In this post, I will reveal how to draw anatomy, using the basic steps from my lectures and how they are related. I will start with the first conception or hint of an idea and carry it through to the final presentation. Each step involves applying basic visual tools, such as selecting icons for a particular program, which you need to know how to use, to develop your concept.
Continuing the analogy of the computer, the drawing is the graphical interface of your imagination. These tools allow you to relate your idea to yourself and to the world. I have organized these tools into a series of logical steps that can be applied to any visual presentation or study of drawing. We all know much more than we think we do, and much of what I teach is simply making this knowledge accessible.
My desire is to give a feeling of life to the drawing, based on movement. In this workshop I will focus on the action, also known as the gesture, and the main rendering steps involved in drawing the figure straight from the imagination. If you need some supplies, check out our best pencils and best sketchbooks for artist publications.
01. Think tools, not rules
(Image: © Glenn Vilppu)
When drawing from life and from imagination, the key is to understand the action you are trying to depict. This is an analytical process. In this example, the lines guide you through the figure; they are not copies of shapes, outlines or stick figures. Each fragment leads you to the next, as if you were animating a journey through the figure, moving from one side to the other. There are no dead cartoons like CSI. It’s about transition. Make the viewer’s eye move.
02. Cross the form
(Image: © Glenn Vilppu)
The next main tool is to use lines that cross and surround the form, similar to a basic wireframe. Notice how he gives the first step a clear understanding of shapes in space. Focus on 3D, not shape or tone.
03. Build the figure
(Image: © Glenn Vilppu)
In this step we come to the workhorse of describing the form in action. The basic sphere is the first step in the development of the form. By adding the sphere, we focused on creating clear and simple volumes. You can view them as prototypes of anatomical structures, but don’t dwell on having to make them perfect just yet. These are general shapes that will be adjusted as we go along. But for now, pay special attention to how they overlap.
04. Bring it to life
(Image: © Glenn Vilppu)
Our goal as artists is to add a sense of life and movement to our drawings. That is why it is important that you use lines that communicate the gesture. Notice how the same simple spheres communicate very different actions. Each line has a meaning. Your drawing should have a purpose in developing your first idea, which is your ultimate goal.
05. Look at reality
(Image: © Glenn Vilppu)
The way in which your drawing communicates a sense of physical reality is key to your drawing having a sense of life. The first exercise in the study of animation is the bouncing ball, and the main elements of how the ball changes shape when it hits the ground and recovers its shape when it bounces. Crush and stretch are fundamental drawing terms. I first heard them discussing the works of Michelangelo and Pontormo. See the Belvedere Torso, copied by artists since Roman times. Notice how I am applying this basic concept to the simple shapes of the figure.
06. Make it move
(Image: © Glen Vilppu)
At this point in the drawing we get a fusion of fundamental construction and anatomy in action. All muscles are connected at two points and some at more. The way the basic underlying structure moves and interacts is giving visual expressions of how they affect the anatomy of the surface. So now is the perfect time to focus not only on the muscles, but also on the skin and fat tissue over the muscles and their interaction. Remember that everything goes around, around, compresses and stretches.
07. Be aware of symmetry
(Image: © Glen Vilppu)
Pose analysis is key when drawing from a model. In making the drawings so far, I’ve been building on an idea in my head, but when drawing from a model, it’s often not clear what the action is. Our next tool is the box, which works to clarify both our understanding of the live model and our conceptual intent. This is because it features critical anatomical landmarks that show us symmetry, a key element in revealing action.
08. Keep moving
(Image: © Glen Vilppu)
It is important to focus on how our original gesture sketch is applied in the development and rendering of the anatomy. We are drawing action figures, not anatomy book illustrations. Each of the lines that cross the figure are transitions from one point to the next. Using these lines as guides I compose the anatomy to communicate the action.
09. Use the tone
(Image: © Glen Vilppu)
The first tonal representation tool is the modeling tone. Push the sides back, and what’s in front of you is illuminated. As the shape recedes, it turns into tone. Tones move the eye in the same way that lines do. They have to direct and describe the form. Don’t copy tones, but use them to describe the shape.
10. Use the cylinder
(Image: © Glen Vilppu)
When we drew the simple cross outlines in step 2, each one showed a section of a cylinder. The cylinder becomes our next basic figure tool and a building base for anatomical information. Where you place the ends of the cylinders and how you draw the ellipse are the main points for showing direction and foreshortening. The cylinder becomes part of a visual structure on which we build an anatomical structure.
11. Bring it to life
(Image: © Glen Vilppu)
An important element in drawing that is often overlooked is the subjective content of the subject. In this example, notice how the look of the eyes and the expression change the feel of the drawing. Make the action and body language obvious, or no one will understand your intentions for the piece.
12. Use the photo, don’t copy it
When working from photographs, it is important to keep in mind that
a copy of an action figure does not mean that the drawing shows action. You must create it. I tell my students, we never copy, analyze and build. Compose the anatomy to show the action.
This content originally appeared on the Paint & Draw Anatomy bookstore. Buy it from Magazines Direct (opens in a new tab).
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