Anatomy & Character Sculpture // Exercises

 Anatomy & Character Sculpture // Exercises

Ibrahim Fazal Ahmad / 0337423

Information Design / Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media / Taylors University 

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INSTRUCTIONS 

For our exercises, we will have to do both 2D sketches and 3D modelling. Here are the requirements set out by Mr Kannan: 

• Skeletal studies (Human)
• Head Studies (Sketch and Sculpt)
• Muscle Studies (Sketch and Sculpt)
• Hands (Sketch and Sculpt)
• Feet (Sketch and Sculpt)
• Facial Expression (Sketch and Sculpt)
• Posture (Blockout)

It is emphasised that these are only exercises so it does not need to be perfect and polished and there is room for us to make. 

Skeletal Studies

For this exercise, I made a skull using ZBrush. It was quite difficult starting out and keeping up with Mr Kannan as it is a completely new program so I am not used to the keyboard shortcuts and all that yet. Below shows my attempt at creating a skull. 

Figure 1: Skull Sculpt

Head Studies

For my head studies, I did a few sketches along with a rough base model of my characters face. I sketched out heads in different angles. Trying to keep the proportions of it in mind. I have learned this during IGCSEs but it's always useful to continue and refine your skills through practice! I also did some more analysis on where our features line up on our faces. Such as the inner corners of the eyes lining up with our nose. Creating a head in 3D definitely proves to be difficult but it is interesting working in 3D.

Figure 1.1: Head Sculpt

Figure 1.2: Head Studies

Figure 1.3: Head Studies

Muscle Studies

In this study, I did both male and female anatomy to compare and contrast their differences. I also included the full body model I had created for my character along with the half body model from our exercise during class. 

Male anatomy tends to be much sharper and angular. They have larger shoulders and more defined muscles with very prominent features. Another notable feature is the larger ribcage. The general bone structure of men and women are the same but there are small differences between us. 

Figure 1.4: Male Anatomy Study

Figure 1.5: Male Anatomy Study

Figure 1.6: Male Anatomy Study

Figure 1.7: Male Anatomy Study

Female anatomy is much more curvy and flowy, making it more fluid and fun to draw in my opinion. Particularly for figure drawing. Women also have a smaller ribcage and generally softer features in comparison to men. Lastly, women have bigger hips/pelvis bones which also differentiates between men and women.

Figure 1.8: Female Anatomy Study

Figure 1.9: Female Anatomy Study

Figure 2: Female Anatomy Study

Figure 2.1: Female Anatomy Study

Figure 2.2: Muscle Study Sculpts

Hand Studies

For our hands, I did a simple study using the proportions that I was taught during my IGCSE Art days. However, as I write this now I found a really useful video that helped me tremendously in the future. Here is the link to the video: Marc Brunet - How to draw hands & feet

Figure 2.3: Hand Study Sketches

Figure 2.4: Hand Study Sculpt

Foot Studies

Feet aren't exactly something many of us practice drawing, well I don't know about that but anyway. Drawing feet has proved extremely difficult, they are so complicated to understand with many different shapes. It isn't like the hands or face where it can be easily segmented and understood. Well, not to me at least. I will definitely have to keep practising this because I cannot draw feet to save my life

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Figure 2.5: Foot Study Sculpt

Figure 2.6: Foot Study Sketches

Facial Expression Studies

In this study I took some facial expressions I found on the internet and analysed them. Referencing what I learned in my Illustration & Visual Narrative classes from Semester 1. Focusing on the eyebrows, eyes and jaw. I also attempted doing the emotions I studied in 3D though it was definitely difficult. 

Figure 2.7: Expression Studies Sketches

Figure 2.8: Expression Studies Sculpt

Posture Studies

For my pose studies, I quite a lot during Character Design so I included them here. I did a simple study on Hanzo from Overwatch and his stance. It made me realise that no, not everything needs to be hyperrealistic. Look at Hanzos ankles, they are so small but it was done as a stylistic choice and brings contrast to his legs. For the poses they are mostly spear related poses of my character, except one. The one being him holding out the small knife that he has on his thigh. 

Figure 2.9: Hanzo Anatomy Study

Figure 3: Hanzo Anatomy Study

Figure 3.1: Character Design Gesture Drawings

Figure 3.2: Character Design Gesture Drawings Detailed

Figure 3.3: Character Design Gesture Drawings Detailed

Figure 3.4: Character Design Gesture Drawings Detailed

FEEDBACK

Skeletal studies (Human) - Requires more depth and shape overall. 

Head Studies (Sketch and Sculpt) - Study the planes of the face more as there are very simple parts of the face that add a lot. 

Muscle Studies (Sketch and Sculpt) - Continue studying and reading books about muscle structure. Look at your own body and try to understand how things are connected and move. 

Hands (Sketch and Sculpt) - Generally too flat. Needs more volume especially on the opposite side of the palm. 
Feet (Sketch and Sculpt) - Small changes to be made but overall it looks fine. 

Facial Expression (Sketch and Sculpt) - 

Posture (Blockout) - Keep anatomy in mind when creating these poses, try them yourself to see whether they are even possible. 

REFLECTION

Experience: As someone with more experience in anatomy and figure drawing than anything else it was fun doing something I am familiar with but in a different medium. The medium being 3D modelling of course. It is very similar but also different from 2D drawing. It is almost easier in some aspects to work with in comparison to just drawing on paper or tablet. I've picked up a lot of new skills from these exercises and hope my final piece will go over well!

Observation: The body is complicated... to say the least. Muscle groups, tendons, and ligaments are just a few of the things that we need to study. Sometimes I wonder if I am doing design or medicine. Jokes aside, the body is very complex and once understood it adds a new layer of understanding to your drawings. This understanding is not only when doing realistically proportioned characters either. If you understand how a muscle will work in real life, chances are the skills will transfer over to a more exaggerated body type as well. 

Findings: Some things in the body cannot change no matter how hard we try. Due to this reason, when we draw something incorrectly it is very easily noticeable. It makes us uncomfortable seeing something wrong with a human body. A weird uncertainty when seeing a leg that's just way too long or arms that are way too short. It is interesting how I can notice these things in anatomy but not the vehicle. Perhaps I need to become one to understand it better... sigh.