Basic Human Anatomy A Beginner’s Guide to the Human Figure

Benefits of Understanding Anatomy Construction allows you to create nearly any pose in any direction, because you understand how the body fits together Your figures will seem more realistic, even if you have a very cartoony style By creating a set of ‘rules’ you always follow, you are creating a contract with your audience, and they are likely to suspend belief and get caught up in the moment with your drawings and stories

These basics transcend style, and can be applied to styles ranging from furry to very realistic. The basics can also be applied to ANYTHING, once you learn how something is basically constructed, you can draw it, be it buildings, vehicles, people, or animals. Image via The Vilppu Drawing Manual

The Difference Between Good Anatomy and Bad Good Anatomy Bad Anatomy Well constructed figures Believable figures Artist can rotate and pose figures effectively No made up muscles, bones, ect Poorly constructed figures Figures that could not function in a 3D space Artist is very limited in pose and angle Made up anatomy instead of referenced

Bad

Good

Basic Shapes Everything, from houses to trees, from people to horses, can be constructed of very basic shapes If you understand what shapes make up an object, you can easily construct that object It takes a little while to develop your eyes and brain to ‘see’ this way, so be patient with yourself

If you can draw these, you can draw people.

Different Approaches to Construction Most medical anatomy books- Not gestural, entirely constructive, used for instruction, difficult to learn comic anatomy from if you’re a beginner. Burne Hogarth- Least Gestural, most constructive, often used as a teaching aid in figure drawing classes. Great way to learn basic structures. Loomis- More gestural than Hogarth, still very constructed. Drawing The Head and Hands and Figure Drawing for All It’s Worth, skips some steps Will Eisner- Somewhat gestural, well constructed. Vilppu- Very gestural, still fairly constructed. This is where I learned, broken down into digestible steps. Walt Stanchfield- Extremely gestural, not very constructed, great for thumbnails, easy to read storytelling.

From Essentials of Human Anatomy and Physiology

Burne Hogarth, image from Dynamic Figure Drawing

Examples of Each Andrew Loomis- Figure Drawing for All It’s Worth

Images from The Vilppu Drawing Manual

Basic Skeleton Loomis Skeleton Human Skeleton

Head Heights Using the head as a measurement for body height. Body can be evenly divided by a set number of heads, and then landmarks can be marked off. Really useful when putting figures in perspective

Standard Head Heights ‘Chibi’- 2-4 Realistic Approx 6 Supermodel 7 Super Hero 8

Head Heights vary with Age and Person to Person Infant Toddler Child Teen Adult

Basic Human Structure

Special Focus- Line of Action Useful for capturing a gesture Often, but not always the backbone of the figure Can be useful in determining effect of gravity/weight of character

Capturing Gesture Can really ‘sell’ character Makes a character seem more dynamic Makes for more interesting drawing Makes for more interesting composition

Building Upon Your Skeleton

Differences Between Male and Female Figures Male Female

Female Smaller shoulders Smaller waist Wider hips Thinner arms Legs taper more Gentler curves, less angular Thinner neck

Male Wider Shoulders Narrow waist/narrow hips Legs are more stocky Thicker/more muscular arms Thicker/more muscular neck

Figure Basics Remain Same Despite Style Changes

Hands

Feet

Heads

From Andrew Loomis’s Drawing the Head and Hands

From Burne Hogarth’s Drawing the Human Head

Additional Online Resources Anatomical Construction for More Cartoony Figures: http://nattosoup.blogspot.com/2011/10/anatomical-construction-for-more.html Facial Anatomy and Construction: http://nattosoup.blogspot.com/2012/03/facial-anatomy-and-construction.html Why You Should Understand Anatomy: http://nattosoup.blogspot.com/2011/09/why-you-yes-you-should-understand.html Anatomy of a Clay Man: http://nattosoup.blogspot.com/2011/09/this-summer-semester-i-decided-to-use.html Bits and Bobs- Anatomy Continued: http://nattosoup.blogspot.com/2011/09/bits-and-bobs-anatomy-continued.html The Very Beginnings: http://nattosoup.blogspot.com/2011/12/very-beginnings.html Very Basic Anatomy Figure Drawing: http://nattosoup.blogspot.com/2011/09/very-basic-anatomyfigure-drawing.html http://lilgecko.tumblr.com/post/25164267391/ibelievepracticemakesperfect-knees-by http://chompass.tumblr.com/post/25342574161/varying-your-body-types http://fuckyeahreferences.tumblr.com/ http://www.pixelovely.com/gesture/figuredrawing.php/ http://characterdesigns.com/