One Leg Kicked BackPose Reference
Camera angles
One Leg Kicked Back balances the figure on its straight right leg while the left knee bends and lifts the foot behind, left hand on the head.
Tags: standingfigure drawingfull bodyone leghand on head
How to draw the One Leg Kicked Back pose

three-quarter view 
side view 
back view 
high-angle view
All the weight sits over the right foot, so the pelvis slides sideways above it and tilts slightly, dropping on the free side. The left thigh hangs nearly vertical while the knee folds sharply, flicking the shin up behind until it runs roughly level with the floor and the sole faces backward. On the same side, the left hand rests on the back of the head with the elbow pointing out and a little up. The right arm hangs loose beside the body, hand relaxed near the thigh. The head tips toward the raised elbow, closing the gap between ear and arm, and the upper torso turns a few degrees toward the open side.
Two zigzags, one high and one low on the same side, give this standing one leg back pose its rhythm: the folded arm above and the folded leg below. The side view from the figure's left lays out the kick clearly, with the shin pointing straight back and the knee directly under the hip. From the front, the kicked shin is almost hidden behind the thigh and only the foot shows beside the standing calf, so use another view to place it. The back view shows the sole of the lifted foot and the hand on the skull. From the high angle the bent elbow juts toward you, and from below the standing leg becomes a long column.
More on angles and common mistakes
The usual error is leaving the pelvis centred, which makes a single leg look like it is holding up a body that is not over it. Check that a vertical line from the neck falls through the standing foot. Another mistake is swinging the bent knee forward as in a skip; here the thigh stays down and only the shin rises. Keep the free arm relaxed, not stiffly straight.
The gesture reads as playful and light, like a cartoon character waiting for a friend and shifting from foot to foot. It also works as a cheerful idle pose for character sheets and photo shoots. In Edit this pose, raise the hanging arm out to the side at shoulder height for extra balance and the stance turns more dynamic; or tip the head the other way for a coy look.
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.
One Leg Kicked 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 while the other knee bends to kick the foot up behind, shin roughly level. One hand rests on the back of the head with the elbow out, the other arm hangs loose; hips shifted over the standing foot, head tilted toward the raised elbow. Plain background.
Midjourney
full body person standing on one leg, other knee bent with foot kicked up behind, one hand on back of head, elbow out, other arm relaxed, hips shifted over standing foot, head tilted, playful mood, plain background --ar 2:3 --style raw
Stable Diffusion
1person, full body, standing on one leg, leg up, foot kicked back, bent knee, hand on head, hand behind head, elbow out, arm at side, hip shift, head tilt, playful, balancing, side view, plain background
Negative prompt
knee raised forward, both feet on floor, straight raised leg, kicking forward, both hands on head, centred hips, leaning forward, stiff arms, 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.
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.