Trying to Learn Anatomy? (Here's My Simple Advice as a Professional)

[@LittleAMV]

this channel is such a hidden gem

[@TheDrawingCodex]

Thanks!

[@rebeca_93]

Thank you a lot! ♥ I started with anatomy last year, and I have spent a lot of hours doing photo reference (in order to get better).So I have found really interesting your advice of drawing from imagination and then start seeing what questions pop up, then answer them with your chosen system, small gallery and medical referece whenever you need it. I like it I'm going to try it.

[@ginkgopenguin1818]

It's perfect timing for this video for me, anatomy is something I've been overwhelmed by for years. I tried following courses by Proko and Glen Vilppu, but the amount of information is just... disheartening... I've recently gone back to drawing from a simple wooden mannequin, and it's helped my artwork immensely. I'm also using 3D models for poses I don't understand or know how to approach. I've come to terms with anatomy being a lifelong learning process and I work on it when I can - mostly when it comes up in a project. Also, there is no shame in stylizing and simplifying your humanoid creatures and just using simple volumes, a lot of times it ends up looking even better than the 'realistic' approach. Btw - would you be up for sharing your photo reference collection? I'm curious what it looks like. :)

[@TheDrawingCodex]

Awesome! I'm glad this one resonated with you. For sure I can make a video talking about the reference and how I use it specifically. I think whatever process you use is fine, those wooden mannequins can be really useful. You gotta figure out what works for you :)

[@tiagodagostini]

Yet remember it is not so much for a professional on anything. A doctor need to memorize THAT and much more anatomy (of parts you do not see externaly). It certainly is not beyond reach.

[@throughthewatcherseyes3482]

As someone who has been searching around KZbin and the internet when it comes to learning and improving, I think this channel as the best advice ever. I've been struggling with just taking things from my visual library and not using reference but then i get stuck or not like how my art turns out, now to see that these references are for not only helping and learning but also using during projects is wonderful to hear. Cause I remember struggling on a school project with drawing poses/the figure and then i decided to bust out the Loomis book and just did the pose again using the method and i not only got the result i wanted but also learned how i could the method in different poses and positions. pretty much applying the method in a sort of practice. This channel btw, its great!

[@dominicbadal5680]

Tim , you really give me hope every video that i watch from you, that I can achieve my art goals, you are the mentor I never had as a teenager and I sincerly really appreciate you being the teacher you are. Thank you. After 10 years of not drawing and getting back into it cause I realized its the only thing that made sense in my life, I cant wait everyday to get better.

[@FinessenceSL]

I'm definitely gonna build reference sheets, that's such a good idea! This video is perfectly timed! I've been so fatigued with art because I feel like so many courses and teachers take too long to get to the point so I can start drawing it's disheartening. I'll include these tips in my daily drawing and see how much better I feel. I also recommend Michael Mattesi's Force series, it's helping me understand how functions of the body work which is helping me tremendously learning how the body moves and draw it from imagination. Also Roberto Osti used to make Anatomy layouts for hospitals and teach Anatomy, so he's a good option for medical Anatomy. I also recommend video stills for reference like watching gymnastics videos. This is really helping me create a system of study I can enjoy, thank you.

[@Thezellofamily]

Really appreciate the advice. You've really encouraged me to switch my focus on doing the art that I want to do rather than drawing what I think will make me better. Also, yes.....I've taken a lot of selfies to figure out specific poses. I tried having my kid take a picture but his photography skills are......uhh....not great.

[@weirodo]

Thank you so much for this. It's the first time I've heard someone talk about learning anatomy in a more logical way. Dividing it into distinct categories is a huge help to cut the overwhelming information of it. I've been working on my anatomy skills, and I've always had tons of questions in mind that I didn't know where to get answers from. I know I should understand the structure but when I'm there, my brain creates its own problem that causes another problem, and it goes on. "Where do this and that connect to?" "How are you gonna draw this if you don't know that?" "Why does this work like this?" "How am I gonna proceed to the next fundamentals if I can't master Human Anatomy, am I supposed to master it in the first place?" and so on. This truly helped me sort these thoughts. Thank you again. c':

[@KevinSanchez-ol3jd]

“Sorry for the sort of the long rant on a fairly simple topic” no, don’t apologize. As a matter of fact keep ranting. It’s helping!

[@TheDrawingCodex]

Thanks!!

[@ishrivera7214]

We want more!

[@Metallic_977]

Great stuff as always, Tim. Also really appreciate your real time drawing videos. Can we expect a discussion regarding the stylization of anatomy ?

[@TheDrawingCodex]

Great suggestion! Let me pencil it in :)

[@matt-iv1so]

Thanks for this video! I've been attempting to self teach drawing and anatomy/live subjects have been my first major roadblock

[@TheDrawingCodex]

No worries! I'm glad this was helpful!

[@haidutinop8546]

I always have a small mirror on my desk when I have to deal with hands, and sometimes faces.

[@TheDrawingCodex]

Yeah that’s a great idea.

[@peterbirchwoodart]

Hi! I stumbled across your videos looking for how to add texture to my art and I found this great video! I’ve studied anatomy so many times but would always forget it when I’m painting and drawing other things... so I really like your approach! Great Advice! Thanks so much!

[@umidacat]

Your video just pop up at the time that i need! Those advises are really helpful! Thank you ❤️

[@indoor-adventurer]

Tim all of this is super awesome advice! I love the approach of problem solving instead of endless studies. Since I started following you it has helped me TONS. Now I am confident in creating my own images in the style of line and color, and I've been pretty happy about it. I have a system to follow, an ecorche figure on my desk, and photo reference in my morgue for various parts of the body. I do want to push my realism a tad bit more though, when it comes to drawing figures from imagination. Any recommendation to do that? Thanks for all your content!!

[@TheDrawingCodex]

Hey Roland! Awesome, I'm so glad this stuff has been helpful! I'm not sure exactly what to suggest for adding realism. If you want more details then the trick is to work on understanding the secondary forms (the smaller muscles and details) If you want the figures to be less comicbook and exaggerated then the trick is to study normal humans with much more typical anatomy and try to figure out how to represent and stylise the less exaggerated forms. Let me know if that makes sense?!

[@indoor-adventurer]

@@TheDrawingCodex it does Tim, thank you! Starting to understand more and more that everything revolves around form :)) I am really starting to embrace that and it makes me very happy. Looking forward to your next vids!!

[@jw5461]

I've binged a lot of your videos, great content but I find them sort of general. What many including myself may find most useful is some clear, succinct, practical first steps. For example all the manga themed drawing videos I've watched, while educational and comprehensive, I would really appreciate some actual first steps for a beginner. Where do I start? Am i going to be just forever extracting tid-bits of info from Andrew Loomis and others?... or (for manga/anime specifically) are there some fundamentals that I should know about first. Anything you could provide would be much appreciated! Keep up the good work!

[@darioscomicschool1111]

THIS CHANNEL is aside From DAVID FInchers, one of the Best.

[@queldar27]

Really great video. Pretty much confirmed what I have suspected for a while now, so I am looking forward to put it into practice! Also would like to recommend Michael Hampton for drawing figures from imagination. Thanks for the video!

[@TheDrawingCodex]

Awesome, I'm glad this resonated! Yeah I know a lot of people really like Michael Hampton's book. It has a lot of good advice on structural drawing and anatomy breakdowns. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

[@anfrisinaart]

To all artist studying anatomy. Don't make it complicated. Go to the basics. Grab a plastic skeleton, understand how the body moves and then locate the landmarks of the body. Watch a few videos of medical anatomy, understand the muscles. Practice. Practice from memory and when drawing from reference, try to understand what you're doing, understand how the body moves. Draw what you love. Do things that you like while you're learning. Don't focus on the result, focus on the process, the learning. The result will come with time. If you're using references, don't think too much about how it's looking, think about what you're learning from what you're seeing. Compare the references to the anatomy in the books and try to understand how the muscle moves and looks. And please, be kind to yourself. Be kind with your process. Love what you're doing, love the frustration, because that means you're learning. Close your eyes and hear the doubts, the questions, that will tell you what to study. This video encompasses what I've been learning for the last four years. Tim, thank you for sharing your knowledge, your channel is one of the most precious one I've found on the internet. Finding someone with your knowledge and freedom towards art is difficult. And I'm grateful you decided to share with the world the beautiful way you connect with art. An artist is not their technique, a real artist is someone who finds beauty in the process and decides to enjoy it. Someone who instead of trying to be too technical, understands the beauty of learning and knows how to keep it simple. Hearing you talk about drawing from imagination makes me so happy because that's the whole reason I decided to become an artist. To everyone who is learning, please don't give up, show this channel to other artist who are struggling. Tim's knowledge is a treasure. Do not overthink. Trust the process. Trust why you're grabbing that pencil. You already took the first step, which is believing in yourself and starting something knew. The rest will come as you understand more and more of what you're doing. Never give up! Keep going! and please, enjoy the process! It's worth the try! Again, thank you Tim, thank you for sharing with us that wonderful knowledge you have gathered throughout the years.

[@johnnylamonte3451]

Huh, Ive collected quite a few books on the more instructional side of drawing the body, along with some anatomy books (mainly Morpho). Guess I should tackle things like suggested here. Perhaps focus on one or two elements to look up and then finish. Rinse and repeat! Thanks for the idea, good sir!

[@ignifero]

Delavier books for musculation are pretty good to check what's going on underneath and they show people doing Gym exercises. which is useful for action positions at a certain degree :)

[@TheDrawingCodex]

Yes! Those are great books. I know a lot of people really like them. Excellent Suggestion (Strength Training Anatomy is the book to search for if anyone is wondering!). I'll do some specific book reviews one day! That might be fun!

[@ignifero]

@@TheDrawingCodex But then again, I find better not using direct reference. I find my drwaings too stiff when I do that. I rather studying a bit the reference and then go back to drawing without the reference in front

[@Cederlof_Ink]

Just found your channel mate, love it!

[@Peter-wl3tm]

What pet would you recommend for a very beginner artist, that mainly does cartoony but would like to eventually transition into comics and possibly even realism?

[@TeKn1qe]

Such great information! A light bulb moment when you explained how the Loomis method should be used. Nobody has ever explained it in that way, which makes so much sense. I'm curious would you ever consider putting your ref sheets up for sale on gum road or your site? I dont know if there would be any legality issues but dam deciding what ref is worth keeping and what isnt is definetly a major problem for me. I can spend half a day just looking at ref and come away with an image or two. Anyway love the content you provide on this channel, next step for me is enrolling in your course..

[@ChillBuddies]

So good 🙏❤

[@omeed9015]

thanks for the video :)

[@TheDrawingCodex]

No worries! :)

[@STFUppercut69]

Thank you for the video, Tim. I have a question! What do you think is more important / better to get good at drawing in general (and down the line be able to draw from imagination): Looking at reference and sketching away, or looking at that reference and forcing yourself to break it down into simple forms? I was watching a FZDSCHOOL video yesterday, where the guy was just looking at turtles and copying them, while also giving his own touch to them. And then later on expanding on them by turning them into concept designs (turning them into animals of burden and having people ride on them). But at the same time he was just sketching what he saw. So I guess the question is... What in your opinion is more important at the beginning: Proportions or construction? And if one follows up on the other, how long should new artists spend on just sketching from reference and trying to nail the proportions... before moving on to construction in order to place all of these things in an imaginary 3D space. I hope the question makes sense. Thanks!

[@sebastianszmyd2790]

Maybe I can be of some help :) Here's my approach - you should always simplify first, regardless of whether you want to draw from imagination or reference. Getting better at drawing/painting is essentially getting better at breaking down complex things into simpler shapes (either 2D patterns of shadow or simple 3D blocks). Once you get there, you can start adding more complexity to those shapes until it becomes realistic, if you want it to. As for the proportions vs construction thing - why not both?:) A simplified mannequin of a human figure should still have the correct proportions. I don't think there is a realistic timeframe here either, it's basically "until you're comfortable with it and have consistent results". You should enjoy it, when painting fantasy or scifi pieces, you're gonna draw A LOT of mannequins in different poses as there are often many characters interacting in most scenes (especially fighting). Now, don't try to copy things, always try to analyse the shapes and break it down into simpler shapes/blocks. Yes, you can copy a photo, to some extent you can copy what you see in real life, like a still life or plein air landscape, but you can't copy your imagination. Drawings/paintings are essentially built: first you plan them out (composition and perspective goes here), then you build the basic construction (perspective and simplified blocks/shapes) and on top of that you add more details, also in this order - simple then complex, just on a smaller scale. This approach ensures you're always going from general to specific, like you should in any other complex task in life :) I don't want to steal Tim's thunder here, but I sometimes post my process so if you want you can check out my approach: Realistic figure drawing/painting www.artstation.com/artwork/v2QAGA Totally imaginary figure: www.artstation.com/artwork/9mGLGo A larger scene, also imaginary: www.artstation.com/artwork/RY1E4D Cheers!

[@STFUppercut69]

@@sebastianszmyd2790 Thank you for your suggestions, it's greatly appreciated. I love your rendering style, so you have a new follower on Artstation.

[@sebastianszmyd2790]

@@STFUppercut69 Thanks :D One general piece of advice: keep working on the basics, mostly perspective and composition, and you're gonna see improvement. Focus on learning what it means to draw and paint (i.e. ways of creating the illusion of 3D on a flat plane, how to make things look interesting/beautiful) rather than how to draw the extensor digiti minimi with dazzling accuracy :)

[@indoor-adventurer]

@@sebastianszmyd2790 your process is really eye opening! Thank you for sharing

[@TheDrawingCodex]

@Sebastian Szmyd @Dog On Dog Action -Awesome Advice. Sebastien knows what he is talking about here. I think the key is to understand that Feng looks like he is just copying the turtles from a 2D 'copying' perspective... but he is probably thinking about the basic forms and simplifying it in his mind a lot. So it's perhaps a bit easier for him to just copy the photo directly and use that angle... but there is more going on.... and you wont be able to modifying the designs and add stuff like he is doing unless you can break it down yourself... The best way to explain this is that you should be able to look at the reference and draw the turtle from a different angle... because you understand the basic forms and can extrapolate that into drawing your own turtle from imagination. But that it might be easier to choose the same angle as the photo. (Remember that Feng is pretty ruthless in terms of getting the job done and focusing on design). If you went to FZD School you would have to do a ton of basic perspective drawing! He went to art centre and learnt the oldschool way. So you are seeing decades of drawing experience... boiled down to 'getting the job done' :) fast and dirty ;) That's my take on it. If I was doing the same job I would draw the turtle from a different angle, but if I was really pressed for time and needed to hit a deadline I might just trace/copy a photo to save some time. To learn how to do what he is doing you need to focus on the foundation and structural drawing! Don't get too confused by the way that professionals will often take shortcuts and skip steps. They can only do that because they have been doing it the hard way for years and years :)

[@cristhian_galarza]

Hi Tim! Just a question: Have you ever been an Art Director? Do you know what it takes to be one? And do you have private mentorship?

[@aceofspades1001]

What is the title of the Medical grade anatomy book you referenced, Tim? I see lots of parallels between what you use (Loomis etc) and what I've used to get to where I am... to just now drawing from imagination... a decade and more behind you so your shortcuts are great.

[@amirulhisham32]

If you're still wondering, the book's title is "Drawing Anatomy School" by Andras Szunyoghy and Gyorgy Feher.

[@artwhat..]

Codex, don't have a book shelf big enough for that anatomy book, ha..

[@andriizakharchenko7227]

Super

[@Gio-po9op]

19:00. 23:00¡¡. 24:30

[@tender0828]

ok but why did this pop in my feed 1 minute after uploading? Not that I don't like it lol

[@TheDrawingCodex]

Haha, The Algorithm chose you! :)