In The Animator's Survival Kit by Richard Williams, this skill is described as the use of weight.
Williams writes, "...in picking up something heavy, the whole body will help" (262). In the images below, the main line that is preforming the action is highlighted in red.
In order to practice finding the line of action in various forms of media and see the dramatic effect it has, I put together some examples:
In the first example, the two superheroes from the Marvel movie Captain America: Civil War (Joe Russo, 2016) are in very dynamic poses. This is because they both have very strongly recognizable lines of action, as highlighted in red. The actions they are about to take appear much more powerful because of this as well.
In the second example, from the movie Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (Richard Marquand, 1983) Luke and Darth Vader are facing off. Take notice of how their poses contrast each other: Luke looks as if he's exerting himself completely, while Darth Vader doesn't seem to be applying himself as fully. The reason for these distinct poses is the line of action, which is again highlighted in red. Luke's line is curved, while Vader's line is fairly straight up and down.
The Third example is from the 2017 film Wonder Woman, directed by Patty Jenkins. The woman in the air with a bow is a perfect example of a strong line of action. Her pose in the air is dramatic and dynamic, and the line of action is incredibly clear to see.
My final question is this: how is the line of action applied to other forms of media other than animations and movies?
Hey Ansleigh! This is such an interesting idea, I love the idea of a line of action, and how it affects the movement of the art. I do think that this line is super important in any art media. My question is how do you use the line of action. Is it a bi-product of a dynamic drawing, or should a drawing be developed around a preset line of action?
ReplyDeleteHi! That's a really good question. I'd say that as you are drawing you should keep the line in mind, but you don't necessarily have to base the drawing off of the line. You want to make sure that your drawing includes the line of action, but I wouldn't suggest starting with the line right away. Also, I do not recommend starting with a preset line of action, as it could limit the creativity of the pose. Hope this helps!
DeleteHi Ansleigh! I've seen (and used ) this concept in drawing before and I can say that it is very helpful to show how much effort is being put in a characters action. I've watched many animations and I've concluded that the line of action is the most noticeable in them, especially animations not produced by the "big companies".
ReplyDeleteI agree. Sometimes independent animators make better use of this skill than corporations, and this can give off a very stylized and personal effect. When the animators really care and put effort into their projects it really shines through. :)
DeleteWow, this is really cool. a lot of my drawings look stiff, maybe using a line of action or two could make my drawings more believable. Thanks! What other things are important in animation other than the line of action?
ReplyDeleteHi! The author of the book I'm reading puts a lot of emphasis on practicing as often as possible. Practicing and experimenting with new methods are probably the most important aspect of animation; just keep trying!
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