How to Draw a Character in Motion
Knowing how to draw characters is good, but putting them in a situation to create a real illustration is even better. Drawing a character in motion isn't very complicated. But you need to provide enough details to make the viewer understand that the drawing is in motion, that there is an action taking place.
For this article, I have decided to depict someone falling. As a reference, I chose Alice in Wonderland.
SKETCHING THE CHARACTER IN MOTION
I'm not going to dwell on how to draw a character, I'm assuming you know how to draw one and just want to learn how to stage them.
To start, I will draw the body of my character.
Since my character is falling, their feet are not flat on the ground, so they are in free movement.
Similarly, the arms will tend to go to the sides to find balance.
Try jumping off a bench, you will see that unconsciously your arms will go to the sides to balance your body to help you land on your feet.
Feel free to sketch out the actions you want to better understand how the body works and its reflexes.
Don't forget to watch videos or look at photos - educate yourself as much as possible!
Once the body is done, I will start to add an element that will accentuate the action: the hair. If you want to learn how to draw hair, check out the article available on our blog!
Even if you give your character short hair, it will still follow the movement.
UNDERSTANDING THE MEANING OF MOVEMENT
The elements that you add (hair, clothing, decorations) will always go in the opposite direction to your character.
If your character is falling, meaning they are going down, then the other elements will go up.
Similarly, if your character is running, let's say to the left, then the elements should be drawn going toward the right.
And that's how it is for all movements! This is due to the effect of gravity and speed.
The slower the action, the less volatile and more still the elements will be.
FINALIZING THE CHARACTER DESIGN
For my drawing, Alice is falling down a very long tunnel. Her fall is long and fast, so the elements are subject to high speed + gravitational effect, meaning that they are being pulled upwards.
If you move at high speed, your hair will be pulled back.
But be careful, each material reacts differently to speed and motion!
Hair is very flexible and fine, it weighs almost nothing, and so it reacts extremely well to speed, whereas clothes, on the other hand, can be stiff or even heavy and will therefore conform to the law of gravity less easily...
So be careful not to draw all elements with the same force!
For my drawing, the hair is almost vertical because it is reacting strongly to the fall, but the clothes are thicker, so they lift up with a bit more difficulty and form several folds, as if the fabric is struggling against the fall.
Now that you understand the principle, you can have fun drawing characters in motion!
Don't forget to use references to perfect your drawing and make it more realistic.
Do not hesitate to exaggerate the movement so that we can understand it at first glance!
Illustrator and writer: Coralie
