Arms over KneesPose Reference
Camera angles
Seated Arms Over Knees gathers the wooden figure into a compact shape, with raised thighs close to the chest and forearms laid across them.
Tags: sittingfigure drawingfull bodyseatedarms over knees
How to draw the Arms over Knees pose
three-quarter view 
side view 
back view 
high-angle view
The knees rise in front of a low pelvis and become a shelf for the folded arms. Above that shelf, the head inclines toward the enclosed space instead of looking straight ahead. One foot may project farther forward than the other, keeping the lower outline from becoming perfectly circular. The important relationship is between the chest and the thighs: their closeness makes the pose feel withdrawn, even though the arms are not drawn as a tight anatomical embrace. Follow the outer back curve down to the seated hips, then contrast it with the sharper elbow and knee corners.
Construct the legs as two folded chains before placing the forearms on top. Each thigh should still have a believable route back to the pelvis, even when most of that route is hidden by the arms. A three quarter angle makes the overlapping knees easier to read; a profile explains the bowed upper body and the forward reach of the feet. The front angle is helpful for checking whether the arms span both knees or merely float in front of them. On this wooden mannequin, contact remains a geometric approximation, so do not assume the simple palms demonstrate a fully closed grip around the opposite arm.
More on angles and common mistakes
Watch for a head placed so low that it seems buried inside the forearms. Keep a small, intentional relationship between chin and arm rather than accidentally intersecting them. Another common error is drawing both shins at the same length on the page despite their different depth directions. Use this reference for reflective scenes, compact composition studies and exercises in nested forms. Choose Edit this pose and lift the head a little while leaving the arm shelf intact. That change can turn inward reflection into quiet attention. Inspect the newly opened neck area from the side, keeping the shoulders rounded enough that the original gathered silhouette survives.
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.
Arms over Knees 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 sits on the ground with both knees drawn close to the chest and forearms resting across the knees. Bow the head gently above the arms, keeping both feet visible in front. Present a compact full-body silhouette on an empty background.
Midjourney
full body seated person, knees drawn up, forearms folded over knees, bowed head, rounded back, low pelvis, feet extending forward, compact inward gesture, three quarter perspective, plain background --ar 3:2 --style raw
Stable Diffusion
1person, full body, seated, knees to chest, arms over knees, folded forearms, bowed head, rounded shoulders, curved back, feet forward, three quarter view, compact silhouette, floor sitting, visible ankles, plain background, quiet gesture, clear overlaps
Negative prompt
straight extended legs, arms behind body, head inside forearms, floating arm shelf, detached thighs, identical overlapping shins, extra knees, missing feet, fused wrists, broken spine, cropped figure, chair
OpenPose skeleton for ControlNet
Load the PNG into a ControlNet OpenPose unit (preprocessor: none), or import the JSON into an OpenPose editor.
Have a photo of the pose you want?
Upload it to Photo to Pose. We detect the pose in your browser and put it on the mannequin, ready to adjust.