>>56553720Thank you, King, that's pretty much exactly what I was going to talk about, though I didn't know the specific terms.
>>56553822When portraying a character in art, our hee-hoo monkey brain is naturally inclined to focus in on symbols, symbols that represent core identifying features; like circles for eyes, lines for mouths, etcetera. However, the face is only 5% of the body's surface area, and the remaining 95% cannot be neglected.
Body language is the most important method of expressing character. A person may be smiling, but if their shoulders are slouched, their spine is slumped forward, they're squeezing their binder and tapping their foot, are they really happy to see you?
If you want to have a character stand tall, your first thought may be to simply have them... stand, tall. However, this limits the range of expression severely and makes them look rigid. Think of how uncomfortable it was having to lock in place for a school photo. Straight lines are restrictive, curving lines represent freedom of movement and expressiveness. Our shoulders, hips, and spines are almost always moving and twisting in almost any circumstance. Life is asymmetrical, we rarely have those theoretical lines running across our shoulders and hips running parallel.
Take a look at the examples I've provided to see how building around that "Line of Action" benefits the whole. If you want to draw better poses, it begins and ends with manipulating the hips, shoulders, and spine and then branching off from there and manipulating the Lines of Action to suit your needs. For example, turning the curve following the vertebrae into a winding S-shape.