Bird’s 100-Day Figure Drawing and Anatomy Challenge

[Bird]

OK, I’ve decided to take up the challenge.  I’ve had a difficult last few months from an art perspective due to some family stuff, work conflicts and a move to a new city. But, I managed to complete the first term of the Joshua Jacobo’s Anatomy Master Class yesterday (and participated regularly in Glenn Vilppu’s live head drawing class during the current term) and, while I wasn’t happy with my final work product, I want to keep up the momentum.

I’m going to focus on figure drawing, particularly anatomy, but the subject matter will likely shift and evolve. My aim is consistent daily or weekly drawing effort in the spirit of Michelangelo’s advice to, “Draw, Antonio, draw, Antonio; draw and don’t waste time.” I’m looking to improve my knowledge of anatomy and my drafting skills along the way.

I’ll likely post on NMA’s Discord as well as here in the forums.

• This topic was modified 2 years, 8 months ago by Bird.

[Bird]

Day 1 has really been a prep day. I took model photos provided by NMA for the “between term” assignment for Joshua Jacobo’s anatomy master class and organized them into a reference board which allows easy comparison across 12 male models in three anatomical poses and a reference skeleton. I shared this with classmates on NMA’s Discord, so I won’t post it here. I’ll use this reference for a set of anatomy studies building on our final figure submissions for the class.

[Bird]

Day 2, did a preliminary anatomy tracing focused on roughing in the skeleton for a front view of NMA model Brant. Began adding muscles of the face and neck. Will share once it progresses a bit more (hopefully on Day 3).

[Bird]

Day 3, quick anatomy tracing, focusing on identifying the key muscles of the head, neck and upper chest.

[Bird]

Day 4, analyzed a dozen reference photos photos compared to the proportional model developed for the Anatomy Master Class. Began a study of Bammes focusing on proportions by drawing simple, low fidelity figures. Having some difficulty with line quality in Procreate, so will need to spend some time choosing new and optimizing brushes. Worked a bit on construction and shape design for a couple of parts of the head/neck.

[Bird]

Day 5. Received my copy of Bammes’ The Complete Guide to Anatomy for Artists & Illustrators. Definitely a lot more comprehensive and descriptive than The Artist’s Guide to Human Anatomy. Read the first few chapters with a special focus on the proportions and began my next study. More to come tomorrow.

[Bird]

Day 6. Began a comparison between proportions used by Bammes versus NMA instructors. Quick head study from Bammes using his method. Still having problems with Procreate settings, which are limiting my value control and line quality, but these weren’t the point of the study.

[Bird]

Corrected study from Day 6.

[Bird]

Day 7. First cut at the figure drawing assignment done in class for Digital Figure Painting Techniques with Iliya, using Rebelle.

[Bird]

Day 8, a long day of traveling, but have squeezed in some work deconstructing and analyzing the weekly assignment for Digital Figure Painting Techniques.

[Bird]

Day 9: More work on the weekly assignment for the Digital Figure Painting Techniques. Roughed out a few potential compositions and story ideas, chose one and built out a lo-fi two- and three- value study. Took the time to redraw the reference figure with a focus on gesture and then created a mannequin. Refined the mannequin with a focus on rhythms, anatomy, wedging/locking and overlaps. Still really unhappy with my line quality in procreate. Will post a progress shot tomorrow.

• This reply was modified 2 years, 8 months ago by Bird.

[Bird]

Day 10. Ended up cleaning up some work from the Anatomy Master Class for submission. Skeleton assignment:

 

• This reply was modified 2 years, 8 months ago by Bird.
• This reply was modified 2 years, 8 months ago by Bird.
• This reply was modified 2 years, 8 months ago by Bird.

[Bird]

Day 11. Spent a fair bit of time on work for the Character Design class (not really anatomy related), but moved this construction study for the Digital Figure Painting class assignment along. Feel pretty good about the upper part of the body, but am still struggling to get the pelvic area right. Also, line quality in Procreate is still a work in progress.

 

 

[Bird]

Day 12 and 13. Somewhat limited progress due to some travel and family commitments, but began a grisaille for Digital Figure Painting. Concentrated on modeling the hands and arms; next up face and chest.

[Bird]

Day 14: More grisaille, focusing on face, neck and chest. Pushing on next to less detailed rendering of the lower torso and legs and starting color studies.

[Author]

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