"A figure in motion" seems to be one of the biggest things that I hear from artists as being a subject they have problems grasping correctly. And for good reason! It's hard. I was lucky to be able to have it click in my head sooner than most, and even I still have difficulties with it.... so this is hardly something that will happen over night.

Let's set the groundwork of this though, some people may not understand the topic. In illustration, a static non moving character is very boring usually, and unless it's a movie poster type thing with a gallant pose..... it's just not gonna be called for very often. After nearly six years of illustration, only a handful of times have clients asked for a static pose from me.... action sells. The problem is that action is difficult to illustrate because things very often appear stiff and posed. This stiffness is what kills the action right away for a viewer.

So how do you sell it right? It's not any one thing, which is sorta sad, but none the less there are some things that I always make sure to do.

1: I've said it many times before and I'll say it again - use the angles! A lateral or vertical oriented image is very easy to follow with the eye, it's visually very boring. They can look nice, yes, but they don't involve the brain the same way. The diagonal angles are your quickest route to selling a moving pose. Learn the anatomy and how much you can tilt a figure, the torso, limbs, how much action a joint can withstand - this is important knowledge to have because it dictates what a figure can do. Using those visual angles with correct anatomy is a beautiful thing.

2: Similar to the anatomy aspect above, but a different note in general - muscles in motion don't really flex much. A bicep might if a warrior hefts a sword above their head, but a leaping character is naturally very gaunt, less mass to move around - this means that your shapes can be more fluid and not as bulbous. The more muscular you make this character, the more stiff they will feel. In fact, flex your arm right now - go ahead, I won't watch.... now try and do things with it. Hard, isn't it? Because it is flexed, the movement is limited – so for a moving character, they probably shouldn't look like a body builder. Focus on studying gymnasts or something.... they are very toned, but not overly muscular. That toned aspect is good, it means "yes, they could do that" still. The problem? Toned people have more subtle tone variations than a really muscular person does - they're harder. But they WILL sell more pictures.

3: Foreshortening is an awesome tool. Not something you see as much in illustration as say comic books, but useful none the less. This promotes action. Make sure you don't give them hyper extended limbs though, muscles and angles will make a limb seem more curved than straight usually, this is why the angles concept is so very important. It sets up perspective, and thus foreshortening and composition. I found that searching for Lacrosse photos gave me some very neat references to study. Try it out.

4: Clothing and fabric has always been an important one for me, at least as far as learning the good movement shapes. Lets face it, clothing is the biggest moving factor in a character usually. If they wear a cloak, you have something that will follow the movement path effectively..... it's like a massive speed line waiting to happen. A force against clothing pushes it against something, so if it's windy, the shirt will be up tightly against the chest, while the back may be baggy, the cloak free styling it in the wind like a leaf on drugs. Comic books show this very well since everything is very dramatic. Drama with a superhero is all about movement.

5: Colors play a big key, or so I'm finding. If you want a character to pop off of a page, you want to use more contrasts than blending colors.... but a moving character should often blend to some extent, to make them mesh well with the background. Now, if they're coming over a high rise of a hill? Well then pop them out against the sky, but if an elf runs through trees, wickedly chased by something? I wouldn't want to see him popping out too much..... he's weaving in and out of things quickly, right? So here you want to use more complimentary colors, keeping him closely toned to the background in many spots with just enough to pop him off subtly instead of bluntly.

These are all helpful methods when looking for ways of promoting movement. A few things to avoid? Well, understand your balance, don't over detail your background and put in a minorly detailed character, you'll focus more on the background than the character as a viewer - that's no fun. Nobody cares if he or she is moving now. Another thing to avoid is motion blurs. Moderation is the key here, they aren't bad but they aren't something you should use a lot - sorta like dodge and burn. It's all just tools... but you have to understand how to use them correctly instead of just using them because you want to. Saying, "he's moving, he'd be blurred" makes sense in our heads, but does it make sense on the page? There is a difference between the two. If anything the background will be more blurry than the character if he or she is the focus - and even then, a motion blur often looks very fake. Stick to focal points and detail balances more than effects, at least until you learn how to use them correctly. If you're good with them? Well then who am I to say anything against the tools.... I'm addicted to an effect brush anyway, so my credibility there sucks. Either way, use your best judgment and don't over do it.


Next week we'll tackle some color advice. Usually I touch on the very basics of color, I think it's time to up the advice a notch

-CMalidore