Just Create: balance

Showing posts with label balance. Show all posts

Saturday, November 12, 2016

How Do I Keep From Looking Goofy?

Center of Balance

Image from Bridgman's Complete Guide To Drawing From Life Copyright George B. Bridgman 1930

Your figures should always have a center of balance. It may be more beneficial to think of it as the center of mass. A distribution of the figure in space. The distribution of the figure is balanced around the center of mass.

A figure’s center of gravity is the point around which the resultant torque due to gravity forces is zero. The center of mass is the same as the center of gravity. This where we draw our center of balance line. So if the figure moves past that center of balance line, it will fall over. Even with a figure in motion, it will not fall over when it has the center of mass drawn correctly. Figures look off balance when they move pass the center of mass.

A figure’s center of mass is always changing because it is not a fixed, static shape.

to be continued…

read next - How to Draw Figures in Rhythm Nation
previous - How Do You Make it?

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copyright 2016 H. Simpson

Friday, July 19, 2013

Action Part 9a - Visual Vocabulary of Graphic Novels and Comic Books

Even Pros Have Issues

This is an unplanned detour, yet still relevant to the current topic.

This a bad Jim Lee drawing I saw. It's bad for many reasons, poor cropping, bad anatomy and tangents, among others. However, I think Jim's career will survive my critique.

The topic today is balance. Woman Woman is off-balance. Her center of gravity is going through the foot that is not providing support. Now you may say, "Howard, he's just drawing her in perspective with the background." My response is, 'No, he didn't.'

First evidence is the background figures have a straight center of gravity.

Second. the perspective is off.

The problem with using a photograph for reference is that the perspective is most likely distorted. it doesn't match what the human eye sees. You can't follow it exactly.

To be continued...

previous - Action Part 9 - Visual Vocabulary of Graphic Novels and Comic Books

Keep reading and follow me. If you have found this helpful, please let me know and share with other creators. Are the explanations clear and complete? Feel free to ask me questions.

Remember… Just Create!

If you like this blog, share this blog!

If you are interested in further expanding your knowledge, then I recommend these books.

You can support this blog when you purchase a book by clicking the link below, I get a piece of the action and helps me to continue doing this blog. Support an artist today.

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Action Part 9 - Visual Vocabulary of Graphic Novels and Comic Books

Balance

It's important to keep grounded figures balanced when standing and when doing action, unless they are falling.

It's good to act out the action you are drawing so you can feel it. In some cases, you may want to photograph someone performing the action. There's no reason in this digital day and age that you do not have a camera near you somewhere. You don't have to look like your character, be the same gender or even have the same body shape of your character to take a selfie. You want to see and feel the gesture of the action and feel the balance a character needs.

Keep in mind that your characters have weight. Think about direction and balance. Think about active and passive lines. Think about where the body will stretch and where it will pinch. Always be mindful of proportions.

Be aware of the center of gravity of your character. You should be able to draw a line to find the center of gravity from the pit of the neck to the supporting foot or feet. Or that line may pass between the feet when they support the weight equally. Sometime the line goes straight down. Other times it is diagonal and travels from the pit of the neck to the supporting foot in extreme action.