Do you have any resources/words of advice for understanding the line of action?
I've heard it's useful and important but it's pain.
yeah some! I've gotten to the point that line of action is an always an underlying thought whilst drawing, so I dont always draw it in- but its good to keep keep note of as you make a pose.
Line of action communicates the force of the pose, the flow that leads the body, or even rythym of it if you wanted to think of it another way.
you'll often times see it lead through the spine and legs (which has the longest natural line), extended or redirected sometimes by the arms- but that isnt necessarily always the case. just know its purpose is to indicate the flow of the figure- to capture its dynamism.
In animation its quite important to pay attention to if you want to create appeal and energy in key drawings. having the line of action reverse/respond to the movement of the previous one, is very striking in creating a sense of motion. examples like the below pictures from this line of action article X
and thats just for jumping! you see it in many daily actions as well if you can pay attention, even the way we naturally stand can have a appealing line of action.
I suggest looking up controposto (counterpose), with an S curve, its a very effective way to make a simple standing pose more appealing. the chest and hips in opposing directions adds a tension and energy making it seem like it can move at anytime. The most important aspect of it, is it creates the illusion of weight!
for standing poses you can even purposfully manipulate what you know about line of action and posing- to make a character look very stiff, for acting purposes!
All in all the best way to learn line of action is in my opinion, is through experience in life drawing. its a tool to use to make appealing poses, and the more you practice with it the more it'll sit in the backburner of your mind.
quick 30-60 second sketches- just to get the line of action, atleast with indications of hip/shoulder can give yourself a better sense of it.
If you dont have access to in person classes in your area, here are some online life drawing resources:
cafe sketching, while obviously not nearly as dynamic, is also a very good way to start identifying line of action in every day poses.
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