15 Dynamic Poses for Drawing + Tutorial Guide

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Artist Claire Wentzel offers tips on drawing dynamic, action-packed poses

Co-authored by Claire Wentzel and Marcus Pruitt, BS

Last Updated: February 10, 2026 Fact Checked

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• Drawing Tips
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When it comes to drawing for a story (or a fun side project), dynamic poses that make your figures look like they’re moving often seem like a tough thing to pull off. Luckily, you’ve landed on the right article! Here, we’ll make drawing dynamic poses easy by giving you 15 references to choose from, drawing tips from professional artists, and the best places to find dynamic drawing tutorials. Read on to bring your dynamic ideas to life!

Dynamic Poses For Drawing

Artist Claire Wentzel recommends drawing people holding an object above their heads, stretching towards something, or curling or bending their bodies to create angles. To draw accurate dynamic poses, practice them regularly, with a strong focus on anatomical form and on referencing real figures.

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Section 1 of 3:

Dynamic Poses to Use as References

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   Running Draw your character running to show how determined (or excited) they are to get to their destination. Draw them from the side if you want to focus on their form. Or, sketch them from the front if you want to focus on their expression.

   • For example, if your character’s running into battle, draw them from the front with a determined look on their face to show that they’re ready for action.
   • Or, if your character is joyfully running after scoring a date with their crush, draw them smiling from ear to ear.

   Meet the wikiHow Experts

   Claire Wentzel is an award-winning artist with over 20 years of experience. She specializes in mixed media participatory art, brand messaging, and building organizational culture.

   Arklight Blues and Sea Cucumber are digital manga artists who specialize in drawing manga and have built an online community of over 110k followers.

   Kieran Dutcher is a professional artist with over 30 years of experience. She’s been published in St. Martin’s Press, Uppercase Magazine, and other publications.
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   Getting Ready to Take Off If you’ve got a flyer in your story (or someone who traverses the skies with cool tech), draw them from an upward perspective with their knees bent and arms raised as if they’re propelling themselves off the ground. This will give them an exciting, aura-filled moment that shows that they’re ready to fly into any situation at a moment’s notice.
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   Charging Up Draw your character gathering energy (or hyping themselves up) before a big battle or moment in the story. Consider giving them slightly bent knees, pumped, flexing arms, and a strained look on their face to show how hard they’re working to charge up and prepare for the challenges ahead of them.

   • If you have a cocky, all-powerful character, draw them with a devilish grin on their face as they gear up.
   • Curling or bending their body to create more angles provides more energy than just sitting, according to Wentzel.
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   Winding Up a Kick Show off your character’s strengths by drawing them winding up a kick. Sketch them with one of their knees wound back with the opposite foot on the ground as if they’re getting ready to kick a soccer ball. To really make your drawing accurate, draw one of their arms raised like they’re gathering momentum for the kick.

   • This pose works great for sports stories and action stories!
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   Shaolin Pu Bu The Shaolin Pu Bu (low stance) pose is a great dynamic pose to use in your fighting stories. It shows that your character is getting low and stretching their lower body and core for easier movement. Not only does this make it useful for fights (as your character’s limbering up), but it also shows that your character is experienced and mobile, giving them some depth.
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   Two-Person Battle A two-person battle from a spectator’s perspective is a great way to show your characters getting active and fighting with all they’ve got. There are plenty of different ways to draw this, too! You can show them landing punches on each other, one character throwing a punch while the other one blocks it, or the two clashing swords. Whatever the story calls for.

   • Draw the two from the side to really show off both of their bodies and moves.
   • Need some inspiration for fighting poses? Check out our article, “20 Fighting Poses to Use for Drawing & Other References.”
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   Throwing a Spear If you have a character in your story that uses ranged weapons (or you just want them to have a cool moment), draw them throwing a spear. Holding an object over their head looks more dynamic, says Wentzel. So, draw the leg opposite their throwing hand bent and in front of them, their non-throwing hand stretched out as a guide, and their throwing arm bent holding the spear.

   • Draw your character from the side to show off their stance and the spear.
   • Draw them with an angry or determined look on their face to show the emotions they’re feeling as they throw the spear.
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   Drawing a Bow If you’ve got a vigilante character in your story (or someone who just loves using classic weapons), sketch them drawing a bow and getting ready to fire an arrow. Draw them with the drawstring pulled back by their face, aiming down the sights of the bow, and holding an arrow.

   • Whether they’re shooting at an enemy or trying to grapple onto a target, having your character draw a bow is a great way to make them look cool and slightly menacing.
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   Sword Slash Draw your character slashing their sword at the enemy with a fierce look on their face to show the stakes of the moment. Show their arms just below their chest as they hold the sword with bent knees, accompanied by a slash above the tip of the sword in the direction that they swung.

   • Draw small impact lines around the slash to show how hard your character swung the sword.
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    Upward Kick An upward kick is a great way to show off your character’s flexibility and power. Whether they’re stretching or fighting, draw them from the side with their kicking leg stretched above their head. Show their opposite leg firmly planted on the ground and have their arms at their sides, either straight or slightly bent.
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    First Person Punch Show off your character’s power by drawing them from the enemy’s perspective as they throw a punch. Make the punch the focal point of your drawing, showing the fist larger than the body. Give your character a fierce look to show the emotional weight behind the punch, too.

    • To really show how strong the punch is, draw action lines around the fingers.
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    Reaching for the Sky If your character’s chasing something that’s out of reach, have a scene where they reach for the sky to symbolize that they’ll have a hard time achieving their goal. Stretching toward something also looks more dynamic, says Wentzel. Draw them jumping up with one of their knees bent and one (or both) arms reaching towards the sky to pull this pose off.

    • Draw them with a happy grin on their face to show that they’re eager to accomplish their goals.
    • If your character comes to the realization that their goal is difficult while they reach for the sky, draw them with a saddened or frustrated look on their face.
    • Show them from the perspective of the sky to really capture your character making the jump.
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    Hanging From a Building Draw your character hanging from a rope with their feet anchored to the side of a building to show them observing from a distance. They can be getting ready for a fight, gathering intel, or preparing for a full-fleet assault; the pose will show that they’re determined to conquer whatever’s ahead of them.
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    Kneeing The Enemy To show a dynamic, action-packed moment of your character besting their enemy, draw them kneeing them in the stomach. This pose lets you really test the limits of drawing form, as both characters’ bodies will be twisted in ways you don’t usually see.

    • For example, the kicker will likely be holding the kickee’s back as they knee them in the gut, meaning the kickee will be hunched over, and the kicker’s limbs will be stretched out.
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    Victory Pump When the epic moment has passed and your character is celebrating their victory, have them pump their arms with a smile on their face to show how happy they are. Draw the upper half of their arms close to the body and the lower half stretched out in front of them. Ball their hands into fists and give them a cheesy smile to show how much the victory means to them.
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Section 2 of 3:

Tips on Drawing Dynamic Poses

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1. 1
   Study anatomy to better understand the body in motion. Digital manga artists Arklight Blues and Sea Cucumber strongly suggest studying anatomy to improve at drawing dynamic poses because you need to “see how the bones look in the hand, how they operate, how they can move, and how far they can move before you can actually understand the mechanism of the hand and draw it correctly.”

   • For example, if you’re drawing a fight scene, study the anatomy of a fist so you can understand how to draw accurate punches.
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   Practice warm-up poses to get your hands moving. Wentzel says that quick 30-second to 1-minute warm-up poses force you to get the essentials of drawing down without being bogged down by the details. It’s not meant to be neat; it’s meant to be motion, which is crucial for dynamic poses.

   • Wentzel also recommends using the fewest marks possible to capture the essence of the motion and drawing the person from different angles and distances.
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   Get your references from real life. Professional artist Kieren Dutcher says to “draw from life and draw every day.” Not only does getting your references from real life help draw more accurate dynamic poses and figures, but it also improves your drawing skills the more you do it.

   • For example, if you’re trying to improve at drawing people running, head to your local track and sketch some of the people running there.
   • “Ask a friend or hire a model to hold short poses (3 minutes or less),” recommends Wentzel. Or, “try drawing people in public while sitting in a cafe or park.”
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   Draw dynamic poses daily. Wentzel says repeatedly drawing basic poses is useful because “the more times you do it, the better at it you become.” So, if you want to improve at drawing dynamic poses, grab some of your favorite references and draw them every day!

   • “The best way to improve your drawing is to do it,” according to Wentzel. “Drawing from life is the best training.”
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   Keep drawing until you find your style. Everyone’s art style is different, so when you’re still learning, don’t let experienced artists’ styles get you down. “Just keep doing it and don’t judge yourself,” Wentzel says. This is because the more you experiment with different materials and subjects, “a visual language will become apparent through that.”

   • “Experiment with different colored backgrounds that contrast with the drawing,” advises Wentzel. “You can also try drawing on midtone paper and use both dark and light pencils or pastel to more easily get a full range of value.”
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Section 3 of 3:

Where to Find Tutorials for Drawing Dynamic Poses

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1. 1
   YouTube There are plenty of YouTube tutorials that can help you improve at drawing dynamic poses! Plus, being able to see how someone sketches in real time is helpful for understanding how to position your hand, the amount of pressure to apply with your drawing utensil, and how to construct bodies in motion. Check out some of these useful video tutorials to get started:

   • How to Draw Fight Scenes (@DrawlikeaSir)
   • How to Draw Fight Scenes (@koizu)
   • How to Draw Dynamic Poses (@pikat)
   • Draw Better Dynamic Poses Instantly (@YTartschool)
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   Drawing Books Drawing books are some of the most helpful resources when it comes to drawing dynamic poses. Whether you’re getting a book full of references from your favorite anime, like Tite Kubo’s All Colour But the Black: The Art of Bleach, or getting a classic book of tutorials, drawing books are essential for on-hand references. Some useful drawing books include:

   • Draw Fight Scenes Like a Pro by Jeff Johnson
   • The Complete Guide to Drawing Action Manga by Makoto Sawa and shoco
   • Draw Your Characters Fighting, References for Drawing Combats by Hardcore Learning
   • Poses for Artists Volume 3 - Fighting and Various Poses by Justin R. Martin
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   wikiHow If you prefer to keep things on-site, stay here on wikiHow and check out some of our drawing tutorials! We’ve got plenty of helpful articles, from fighting poses and anime poses to tutorials on drawing wings, hands, and more. Check out some more of our drawing articles below:

   • 20 Male Pose References For Anime Character Drawings
   • How to Draw Perspective
   • How to Draw Like a Pro
   • How to Draw Accurate Human Body Proportions
   • How to Draw Basic Human Figures
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