A Quick Look at Posing


“Discipline in animation is the challenges and limitations you set for yourself.” — Chuck Jones 

Today, we’re gonna look at two simple yet beautiful poses from one of my favorite Warner Bros shorts, Robin Hood Daffy, directed and designed by Chuck Jones. When looking at animation posing, it’s important to ask what makes a pose great. Again it’s all about seeing. The qualities described here are a small indication of what goes into good staging, drawing and design when it comes to character work.

Daffy Duck by Chuck Jones, from Robin Hood Daffy, 1958.

Pose #1:

  1. Strong Line of Action, bowed towards an imaginary opponent, gives the character excellent weight and sense of direction.
  2. Usage of a near-perfect profile head shape allows the open mouth, beak and overall pose to read with absolute clarity.
  3. Back foot is clearly angled towards camera, slightly tilted forward giving it form, perspective and depth that contrasts nicely with the profiled flatter placement of the front foot all the while forming a stable support of the body.
  4. Evidence of weight in the bend of the legs and folds in the clothing, exercising principles of compression and expansion.
  5. Elbows are anatomically marked and angled to indicated slight foreshortening of forearms.
  6. Arms are splayed out in a non-parallel fashion, so the action-expression never reads flat.
  7. Slight tilt of the top of hat shows animator has left nothing out in terms of weight.
  8. Straight dropped line of the vest not only depicts weight but contrasts nicely against the curve of the back; it also parallels the vertical line at the front of the hat.
Daffy Duck by Chuck Jones, from Robin Hood Daffy, 1958.

Pose #2:

  1. Tilted angle of hips justifies weight distribution to the back leg and corresponds to the opposing tilt of the shoulders. The overall shape of the pose is tight, simple and balanced.
  2. One fist is sillouetted against open space while the other fist visually overlaps the body, giving depth and variation.
  3. Angle of shoulders and arms indicate foreshortening and give force to the bent arms.
  4. Squash of lower mouth/beak works nicely against the stretched hat on top of the head.
  5. The bunching up at the knees again gives weight and volume to the clothing as well as adding to the direction of the leg action.
  6. Showing the underside of feet gives perspective to the foot movement and adds appeal.
  7. Line of action of the body extends all the way through to the end of the feather pulling the whole pose together.
  8. Foot is placed solidly on the ground and gives perspective to the ground.