Arms Raised OverheadPose Reference

Nothing bends at the knees or elbows; length is the subject. The feet point slightly outward and share the load, the pelvis tips forward a few degrees, and the lumbar spine arches so the ribcage lifts toward the hands. Both arms leave the shoulders and rise vertically, keeping a constant gap between them, with open hands and the palms turned toward the viewer. The chin lifts just slightly, which keeps the face between the upper arms instead of behind them. From the heels to the fingertips the body traces a shallow curve that bows forward at the belly.

That curve is the reason to study this arms up pose from the side. In the side view from the figure's left, the arm covers the ear and part of the head, the chest sits ahead of the hips, and the lower back shows its hollow; the rest of the views can make the figure look ruler-straight. The front and back views are nearly symmetrical, so use them to check that both hands end at the same height and both feet sit equally wide. The high angle foreshortens the arms toward you and shrinks the legs; the low angle does the opposite, making the hands feel very far away. On a living person the shoulder blades rotate upward and the trapezius bunches beside the neck; the wooden figure only hints at that, so add it yourself.