Lean, Leg Lifted BackPose Reference
Camera angles
Lean, Leg Lifted Back balances on a straight left leg as the torso tips forward and the straight right leg swings up behind, close to hip height.
Tags: leaning forwardfigure drawingfull bodybalanceone leg
How to draw the Lean, Leg Lifted Back pose
three-quarter view 
side view 
back view 
high-angle view
Every bit of weight stands on the left foot, so the pelvis sits directly above it. From there the body works like a seesaw: the chest dips forward and down while the right leg rises behind as a counterweight, straight at the knee with the foot pointed. The leg travels back and slightly out to the right rather than exactly in line with the spine. Both arms reach down and forward from the shoulders, fairly straight, and the hands open wide with the fingers spread, feeling the air for balance. The head stays up and the gaze goes straight ahead, which keeps the neck extended and the line from crown to heel lively instead of drooping.
The side view from the figure's left shows the pose at its clearest: a vertical standing column, a torso slanting forward and a raised leg reaching back, the three meeting at the hip like a letter T tipped on its stem. The front view partly foreshortens the lifted leg into a shorter limb poking out to one side, so draw from the profile first. The back view reveals how far the raised leg strays to the right of the spine and shows the sole of its pointed foot, while the high angle stretches the leg into a long diagonal behind the head.
More on angles and common mistakes
The most common mistake is bending the standing knee into a squat or letting the hip of the lifted leg hike up and twist the pelvis open. Both break the clean line. Another slip is leaving the arms limp at the sides; they matter here because the hands are spread to counter any wobble. Check that a plumb line from the pelvis lands on the standing foot.
Use this leaning forward one leg back pose for a figure skater gliding, a footballer stretching for a ball, a person reaching across a gap, or a yoga-style balance study. In Edit this pose, raise both arms forward to shoulder height and lift the torso a little so the figure leans into a reach, or lower the back leg halfway to make an easier, mid-step balance.
Free to use (CC0). The pose images on this page are released under CC0 1.0 (public domain dedication). Use them for drawing practice, commercial illustration, reference sheets or AI image generation; no attribution is required. A credit to PoseMaker is appreciated but optional.
Lean, Leg Lifted Back pose prompt
Copy a prompt for your AI image generator. Pair it with the OpenPose skeleton in ControlNet so the generated character matches this exact pose.
General prompt
A person balances on one straight leg, torso tipped forward from the hips, while the other straight leg lifts behind until it is nearly level with the hips. Both arms reach down and forward with the hands spread open for balance, and the head stays up looking ahead. Plain background.
Midjourney
full body person balancing on one straight leg, torso tipped forward, other leg raised straight behind near hip height, pointed foot, arms reaching down and forward, fingers spread, head up looking ahead, plain background --ar 3:2 --style raw
Stable Diffusion
1person, full body, standing on one leg, leaning forward, leg raised behind, straight leg, pointed toes, arms forward, open hands, spread fingers, balancing, head up, looking ahead, side view, plain background
Negative prompt
bent standing knee, both feet on floor, bent raised leg, leg raised forward, kicking, arms at sides, upright torso, twisted hips, extra legs, extra arms, extra fingers, bad anatomy, cropped feet
OpenPose skeleton for ControlNet
Load the PNG into a ControlNet OpenPose unit (preprocessor: none), or import the JSON into an OpenPose editor.
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