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Rule

rules://31-anatomy-and-pose

Anatomy and pose

A sprite with head, chest and hips stacked on one vertical and both arms hanging parallel reads as a mannequin, however well it is shaded. At 16–32 px the pose is nearly the only thing the player reads, and the pose comes from three things: a line of action, where the weight sits, and which way the ribcage and pelvis tilt against each other. Anatomy detail is the last 10 %; it only matters up to the few landmarks that survive at your size.

4 pixel templates rules/31-anatomy-and-pose.md
On this page

Rules

#
  1. Draw the line of action first. One 1-px curve on its own layer, before any mass: C for effort, recoil, bracing; S for relaxed, cocky, contrapposto; straight diagonal for reach, dash, lunge. Head, spine and the leading limb sit on it; the curve ends on the support foot. At 16–32 px it is often all the player reads. Templates anatomy-loa-guides-32 (the bare curves) and anatomy-loa-poses-32 (the same curves on dummies).
  2. Three line types only: straight, C, S. Pair curves asymmetrically: offset the left and right bulge of a limb or torso by 1–2 px along its length. Mirrored or parallel curves close the form and look like a snowman.
  3. Build from three hard masses and three soft links. Hard: head, ribcage, pelvis. Soft: neck, waist, hip joint. Keep the alternation. Ribcage and pelvis tilt against each other: at 32 px slope the shoulder line 1–2 px one way and the hip line 1–2 px the opposite way, and the figure is no longer a mannequin.
  4. Decide where the weight lives before drawing. One foot, both feet, seat, knees, hands. The vertical through the support foot is the line of gravity. If head, chest and hip centres all sit within 1 px of it the pose is static; shift each 1–3 px, alternating sides, for energy. A wide regular base reads stable; a thin or irregular base reads in motion.
  5. The loaded side pinches, the free side stretches. Weight on one leg raises the pelvis on that side and tips the ribcage the other way (contrapposto). At 32 px+ make the loaded flank 2–3 px shorter between ribs and hip with one notch pixel; make the free flank one long unbroken diagonal.
  6. Motion leans: the top is ahead of the base. Draw a faint line from the planted foot through the pelvis to the head; walk ≈ 1–3 px of head offset per 28 px of height, run and dash far more (angles are [INFERENCE]; Loomis gives no numbers). The push foot stays behind that line; when the torso leans forward the rear leg extends to counter it. Template anatomy-poses-motion-32 (dash).
  7. Profile spine is an S. Head forward of the ribcage, ribcage tipped back, pelvis forward. Standing side view: chest slightly back and up, hips slightly forward, belt tilted forward. A vertical stack of head / chest / hips is the mannequin. Template anatomy-poses-balance-32 (side stand).
  8. Posture is character. Lead with a body part: chest = hero, head = scholar or menace, pelvis = slob, knees = coward. Shoulder height is a one-pixel emotion dial: up 1 px = tense, down 1 px = defeated. Compact, narrow, head below the shoulder line = fear or defeat; wide stance with an upward triangle = heroic; low horizontal mass = relaxed; a 30–60° diagonal axis = action.
  9. Limbs taper and bend. 3 px at the root to 2 px at the end; never parallel sides, never a right angle, never a mitred elbow. A 1-px curved cap at elbow, knee or wrist shows which way the limb faces: round = toward the viewer, flat = side-on.
  10. Overlaps are T-junctions. The near form's outline runs on; the far form's outline stops against it. Never let two outlines cross. Keep ≥ 1 px of background between an arm and the torso it crosses, or merge them on purpose.
  11. Keep only the landmarks that survive. ≤ 32 px: shoulder point, elbow / knee bend, ankle. Use inside / outside asymmetry: calf bulge high on the outside, ankle bone high on the inside, a 1 px offset between the two outlines. At 32–64 px only 3–4 muscle shapes read: chest fan, shoulder cap, ribs + ab block, forearm bulge near the elbow. Everything else is shading.
  12. Volume is constant. Bone length never changes; foreshorten by overlap, not by shrinking. A stretched pose is 10–20 % longer and thinner, a crouch shorter and thicker, and the pixel count of the body stays about the same (squash and stretch).
  13. Twist with two blocks. Shift the chest block and the pelvis block horizontally by different amounts (chest +2 px, hips −1 px at 32) and shear the shoulder line against the hip line. That one move sells a turn.
  14. Pose the extremes and the counter-move. Action is readable at the start or end of a sweep, not the middle. Anticipation is a spine curve opposite to the action, then the reverse C (rules://44-attacks-and-impacts).
  15. Profile reads fastest. If the action must be read instantly, show it in profile; front and 3/4 views hide limbs and flatten the waist (rules://37-views-and-directions).
  16. Construct in order: line of action → three masses → limbs (tubes) → hands and feet → outline → shading. One layer each, merged last. Make 2–3 thumbnails at 8–16 px high first and choose; the first try is never the best.

By size

#
canvas what the pose can carry
8 One idea: lean (head 1 px off the feet) or crouch. No limbs to tilt.
16 Head offset 1 px; shoulder / hip tilt 1 px; arms 1 px. Three readable poses: stand, lean, crouch.
24 Contrapposto as a 1-px tilt; bent knee; arm swing; no pinch notch.
32 Full contrapposto, pinch notch, S spine in profile, chest / hip block twist, elbow and knee bends.
48–64 Ribcage and pelvis as separate shapes, wrapping-line arcs on limbs, 3–4 muscle planes, shoulder girdle tilt.

Templates

#
anatomy-loa-guides-32 · 48×32
  • G line-of-action
Grid source
G = line-of-action  #e0506a
---
................................................
..........G..............G...................G..
.........G................G..................G..
........G..................G................G...
.......G....................G...............G...
.......G.....................G..............G...
......G......................G.............G....
......G......................G.............G....
.....G.......................G.............G....
.....G.......................G............G.....
....G........................G............G.....
....G.......................G............G......
....G......................G.............G......
....G.....................G..............G......
....G....................G..............G.......
....G...................G...............G.......
....G..................G................G.......
....G.................G................G........
.....G...............G.................G........
.....G..............G..................G........
.....G..............G.................G.........
......G............G..................G.........
......G............G.................G..........
.......G...........G.................G..........
........G..........G.................G..........
........G..........G................G...........
.........G..........G...............G...........
..........G..........G..............G...........
...........G..........G............G............
............G.........G............G............
............G..........G...........G............
.............G..........G.........G.............

anatomy-loa-guides-32 — three 1-px guide curves on a 32 px canvas, to copy onto a spare layer: C (columns 2–14, effort / recoil), S (19–30, relaxed), straight diagonal (34–46, dash / reach). Put the head at the top end and the weight foot at the bottom end.

anatomy-loa-poses-32 · 76×34
  • H dummy-head
  • T dummy-torso
  • A dummy-arm
  • J dummy-joint
  • L dummy-leg
  • G line-of-action
  • O outline
Grid source
H = dummy-head      #e8c547
T = dummy-torso     #8e5ea2
A = dummy-arm       #5aa05a
J = dummy-joint     #8a6040
L = dummy-leg       #d9788f
G = line-of-action  #e0506a
O = outline         #2b1d2e
---
............................................................................
..........OOOOO..............OOOOO...............................O......OO..
.........OHHHHHO............OHHHHHO............................OOHOO...OJJO.
.........OHHHHHHO..........OHHHHHHO...........................OHHHHHO..OJJO.
........OHHHHHHHO..........OHHHHHHHO..........................OHHHHGHOOAAAO.
........OHHHGHHHO..........OHHHGHHHO.........................OHHHHHGHOAAAO..
........OHHGHHHHO..........OHHHHGHHO.........................OHHHHGHHAAAO...
.........OGHHHHHO..........OHHHHHGOO.........................OHHHGHHHAAO....
.......OOGHHHHHO............OHHHHGTTO......................OOOOHGHHHHAO.....
......OTGTTJHOO..............OOHTTGTTO....................OTTTTGHHHHAO......
.....OTTGTTTO.................OTTTGTTTO...................OTTTAGAAAAO.......
.....OTGTTATTO................OTTTGTTAAO.................OTTTAGAAAOO........
.....OTGTAAATO..OO............OTTTTGTAAAO..........OO....OTAAAGATO..........
....OTTGTAAAAO.OJJO...........OTTTTGTAAAO.........OJJOOOOAAAAGTTTO..........
....OTTGTTAAAAOAJJO...........OTTTGTTAAAO.........OJJAAAAAAAGATTO...........
....OTTGTTTAAAAAAO............OTTTGTTOAAAO.........OAAAAAAATGTTTO...........
....OTTGTTTTAAAAO.............OTTGTTTOAAAO..........OOOAATTGTTTO............
....OTTTGTTTOAOO.............OTTTGTTTOAAAO............OTTTTGTTO.............
.....OTTGTTTTOOO............OTTTTGTTLAAAO............OTTTTGTTO..............
.....OTTTGTTTTLLO...........OTTTTGTTLAAO............OTTTTTGTTO..............
......OTTGTTTTLLO...........OTTTTGTTAAAO............OTTTTGTTLLOO............
.......OTTGTTTLLLO...........OTTTGTLJJO.............OLTTGTTLLLLLO...........
.......OTTGTTLLLLLO...........OTTGLLJJO............OLLLTGTTLLLLLLO..........
........OOGLLLLLLLLO..........OLLGLLLLLO...........OLLLGOOOOLLLLLO..........
.........OLGLLOLLLLO..........OLLGLLLLLO..........OLLLLG....OOLLLO..........
.........OLGLLOOLLLLO.........OLLGLOLLLO..........OLLLGO.....OLLLO..........
..........OGLLOOLLLO..........OLLLGOLLLO.........OLLLLG......OLLLO..........
.........OLGLLOLLLLO..........OLLLGOLLLO.........OLLLGO......OLLLO..........
.........OLGLOOLLLLO.........OLLLLGLLLLO.........OLLLG.......OLLLO..........
.........OLGLOOLLLO..........OLLLOGLLLO.........OLLLGO.......OLLLO..........
........OLLGLOLLLLO.........OOLLLOGLLLOO........OLLLG.......OOLLOO..........
.......OJJJJJJJJJJJO.......OJJJJJJJJJJJJO......OJJJJJO.....OJJJJJJO.........
.......OJJJJJJJJJJJO.......OJJJJJJJJJJJJO......OJJJJJO.....OJJJJJJO.........
........OOOOOOOOOOO.........OOOOOOOOOOOO........OOOOO.......OOOOOO..........

anatomy-loa-poses-32 — the same three curves on dummies (guide in red, drawn just outside the back contour so it stays visible): C (columns 0–19: head and pelvis forward, chest bowed back, braced), S (23–42: head left, chest right, hips left, relaxed), diagonal (46–73: one straight line from rear foot through hip and shoulder to the reaching hand). The curve through head, chest, pelvis and support foot is the first thing you draw; the masses then sit on it.

anatomy-poses-balance-32 · 71×34
  • H dummy-head
  • T dummy-torso
  • A dummy-arm
  • J dummy-joint
  • L dummy-leg
  • O outline
Grid source
H = dummy-head      #e8c547
T = dummy-torso     #8e5ea2
A = dummy-arm       #5aa05a
J = dummy-joint     #8a6040
L = dummy-leg       #d9788f
O = outline         #2b1d2e
---
.........OOO..................OOO....................OOOO..............
........OHHHO................OHHHO..................OHHHHO.............
.......OHHHHHO..............OHHHHHO................OHHHHHHO............
......OHHHHHHHO............OHHHHHHHO...............OHHHHHHO............
......OHHHHHHHO............OHHHHHHHO...............OHHHHHHO............
......OHHHHHHHO............OHHHHHHHO...............OHHHHHHO............
......OHHHHHHHO............OHHHHHHHO...............OHHHHHHO............
.......OHHHHHO..............OHHHHHO................OHHHHHHO............
........OHHHO................OHHHO..................OHHHHO.............
......OOOJJJO..OOO..........OJJJO....................OJJJO.............
....OOTTTOOOOOOAAAO........OOOOO..............OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.......
...OAATTTTTTTTOAAAO.......OTAATTO............OAAATTTTTTTTTTTTAAAO......
..OAAATTTTTTTTTAAAO.......OAAATO............OAAAAATTTTTTTTTTAAAAAO.....
..OAAATTTTTTTTTAAAO.......OAAATO...........OAAAAATTTTTTTTTTTTAAAAAO....
..OAAATTTTTTTTTOAAAO......OAAATO..........OAAAAAOTTTTTTTTTTTTOAAAAAO...
.OAAAOTTTTTTTTTOAAAO......OAAATTO........OAAAAAOOOTTTTTTTTTTOOOAAAAAO..
.OAAAOTTTTTTTTTOAAAO......OAAATTTO.......OAAAAAAAOTTTTTTTTTTOAAAAAAAO..
.OAAAOTTTTTTTTTOAAAO......OAAATTTO........OOAAAAAJJTTTTTTTTJJAAAAAOO...
.OAAAOTTTTOLLLLOAAO.......OTAATTTO..........OOAAAJJTTTTTTTTJJAAAOO.....
..OAAOOLLLOLLLLOAAO........OAALLLO............OOLALLOOOOOOOLALLO.......
..OAAOOLLLOOLLLLAAO........OAAALLO............OLLLLLO.....OLLLLLO......
..OAAOOLLLOOLLLLJJO........OAAALLO............OLLLLO.......OLLLLO......
..OJJOOLLLOOLLLLJJO........OLJJLLO...........OLLLLLO.......OLLLLLO.....
..OJJOOLLLO.OLLLOO..........OJJLLO...........OLLLLO.........OLLLLO.....
...OO.OLLLO.OLLLO...........OLLLLO..........OLLLLO...........OLLLLO....
......OLLLO.OLLLLO..........OLLLLO..........OLLLLO...........OLLLLO....
......OLLLO.OLLLLO..........OLLLLO.........OLLLLO.............OLLLLO...
......OLLLO.OLLLLO..........OLLLLO.........OLLLO...............OLLLO...
......OLLLO..OLLLO..........OLLLLLO.......OLLLLO...............OLLLLO..
......OLLLO..OLLLO..........OLLLLLO.......OLLLO.................OLLLO..
......OLLLLO.OLLLOOO........OLLLLLOO.....OLLLLO................OOLLLLO.
......OJJJJJOOJJJJJJO......OJJJJJJJJO...OJJJJJJO..............OJJJJJJO.
......OJJJJJOOJJJJJJO......OJJJJJJJJO...OJJJJJJO..............OJJJJJJO.
.......OOOOO..OOOOOO........OOOOOOOO.....OOOOOO................OOOOOO..

anatomy-poses-balance-32 — three static poses on one baseline (colour-coded dummy, see rules://30-proportions-by-size): contrapposto, front (columns 0–18: shoulder line tilted against the hip line, weight on the viewer's left leg, relaxed knee out on the free leg), side stand (22–35: head forward of the chest, chest back, pelvis and belly forward), heroic wide stance (39–68: upward triangle, fists on hips, shoulders ≈ 2 heads wide).

anatomy-poses-motion-32 · 84×34
  • H dummy-head
  • T dummy-torso
  • A dummy-arm
  • J dummy-joint
  • L dummy-leg
  • O outline
Grid source
H = dummy-head      #e8c547
T = dummy-torso     #8e5ea2
A = dummy-arm       #5aa05a
J = dummy-joint     #8a6040
L = dummy-leg       #d9788f
O = outline         #2b1d2e
---
....................................................................................
....OOOO..........................................OOO...............................
...OHHHHO........................................OHHHO..............................
..OHHHHHHO......................................OHHHHHO.............................
..OHHHHHHHO....................................OHHHHHHO.............................
..OHHHHHHHO....................................OHHHHHHHO............................
..OHHHHHHHO....................................OHHHHHHHO..................OOOOO.....
..OHHHHHHO.....................................OHHHHHHHO.................OHHHHHO....
...OHHHHHO...................................OOOHHHHHHO.............OOO..OHHHHHHO...
....OHHHTTO...O....................OO.......OTTTTHHHHO...OO........OTTTOOHHHHHHHO...
....OTTTTTTO.OAOOO................OJJOO....OTTTTTTOOO..OOJJO......OTTTTTTHHHHHHHO...
...OTTTTTATOOAAAAAOOO.............OJJAAOOOOTAAAATTAOOOOAAJJO......OTTTTTTTHHHHHHO...
...OTTTTAAAAOAAAAAAAAOO............OAAAAAAAAAAAATTAAAAAAAOO.......OTTTTTAAJJHHHO....
...OTTTTAAAAAAAAAAAAAJJO............OOAAAAAAAAATTTAAAAAAO.........OTTTTTAAOHHHO.....
....OTTTTAAAAAAAAAAAAJJO..............OOAAATTTTTTOOAAAAO..........OTTTTTAAAOOO......
.....OTTTTTTAAAAAAAJJOO.................OTTTTTTTO..OOOO............OTTTTAAAO........
.....OTTTTTTTOOOOAAJJO.................OTTTTTTTO....................OTTTAAAO........
......OTTTTTTO...OOOO.................OTTTTTTTO.....................OTTTAAAO........
......OTTTTTTTO.......................OTTTTTTO......................OTTTTAAO........
......OLTTTTTTLO.....................OTTTTTTTO......................OTTTTAAO........
......OLTTTTTTLLOO..................OLTTTTTTO.......................OTTTTAAO........
.....OLLTTTTTLLLLLO................OLLTTTTTLO.......................OTTTTAAO........
.....OLLLLTTOLLLLLLO...............OLLLTTTTLLOO......................OTTTAALO.......
.....OLLLLOO.OLLLLLO..............OLLLLLLLLLLLLO......................OLLAALLO......
....OLLLLO....OOLLLO.............OLLLLLOOOLLLLLLO......................OLJJLLLO.....
....OLLLO.....OLLLLO............OLLLLLO...OLLLLLO.......................OJJLLLLO....
...OLLLLO.....OLLLLO...........OLLLLLO.....OLLLO........................OLLLLLLO....
..OLLLLO......OLLLO...........OLLLLLO......OLLLO........................OLLLLLO.....
..OLLLLO......OLLLO..........OLLLLLO.......OLLLO........................OLLLLLO.....
.OLLLLO.......OLLLO.........OLLLLLO........OLLLO.......................OLLLLLLO.....
.OLLLO.......OLLLLO.........OLLLLO.........OLLOOO.....................OOLLLLLOO.....
OJJJJJO.....OJJJJJJO.......OJJJJJO........OJJJJJJO...................OJJJJJJJJJO....
OJJJJJO.....OJJJJJJO.......OJJJJJO........OJJJJJJO...................OJJJJJJJJJO....
.OOOOO.......OOOOOO.........OOOOO..........OOOOOO.....................OOOOOOOOO.....

anatomy-poses-motion-32 — three dynamic poses facing right, same baseline: C brace / pull (columns 0–23: head behind the pelvis, arms thrust forward, back leg straight, front knee bent), diagonal dash (27–58: whole body on one diagonal, trailing leg straight, near arm swept back, head ahead of the hips), hunch / defeat (62–81: back hump above the neck line, head low and forward, arm hanging, knees bent).

Procedure

#
  1. layer op create "line-of-action"; draw the curve with draw op polyline or paste a guide template. Decide the weight foot and mark its column.
  2. layer op create "dummy"; block head, chest and pelvis as three flat shapes on the curve with draw op grid or draw op ellipse / rect. Tilt shoulders against hips (rule 3).
  3. Add limbs as 3→2 px tapered strokes (draw op line with thickness, or grid). Hands and feet as clusters.
  4. look op preview; then the silhouette test: layer op duplicate, recolor op replace every colour with one dark flat colour, look op preview, then delete the copy. If the action is unclear change the pose, not the shading.
  5. Shift a mass by draw op blit to the new x/y plus clear of the old one, rather than redrawing; compare variants on separate frames with look op onion.
  6. Only then outline and shade (rules://02-shading-and-light). For animation keep the same masses across frames (rules://06-layers-and-rigging, rules://42-walk-and-run).

Mistakes

#
  • Stiff statue → centres of head / chest / hip on one vertical, shoulder and hip lines parallel → rule 3–4: tilt and shift.
  • Pose reads on one side only, other limbs lost → arm swallowed by the torso → leave ≥ 1 px gap or move the limb off the body.
  • Limbs like pipes → constant width, no bend → taper and give 1 px of bend.
  • Leaning figure looks like it will fall over → no counter-weight, base too narrow → plant the push foot behind the line and extend the rear leg, or move the mass over the foot.
  • Symmetrical "fly-swatted" front pose → both arms spread flat → hide one limb behind the body, turn the head, drop one shoulder.
  • Pose changes figure size between frames → volume drift → keep masses fixed, move them rigidly (rule 12).
  • Muscle noise at 32 px → every group drawn → keep four shapes, shade the rest.

Review

#
  • A line of action (C, S or diagonal) is visible on the silhouette alone.
  • Shoulder line and hip line are not parallel (unless the pose is deliberately frontal and static).
  • The weight foot is identifiable and under the centre of mass, or the lean is clearly intended.
  • Every limb tapers and no two outlines cross.
  • Filled flat, the pose still says what the character is doing.
  • Body pixel count is stable across poses of the same character.

Sources

#

Hampton, Figure Drawing: Design and Invention (gesture, spine, centre of gravity, weight, pinch / stretch, T-overlaps, pp. 5–50, 88–199); Loomis, Figure Drawing for All It's Worth (mannikin, balance and the tipped line, pp. 38–49, 103–130); Blair, Advanced Animation (line of action, construction sequence, pp. 3–7, 21); Hultgren, Animal Drawing: Anatomy and Action for Artists (line of action, stretch and bunch, pp. 13–38); Solarski, Drawing Basics and Video Game Art (Gravity and Movement, Pelvis, Spine and Ribcage, Shoulder Girdle); Bancroft, Creating Characters with Personality (tilts, flow, pp. 70–71, 141); Williams, The Animator's Survival Kit (pp. 168–170, 225–258, 272); Muybridge, The Human Figure in Motion; Mateu-Mestre, Framed Ink (p. 104–105); Slynyrd Pixelblog PB17, PB49, PB57; BJG sprite workflow; Saint11 tutorials.