Meriko Says: Yum~ Sephi-sama~~~ ^o^ Very nice sketch-out! Overall proportions and stance look good to me, and as for pose, it's got a nice, "solid" feeling to it somehow. Some pictures...it seems like the chara is just floating, or they're not quite level on the page, but this one's done quite nicely!

And hey, if you ever think of "finalizing" this sketch, I'd love to see you touch it up with some darker lines, just to finish it a bit more. Right now, since most of the lines are the same thickness and darkness, it's got a very sketchy feel. It's got the makings of a wonderful Sephi pic, though! (I mean, it's ALREADY wonderful...but, ya know?) ^^

As for "better poses," it's all about looking around. ^^ If you've got an idea for a pose in your head, then go grab a very accomodating friend who's willing to pose for ya while you sketch, or sit in front of a tall mirror and get up every 20 seconds to pose for yourself. If you don't have any ideas quite yet, and the artwork is of a game or anime chara, then pop in the game or video and watch for characteristic poses. Like...poignant scenes or victory dances. Or go browse magazines...fashion mags, dance mags, advertisements, etc. Changing one arm or leg or even just the expression on a person's face can make the entire picture more melancholy, dramatic, dynamic, etc. Good luck, and keep up the wonderful work!

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Setsuna Says: Aa, very good, solid feel to your figure. He looks firmly grounded and balanced on the ground.

Though you didn't ask for a comment on this, I feel it's a little important to note that you might want to consider to vary your line quality/thickness so that it doesn't appear as just a solid mass of lines. Ex: Step back and look at the drawing carefully, and pick out a few lines that you feel are most important to the image; perhaps darken the outlines of the figure, etc. Different line widths will add interest to the image, as well as more clearly delineate the form.

As for body poses, there's really no real shortcut to finding a good pose other than just observing human poses in your environment. Start with looking at your own figure in a full length mirror, leaning back and forth, turning, making your own poses in the mirror and translating your own form onto the paper. Another good way is to look at magazines and observe poses of people in the photographs...

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Dragonfly Says: Hoi Alact~! Well this is a pretty cool Sepniroth sketch you have here^^

Onto the sketch, the pose isn't too bad, but standing characters tend to look pretty stiff and boring. One thing you can do to improve the pose, would be to try and reposition the legs, spread them out a bit. Maybe twist his torso around a bit as well, so his legs are pointint more towards the viewer instead of side on.

The sword postion is okay, but I think if he was holding it with both hands, and the blade turned around, it would look more powerfull. Also something you can do to make a drawing more stronger, is to simply draw the character looking at the viewer.

Overall this piece isn't too bad. I think you have most of the basics down, and drawing full figure pieces will improve your drawing a lot more, then drawing say close ups of faces and stuff. Just keep drawing!