Action Sketching: Use a fully jointed mannequin to help you draw your game
Many players and fans are enchanted by the motion of soccer players. While watching a game, a good time to put that interest to work is to sketch the plays!
Of course, games move too fast to observe any single action, but acquainting one’s self with soccer movements while at home will demystify action when watching the field.
Among the many ways to improve observation and resulting sketches is to draw from photos, slow-action video, and even learn from many YouTube videos on How to Draw Human Action.
An even better way is to pose a highly detailed mannequin in a similar position to what you see in a photo. In this way, you get a 3D view that stimulates your imagination in ways flat pictures do not.
Unlike wooden models, these flexible (and very reasonably priced) plastic mannequins are sold with numerous parts, such as extra arms, hands, shoes, and even swords and shields for more posing options.
Mannequins like these are used as reference for drawing comic book heroes and ninja figures, but they can also be used to enhance your understanding of how the human body is contorted while kicking.
In the future, I’ll demonstrate how mannequins can be used to learn more about soccer moves. In the meantime, you might want to buy one for yourself and start experimenting.
