How to Draw Action

Action poses are AWESOME. Everyone loves a good superhero comic. But drawing those action poses? That's hard. But action isn't just high-kicks, karate-chops and super punches. Every action- Standing, holding a pencil, or walking- has it's own rhythm.

Drawing a character in motion can be challenging. Here I've broken motion into two basic concepts: the Line of Motion, and Peak Force. These two concepts combined will infuse rhythm into even the most basic standing pose.

 'UGH,' you say, "I've already SEEN that." I have two answers: 1) Then do you do it? and 2) Great! That's awesome. Keep reading and you might find something else to add to your artist skill-retinue.

It's REALLY important to make bends and curves in motion, but they all need to come from the same point, the Peak Force.

The Peak Force is where the convex is at it's highest. That's where all the motion is coming, because that's where all the force is being exerted.

Line of Motion Vs no Line of Motion.

And now, you might think the one on the right is exaggerated, but it's NOT. You can only more clearly see there's no rhythm because it's a stick figure. I SAW someone draw a person "Falling" the other day, but really they were stiff as a board laying diagonally on solid air. THAT's how important lines of motion is. 

You don't have todraw a line of motion with each character you draw, but you should be aware of it. This will make your characters really stand out as living, breathing, action-ing people we can relate to and love. 

Here is a skeleton-to-character example.Back to Peak Force, in the third drawing, you can see that everything that can- Hair, jacket, headphone cord- is pulling AWAY from the Peak Force, "lagging behind".
Line of Motion is motion in the body. Peak Force is motion of 'everything else'.
Your two new super secret art weapons!!
Have you ever had trouble getting your characters to move? What has helped you figure out the rhythm for your poses?