Drawing Motion Advice

[Redthic]

Hey guys.

So I'm working on a more action-y page for my comic and I've hit a wall. One thing I've been struggling with is showing motion in a way that works for my style. This is my latest attempt here.

The problem is my girlfriend, who is helping me by being another set of eyes and tweaking things in photoshop, says the white doesn't work with the background.

I'm not sure what I can do to make the motion stand out and not be white. Can anyone give me some suggestions.

One thing I will note is the black background is a place holder for a space/galaxy effect we're going to add.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

[abbastudios]

Show the speed lines as white on black.

[AnnaLandin]

Agreeing with @abbastudios - instead of drawing the motion as a big block of white, draw only the lines, and in white/some other pale colour. You can keep the de-saturated/paler look of the previous positions of the arm, but turning the motion itself from a block of colour into just lines will probably help it look less awkward.

[scythe]

Or just check out Anna's comic, Grassblades. It seems she's too modest to say it herself, but she really nails motion.

[TrustyShamrock]

i think somethin that could be helpful is perspective and stuff. you could change the camera angle to the side so that it looks like the arm is coming forward. it'll look more dramatic and could stand out more as it movin. also maybe make the top arm more faded than the middle arm

[AnnaLandin]

you could change the camera angle to the side so that it looks like the arm is coming forward

I don't think it is, though? I read this as someone reaching up and pulling out something from a holster on their back, and that the motion goes straight out to the side, and not forward. Is that right, @Redthic?

[GlanceReviver]

All good suggestions, but also remember that you don't have to be super literal with every motion that your character makes. If we see him or her grab their weapon in one panel, and then standing with the weapon in hand in a dynamic pose in the next, we don't always to see the positions in between.

[Voodin]

I suggest generally not having a large white shape for the motion lines, do something more akin to an Animation smear(those blurry frames in old school cartoons) or maybe a more manga-styled motion line, it's less likely to obscure your background and brings more focus to the design.

The easiest alternative I can see is to actually remove whatever isn't the arm in the effect.

[ashriott]

I think big blocks of white shapes for motion lines are better suited for black & white art. It's done a lot for manga style art and works very well if used appropriately. I don't do colour comics myself, but I suggest to look into other colour action comic(online and professional) to see how they portray motion. From the superhero comics I've seen, they are drawn in such a way you don't really need speedlines to convey motion. Or check out the Avatar comics, since they use speedlines in a very basic way that would work for coloured comics in general. They all do motion very differently so try to have a look around and do some research : )

[Redthic]

Oh man, I went to bed hoping for a good idea or two and you guys showered me with several more than I expected.

Thank you so much! Q_Q

@abbastudios, @AnnaLandin, Yeah I think I'm going to try this first. I think I tried white on black before but the lines just came out wonky. I dunno why. I just want some of it to stand out more.

@scythe, Just did and I totally agree. I'll probably need to study it thoroughly.

@TrustyShamrock, @AnnaLandin - Yeah, Anna got it. He's pulling a collapsible baton from his bag an swinging it open at his side. I do have an action that is back to front in a couple of panels from this one.

@GlanceReviver Hmm I'll keep that in mind. I just want to make sure I convey it correctly since it is a swift motion.

@Voodin Animation Smear? Do you have an example of this. I think I know what you are talking about but I'm not sure.

@ashriott Yeah. I mostly read manga when I was younger so it is where I get a lot of my inspiration from. It doesn't really work for color most times though. I will check out Avatar though since that might be a good place to learn new techniques that would suit my style.

[Spinester]

You could also knock down the opacity of the white section and make it more 'see-through,' which would make it look like more of a whoosh swing.

[Voodin]

Glad you took the time to read everyone's responses, ANYWAY, Spongebob has some of the best examples of successful use of smearing here and here. If you want more, one of my favorite cartoon blogs just happens to be Animation Smears.

[Redthic]

Why wouldn't I? I mean I asked for advice and everyone was being super helpful.

Ah! That technique. I never knew it was called animation smearing. Hmm, I might try practicing that and see how it works.

[Redthic]

Seriously, thank you everyone!

[TrustyShamrock]

oh. ah! AAAAAH yer right sorry it totally is going to the side. haha nevermind ignore me