Yawning StretchPose Reference

Two arms do very different jobs here. The left arm rises nearly vertical, a little forward of the ear, with the elbow straight and the fingers loosely curled into a soft half fist at the top of the reach. The right arm folds: its upper arm lifts out to the side until the elbow sits about level with the shoulder, and the forearm swings back across so the loosely closed hand lands in front of the face, knuckles toward the viewer and the back of the hand over the mouth. The upper back arches slightly, the ribcage lifts, and the neck and head tip back and lean a little to one side, the way a jaw drops open mid-yawn. Below the frame the weight settles on the left leg, so the stance stays loose rather than athletic.

Think of the raised arm as the top of one long curve that runs through the arched back. That curve is what separates a yawn from a classroom hand-up. The bent right arm makes a triangle of air between the elbow, the shoulder and the face, which reads clearly in the front and back views. From the side, seen from the figure's left, the raised arm hides part of the head and the arch of the spine is easy to measure. In the low-angle view the overhead fist is foreshortened into a cluster of knuckles, while the high angle shows the head thrown back and the raised arm reaching toward you.