Cross-Legged EmbracePose Reference

The base belongs to the cross-legged figure: two folded legs make a wide, low triangle on the floor, and the torso turns slightly toward the partner. One hand rests on the partner's lower back and the other on the partner's upper arm, a light hold that steadies rather than squeezes. The partner sits in a side-sit with both knees bent toward them, the knees resting over the cross-legged person's near knee and the shins tucked back beside the hip. Both of the partner's arms go around the neck, hands meeting at the far shoulder, so the partner's whole upper body leans across and the two heads end up almost touching.

Look at it as two triangles that overlap. The cross-legged triangle is broad and stable; the side-sit is narrower and tilts in, and it only stays up because it leans on the first. Where the knees cross is the key overlap to get right, since that contact tells the viewer the partner is sitting on the floor beside them and not on their lap. The arms form a loop around the neck that hides part of both faces from the front, so the three-quarter view usually reads best. The side view, from the cross-legged person's left, shows the partner's back and the forward lean; the back view reveals the hand on the lower back.