Why is this so stiff?

[Nights2]

[wispysing]

Maybe you can add some motion smears to indicate speed and line of action. Like so:

Also, some radial motion blur lines around the edges might be nice, to help define focus to the center.

[IndigoShirtProd]

Edit: I wrote this under the impression that the original was panel and not a cover.

For one, the supporting foot is straight up and down with no bend. Now that may be more accurate to a reference or correct form for this kick, but a slight bend lends to the idea of movement and force. And the same can be said about the east of the body: arms, torso, haie, etc. They are all also pretty static, making the pose stiff.

For two, the angle at which the motion is viewed is dead on from the front. If the "camera" angle was even changed slightly, like from a little beneath the character or a little above the character or to the side, it would be a more interesting shot. And also, we don’t see what this character is kicking at, so the shot loses impact as well. If the following shot is the connection panel, where the character's foot connects with the object or person they are kicking at, then the impact will be small because this panel makes it seem there's not much force behind thr kick.

For three, and most importantly, there's no line of action throughout the body that shows the full motion of the kick, just a leg floating in mid air. You're not giving the reader that much information on how he got his leg that high in the air. Maybe the previous panel gives that information, but even this panel doesn't seem like it follows through with that.

Like @wispysing mentioned, speed lines would help, but on top of rhat, you should also get into gesture drawing so you know how to make figures a little more loose. Don't follow references verbatim for action sequences, especially if you're going off a still image. Those may have you stiffen up your work if you not skilled enough to change them to fit your style better. And lastly, look at examples in other media. Comics that feature intense action scenes with good motion and well animated action shows. Also tournament bouts, movies, and even tutorial videos for martial arts. Here's a link of a wiki I use that has a multitude about different martial art moves: https://blackbeltwiki.com/

[Nights2]

I tried implementing gesture into my webcomic but it always looks weird for no reason maybe I'm doing the wrong method idk

[IndigoShirtProd]

Well, that's why it's better to practice until you're more comfortable before trying it in a finished project. The more used to it you get in practice, the easier it is to implement in finished work. Have you gone one to those sites that have you sketch figures in short amounts of time? I know there are some gesture videos on youtube where the creator will talk you through what it means and how to practice it.

Here's one:

I think this is a good starting place.

[fsarbolaez]

I'm not a drawing artist, but maybe you can try smaller action panels showing movement by movement sequences which lead to the picture you have now? Idk, since the context of the full scene is not present in this post. There are other ways to show action, but the posters above are giving great advice.

Also, I couldn't resist. Here they are in a mosh pit:

[Nights2]

The Drawing is for the supposed cover
He is kicking nothing idk I just though it will look cool but it didn't

[IndigoShirtProd]

Have you considered changing the angle like mentioned before? Like zooming in closer so that kick looks like it connects the camera or from the side of the character so it shows what he kicking at.

[NickRowler]

I think it might be the angle, it sort of flattens everything.

It also looks like he is doing the Can-Can

I get the feeling you want something more like this

[Nights2]

How did you get the 1st image I'm having trouble searching for references with the pose I have in mind

[NickRowler]

I looked up “cancan dance”.

For the 2nd image, I looked up “high kick”

[Nights2]

I was actually trying to make him kick the ground

[IndigoShirtProd]

So why is his foot in the air?

[Nights2]

Uhh.. because it hasn't it yet lol

[DokiDokiTsuna]

I was actually trying to make him kick the ground

If his foot is supposed to be about to land hard on the ground, you have to add motion cues to the figure that make that apparent to the viewer. For example, you could place the figure in midair instead of standing still on the ground, and lift his clothes and hair to show the effects of gravity-- a cue that tells the viewer 'this person is descending'.

Right now, you DO have motion cues in the drawing, but they're the wrong ones; they're too subtle. The way he leans over like that with his arms held up slightly (and all his clothes and hair are motionless)-- it looks like he's trying to balance himself in a still pose. It doesn't look like he's in the middle of making some violent movement, because when you move fast you don't need to lean like that. Your center of gravity should still be following the initial force, and so should the rest of the body.

My advice to you would be to perform the action you're trying to draw and pay attention to where your limbs are placed as you go through it (record yourself if you can, or find a video of someone else doing it). Your body already knows how to support itself during motion, you just have to take a closer look at what it's doing so you can figure out how to portray it visually.

[Rhonder]

A couple of things stand out to me that may be contributing to stiffness.

The primary thing is that beyond the dynamic leg, the rest of the character's body is too rigid and locked in place. The arms are out for balance which is a good start, but at the very least the other knee should probably bend for balance as well, and instead of leaning forward or to the side, I think the character probably needs to actually be leaning backwards a little bit.

One thing that's really helpful for working out dynamic poses like this is to actually try it yourself, a little bit! Obviously you probably can't get your leg all the way up like that (in fact, your hip might break if you did ) but even just performing the pose within the range of your ability, you can get a sense for how it should balance out. I tried it just now and rouged out the sketch on the right below based on how it felt:

my sketch isn't exactly correct either, but I think it's a little closer at least? The one at the bottom is just me hypothesizing what angle the rest of the body would need to be at in order to get the foot all the way up there. I think that's probably realistically an aerial kick move, rather than a grounded one? It reminds me of a bicycle kick in soccer almost haha

edit: per some of the other replies, you probably can do a kick like this if you're way more athletic and flexible than i my upper right sketch is just about how far I can raise my leg without falling over, I guess hahaha

[catluckey]

Ah, you want him to look cool--just kicking in the air--something like our fav anime, "Cowboy Beebop"'s Spike Speigal!

First, with hard or unusual poses and perspective always use a reference. Not everyone can do a good high kick, but you can get a reference.

The guy does look stiff because he isn't grounded and his body isn't in the right position. Check out this link:

Front View High Kick

[system]

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