line work.
Mr. D
More and More…Wheeee Boy I should have used my stack of newspapers at home… so many references…
Now my drawings have a feel not seen in previous drawing… but can’t describe…
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