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Anatomy Meets Perspective: Master the Cube Part 2 - Kutepunk 7
🕑 Added 2023-06-23 14:44:52 +0000 UTCHi everyone!
In my last article, we talked about enhancing your perspective skills with a simple cube exercise using head references. Now, let's extend this technique to the entire human body.
The complexity of human anatomy can be a lifelong artistic challenge, but my aim here is to introduce a straightforward structure that you can use to create characters with varied gestures and perspectives, all while keeping proportions accurate.
Here, I'll elaborate on two commonly used rules and their applications.
Rules
- 7.5 Heads Rule: In many artistic depictions of adults, the human body is approximately 7.5 'heads' tall. You measure the person's height using the size of their head, and it should be around 7.5 heads. Note, this proportion might extend to 8 or 9 heads in stylized or heroic figures, creating a more elongated, idealized form. I often apply this rule when constructing the torso of my characters, making the chest and belly similar to the head's size. But I prefer to make the legs and arms a bit longer, giving the characters a taller appearance.
- Segmentation: For easier proportioning, consider dividing the human body into smaller segments. For instance, the distances from the top of the head to the chin, chin to nipples, nipples to navel, and navel to crotch are all about the same. Also, relaxed arms typically reach halfway down the thigh, with the elbows aligning with the navel. A recent conversation with a Patron, struggling to identify the hips in a reference study, proved how segmentation can help recognize larger body shapes. We divided the body's center into sections (Chest, Ribs, Belly, and Hips), assigned each a geometric shape (cubes), then built this structure in various views and gestures matching the original reference.
Application
Checking Anatomy
You might notice from my process videos that I don't use guides, cubes, or heads to measure the anatomy of the initial sketch. When drawing from imagination, I don't focus on detailed proportions initially; instead, I capture the idea or moment with gesture and composition using a rough body shape.
If I'm using a reference for the gesture and anatomy, I try to approximate the position of body parts just by observation. This exercise has honed my skills over the years, but if you're new to this, I recommend using guides until you're comfortable. Efficiency is key.
Throughout the process, I'm continually cross-checking against the rules mentioned above, for example:
- Comparing the head size with the torso (chest and head should share a similar size).
- Comparing the size of the hands and face (the characters should be able to cover their faces with their hands).
- Checking the leg length (I use a guide line in the middle of the canvas. From this point to the top should be the leg length).
If I find myself spending too much time on anatomy corrections, I draw the character's body on top of the sketch as a more direct application of these rules for efficiency's sake. If you're a beginner, I recommend doing this; it's faster.
Perspective - Master The Cube
I typically sketch the character with the gesture and perspective right from the start, without worrying too much about proportions and perspective. However, if you're just starting, I'd suggest you double-check your anatomy using cubes.
For those who, like me, jump straight to the canvas, a useful step might be drawing dividing lines on the body parts, similar to the segmentation image attached here. You'll have to guess at some points as body parts shift into different 3D views, but assigning cube-like guides to these parts can simplify the process. Just envision how these cubes would look from various directions.
In the image attached to this article, I've illustrated a step-by-step process that includes these key stages in the following order:
- Body Segmentation
- Adding Volume and Perspective
- Gesture Incorporation and Practical Application.
This skill may take time to develop, but with enough practice on real references, your brain will get accustomed to positioning body parts in relation to others. Eventually, it will become intuitive. I've attached an image where I apply this approach as an example. Keep practicing, and soon, you won't even need the guides!
Tomorrow I'll be sharing the process video of this piece while I share some character design tips, along with the PSD file for you to explore in Photoshop and also Procreate (all my files work on both!). These will be available from the Mastering Maestro tier and above. If this catch your attention, consider upgrading your tier ;).
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