A Reference for Ice Skating Art & Cosplay

[guideonice]

In general when trying to stop on the ice, you’ll want to lean a little backwards, while your stopping balde pushes into the ice at an angle where it doesn’t grip. This angle will be depending on how sharp your baldes are, but generally speaking it’s a very low angle. You can practice by trying to scrape up little snow piles with your blades. I’ve already explained the last two pictures, the other two are: 1. The Snowplow! Probably the first stop you’ll learn, let aside the mighty butt-stop. Go in in a straight line and dip your feet towards one another, toes fist. Lean back and watch the stopping magic work. Over time you’ll probably notice one foot being the “main stopper”, but goal here is, to use both feet equally and plowing some snow. 2. The two footed sideweep. Ugh. A very elegant way to stop, very energetic. A bit of cramp to get a grasp on at first (at least for me it was). Very similar to the sideturned half-snowplow, you go in in a half-circle, but this time you use both feet to stop. You want your blades be as parallel as possible for this one and you end up standing nice and straight with closed feet. Phew, that’s alot of text this time! Sorry for that, but stops are the single most important thing you’ll learn in ice/figure skating. They prevent crushes and help you regulate your speed when skating. Have fun & be safe!

[guideonice]

As promised: it’s all about stops today! In the video above you’ll see my 2 favourite stops, a sideturned half-snowplow and the infamous T-Stop. They’re both approached very differently, that’s why I chose them, as there are many other techniques for stopping, including simply running into the railing (we used to call that “fly on the windscreen” when I was little) and dropping down on your butt (always works. But wet.). The sideturned half-snowplow is maybe one of the lazier techniques, but one that can be used to stop even at higher speeds. You swing into it via a half-circle and then gently push your stopping blade (my right side in the video) into the ice. You can also practice this standing still and just scraping your blade over the ice, to get a feel for angle your blade needs to be at and not stop you dead in your tracks and send you flying. This type of stop is a highly adjustable transitional stop, meaning you won’t instantly stop( as you never really do in the ice) and can also use it to just reduce your speed instead of stopping altogether. This one’s safe to try! The T-stop. Where do I start? I hated it when learning how to do it. Really really despised it. Maybe because I couldn’t do it very securely and as of now I’m still only able to do it on one side. You glide into it in a straight line, cross your stopping foot over, get your feet into a T-position and gently push down with your crossing foot, while still gliding forward on the other. Phew, it’ll probably take some courage and stumbling, but when you manag to do it, you get the prettiest stopping position out of all. You’ll often see this one in competitions. It’s not completely safe to try if you’ve never successfully stopped before, you could easily fall over. But if you’re confident in your blade angle when stopping, it’s a great thing to learn! Notes on the other basic stopping techniques will follow, along with some general advice on your stance and weight shifting. have fun being the ultimate snowplow :D

[guideonice]

Some notes on the stance behind the element :) Nearly all of the noted things are always applyable when skating, they’re like the ABC of figure skating ;) AND! The whole thing is safe to try, if you’re feeling your backwards skate is secure. I’ve only noted the “look where you’re going” in the second picture, but it applies EVERYWHERE and in ANY situation and for EVERY element.  

[guideonice]

And a longer backwards finishing glide! My stance is far from perfect, but I think it illustrates the technique behind this particular element. A few notes will follow :)

[guideonice]

Woah! Sorry for being gone for so long! I was busy with university and finally finishing my degree :D  ....It’s time for some basics! It’ll be finishing glides today, stops tomorrow and explaining the concept of “edges” the day after. After every trick element and as a transition between elements there is a long backwards glide, to properly finish or just to regain/clear balance. Above you see me glide out after a single waltz jump.

[guideonice]

The waltz turn! Totally safe to try & lots of fun! Can also be done in pairs :D

[guideonice]

WOAH. it’s a long one! I recorded some twists & turns for you, that have very pretty (in my op) foot positioning. I did them as slow and as close to the cam as I could. Please don’t mind my arms, I’m a synchronized skater (back when no-hold was a no-go!) by training, I’m still figuring out what to do with my noodly arms when skating alone. Also here you have my face. You’re welcome. Don’t worry, I’ll edit it out whenever it’s possible, so you’re not distracted by my silly faces ;)

[guideonice]

Annnd something that is... SAFE TO TRY! <3 This is a How-to-Skate video! When learning how to skate, it’s very important not to go over your pick when trying to glide/skate forward. You start from a simple T oder V-Position and then onwards like a penguin! Also shift your weight from front-gliding foot to front-gliding foot, to make sure you actually glide ;) Bend your knee (front) when you push forward and push with the whole length of your blade (back). Keep your heels together, as in always return to your starting position when you switch feet after gliding. Hope it helps :D

[guideonice]

For Cosplayers

PLEASE. Don’t try to skate anything you can’t do/haven’t safely done before! Ice skating CAN be dangerous and it looks much better when you do something safe and practiced. I will post videos for you to learn a few steps/glides/tricks, but they’ll be marked as “Safe to try”.

[guideonice]

DO! This is a normal forward, one footed glide, torso straight, shoulders over knees. It’s often used when entering the ice before your program starts. Stiffness and chin up is key.

[guideonice]

DON’T FLOP FORWARD! The upper body is nearly NEVER supposed to bend forward. Chest over knee is the rule here! The leg is always lifted first, as far as it goes, only then, the torso/chest follows! We call this “The dying swan”

[guideonice]

A small guide to ice skating boots and what to consider when drawing them!

[guideonice]

Hello there!

Hi you guys! I made this little blog to share references about figure skating (ice skating, but as I used to be a figure skater, it’ll be figure skating) :) Why you ask? Because I love Yuri!!!on Ice and all the attention ice skating as a sport gets off of it! :D I highly enjoy the fanart and cosplay of the series and as I used to be a competitive figure skater (synchronized!) I figured, I can make actual good reference for all you artists and cosplayers out there! I’ll post pictures and videos, little tips and tricks on posing, some infos about the sport, whatever I’ll see fit. Of course you can request stuff! As a little guid to this guide: - I’m not a pro skater anymore, that was 14 years ago. I skate like a spaghetti, but I think the feet matter more here ;) - I use VERY old Wifa skates with a Wilson blades, they’re 18yrs old. They’re my buds, took me through every competition, 2 times national gold with my team - TEAM: yeah, my skates are brown. That’s what used to be required for synchronized figure skating troupes/teams back in the days! - SloMo videos will be in a rather pixelated, as my phone can’t do any better :( Normal speed videos will be in 1080p. -you’re allowed to share, screenshot and use everything on this blog So far so good, I look forward to uploading stuff for you guys! :>