body help

[olorc]

I've been having a lot of trouble drawing bodies for my characters. How you do draw bodies? Is there a good site for anatomy or figure drawing out there that could help me? What are your techniques? Thanks.

[Mave]

Frankly, I learnt how to get the body proportions right just by practising. I have one anatomy book but I've hardly used it. I suggest drawing real life people or yourself if you have limited resources.

You may laugh but the "stick ppl" method is helpful in training. ^^

[SwordSkill]

LOL! i thought this was a cry for help for something to do with the body...and i really do mean the physical body itself. XD XD anyway.

i always start with stick figures to make me see the bigger picture so i wouldn't be trivializing over an arm or something. XD besides, it works to draw the skeleton first so you know where to hang the muscles and blanket the skin on, and everything else follows. anyway here's a helpful tutorial to start with: http://wynd.teamanime2k.org/tutorial_sfposes.htm

[Archan]

Olorc,

The thing about the human body is, well, it's very very complicated. Mostly the best way to start out with drawing the human body is to know what story you want to tell with the body. Example, a sad person holds their posture alot differently then an excited person, or someone whose mad or scarred, so on and so forth. Once you understand what your going to tell with the persons body, then I usually start with positioning the head, and then the skeletal structure and layering everything else like Swordskill noted.

Also, (Unless you're drawing static people whom just stand straight, in which case an anatomy book {wont matter which one} will do just fine), you might want to practice Gestures with the body, which are usually noted by the placing of the hands and how the spine bends, alot can be said with the major limbs. Also, study yourself in the mirror (Dont laugh, all the top animators do this) and how you position yourself when your scared or angry or happy or coniving, etc..... there's no better refrence to the human body then an actual human body. also, go rent some DVD's or tapes and pause it when an actor does something with his/her body that really illustrates and expresses a particular emotion.

Anyway hopefully this helps some, just remember that one of the keys to making an interesting human body is gesture, the other key is emotion. A good author I reccomend is a chap named Bridgeman, he's written alot of books on drawing the human body and their cost worthy books too! you can usually find his books a Barnes & Nobel or Borders, or even the library if your lucky.

God bless,
Archan

[Kireihana]

I always, ALWAYS use stick figures. Because I, unlike some lucky people out there, cannot judge the size and position of my picture beforehand, and always end up going off the page or getting porportions wrong if I do. I think the stick figure is very useful, especially in complex poses.

The key is to establish the size and relation of all body parts to each other, then put them all together. Sometimes, I put ovals on top of the stick frame to get the muscle structure.

My key advice is this: Don't cut out part of the body because you're bad at it. I used to do this, and of course I never improved until I started drawing them. For example, I'd always draw the feet buried in grass, or the hands behind the back or in pockets. DON'T!! It doesn't matter if drawing ugly hands or feet ruins an otherwise perfect picture, because it's the only way to ever get good at them. (and I'm using hands and feet as an example - those are just my problem areas)

Likewise, don't always draw the same position all the time. Try some crazy positions. It'll help you learn your anatomy better, and become good at foreshortening. Also, you should develop a system for yourself- steps you use for drawing all the time. It will make things so much easier. My steps are:

a) Stick figure
b) Define the muscles
c) Flesh the figure in
d) Add clothing
e) Erase uneeded lines
f) detail/color/whatever

I hope those things help... I learned pretty much all that through experience, except maybe the way I draw stick figures, which I got from the tutorials at http://www.bakaneko.com (great site! helpful!) Anyway, I've attached an example of one of my stick figures, because I for one am a visual learner and all this text would be meaningless to me without some visual aid. I don't know if you're like that or not...

Oh!! Speaking of the attachment, drawing on lined paper is very helpful! Its easier to get things symmetrical that way. I practice on notebook paper all the time. ^^ (And sorry if I ramble- art is a topic I get excited about ^^;;)

[Hitokiri]

I cant use the circles and stuff, they mess me up

Drawing comes natural to me but to get the "anime-esque" style was just study the anime person body.

Then again if you're not trying to draw anime, I would study how to draw a real persons body.

[RoyalWing]

Remember to draw in 3D! I use simple shapes first, then add on trillions of things slowly. Take your time with it and practise with a subject and/or a mirror.

[Heart of Sword]

This may sound silly but I tend to give my characters very baggy clothes.
Yes I can draw people with normal clothes. But what does help is stick figures. It lets you know where everything's going to be.