Step 1 - Prepare for the Drawing with Studies
I'm approaching this drawing as a portfolio piece, or something that might hang in a gallery.
I think this is a good mentality to have going into a longer drawing because we take it more
seriously. With that, comes prep work...
I like to do some small sketches before I jump into the actual drawing. Proportion studies,
gesture studies, value studies, and anatomy studies. These give me a running start when
I begin the drawing. In the premium version of this demo, I walk you through each one
of these studies.
Step 2 - The Layin
Since I'm drawing from reference, not from imagination, the first step should be heavy
on measuring. Checking to make sure my proportions are correct. In fact I'm going to start this
drawing like I start all my figure drawings from life. Identify the largest shapes and
rhythms, then add the anatomical details on top.
After establishing the proportions I'm going to hone in on the anatomical details.
We know that the pec has 3 distinct portions based on where they originate on the chest.
The clavicular portion, sternal portion and abdominal portion. All 3 start at the chest
and swing over and around the biceps to attach to the humerus.
Now, this part of the lat is interesting. It comes down the side of the torso, but instead
of softly blending into the obliques, it curves out again to wrap around the volume of the
serratus.
Most people assume this whole area here is the lat muscle. The upper portion of this
volume is the teres major muscle, which we'll learn about in our next lesson, as we move
to the back of the torso.
So, look at this contour. It's subtle, but we should look for 3 curves when the arm is
up like this. Teres major, latissimus, serratus. And then we reach the obliques.
In the serratus I'm clearly seeing 4 digits and a portion of a 5th hiding under the pec.
Now let's find all the stuff on the other side. It's gonna look different because we're
looking at it from a different angle. That's why it's important to study the 3 dimensional
muscle forms rather than 2 dimensional muscle maps or diagrams that we commonly see.
Let's get the tendinous intersections of the abs and then we can move on to shadow mapping.
This step is kind of in-between the linear layin and the shading stage. We're going to
create a map of the separation between the lights and the shadows. As we do that we're
going to design interesting edges and shapes to the core and cast shadows. I know that
might sound confusing. If it does, you probably need to go back and rewatch the shading lessons
from the figure drawing course.
The core shadows on the abs follow a zigzag pattern. Some muscles like abs, serratus and
obliques naturally have repeating forms. Try to design them to have some kind of variation
and rhythm. Look for variations in edges, shapes, values, and sizes.
Step 3 - Shading the Forms
We have the layin finished, now it's time for the shading. I like to start by separating
the lights from the shadows. A quick way of doing this is with some charcoal powder.
I dip a soft sable brush into a little jar of charcoal powder. Lightly tap the brush
on the jar to knock off some of the charcoal and slowly start spreading it onto the shadow
areas.
Don't do this too fast. Take your time and keep it clean.
Now let's do the details.
This part of the drawing gets very meticulous. It takes a long time to shade properly. We
have to analyze every plane change, every edge, every shape, every value of every core
shadow, halftone, highlight... There's a lot that has to be processed and we shouldn't
rush it. If we're going to study the human form, then we should actually put in the time
to study the forms. This is how we do it. This is where a lot of our time will be spent.
If you're like me, this process is absolute joy. It's like meditation. Play some good
music and spend your day shading!
At this point I'm cleaning up the shadows and filling in the shadow areas that are too
small to get with the brush. The brush is great for covering large areas, but not for
small shapes that need a bit more precision.
The charcoal powder also has a limit to how dark it can get. As I'm filling in and cleaning
the shadows, I'm also darkening the overall value of the shadows. If the shadow value
is too light, then I don't have much to work with in the lights.
So, if I make the lightest shadow this value, that means I have these values to work with
to shade all the halftones within the lights. That's not many values. So, I want to darken
the lightest shadow to open up that range in the lights. Make sense?
I'll start the details on the head. Since I gave most of the drawing a light glaze of
charcoal, I can use the kneaded eraser to pick out the highlights.
Think of the torso as a simple rounded egg. Think about the light direction and how the
halftones transition from light to dark, to coreshadow, to reflected light. This overall
egg effect should be present in your drawing even when the small detailed forms are added.
The best way to make that happen is to add the large halftone gradations early. Like
the dark halftones on the abs.
When shading it helps to think about planes. Not the flying planes. I'm talking about geometric
shapes. Instead of blending in a bunch of soft arbitrary tones. I'm observing the value
of the side planes, bottom plane, top plane and front plane. I'm looking for clues in
the photo that will help me show these forms.
Let's add that nipple. Don't outline it. You don't want it to look like a pepperoni fell
on his chest. Add some variety to the edge.
As I design the tones on the serratus, I'm intentionally looking for ways I can make
each digit different. Nature is organic and rarely repeats the same shape twice. So if
we make each digit the same, it looks weird.
Ok. I'll start the lat with a base layer of halftone. Then I'll add some plane changes
and pick out highlights.
Approach the highlights like any halftone shapes. Don't just erase them. Draw them.
Design them. Think about the shape, edge, and value. You can even use line direction
on a highlight to show the form, just like you would with a halftone.
In the light areas I use the tip of the pencil to get a thin line. I also make sure my pencil
is nicely sharpened when shading an important light area. Using the tip in the lights adds
finer detail, texture, allows you to cross hatch with the forms for a better 3d effect,
and forces you to shade slower and make better decisions.
again seeing the digitation of the obliques mostly at this edge.
I'll start the halftones here and fade them diagonally across the oblique as long thin shapes
Thinking about the pattern I'm making. I don't want to repeat zebra stripes across his torso.
I've basically covered the whole torso, so now it's about continuously going through
the forms and seeing if there's anything that can be improved. It's a slow process that
requires patience and a constant search for improvements.
All that's left is the arm, legs, and finishing touches.
I hope you enjoyed this demonstration! In the premium anatomy course this demo is over
1 hour long and I go into much more detail explaining each step of the process, guiding
you through the anatomy of the torso. Portions of the video are in real time and the parts
that are sped up are sped up much less than this video was. If you liked this demo, you'll
definitely like the premium version that's included in the anatomy course at proko.com/anatomy.
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