AuthorTopic: Anatomy Practice  (Read 15979 times)

Offline Zizka

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Re: Anatomy Practice

Reply #10 on: December 31, 2016, 01:39:02 pm
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You need to fix those. Rib cages aren't ovals, look up some reference. What are the diagonal bones over the rib cage at the shoulder? Scapula don't look like that. Clavicles are not straight. The forearm has two bones. Bones bulge out at the joints.

Ok, I tried to fix them by looking up a female skeleton, is it better?:


@lachrymose: I'll try your canevas.

@dpixel:
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I know this is anime
It's definitely not meant to be anime, I hate that stuff. Owch!

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Plus developing a system and an understanding will allow you to create more interesting and dynamic poses.

What do you mean a system? I don't understand.

EDIT: A new version based on the new practice I've done:





« Last Edit: December 31, 2016, 02:10:08 pm by Zizka »

Offline Cyangmou

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Re: Anatomy Practice

Reply #11 on: December 31, 2016, 04:28:08 pm
females tend to be more bottom-heavy.

"Because the beauty of the human body is that it hasn't a single muscle which doesn't serve its purpose; that there's not a line wasted; that every detail of it fits one idea, the idea of a man and the life of a man."

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Offline dpixel

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Re: Anatomy Practice

Reply #12 on: December 31, 2016, 04:59:47 pm
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Plus developing a system and an understanding will allow you to create more interesting and dynamic poses.
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What do you mean a system? I don't understand.

It could be stick figures,  number of heads, shapes, etc.  The guy in the video had a system, which I think is pretty good at making things look right.
Even if you don't like anime, the proportions have to be correct or it won't look right.  The human anatomy is easy to make NOT look right.  Everyone sees it every day, so it's very familiar to people, and easy for people to see when something's not right. They might not know what's wrong.  Just that something is wrong. Drawing it from memory is quite hard without a system and or a lot of practice.  That's why to use a reference and practice.

Offline Zizka

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Re: Anatomy Practice

Reply #13 on: January 01, 2017, 12:41:08 pm
So I went ahead with dpixel's comment and checked a couple of books online about systems. I ended up paying more attention to Figure Drawing by Michael Hampton. He pretty much provides ways to build up body parts using basic shapes. While interesting, it didn't provide anything about the female body unfortunately.

Then I checked Figure Drawing for Artists by Steve Huston which was way too much about theory and not much about practice which was sort of pointless for me.

I then checked Andrew Loomis's books, drawing the head and hands more specifically. I don't know if it's a sexist thing but very little information is provided about women while men get most of the coverage. Anyways, I'll keep looking for some good source of info on women's anatomy.

Offline 32

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Re: Anatomy Practice

Reply #14 on: January 01, 2017, 12:57:33 pm
That is true and unfortunate. I don't have any books to recommend but the anatomy is essentially the same barring proportional differences and the obvious. Even within genders you find a huge range of variance so it's more of a rule of thumb kind of thing, like wide hips LOOK more feminine so if you want the character to read that way make the hips wider. What you really want to be looking at is how the joints work and where the muscle groups/ fat deposits are and what they look like. Once you know how to draw them it's just a matter of pushing certain dimensions one way or the other to get the desired body type.

You can pretty much sum it up as feminine traits are smaller chest/narrower shoulders, wider hips, smaller hands and feet. Less muscle definition (due to higher average body fat percentage and the way fat deposits)

Offline Zizka

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Re: Anatomy Practice

Reply #15 on: January 01, 2017, 01:38:26 pm
Ah ok I see.



I'm really struggling with this to be honest. I like the challenge but it's definitely harder than anything I've ever worked on. I'm having trouble finding traction and getting started with the whole thing. Maybe I could focus on just one bone at a time instead of a whole skeleton just so I get started somewhere and take things one step at a time.

Offline 0xDB

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Re: Anatomy Practice

Reply #16 on: January 01, 2017, 01:50:34 pm
It has already been written but I will write it again: One should really practice anatomy/basic proportions with pencil and paper.

Look at the numbers: Each time unit spent clicking with the mouse to place a pixel could just as well be a time unit spent placing a single stroke with the pencil. 5 to 10 strokes can make a full figure abstraction with realistic proportions(provided one practiced that sufficiently) while 5 to 10 pixels can not achieve that.

Practicing this with pixels is highly inefficient. Presuming it takes about an hour to pixel a sprite like that, one could have practiced the proportions 40 to 60 times during that hour with pencil and paper.

Practice with pencil and paper many times until the proportions are nailed down, then proceed with slower studies of simplified volumes and later(much later) details like muscles and landmarks.

Also, check Loomis again, he's also written "Figure Drawing For All It's Worth" which has female figure specifics and comparison charts between male/female anatomy.

And in the end, at a small size like this in pixels, the result will read better if you do not render surface/anatomy details at all, just abstract it into really simple volumes.

Offline 32

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Re: Anatomy Practice

Reply #17 on: January 01, 2017, 01:52:51 pm
Studying all of the bones is an excellent idea and will definitely push you a long way.

I really think your main issue is the bobble head. It is throwing off your perception of the proportions of the upper body. Shrink it to about half the size (which would STILL be a bit big) and you might notice a lot of the issues pop out at you.

If you want to do a head study do it separately at a higher resolution. Doing a face at this resolution takes a pretty good knowledge of facial anatomy and the ability to squish that down into a few important clusters. That's something you'll be able to do AFTER you learn the anatomy not while you learn.

Offline Zizka

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Re: Anatomy Practice

Reply #18 on: January 01, 2017, 02:19:19 pm
About practicing with a pencil, I know that's what I should do. I just find no motivation to do so. It's like I don't know where to start and I therefore have no will to do so. I'm also used to the grid in pixel art so going free form feels weird. I know, I know, it's what I should do. Maybe if you guys could suggest some exercises instead of just: "practice with a pencil". I know it's the right thing to do but I don't know where to start and the whole thing feels huge and daunting.

Also, when I practice with a pencil I don't feel like I'm improving in any way so it feels like a waste of time. Anyways, judging from the progress I'm making in this pixel art endeavor, it's clear I have no choice to go back to the basics and work on my pencil so ok, I give in, I will do it.

I just want to know where I should start based on your opinions then I'll go ahead and do it.

I'd rather start with something simple and work my way up than go for realistic anatomy right from the get go.

Offline 32

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Re: Anatomy Practice

Reply #19 on: January 01, 2017, 02:26:04 pm
Look into "gesture drawing." You can use a website like posemaniacs or countless others you'll find through google to get timed reference.

I guarantee you you'll have gotten a lot better at anatomy after an hour of that than you will after an hour of working on a pixel piece.

I'd suggest you keep working on this one on the side as motivation and if you feel like you're stuck and can't see where to go spend some time on paper until you've observed some things you can work into it.

Also grab every drawing implement you have available to you and try every one. I for one don't always love sketching with a standard pencil but I'll scribble with a gel pen for days.