Strike a pose.

Following on from the previous post, “Finding a Process,” I wanted to delve deeper into how I could explore and improve my key poses within my shots and push those gestures as much as possible to get the best performance possible. All the communication between the animator and the audience is through identifying clear and strong keys. As my project has no background, all the focus is directed towards the characters and how they communicate through their actions.

In his course, Tony Bancroft (21-Draw, 2023) demonstrates the effectiveness of creating a line of action to emphasise a pose's emotion and direction. It is a tool that can help an animator when considering a feeling, thought, or movement through a gesture. An example is a concave line of action could suggest a character may be sad. Bancroft also expressed the importance of using tilts and twists for a character’s gesture to feel less stiff and add more appeal and life to them.

21-Draw (2023) Drawing Character Poses with Personality. Available at: https://www.21-draw.com/course/drawing-character-poses/ (Accessed: 26 February 2023)

Once I had completed Bancroft’s course, having seen through his demonstration how he had applied these tools to his characters, I decided to apply these principles to my own, experimenting with how to get solid and interesting poses ready for animation. I was constantly thinking about which line of action best suited the emotion I wished to convey and how to apply twists and tilts to make the gesture more dynamic. In addition, I wanted to ensure that the poses had a natural flow and rhythm.

I found the process extremely useful to help clarify gestures that later develop into the key poses. In the past, I have struggled to convey emotion to my characters. As a result, the poses usually became difficult to read and boring. However, the course and the practice of trying it out taught me the importance of finding the character's energy and rhythm and pushing its boundaries as far as possible. With time and practice, my understanding and skill using these principles will improve, predominately in the animating part of this production process.

Tilt and twist with line of action:

Line of action:

Certificate of completion: