Anatomy in Motion: Tips to Avoid Stiff Torso and Arm Drawings

A few weeks ago, a patron named Broyam asked for tips on how to avoid stiff torsos and arms. In today's post, I'll share with you some simple ways to address this issue.

Torso

The straightforward solution to break stiff torso is flexion and rotation.

Flexion

You can flex the torso backwards, forwards, and through the lats. In my opinion, what creates the 'stiff' feeling is basically drawing the character in a straight pose, ignoring all the previously mentioned flexions. When drawing a character, regardless of its gender, flex the torso towards any of these directions, and recreate the C shape. These kinds of flexions apply when characters engage in an action upfront (forward flexion), when they feel empowered (backward flexion), or when they are simply standing in a relaxed manner (lateral flexion).

What changes from female to male torso is the breasts, size of the waist, and hips, but the structure is very similar.

Rotation

For rotation, imagine splitting the body in two, with the hips acting as the center. The upper part must face a different direction than the lower part. Simply imagine your character standing straight and suddenly trying to say something to someone behind without moving their feet. This particular form of torso rotation is a bit tricky, and I often don't use it, but it really helps to break the stiff gesture.

Check this article for more specifics: Dynamic Anatomy (Head, Torso and Hands) - Shape Building Tips

Arms

With arms, the options for positions are much broader, given their greater range of motion. However, the solution is the same as with the torso: flexion and rotation. Here are some ways to break the generic stiff gesture using these two methods I just mentioned:

Shoulders: Based on the hip positioning of the torso, shoulders can have different heights. Making this small adjustment can make a gesture much more dynamic.

Elbow: Since my characters are almost always performing an action, at least one of the elbows is flexed, perhaps to bring the hand closer to the face or to hold onto something. It's very rare for me to have both elbows extended, except in some situations like pointing at things.

Wrist: While shoulder and elbow flexion and rotation might help to create a sense of dynamism, wrist flexion and rotation are often around the focal point where people's attention goes, typically the face, hands, and everything around the hands. Flexing the wrist backwards or forwards can evoke a sense of delicacy (backwards) or shyness (forwards). Also, changing the rotation of the wrist can modify the overall silhouette of the arm, including the forearms, biceps, and triceps.

Extra Tips

• Use curved lines instead of straight lines at the beginning of your exploration; this might help you avoid that stiff look.

• Apply some level of perspective to the lat gestures to make them a bit more dynamic.

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Exercise Challenge!

Draw a torso/hands performing a simple action; here is a list for reference. I'll be giving 5 Skill points for each:

• Drinking coffee: Inclined forward

• Thinking: Inclined lat right

• Resting (hands back the head): Inclined backward

• Writing: Inclined lat left

Keep the sketch loose, worry about cleaning later.

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In case you find this article useful, here is more about gesture!

Anatomy - From Static to Dynamic 3 Keys! + Exercise
Stylizing Anatomy - 2 Steps Into Breaking Rigid Realistic Characters
Here's Why Your Characters Look Stiff: A Two-Step Solution
Rigid Characters? Here is a Simple Trick! - Frustration Process Video & PSD File

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Tomorrow, I'll be sharing the process video of this piece along with the files and insights. They will be available for Mastering Maestro tier and above. Feel free to upgrade if you want more insights about my work.

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