Raised knee balance

A standing balance with one knee lifted high in front, body upright and weight fully on the support foot.

Lifting one knee to hip height removes half the base and hands the entire job of balance to the standing ankle. The lifted thigh comes forward, the shin hangs down from it, and the standing leg works as a straight, slightly compressed post. The pelvis tilts up on the lifted side, and the torso shifts very slightly back to keep the mass over the support foot.

In three-quarter view the raised knee foreshortens and points toward the viewer while the standing leg drops straight down. That crossing of a forward depth axis with a vertical is a good exercise, because you are drawing one leg coming at you and the other going away, from the same pelvis.

Artists usually draw the raised thigh too low and too far out. The thigh should be close to horizontal before the shin drops, so the knee sits high and the foot hangs below it. Another easy mistake is a locked and perfectly vertical support leg; let the knee soften slightly and shift the pelvis a centimetre or two toward the support side. If the lifted foot turns in toward the standing leg, keep that in the drawing, because it tells the viewer the leg is relaxed.

• balancing
• single leg
• raised knee
• three-quarter view