Anatomy

The Basics of Anatomy

Anatomy can be the most intimidating skill to learn as an artist, but it is highly rewarding after learning the basics and practicing.

Before overwhelming yourself with complex muscles and poses, make sure you clearly understand the concepts in the perspective article and the proportions article! Once you’re no longer confined to the basics of 3D, you will have more freedom to make dynamic poses. Practice drawing 3D shapes in different perspectives and angles to get more familiar with the basics. For more information on creating these 3D shapes, check out the Shapes and Forms video!

There are many different body types but they all share the same basic structure of anatomical proportions. Begin with a basic mannequin, simplifying the head, neck, torso, and pelvis into boxes, cylinders, and spheres. Starting like this will make your figure look static and stiff, but after a lot of repetition and becoming familiar with the mannequin, your structures will start to look more organic and dynamic. It is very important to remember that these shapes are for the proportions and visualizing perspective; it is very easy to let the rigidness of the boxes become the foundation of the figure which is what you usually do not want. Try drawing the mannequin from different angles once you’re comfortable with the general proportions of the body.

The human body is extremely complex, but do not stress about knowing every biological accuracy of anatomy. You don’t need to memorize every muscle––start with the most visible ones that define the silhouette: the deltoids, pectorals, glutes, and quadriceps. Pay special attention to how muscles affect the edges of your figure: the silhouette is what the viewer notices first, so getting the outermost curves correct matters more than internal muscle detail.

Focus on key skeletal landmarks like the clavicle, ribcage, pelvis, and kneecap. These act as anchors that keep your figure grounded and proportional. Once your landmarks are in place, focus on gesture before muscle detail. A figure with perfect anatomy but no gesture will still look stiff and lifeless. To learn more about gesture drawing, check out this article!

Let's zoom into facial anatomy! You might’ve seen artists draw the circle with the cross as their construction lines. This is called the Loomis Method, a foundational sketch where you start with a circle, a vertical and horizontal line through the center of the circle. The horizontal line represents the brow line, which roughly aligns with the widest point of the skull, and the vertical one is the center of the face. Visualize the circle as a sphere, and flatten the left and right sides of the sphere to represent the temporal planes of the head.

A super important rule to internalize when making facial proportions is the rule of facial thirds. The face is divided horizontally into three equal parts where the upper section is the hairline → eyebrows, eyebrows → base of nose, and nose → chin. While all facial features are unique and some proportions can vary, this rule of thumb generally stays consistent throughout all faces.

To get more familiar with anatomy, you can draw from photo references. Draw on top of a reference into simple shapes: boxes, triangles, cylinders, circles, then redraw what you broke down. Don’t restrict yourself to certain shapes or methods: instead, choose your shapes based on the scene and pose. For instance, if you want to draw dynamic poses, cylinders are more appropriate. However, if your piece has a lot of perspective, using boxes may be more helpful. You can also practice drawing the same pose in different angles, which can also help with learning perspective. Additionally, to get more familiar with facial anatomy and the planes of the face, you can utilize 3D models such as Anatomy for Sculptors.

The most important thing, however, is to keep drawing, as progress comes with practice. Take it one concept at a time, and don’t hesitate to revisit the basics whenever you feel stuck!