By adding natural twisting and bending through the spine and up through the head, the parallel lines are broken 2/3
Depending on camera view and context, breaking cardinal planes, combined with identifying strong lines of action, can create more dynamic poses in your work 3/3
Getting an education in 3D animation is very different than it was when I started in 1995. 5 things I would do if I was 19 again and starting out:
1. Analyze motion/movement often. Don’t just look at reference when you need to work on something. Get Keyframe Pro or similar and download from Mixamo or any motion capture library. Look at short snippets. Compare and contrast different styles and sources.
2. Move more. Get training in any sort of physical activity where you are taught specific mechanics especially footwork (football, ballet, boxing, hip hop dancing, stage acting). Shooting reference is great but acting out movement with high physical awareness is also good.
1. The best way to solidify animation principles is to apply them in as wide of a variety of situations as possible (cycles, slow action, fast action, acting, interaction etc)
2. The fastest way to grow is to get to the “finish line” as many times as possible in the shortest time possible. It’s better to create three highly polished short animation sequences in one month than to create one long sequence in three months
3. Get feedback from only 1-2 people that you really trust. Parsing and validating large amounts of random feedback is a skill in and of itself and is frankly a waste of time early in your career