Project Structure

I have decided to jump to this section before I continue to do the other exercises because I have a real need to understand the anatomy and muscle structure of the body. I have the greatest of problems with this and so I have tackled it in my own way to gain maximum benefit from the assignment. I have started with the structure section as this makes more sense to me.  So I have begun drawing anatomical pictures and then tried drawing these areas from life studies, and as always looking at other artists studies has been invaluable and hopefully this will be demonstrated in my log.

I started with the bones of the hand as I have always had trouble drawing hands and I then drew my own hands and also tried foreshortening.

I have found this exercise very useful and so this has encouraged me to continue on the anatomy study drawings.  What I have gained so far is that the proportion of the hand and size is important, i.e. the palm of the hand is approximately the same length and width as the middle finger. This for me is quite a discovery as it has helped me to understand how to tackle hands and give consideration to the size of the palm which is roughly square in shape when the hand is open.
Encouraged and excited by the results I continued along the anatomy theme by drawing the bones of the feet and again I have drawn some foot studies from life and it is amazing whilst drawing I became aware of the structures giving form to the foot.  I also noticed that the medial ankle bone is slightly higher than the lateral ankle bone and this I try to remember and look for in my life drawing.

I then progressed to the shoulder and arm and this has particularly helped me draw studies at different angles because  the muscles are more defined than the bone structure.  With the drawing of feet and hands the boney prominances are more apparent where as with the arms and shoulder the muscle defines shape.

My next study was the pelvis and legs and it is important to understand that the positioning of the pelvic girdle in relation to weight distribution.  Whether walking or running the angle of the pelvis changes which has a knock on effect on the torso and shoulder girdle.

All the anatomy drawings have been copied from the Human Anatomy for Artists illustrated by Andras Szunyoghy and written by Dr. Gyorgy Feher published by Konemann 2006.  
I looked at some drawings by Leonardo da Vinci "The Graphic Work", by Frank Zollner and Johannes Nathan, and copied his studies of the muscles of the back.  I like the way he exagerated them which gives them a Grecian God like style.

 I am gaining so much from these studies that I shall continue drawing anatomical drawings to help me gain a better understanding of the form and shape of the human body.