Complete Beginner's Guide to Anatomy and Figure Drawing

Some stick figure practice. Have some fun and don’t over think it. 

More on drawing the stick figure. 

For those of you that are having trouble visualizing the sphere.

The box is an important basic shape in creating the human form. It gives a solid structure to anything that is a “major” shape. In a more rectangular form it can represent the torso and hips of both humans and animals.

This is a continuation with some practice exercises. It is important to practice on your own as well. Even if you are just doodling while on the phone practice making boxes. 

The cylinder is vital to creating the arms and legs. Get very comfortable with making them. Your arms and legs are basically cylinders. 

For Everyone that is having trouble with the cylinder.

The cylinder Practice is vital and normally you would get a worksheet. This is so important that I made practice videos for you to follow along with me. Pause the video when you need to. Pause the video as many times as you need to. Also do not sit in silence. Please put on some music. That’s what I and many artists do. I speak in the beginning of these set of videos and then there is me drawing in silence.  

Using the box, sphere and cylinder you will learn to see these forms in 3D . 

This is a part 2 of the last exercise. 

We continue to build on the exercises by expanding the shapes you will link together. This will get you used to the idea of moving a figure in 3D space. Don’t worry about making it look like anything other than shapes.

The last part of our shape training. By now your mind is starting to think in terms of for and not just lines. 

“8 Heads high” is a common method of learning the figure and its proportions.In this video I will teach you that method.

Part two of the previous lecture as this was edited for time. 

This is the way I teach proportion. My method is a system of measurement. Don’t be intimidated. It’s very simple.

A continuation of the lecture.  

The final part. I talk about the proportion for the front, side and back view as well as the female form. 

In part two we see how the cylinder can effectively be used to define the jawline.

We begin the exercises by looking at the front and side. 

The continuation we see how to have the heading looking up and down. 

For those of you that are having trouble with the mannequin heads here is an alternative lecture. My intention is to give you a variety of ways to solve problems artistically.

This is the torso lecture. I will show you how to leverage the sphere in oval form to create the chest and hips. You will see the similarities and differences in both male and female torso.  

This continuation goes more into the hips. A very useful tip is to think of them as underwear. 

 I would like you to try and draw what you see . Draw the torso in all different views. It is important to challenge yourself and have fun. Please post your work.  

Draw along with me. Pause as much as you need to. It is easier to watch once and then follow along upon a second viewing. 

 By now you should have a good grasp on the shape of the simple torso. 

Here is where those cylinder exercises come into to play. 

More on the simplified arm.

Looking at the movement and relationship of the torso and the upper arm first. 

This is the full arm lecture . It builds on the lesson on the upper arm. It's called "Full arm" because the lower arm can only be attached to the upper arm. Hopefully there is no confusion. 

We look at the legs of the mannequin and how the cylinder is used .  

Part 2 of the leg. 

Some examples of the leg in different positions. 

Drawing the mannequin foot. 

Drawing the simplified hand.  

Part 2.

Part 3

A students asks : 

Quick Question on Neck placement?

Where would you place the neck for the head you're drawing at roughly 4:23? I'm following along with you but I'm have a tricky time figuring out where the neck would go.

An introduction to the skeleton and it's structure.

A lecture of the human skull.

All about drawing the skull. 

And introduction to the scapula more commonly known as the shoulder bone. 

Part 2 of the scapula lecture.

This is the lecture on the bones of the rib cage. 

Drawing the rib cage.

A continuation of the rib cage.

A continuation of drawing the rib cage.

The pelvis can be difficult to draw. The good news is you don't have to ever draw the pelvis unless you are drawing a skeleton army or zombie etc. Just a note if you are having trouble drawing this, don't beat yourself up. Feel free to move on. The important part is the front ridge of the pelvis and where the leg bones are attached.  

The lecture on the arm bones. 

The lecture on the bones of the legs. Pay attention to the way the legs "bow" from the front and the "S" curve from the side. 

Part 2 of drawing the front rib cage torso. 

Drawing the side rib cage. Continuing using the worksheet and try to keep the proportions in line. 

And finally drawing the back of the rib cage. 

The lecture of the neck muscles. Also download the zip file for all of the muscle references. They are for you to use as reference.  

We will begin to add the muscles of the neck to the worksheet you drew the skeleton torso on. 

A lecture of the muscles of the chest. 

Now we will add the chest muscles on our plate. 

A lecture on the muscles of the back. 

Now we will add the muscles of the back. 

We will add the abdominal muscles. 

The muscles of the shoulder. 

Part 2 of the shoulder muscles lecture. 

We will add the muscles of the shoulder next. 

Biceps lecture

Using the provided "Arm bone plate" ,add the muscles of the bicep. 

The triceps lecture

Drawing the muscles of the triceps.

The lecture of the forearm.

We will add the muscles of the forearm. Forearms are open to interpretation in my opinion. How you draw them and what muscles you decide to show is one of the things that create your style. I also provided the forearm reference sheet. 

The glutes have a lecture but not a "How to draw" . My reason is drawing attractive glutes for females is strictly a stylistic choice. I also go into more in depth on that subject in the "How to draw women" lectures.  

The Lecture of the thigh muscles. 

Using the provided "Leg Bone Plate" and the reference plate we will add the muscles of the thigh.  

We continue to draw the thigh muscles. 

The lecture of the calves. 

We will add the calve muscles to the leg bone plate. 

How to draw the hair. In this video you will learn my method on drawing any hairstyle. Whether you use reference or create your own you will have a greater understanding of how hair works. 

How to add weight to your characters.

Part 2. 

Part 2 .

Drawing foreshortening and how and when to use it. Foreshortening is a tool not a style. Use it wisely and sparingly. That's my opinion anyway. 

Part 2. 

The "classic" face with "perfect" features can be boring. So in this video I show you how to begin to add some variety to your faces.

Drawing the ears.

Drawing the eyes. Another item that will shape your own personal style. 

Part 2. 

How to draw the lips. Lips are NOT just a line. 

How to draw the nose. its NOT just a "L" shape. It has form.