Man in Motion

I came across this Dennis the Menace strip today, and was happy to find that it was very similar to a sketch I did just the other night. Though usually suited for the process of animation, it's important for any artist to have a solid understanding of how a motion is executed, step by step. In my case, I was trying to draw the final dip in a waltz, but I couldn't figure out how exactly the dancers got into that position. So, I backed up the video and drew them as they got there. Preston Blair, in his book Cartoon Animation, goes into great detail about the stages in lots of different motions (walking, running, sneaking, jumping, etc.).

For comics, a study like this can give characters' movements much more credibility, even if they are just static images. As I've said before, there is a strong difference between someone posing as if they are running, and a still image of someone running.