Human anatomy practise

[Lhune]

Not sure where this should go, but a sketch is a sketch :).

Hi all, here's my first take on finally attempting to draw humans seriously. I am 16 years old now and for the past 6 years I have done nothing but drawing fantasy critters (starting with pokémon actually, lol), and improved a lot. Got lots of good advice and eventually I was proud of the progress I made. In six years I went from a simple pokémon drawn from a flippo to a fullbody dragon in any dynamic pose I wanted.

Lately I was kind of stuck with my critters. I searched through some more famous artists galleries and noticed that some knowledge of the human anatomy is vital if you're ever going to try to do something with your art. I have allways avoided drawing humans as they were hard and boring to draw ^^;.

Though when I started sketching the human body yesterday I figured it's actually not boring at all :). But I need lots, lots and loooots of practise on it.

So these were my first three attempts. I know the muscle structure on the man's body is completely off. I had a chart of the musclegroups lying in front of me but couldn't seem to place them correctly. Any redpenning would be most welcome!

[Shatterdome]

I'm no pro myself...that's why i'm taking an actual anatomy class this summer, and am going to sketch out all my notes.

Anyways, I do know a little from reading Burne Hogarth books like they are the bible.

It seems everything is really in the right place, especially on the ladies. Even though it's a pain you should still sketch in the fingers n toes just to get used to it...unless these are like 3X6 sketches or something.

I think the guys pectorals could use to be a little bigger...you also wanto to watch for tangents, like on his foot and leg thats further away, they seem to meld together...other then that, maybe some more definition all around ?

Generally though these are quite good...good stuff...

[Lhune]

Ah hands and toes are a pain >.< I focussed mainly on the bodies in these pictures (that are currently on the actual size).

I really need to look up the English terms for all the muscle groups o.O I am Dutch myself, English itself is not a problem but I never studied anatomy in English ;).

I did notice the weird melting of the foot and the leg he is standing on. I tried to correct it but I'm afraid I failed at that ^^;.

Thanks a lot for the comment :).

[AmontilladoAg]

You're only sixteen?! Congrats on very good sketches!

I agree with Shatterdome, though; don't neglect the toes and fingers. The second woman's hands add a lot to the sketch.. Also, the man's muscle structure isn't completely off, but his upper arms aren't quite right. Is he tucking his left foot behind his right leg? It's kind of hard to tell...

Glad you discovered that drawing people isn't boring -- keep doing it! It pays off :teeth:

[Lhune]

Hm. Maybe it was that. I used a model as a reference for the male's pose, and even in the reference it wasn't really visible where he was holding his foot. Maybe if I make the lines surrounding the foot where it overlaps the other leg a bit thinner, would it look better? (because the bigger lines seem to suggest it's in front of it right now ^^; )

I will remember the toe and finger thing and keep drawing them in the future ;).

[AmontilladoAg]

Well, it depends on what you want -- if he's just lifting his foot up beside his leg, I would add some toes (I know, I know, again with the toes ;))... if you want the foot behind his leg, making the lines thinner might help.. I like his tail, btw :)

[Shatterdome]

Pectorals are his chest muscles :D

A way to fix the foot (but is probably too much work for a sketch) would be to raise, or lower his upper leg...this would move his lower leg and foot more forward or backwards, and seperate it from the other leg in space...

Just keep practicing and studying real life photos and drawing books :)

[Lhune]

Yer you can endlessly keep working on a single sketch, perhaps it is better if I just sketch some more :P.

I recently bought a book about the anatomy of (fantasy)humans, featuring two people (male and female), showing pictures from many different angles and in many different poses :). I will try and get the hang of the basic anatomy of the body first before starting to go into detail (like the face, expression, hands and toes). I will try and draw fingers and toes every time I sketch something now though, and hope it will help :).

Thanks for the crits you two! :)

[Lhune]

Here's another sketch I just did. I tried paying attention to the toes and hands as you suggested :).

I'm sorry if I blinded anyone with that face, I got lots of critique on the faces of the previous sketches. Well I am sorry but that just isn't what I am trying to focus on right now =/.

I used the blur tool to make the shading a bit more soft. Usually I avoid the blur because it makes things unrealistic and.. well.. blurry. I've seen many good pictures getting ruined by it... So what do you think? :)

Once again any redpenning would be most welcome :).

[AmontilladoAg]

Woot for fingers 'n' toes! :D Lookin' good :)

Her left leg isn't quite long enough, though... I mouse-scribbled a leg that seems a little bit more in proportion. Gotta watch out for stiff legs, btw; it can throw off an otherwise great sketch..

Hope this helps :teeth: