A big part of developing a character is knowing what kind of body language they use. A big mistake beginners make when drawing pin-ups of their characters is ignoring the personality of the character they are doodling. I often see pics posted by others that have a character standing with a weapon like they are sitting in a Sears studio for family photos...NO! Try and avoid a using the normal stance. Think about your character..think about what it is your character does..what effect would that have on the way they carried themselves. Are they graceful? Are they clumsy? Do they laugh, skip, play or mope, drag and cry. Picture this in your head before you put the pencil to paper. Check these examples to help you along your way.
Normal Stance
Adventurous/ Courageous
Slinky/Sexy

Not much to it. you have no idea whether or not this person is good, bad, happy, sad. Completely neutural stance.

Here a little personality shows through. Stance is wide and Posture is open giving the impression of confidence.

Figure is "S" shaped... S is for "Sexy". Hips and shoulders are suggestive of a seductive nature.
As you can see. you can say a lot with just a stick figure. Get your stick figure exactly right before you flesh in your character. A good foundation is important if you want your piece to have the right impact.

There's some more figures over here
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