Female anatomy for artists

Name: Female anatomy for artists
Rating: 4.8 (1081 reviews)

In this course we will sculpt and draw a female body and head from scratch in Zbrush with tons of anatomy explanation.

Created byNIkolay Naydenov

Last updated 7/2020

English

English [Auto],

What you'll learn

Anatomy

Course content

1 section • 35 lectures • 12h 45m total length

01 Introduction7:27
Explore essential references for female anatomy in art, including anatomy for sculptures and Bana's anatomy, plus 3d files and anatomy 360 resources to improve accuracy and realism.
02 Head basics21:14
Learn head basics for female anatomy by sculpting from a sphere, shaping the neck, jaw, ears, and cheekbones, and comparing female and male skull forms for an attractive head.
03 Torso basics 0121:20
Master female torso basics by shaping the rib cage, clavicle, and scapula, then detailing the breasts as fat tissue, abdomen, pelvis, and spine for accurate figure drawing.
04 Torso basics 0221:57
Explore the female torso from the side, detailing the rib cage, abdominal fat distribution, pelvis landmarks, and shoulder muscles, with guidance on reading anatomy references and sculpting practice.
05 Torso basics 0321:34
Explore how the rib cage, pelvis, and back muscles—from the traps to the back long muscle and their interaction with the scapula—shape the torso.
06 Legs basics 0123:48
Learn the main forms of the female legs from front and back, profiling the quadriceps, calves, and knee to capture anatomy with proportion, landmarks, and smooth, curvy contour.
07 Legs basics 0223:55
Explore leg proportions and anatomy for female figures. Analyze the knee complex, patella, ligaments, and leg muscles to improve sculptural accuracy and proportions.
08 Feet basics 0121:32
Establish proportions by comparing the head width to the shoulder width and refining hip placement. Practice feet basics by modeling the foot base, arch, and toe placement for female anatomy.
09 Feet basics 0222:07
Explore feet basics for female anatomy in sculpture, detailing the arch, tendons, ankle orientation, fat pads, and heel, while emphasizing realistic forms and avoiding over-detailing veins.
10 Arms basics 0123:21
Explore the female arm anatomy, from the humerus, ulna, and radius to elbow mechanics, forearm flexors and extensors, triceps, and shoulder attachments, with emphasis on proportions and gesture.
11 Arms basics 0226:34
Explore arm anatomy for female figures, detailing biceps, triceps, forearm muscles, and forearm bones such as the radius and ulna, plus tendons and landmarks for accurate sculpting.
12 Breasts and hands21:31
Explore sculpting female breasts with outward projection, smooth contours and nipple placement, then build a realistic hand with knuckles, tendons, and a curved palm arch.
13 Hand basics 0221:20
Explore hand basics for female anatomy by mapping finger proportions, knuckles, and nail placement, practicing gestural arm forms, and refining side views and subtle muscle cues.
14 Face details 0122:42
Divide the female face into halves to place the eyes, nose, lips, and chin with correct proportions, explore side views, and refine planes and shading for realism.
15 Face details 0225:03
Learn to sculpt a female head by refining ears and nostrils, nose form, lips, and neck, using perspective and makeup shadows to enhance realism.
16 Face detail 03 and making the eyeballs23:47
Explore sculpting female eyes with a 2.5 cm diameter eyeball, assessing placement and proportions within the head. Apply iris, cornea, eyelids, makeup, and lashes with shading to achieve realistic depth.
17 Face detail 0424:09
Explore female head anatomy and sculpting details, from cheek fat and jaw planes to nose definition and eye alignment, to achieve realism.
18 Making a male head22:14
Adjusting neck size, jawline, Adam's apple, nose, brow, and angular planes to create a masculine head; emphasizes anatomy through observation, practice, and sculpting.
19 Making a male torso 0122:41
Explore drawing a powerful male torso by widening shoulders, adjusting pelvis and rib cage angles, and building chest, back, and abdominal muscles, while noting asymmetric anatomy and key landmarks.
20 Making a male torso 0216:04
Explains the male torso anatomy for artists, detailing traps, clavicle, scapula, shoulders, chest, abs, fascia, and pelvis for believable game and poster characters.
21 Making the male legs 0123:34
Learn male leg anatomy for sculpture, detailing quadriceps, hamstrings, gluteus muscles, sartorius, patella ligament, and key landmarks, with tips on asymmetry and variation.
22 Making the male legs 0223:12
Connect the legs to the body to compare male and female leg forms. Examine gluteus maximus, sartorius, knee anatomy, fat distribution, and pelvis influence for artists.
23 Making the male arms26:34
Learn to sculpt male arms by studying realistic anatomy, tracing triceps and biceps from references, maintaining gesture and proportion while prioritizing practical shapes for animation-ready models.
24 Finishing the male figure25:08
Finish the male figure by correcting proportions, refining anatomy landmarks (femur, clavicle, elbow, ulna, radius) and shoulder muscles (deltoid, traps) while applying ZBrush and poly paint for detailing.
25 Detailing the female 0127:26
Learn to sculpt a convincing female anatomy by refining arms, shoulders, fat distribution, and the pelvis and legs, using references and a focus on smooth, rounded forms.
26 Detailing the female 0227:40
Explore detailing the female figure with smooth anatomy, proportions, and subtle skin folds, while comparing male and female anatomy and refining breasts, hips, hands, feet, and facial features.
27 Detailing the female 0319:26
Refine the female anatomy for artists by detailing feet, legs, hands, and facial features, using perspective, wrinkles, and anatomical cues such as humerus, radius, femur, tibia, fibula, and patella.
28 Adding eyebrows and eyelashes20:58
Practice shaping female anatomy with smooth form, focusing on eyebrows and eyelashes, eyelids, and realistic breasts and shoulder contours, while adjusting neck arch and arm structure.
29 Making nails and covering some things22:05
Explore nail design and hand anatomy basics for female figures, with practical tips on finger proportions, nail structure, folds, and foundational modeling—emphasizing practice over perfection.
30 Painting skin tips24:56
Learn to paint realistic skin tones by layering reds, yellows, and blues to show blood vessels, bone under skin, and vascular variation, using references and careful shading.
31 Painting skin and makeup20:53
Explore painting skin tones and makeup on female anatomy, with tips on shading, color choices for sun-exposed areas, eyes, nose, belly button, nails, and subtle makeup to enhance features.
32 Starting the hair26:01
Start the hair by building a loose base and directional strands, refine for a natural look, use references, and consider eyebrows, eyelids, and eyelashes for realism, avoiding symmetry.
33 Making final adjustments21:57
They adjust the female anatomy for artists by refining feet, ankles, calves, and bone landmarks, ensuring smooth, realistic contours and correct silhouette through perspective and rotation.
34 Boney landmarks and final words18:22
Explore the main bony landmarks of the female body for artists, including the clavicle, scapula, pelvis, rib cage, elbows, and knees, to enhance anatomical accuracy in figure drawing.
35 Goodbye2:43
Thank you for participating in this course and share your feedback on its value. Explore the zebrafish beginner course to build basic tools, renders, and painting workflows with KeyShot.

Requirements

You should want to learn anatomy

Description

Do you make your female characters always lifelike, sexy and perfect? Do they always come up pretty, with nice proportions and exactly as you wanted them? Then this course is NOT for you.

But if you don't feel quite at home when drawing or sculpting human anatomy, and more specifically - female anatomy, then you've come to the right place!

My name is Niko, and i am a 3D character artist for about 11 years now. I started studying anatomy 20 years ago but at some point I realized that female anatomy was my weak point so I was searching for such course. Sadly there were almost none available. And although female and male muscles and bones are pretty much the same, the forms are pretty different. So now, after alot of studying and practice, i decided to do a female anatomy course myself and i am doing this course by real time sculpting in Zbrush, because i think the best way to explain anatomy is to sculpt it in 3D and view muscles and forms from all angles.

We will start this course by making the overall shape of a female head, and i will explain its forms and proportions. Then we will make the torso shape and i will explain its muscles and forms. Next we will make the legs, and we will talk about their forms and muscles too. Feet are pretty much ignored by most artists, but we will learn about them too . After that, we will jump to the muscles and bones of the arms, which are also pretty interesting, so make sure not to miss it!

Then we will make the basic form of the breasts, followed by hands and fingers. At this point, we will start detailing the face, where we will talk about proportions, sculpt, and draw all the face features, like nose, mouth, eyes, and as a bonus - the eyeballs.

We will continue with duplicating the head, and make a male head out of it. We will do the same with the torso, arms, legs, feet and hands, so we will have a separate male model for comparison.

Then it will be time to combine all the parts of the female body and refine some areas. We will add eyebrows and eyelashes, nails, and we will cover certain areas for a bit of a decency :). Last, we will learn how to paint human skin and makeup and also make hair for better presentation.

This course doesn't require previous knowledge of anatomy, although it could be useful. I would also like to thank the Anatomy 4 sculptors for letting me use images from their amazing book. I really think it is a must have for all artists interested in anatomy. Although this course will give you practical knowledge about muscles, forms and bones, I do recommend using this book to refresh your knowledge when necessary.

pp. The red dress in the title photo is not included in the course. It is just to comply with Udemy nudity violations on the search pages :).

Who this course is for:

People who don't feel quite at home when drawing or sculpting human anatomy, and more specifically - female anatomy.