EVANGELINE THAN

Cedric Hohnstadt examines classic Popeye cartoons and shows how a lot can be said about a character’s personality through their poses.

According to Hohnstadt, good poses will possess the following traits:

Clarity: “A clear pose will pass the “silhouette test”: If you colored in the entire pose solid black you could still tell just from the silhouette exactly what the character is doing and/or thinking.”

Physicality: “Notice how every movement Popeye makes involves his entire body … Every pose is pushed for maximum visual interest.”

Line of Action: “In almost every pose you can draw one smooth imaginary curve from Popeye’s head down through his torso and into his leg. Cartoonists call this the “line of action”. In a good pose the line is one simple and clean swoop (mimicking a “C” or an “S” shape). In a bad pose the line is twisted and kinked. Every Popeye pose has a simple and clear line of action.”

Source: “Give Your Poses Clarity and Interest”, posted by Cedric Hohnstadt on December 11, 2008 to his blog, at http://cedrichohnstadt.wordpress.com/2008/12/11/give-your-poses-clarity-and-interest/

Update (21/04/2009): Keith Lango also emphasises the importance of a clear silhouette in poses. Read all about it in “Silhouette”, URL: http://keithlango.blogspot.com/2009/03/silhouette.html (posted March 16th, 2009)