Anatomy of the Torso {a workshop taught by Robert Liberace}

Hello,

This weekend I attended a workshop at the Art League taught by Robert Liberace. The focus was on the anatomy of the torso, and we covered a lot of ground over the three days. Looking at all the major muscles that make up the torso and their points of origin and insertion.

The workshop was organized with both lecture periods and time to draw. Each day we would focus on specific muscles and the pose we drew would include these muscles.

Here are the drawings Rob drew as demonstrations, totally amazing...

.first drawing of the workshop, where he was emphasizing the basic forms and structure of the torso. Drawn on newsprint with charcoal.


.a breakdown of the significant bony points to be on the look out when drawing the human figure. Drawn on newsprint with charcoal.


.drawing from the second day focusing on the external obliques, the muscles of the scapula, specifically the infraspinatus and teres major. Drawn on newsprint with charcoal and conte crayon.


.With this drawing Rob began by focusing on the chest and abdomen muscles first and then laid in the rib cage and clavicle on top of the drawing.


.Drawn on canson paper with charcoal pencils and white pastel pencil for highlights.


.On the last day we focused on the big back muscles and how they interact with the shoulder muscles. This is the first of three demonstration drawings (though I only got photos of the first two...)



Here are some of my drawings from the workshop {more are posted on flickr}.


.first drawing of the workshop, a quick analysis of the chest and abdomen with the clavicle and sternum drawn in and the massing for the rib cage outlined. The point where the ninth rib meets the rectus abdominis muscle is an important point when drawing this view of the torso as it helps reinforce the direction of the rib cage. Drawn on white drawing paper and charcoal.


.Another drawing of the front torso, this time leaving out the bone outlines. Drawn on white drawing paper and charcoal.


.This is the last drawing completed during the workshop. Drawn on white drawing paper and charcoal.

Working for three days straight was really a wonderful opportunity to learn and apply Rob's recommendations from previous times he had come around critiquing everyone's drawing.

Another Anatomy Sketch

Hello,

Here is another anatomy sketch completed on canson paper with charcoal pencil and a white pastel pencil. These two sketches focus on the cervical vertebrae of the spine and how they connect with the skull.




Tomorrow I am headed out of town for about a week and I am not sure if I will have internet access to post while away. I am bringing the Bridgman and Vanderpoelbooks with me so during down times I will hopefully be able to keep copying and stay on track with learning about anatomy.

Have a wonderful week, and see you soon, Liz

Anatomy Drawings: the skull and its muscles

Today I spent time learning about the skull and the muscles of the face and neck. These drawings were copied from Joseph Sheppard's book Anatomy: A Complete Guide for Artists. This book has some clear drawings of the bone structure and the muscles, and it easy to learn from because of how developed the drawings are. A few days ago I was copying from George Bridgeman's book and found that the sketchy nature of his drawings to be too loose for what I initially need. I figure I will return to that book after copying from other books.

Also in the desire to share this experience with other artists I opened a flickr group dedicated to Human Anatomy. Being that I am unable to travel and study at an atelier, I figured the next best thing would be to learn from books and devise a self guided program while using the wonderful artist community found on the internet and on flickr for inspiration and motivation.

If you are on flickr please join in and add your drawings also!

Thanks and have a great evening, Liz

Beginning a new study project...

{setup to start copying from Bridgman}

With the start of winter break at the Art League, this week I am beginning a new learning project to take advantage of the multiple days of uninterrupted time to focus on human anatomy. My goal is to intensively study anatomy and how it functions during this time to kick start a specific focus area to grow for the next year.

The plan it so copy from several resources and to share the process with you as the project progresses.

The books I am using as references are:

1. Anatomy and Drawing by Victor Perard
2. Bridgman's Complete Guide to Drawing from Life
3. The Human Figure by Joseph Vanderpoel
4. Drawing Lessons from the Great Masters by Robert Beverly Hale
5. Anatomy: A Complete Guide for Artists by Joseph Sheppard
6. The Artist's Complete Guide to Figure Drawing by Anthony Ryder
7. Drawing Course by Charles Bargue and Jean-Leon Gerome

When planning this project I decided to use the order presented in the Vanderpoel book as my guide in how to sequence the study. So beginning with the head and its features, I will read and copy from each of these books, sharing with you the progress. The reason to work from so many different books is to learn from the various viewpoints, thus becoming familiar and comfortable with the different ways each artist presents the subject matter.

{layouts from the Perard book}

So I began with copying from Bridgman'sbook, and during that time Slim insisted in sharing my lap with the drawing board, it made the drawing a little difficult, however it was particularly special having her purr and cuddle in my lap...