Anatomy practice -- skulls

[jfrancis]

I took my digital camera to a decent plastic skull and made myself a stack of worksheets. Whenever I get a free moment, I grab one and draw what's on it. I try to slip in at least 10 a day.

http://www.digitalartform.com/assets/gfxArtist/WIP/skullPractice1.jpg

See that plastic box in the upper righthand corner? Thats a disarticulated skeleton. I plan to visit every bone this way -- as an exercise.

[Bojee]

jfrancis- Great idea!:thumbsup:

[John_Doe]

nice

[sixBlade]

oo nice idea any chance of posting big pictures of the skull images so I can do the same ? :D

[jfrancis]

Many of them are now online, with more coming soon. Thanks to EM-ARTS for hosting!

http://www.em-arts.com/skull/skull.htm

please take a moment to check out their web site

[Bojee]

Wow, that's so cool of you thanks.

[kim-bo]

thanks for the skull pictures. . exactly what i needed.

[loken]

Great idea jfrancis. Thanks for sharing.

Where may I ask, did you get the skull? How much was it?

I ask because, I think the photos can only carry the learning experience so far. Moving the skull under different lighting situations in real life might reveal certain surface attributes that might not be noticed otherwise.

[arghmisfit]

YAY thanks for the pictures dude! :D

[jfrancis]

Originally posted by loken
Great idea jfrancis. Thanks for sharing.

Where may I ask, did you get the skull? How much was it?
I got that particular one on eBay, and it was under, but close to $100, if I recall correctly --

You can find cheaper ones, but this one seemed pretty accurate

[UnderwearNinja]

My college ordered plastic anatomy skulls for a class I took on drawing facial expressions. I'm not sure what their cost was, but the cost to students was $20. It's thick enough you can drop it a lot (hah!), anatomically correct (it's cast from a real skull I assume) and best of all, I didn't have to assemble it. It actually looks like it could be this (http://www.scienceartandmore.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=99) one.

[TheYellowDart]

http://anatomical.com/category.asp?c=28

The Budget Skull is the one we're advised to get at Watts Atelier. Cheap, accurate and durable. Also comes from a very reputable company.

Make sure you don't sign up for their email updates tho...they send you floods of junk mail.

[loken]

UnderwearNinja and TheyellowDart,

thanks guys. I may just purchase one of those. :)

[jfrancis]

Here's an email I got from my drawing teacher rearding this project:

"You sure are being systematic in your approach, in the long run it will pay
off. I had to do the same thing but in the days before computers using
tracing paper. It still is best if you can to draw from the actual skull.
In using the photos the natural tendency is to copy the 2D image you have
in front of you. I suggest also that you draw the skull from imagination as
much as you can. In working from memory we are continually confronted with
what we don't know and are forced to go back and examine the real thing."

[GriNGo]

well, for me it's pretty funny that you having the skull, take pictures of it and start drawing from the pictures instead of just taking the skull and drawing it from "life". Totally unnecessary to do. But its a good thing to do to help out those who dont have skull references at hand.

later,
GriNGOlOco

[jfrancis]

It's not unnecessary at all. I can take the photos with me to work and slip in a drawing now and then. The skull wouldn't go over so well there, let alone an entire ribcage or spinal column.

What's more, I'm not always going to have that lighting setup. My original photos were taken outside. My later ones were taken inside with a warm light from one direction and a cool light from another. The color cues help me guage the orientation of the planes better.

[GriNGo]

oh :p i thought you practiced only at home.

later,
GriNGoLoCo

[jfrancis]

Losts more photos as of this morning. Same link.

[Bojee]

Lost or Lot's? Looks like lot's.:D Thanks

If you think about it it would be cool to see some more of your drawings of the skull too. That first post was really cool with the picture and the drawing right next to it, Thanks again.

[jfrancis]

Actually neither. It should have been "lots";)

It's funny: If you compare carefully between my drawings and the photos, you can see that odd tendency people have to straighten out and flatten out deeply foreshortened forms. I wonder why that is.

Probably the best way to combat it is to block out the whole form in very simple terms early on, rather than drawing it as you go while you make your way down the form. I know it, but somehow I don't always do it.

[Bojee]

I still like them quite a bit.