On Drawing Anatomy

Recently I’ve been working on studying human anatomy and other features. I have done a few studies before in high school and in college and recently some new sketches in my notebook.

I am taking my first figure drawing class next semester in the fall and I would like to have some practice in before the term starts. I don’t have much access (if any) to models while I’m home over the summer so I have been looking at some figure poses online as well as Ancient Greek and Renaissance statues.

Although my sketches are nothing close to the extensive studies that Leonardo da Vinci did in his life time, I have been trying to focus on the shading and values of bone and muscle underneath the skin rather than outlining the shapes that I see. Not only did da Vinci draw the body, he studied the underlying muscles by sketching them as well as the skeleton surrounding them with notes that took up the whole page. I hope that one day I will have the patience to study something that deeply.

So for now I do quick practicing sketches trying to develop skill and knowledge on the subject in order to be prepared for next year’s classes.

Featured image from Unsplash