Drawing Kids Exercising: Jumping, Stretching and Running Poses

Object Drawing Lessons

Drawing children in motion is easier when you treat each pose as a set of connected landmarks rather than a single outline. This lesson shows how to build jumping, stretching and running child figures from head to foot, how to keep proportions believable for different ages, and how to check your work with simple measurements. You will use a defined convention for height and lettering so that valid stylistic choices remain open. All practice tasks are self-contained and can be solved with pencil and paper.

Practice materials: Printable downloads are not available for this lesson yet. Use the instructions and four exercises below.

Body landmarks and a workable proportion convention

Begin every child figure with four landmarks: the top of the head, the chin, the hip line and the ground contact point. For a standing child, a common convention is that the head height fits about five to six times into the total standing height for young children, and about six to seven times for older children. Treat these as hypothetical examples, not fixed rules. Measure your own drawn head height and compare it with the total figure height to keep the figure consistent.

Use a light construction line for the spine and a second line for the shoulder axis. Children have proportionally larger heads and shorter limbs than adults, so keep the torso compact and the legs slightly shorter relative to the head. Mark joints with small dots at shoulder, elbow, wrist, hip, knee and ankle. These dots let you bend limbs without losing the connection between body parts.

1. Draw a light vertical line for the spine and mark the top of the head, chin, hip line and ground point.
2. Measure the head height and check how many head heights fit into the total figure; adjust the hip line if the figure looks too tall or too short.
3. Add shoulder, elbow, wrist, hip, knee and ankle dots on both sides of the body.
4. Connect the dots with simple tapered limbs, keeping the torso compact and the head slightly large.

Jumping pose: airborne with bent knees

A jumping child is airborne, so the ground contact point is absent. Instead, use the lowest foot as the reference for the figure's vertical position. Draw the spine slightly curved, the arms raised or swept back, and the knees bent. The hips lift above the normal standing hip line because the legs are tucked.

Keep the head and torso connected by a short neck. The feet should not point straight down; angle them slightly backward or forward to show motion. Check that the distance from the hip line to the lowest foot is shorter than the standing leg length, because the knees are bent.

1. Mark the head, chin and a raised hip line above the normal standing position.
2. Draw the spine with a slight forward or backward curve and add the shoulder axis.
3. Bend both knees and place the feet at different heights to suggest motion.
4. Raise or sweep the arms and check that the lowest foot sits below the hip line but above the imaginary ground.

Stretching pose: extended limbs and a long spine

A stretching child reaches upward or sideways with extended limbs. The spine is long and mostly straight, and the arms extend beyond the head. Use the head height convention to check that the total height increases when the arms reach up, but the head-to-hip distance stays similar to the standing figure.

For a side stretch, tilt the spine line and keep the hips level. The arm on the stretching side extends farther from the body. Avoid making the neck too long; the chin should stay close to the shoulder line. Check that the wrist is farther from the hip than the elbow is, confirming the arm is extended.

1. Draw a long spine line and mark the head, chin and hip line.
2. Extend one or both arms above the head or to the side, marking elbow and wrist dots.
3. Keep the hips level and the knees slightly soft, not locked.
4. Measure from hip to wrist and from hip to elbow to confirm the arm is extended.

Running pose: opposite arm and leg swing

A running child has one foot near the ground and the other lifted behind or in front. The arms swing opposite to the legs: the forward leg pairs with the backward arm. The spine leans slightly forward, and the head stays above the chest.

Use the hip line as the center of the stride. The forward knee bends, and the back leg extends. Check that the forward foot is ahead of the hip line and the back foot is behind it. The shoulder axis rotates slightly, but the head remains stable.

1. Mark the head, chin, hip line and a forward-leaning spine.
2. Draw one leg forward with a bent knee and the other leg extended behind.
3. Swing the arm opposite the forward leg backward, and the other arm forward.
4. Check that the forward foot is ahead of the hip line and the back foot is behind it.

Worked example

Draw a child stretching upward with both arms raised. The child stands with feet together, head height is 3 cm, and total standing height is 15 cm. Check the proportion and the arm extension.

Four practice exercises

Common mistakes

• Drawing the head too small relative to the body, making the child look adult. Measure the head height and compare it with the total figure height; for young children, aim for about five to six head heights total.
• Straightening the knees in a jumping pose so the figure looks like it is standing on air. Bend both knees and shorten the hip-to-foot distance compared with the standing figure.
• Swinging the same arm and leg forward in a running pose. Pair the forward leg with the backward arm and check the shoulder axis against the hip line.
• Making the neck too long in a stretching pose. Keep the chin close to the shoulder line and measure the neck length against the head height.

Self-check rubric

• The figure uses a consistent head-height convention, with total height divided by head height between five and seven.
• Joint dots or construction lines are visible in the planning stage and connect limbs logically.
• The jumping pose shows bent knees and a lowest foot above an imaginary ground line.
• The stretching pose shows extended arms with the wrist farther from the hip than the elbow.
• The running pose shows opposite arm and leg swing, with the forward foot ahead of the hip line.
• Valid stylistic alternatives are accepted if the landmark relationships and proportion checks hold.

Questions and answers