Best method for properly learning anatomy and its relation to art?
Hi all,
I'm interested in really learning anatomy and how the human / animal form relate to character art. I'm just wondering how people recommend going about learning it, some good methods / practices etc.
I know a good way to improve artistic ability in terms of character form is to just sketch from life as much as possible, but alongside this, I'd like to get a good understanding of anatomy, muscles and skeleton.
So those of you who are pretty pro with this, how did you go about learning?
I've got some good books which cover the different parts but recommendations on the best books out there would be good too, but mainly I suppose I'm looking for nice methods to help get a good handle on the anatomy parts with relation to how they are relevant for artists.
For example, little exercises to start learning muscles groups etc.
Thanks
I'm interested in really learning anatomy and how the human / animal form relate to character art. I'm just wondering how people recommend going about learning it, some good methods / practices etc.
I know a good way to improve artistic ability in terms of character form is to just sketch from life as much as possible, but alongside this, I'd like to get a good understanding of anatomy, muscles and skeleton.
So those of you who are pretty pro with this, how did you go about learning?
I've got some good books which cover the different parts but recommendations on the best books out there would be good too, but mainly I suppose I'm looking for nice methods to help get a good handle on the anatomy parts with relation to how they are relevant for artists.
For example, little exercises to start learning muscles groups etc.
Thanks
Replies
While the whole book's pretty awesome if you do more than just look at the pictures, the two or three pages of landmarks is just a quick list of some areas where the bone is close to the surface of the skin resulting in hard bumps, some notable muscles and their shapes, and how they link together in certain areas like the elbow and knee. I found it super useful in giving otherwise "balloony" figures definition.
I'd go as far as to say it's 'handy dandy.'
Aside from that, it's an ever learning process. Study the skeleton... sculpt it, draw it, etc... and then study the musculature - insertion and connecting points, etc...
Having a good anatomy book with you helps greatly. And looking to body builder photos and video's help exaggerate with location and how the muscles react in relation to pose.
http://www.bodyworlds.com/en.html
I suggest bringing a sketchbook.
Ok so sketching the bones / muscles whilst learning names/placement is obviously the best way. I'll get started, maybe start a Sketchbook thread after I've got some done to make sure I'm headed in the right direction.
Jon, those sculptures look awesome, unfortunately their store is down so I can't check the prices, I'm also hoping they have a UK distributor because I'm guessing I'd pay close to the original RRP for import duties alone!
In terms of sketching bones, some of the books I've got go into a LOT of detail on the skeleton, how important is it to know every last name and it's exacting shape for an artist? I mean, obviously if it holds proportionate importance like the length of the bone for example then sure it'll be very useful, but is say knowing the name of every bone in the hand or foot as important? Even the little notches on bones have names! (Lateral / Medial epicondyle etc, yes I did just read that from the book).
The reason I ask is that bones aren't particularly easy to draw, and since they vary so much in exacting shape are rarely the same, other than in proportional length. Not only this, but their shape and form (again, other than length) are often not visible on the surface. Obviously muscles play a far larger part in the surface anatomy and therefore I wondered if it is much more important to learn muscles.
I learned a lot more sculpting anatomy than I did drawing it, for whatever it's worth. Having good reference is extremely important, pictures from life are helpful, especially body builders as they tend to have low body fat percentages so it's easy to see where the muscles are. But nothing beats 3D reference, if you can afford the freedom of teach sculpture (I believe they start at like $200~) it's great, if not Zack Petroc made an awesome ztl for zbrush with muscle groups. It's available on his website in the store for like 40$: http://www.zackpetroc.com/
He also has a video lecture for $25 which is pretty good as well.
Less natural looking but free, ztl for the athletic male by Nick Zuccarello: http://nickzucc.blogspot.com/2008/08/human-male-athletic-final-model.html
Especially the horse and rider, hughe!
I'll start up a sketchbook thread, hopefully I can get some crit on my learning there and make sure I'm going about it the right way.
Complete with a magnetic detachable penis. It makes for some hilarious moments when you stick it to somebody's desk lamp... (spark..ha!)
Wait what? Magnetic Penises... :poly141:
Sorry but I couldn't find an english version.
It covers both human anatomy as well as some animals'.
Heh thanks Zac, I intend to do plenty of that too!
Actually now you mention it, I'm thinking it's probably worth doing at least a full body sketch or two a day while learning the musculature, that way I can start to implement what I'm learning each day into full poses.
I've started up a sketchbook thread now and will post daily progress!
What I want to add is that learning muscles is only half of the battle - another half is simplifying/grouping/prioritizing them and breaking down that info to actual usable form. Classical sculptors were extremely good at this, so I suggest studying them. Ryan Kingslien has very nice collection of photos. Or search for roman or greek sculpture
Keywords are proportions, large muscle groups, relationship of primary/secondary shapes, how they relate and interlock - not name of every tiny muscle. I would avoid bodybuilder type of reference for starters or use it with grain of salt - it's hard to breakdown and simplify overwhelming muscle detail without solid foundation. And they often tend to be unnatural and out of proportion.
Seriously though, its just practice from life and reference intermingled with memory drawings testing that info. Everything else is subjective and different things work for different people.
The main thing you need to do is learn how to criticize your own work like a teacher would. I find writing my own marking notes during and after the deed helps to no end. (despite it being funny to everyone that i write my own crits next to my drawing...)
It gives you a great understanding of how each muscles works in correlation to the others and with non-static examples.
Might be of use
More practically, since it's difficult to get access to cadavers if you're not a medical student, and it's best to have some heavy education preparation run-up to those sessions. Bodyworlds is pretty decent -- though since it's a temp exhibition and it's difficult to inspect them closely it's not ideal. Also the plastination process gives the bodies a pretty static, unrealistic feel. It's difficult to know exactly what's what, and how the muscles/ligaments/bones really flow together. It's a good addition to learning though, and if it's in your area I'd definitely recommend going with your sketchbook.
Gray's Anatomy is actually quite a nice general reference. (link) They've got good, well drawn and clear diagrams. There are similar books all over the place, but that one's easily found, and very good.
However, diagrams like these that highlight the pure musculature aren't always particularly useful for understanding the way muscle groups move and act together. IMO, studying the books of George Bridgeman is an excellent way of getting a handle on this. I particularly like The Human Machine for his techniques on "wedging" forms. The way he approaches it isn't actually representative of the way things are truly working, but it's an excellent shorthand that makes the "real" stuff easier to parse in your drawing.
If you understand these two aspects of anatomy, it gives you a very good overview of how it all fits together. If you look at both of these, PLUS figure drawing, you'll probably start to get a very good handle on it.
The freedom of teach figure is great (we have one at home). I'd highly recommend getting one, but making studies only of it is not sufficient for thorough understanding. Fantastic reference though, especially if it's stuff you've had drilled into you from elsewhere.
One exercise that I found very very useful is making studies of various muscle groups in the body (like the shoulder, or the pelvis/thigh, and making a base drawing of the bones in the area, then on pieces of tissue paper, build up the drawing muscle by muscle. For this you'll need to find diagrams of individual muscles and their attachment points (these can be tricky, but if you find a list of every muscle in the body and google them all individually, you should be able to come up with the vast majority -- though tbh, a lot of them you don't really have to worry about, like your tongue and the sphincters in your stomach and stuff).
Also, when you're studying a particular area of muscles, try to poke yourself (or a willing friend) and find whatever muscle or bone feature they're referring to. Helps make it all feel less abstract.
I don't remember all their names, but I do remember the names of the ones that I think about most often. It is useful, though not entirely necessary so long as you know what's there.
Can you tell I like anatomy?
So, where do I pick up the 'Complete Guide to Anatomy with Tully' book then? :P
Seriously though, thanks a lot for that very concise bit of info, some of it as you say may not be easy to access such as the cadavers, but I'll definitely explore some of the other things you mentioned.
I'm trying not to get 'too' scientific right now as I want to keep it as artisic as possible, after all, what I'm aiming for is to be able to translate all this knowledge into characters which show I have a good working knowledge of anatomy.
My current 'practice routine' is copy the muscles groupings from a specific body part (I started with the arm for example) and draw the muscle diagrams from a few angles, then try to draw the same angles but with skin covering and then identifying the muscles on those drawings. I'll then do a digital sculpt of that part and then move onto another part of the body.
In terms of life drawing, it's difficult to find a decent class near me. I've tried a couple and actually went to one for quite a while but as I'm a beginner, I'd like one where the instructor explains anatomy a bit too, but the instructor I had on my last course was crap and it was basically just 'come draw nudes' with no help or guidance which left me with no improvement week on week.
For now I'm gonna aim to sketch figures from photo ref every day and start to put in place what I"m learning from the anatomy.
Just out of curiosity Tully, I notice you're in the UK, where did you source your Freedom of Teach sculpture? Their webstore has been down the last couple of days but I'm not sure if they ship to England. If they do, I'm concerned import duty would be insane!
Thanks again
http://anatomy.med.umich.edu/courseinfo/video_index.html
Copying things like the Loomis figure (with all the muscles and such) didn't help me understand anatomy very much. I was only drawing shapes on top of shapes without an understanding of their form or what they contributed to the shape of the human figure. They also didn't do a very good job of showing origin and insertion points (two things that are very important). If you can get your hands on them, the Vilppu videos are amazing at showing all those problem areas. You can tell he works off of Loomis, Bridgman, Bammes, and others I'm sure, but he presents their ideas in a much more understanding and adaptable way (plus it's hypnotizing to watch him draw). Very artist friendly.
An exercise you can try after you draw a diagram or muscle group is to put all your reference to the side and attempt to do it from memory. Don't drop blobs down all willy-nilly, rather use what you just learned and put them where they belong. That has definitely helped me with some of my trouble spots.
I certainly wouldn't make learning all the anatomical names a top priority. Grouping them into masses or things like flexors and extensors is a good place to start.
Lastly, don't be afraid to make mistakes; it's the best way to learn!
I'm gonna sound like a complete wuss now but I don't think I can handle the whole dissection thing, I'm not particularly squeamish to most gore even when it's done in a 'realistic' way, but full on medical dissection is one step too far for me!
So unfortunately (or fortunately depending on which way you look at it) I'll be sticking to drawings and diagrams and photos.
I'll check out the Glenn Vlippu stuff too, I'd noticed his stuff from web searches but I didn't know how good it was.
And as for the mistakes being the best way to learn... it's a damn good job too!
It's quickly becoming overwhelming with all the different things to take in!
Sculpting in clay is a great idea and having spent the last few days sketching, I've really craved a '3D' aspect but don't feel ready to jump into ZBrush with it just yet so traditional sculpting might be a good medium to explore.
I appreciate your suggestions and advice though, I'm trying to keep it fun while still educational and balancing learning and doing is tricky but once I get used to the routine of sketching at least once a day it will hopefully all fall into place!
Thanks again
It can be a bit overwhelming, yeah, and I don't know if I'd ever have done it if I had to go it alone.
I'd still recommend it. Try checking out the way Kevin Chen is drawing in this link. The way he breaks down form and pose is very very informative. Maybe do some studies of his work, and then bring what you learn into a figure drawing course, and try to apply it there.
In all honesty, photo reference of people is probably not your best bet in a lot of cases, so I wouldn't use it exclusively. Photographic light can do weird things, especially in pro photos. What might be a better idea is drawing from good statues (or photo ref of good statues, but if you're in the UK you should have some around!). A good statue has already had its anatomy exposed and brought to its fullest by a skilled artist, and they're very good to work from. A good statue in real life can sometimes be better than an actual model (they certainly don't get tired). If you're near london, try the V&A. They have a reproduction of The David there, along with tons of interesting stuff.
I bought it direct from them -- they do ship to the UK, but you'll pay a stupid amount of duty on it, plus a lot for UPS. It was a gift for my boyfriend, so I could justify spending a bit more on someone else (though I still get to use it!).
Good luck with all this stuff
I'll take note of what you've said, it's interesting you mention photo ref being a bit hit/miss because I did my first attempt today and found the lighting was casting some odd shadows which didn't really highlight the forms of the body very well and it ended up becoming more of an art test for shading than a chance to put my recent learning into practice.
There's definitely a whole lot of material available for learning, what with all the classic books from the likes of Loomis and Bridgman, and the masses of video tutorials available!
I'm posting in my sketchbook as much as I can so if anyone who's participated in this thread wants to kindly take a quick peek then you can shout at me if I'm heading in the wrong direction over there!
Thanks again!