Action effects: speed lines, impacts and exaggeration

Speed lines

1. Step 1In the direction of the movement

   Draw parallel lines behind the character, in the direction they come from. They show the path they've just traveled.

2. Step 2Tapering lines

   Each line starts thick near the character and thins out as it goes. Vary their length.

3. Step 3A rushing background

   For extreme speed, fill the whole background with parallel lines: the setting disappears, only the movement remains.

4. Step 4Focus lines

   Lines converging on a point, like the spokes of a wheel: they draw the eye to a face or an attack coming at the reader.

Impacts

• A star shape with uneven points at the point of contact: the flash of the hit.
• Cracks and debris flying from the point of impact, smaller as they get farther.
• Small curved strokes around an object that vibrates or shakes.
• A cloud of dust under the feet when landing or taking off.
• A shockwave in concentric circles for an explosion or a powerful shout.

Squash and stretch

1. Step 1Stretch for speed

   A body or object moving fast stretches in the direction of the movement: a thrown fist looks longer, a jumping character stretches out.

2. Step 2Squash on impact

   At the moment of impact, the shape flattens against what it hits, before getting its shape back.

3. Step 3Keep the volume

   What stretches gets thinner, what squashes gets wider: the total volume stays the same, or the shape seems to swell or melt.

A fight scene in three panels

A good fight reads like a sentence: each panel is a word, and the reader must feel the blow before even seeing it.

1. Step 1The wind-up

   First panel: the character winds up, body coiled, eyes locked on the target. Often a close-up on the eyes or a fist clenching.

2. Step 2The hit

   Second panel, the biggest: the movement fully stretched, speed lines, an impact. Pick a strong angle, from below or with the fist toward the reader.

3. Step 3The aftermath

   Third panel: the opponent knocked back, the dust settling, a look. It tells whether the blow landed.

4. Step 4Keep the direction

   If the attack goes from right to left in the first panel, it must keep that direction in the next ones. The reader follows the movement effortlessly.

The coach's tips

• Draw the character first and the effects after, on a separate layer if you're on a tablet.
• Draw speed lines fast, in one stroke: a slow line looks limp.
• Fewer, stronger effects: a panel saturated with effects loses its readability.
• Hair and clothes must go the same way as the speed lines.
• In the app, pick a character in the middle of an action and imagine the effects around them before tracing.

Practice right now

Once the lesson is read, draw this exercise: it takes about 15 minutes.