Take out your pencil and draw a stick figure.
Any old stickman will do, however you instinctively draw one.
I’ll wait here while you do it…
All done? Great!
Now, how does he look? Something like this guy down below, perhaps?
Somewhat wooden-looking, isn’t he?
Yep. most of us draw a stick man like a Hangman!
I always used to draw stickmen that looked as though they needed some extra oil in their joints. They were stiff and wooden and they couldn’t move at all. Which didn’t matter at the time, because I didn’t expect them to move.
But I learned that it’s a simple thing to draw a stick figure in a way that gets it moving, and from there your stick figures can be used to springboard you into creative mode.
When you draw a stick figure, you just need to Get Jointy:
like this…
When you draw a stickman and Get Jointy, he can move!
Getting Jointy is the phrase I use to describe drawing a stick figure that’s anatomically correct. With all his joints in place, a stickman can move all his limbs like a real person does. All the better to mimic you with 🙂
Drawing a stick figure well is the first step to creating your own cartoon characters that move and get up to mischief.
Once you learn to draw a stickman properly, they just need to:
- Find themselves — and their Unique Proportions
- Move from Static to Ecstatic
- Go 3-Dimensional
- Pull on their Glad-Rags
- Bling on some Accessories
- Grow a Personality
Let’s save all the other steps for another day. For now, have you taken your pencil out yet? ‘Cos every brain needs downtime…
Make drawing a stick figure your time to play!
Big Stick Figure Question:
Have you ever used Stick figures to springboard yourself into drawing something else? Or do you struggle to get started? What gets in your way?
Drop a line in the comments below, or sign up on the home page to get hold of me.