The Main Bones of the Human Figure The human skeleton consists of two basic parts the axial skeleton and the appendicular skeleton. The axial skeleton is the group of bones that forms the central axis of the body; its primary function is to support and protect the internal organs. The bones of the axial skeleton include the cranium, the bones BASIC BONES OF THE SKELETON, ANTERIOR VIEW CRANIUM of the vertebral column (including the sacrum and coccyx), and the rib cage. The appendicular skeleton is the group of bones forming the appendages of the body (upper and lower limbs), including the shoulder girdle and pelvic girdle. The primary functions of the appendicular skeleton are to support and move the axial skeleton and to allow movement of the limbs. Appendicular BASIC BONES OF THE SKELETON, POSTERIOR VIEW CRANIUM bones include the humerus, ulna, and radius of the upper limbs; the femur, tibia, and fibula of the lower limbs; the bones of the hands and feet; the scapula and clavicle; and the two hip bones (os coxae) of the pelvis. The two drawings opposite show the basic bones and their locations, as seen from both anterior (front) and posterior (back) views of the figure. Learning the placement of the bones will help you identify the bony landmarks you may see as a live model takes various poses. Bony Landmarks When drawing the human figure, artists look for various surface landmarks. These can be soft surface forms, such as muscles, tendons, ligaments, and fatty tissue, or hard surface forms, which are places where evidence of the skeleton can be seen on the surface of the body. Hard surface forms are also known as bony landmarks parts of bones (ridges, bumps, depressions) that are positioned close to the skin, creating visual landmarks on the surface form. The drawings below provide a general guide to where the main bony landmarks are, as seen from both the anterior and posterior views. Whether you can see these skeletal clues on a live model will depend on both the pose and the model s body type. On some figures, fatty tissue may obscure much of the evidence of the bones, while on leaner figures it will be easier to see bone definition at several places on their bodies. CERVICAL VERTEBRAE CLAVICLE CERVICAL VERTEBRAE BONY LANDMARKS OF THE SKELETON, ANTERIOR VIEW BONY LANDMARKS OF THE SKELETON, POSTERIOR VIEW SCAPULA CLAVICLE SCAPULA STERNUM RIB CAGE LUMBAR VERTEBRAE PELVIS FEMUR PATELLA CARPALS METACARPALS CARPALS METACARPALS THORACIC VERTEBRAE LUMBAR VERTEBRAE SACRUM PELVIS FEMUR ZYGOMATIC ARCH/BONE (CHEEKBONES) MANDIBLE (LOWER JAW) ACROMION PROCESS (TIP OF SHOULDER) GREATER TUBERCLE OF MEDIAL (INNER) LATERAL (OUTER) STYLOID PROCESS OF METACARPAL OF THUMB HEAD OF GREATER TROCHANTER OF FEMUR LATERAL CONDYLE OF FEMUR MEDIAL CONDYLE OF FEMUR FRONTAL BONE (FOREHEAD) NASAL BONE CLAVICLE (COLLARBONE) STERNUM (BREASTBONE) ILIAC CREST OF PELVIS ASIS THORACIC ARCH (RIB CAGE ARCH) LATERAL (OUTER) MEDIAL (INNER) STYLOID PROCESS OF METACARPAL BONES METACARPAL OF THUMB OF FINGERS (FINGER BONES) PATELLA (KNEECAP) ZYGOMATIC ARCH/BONE (CHEEKBONES) MANDIBLE (LOWER JAW) ACROMION PROCESS (TIP OF SHOULDER) SPINOUS PROCESSES OF VERTEBRAE LATERAL (OUTER) EPICONDYLE OF POSTERIOR BORDER OF HEAD OF ILIAC CREST PSIS SACRUM GREATER TROCHANTER HEAD OF FIBULA CRANIUM MASS (IF THERE IS NO HAIR) SEVENTH CERVICAL VERTEBRA (NECK VERTEBRA) SPINE OF SCAPULA VERTEBRAL BORDER OF SCAPULA (INNER EDGE OF SHOULDER BLADE) MEDIAL (INNER) OLECRANON PROCESS OF (ELBOW) STYLOID PROCESS OF CARPAL BONES (WRIST BONES) METACARPALS METACARPAL HEADS (KNUCKLES) OF FINGERS (FINGER BONES) TARSALS TIBIA FIBULA TIBIA FIBULA HEAD OF FIBULA MEDIAL MALLEOLUS (INNER ANKLE) LATERAL MALLEOLUS (OUTER ANKLE) TIBIAL TUBEROSITY ANTERIOR BORDER OF TIBIA LATERAL MALLEOLUS (OUTER ANKLE) LATERAL AND MEDIAL CONDYLE OF FEMUR MEDIAL CONDYLE OF TIBIA MEDIAL MALLEOLUS (INNER ANKLE) METATARSALS CALCANEUS (HEEL BONE) TALUS FIRST METATARSAL BASE (TUBEROSITY) OF FIFTH METATARSAL CALCANEUS (HEEL BONE) 6 Classic Human Anatomy in Motion Bones and Surface Landmarks 7
PORTRAIT STUDY OF CLAUDIO, WITH HEAD TURNED STUDY OF A HAND, SHOWING TENDONS STUDY OF FEET TENDONS OF EXTENSOR DIGITORUM MUSCLE ACHILLES TENDON PIP JOINTS LATERAL MALLEOLUS (OUTER ANKLE BONE) CALCANEUS (HEEL) HEAD OF MCP JOINTS (KNUCKLES) LATERAL MUSCULAR RIDGE OF FOOT Sanguine and brown pastel pencils, charcoal, Graphite pencil, ballpoint pen, colored pencil, STUDY OF A TIGHTLY CLENCHED FIST STUDY OF THE BACK OF THE LEGS STERNOCLEIDOMASTOID MCP JOINTS (KNUCKLES) PIP JOINTS TENDON OF BICEPS FEMORIS THYROID CARTILAGE (ADAM S APPLE) POSTERIOR TRIANGLE HAMSTRING MUSCLE GROUP (SEMITENDINOSUS, SEMIMEMBRANOSUS, BICEPS FEMORIS) THENAR MUSCLE GROUP TENDONS OF SEMITENDINOSUS AND SEMIMEMBRANOSUS GASTROCNEMIUS TENDON OF BICEPS FEMORIS POPLITEAL FOSSA FAT PAD TRAPEZIUS HYPOTHENAR MUSCLE GROUP POPLITEAL FOSSA HOLLOW CLAVICLE ACHILLES TENDON TENDONS OF FLEXOR MUSCLES OF LOWER ARM Sanguine and brown pastel pencils TENDONS OF STERNAL HEAD (STERNOCLEIDOMASTOID) Sanguine and brown pastel pencils, charcoal, Charcoal pencil, sanguine and brown pastel pencils, 74 Classic Human Anatomy in Motion Muscle and Tendon Characteristics 75
Method #4: The Organic Line Approach Poses of 1 to 2 minutes In the organic line approach to gesture drawing, you lay down your lines in a flowing, loose manner, but more selectively than in the searching line approach. If you wish, you can use different values (light and dark lines) to accentuate the rhythm of forms, to convey tension, or to show that forms are advancing or receding though in a highly edited way. Very often, the lines in an organic-line gesture drawing have a calligraphic quality, changing from thick to thin or dark to light in a single stroke. You can also add tones to your drawing. Charcoal, Conté crayons, graphite pencils, and colored pencils are all suitable for this approach, as are calligraphy pens that can produce both thick and thin strokes. The organic line approach is great for relatively short poses 1 to 2 minutes. When doing an organic line study, look for any interesting tilting or twisting action within the pose that you can exaggerate to create greater dynamic tension. You may emphasize certain anatomical forms, but draw them rapidly because of the time constraint. GESTURE DRAWING OF A FIGURE IN A CONTRAPPOSTO POSE Organic line approach GESTURE STUDY OF TWO MALE FIGURES IN DANCE POSES Organic line approach 2-MINUTE STUDIES OF ACTION POSES Organic line approach Black crayon on newsprint. Black Conté crayon on newsprint. Black Conté crayon on newsprint. 224 Classic Human Anatomy in Motion Gesture and Action Drawing 225
When beginning to study the gait cycle, it s easier to focus on just one leg. The drawing below emphasizes the stance and swing phases of the right leg referred to, technically, as the right stance phase and the right swing phase. The small footprints show where on the sole of the foot the weight of the body is concentrated during the heel strike and toe-off. As the right leg moves through the gait cycle, so does the left leg, with the phases in reverse order. At one point during the stride, both feet are touching the ground a stage known as double support. (This does not occur in the running gait cycle.) GAIT CYCLE WALKING The arms tend to swing in opposition to the swing of the legs: When the right leg swings forward, the right arm moves back, and when the left leg swings forward, the left arm moves back. In ordinary walking, arms are generally held in a relaxed position; in a power walk, however, the arms are intentionally bent at the elbow and pump like pistons during the stride. The drawing at bottom is a simple study of a basic walking movement. I based this study on a video, pressing the pause button at sequential stages and drawing the figure from these key frames. I roughed in the figures using a basic manikin structure, then replayed the video, adding more visual information. The Running Gait Cycle Like the walking gait cycle, the running gait cycle has two phases: stance phase and swing phase. One big difference from the walking cycle, however, occurs in the swing phase of the running cycle when at one point both feet are off the ground the flight phase (a subphase within the swing phase). To practice depicting running, you can study videos of people on treadmills or running along a track and freeze various frames to sketch the basic positions. As you study, you will see subtle differences between different runners. Some people run with their torsos upright, some lean slightly forward, and others especially sprinters have a strong diagonal tilt. Runners arms generally move like pumping pistons, with the elbows held close to the torso, though some people keep their arms more relaxed and loose. Joggers hands are usually relaxed and slightly cupped, but sprinters generally clench their hands into fists. Some runner-athletes are trained to flex the knee so far that the heel almost hits the glutes ( heel to butt ), while other runners do not lift the foot nearly so dramatically. A runner s foot usually lands on the ball of the foot or the mid-foot, although some runners land on the heel. Strides also vary in length, depending on the individual and the speed of the run: Some runners have strides so long they look like leaps, while others have shorter, more compact strides. I have purposely kept the running movements depicted here very simple. They re just your first step toward understanding the principles of running how the figure s weight shifts during the running gait, how the legs and arms alternate, and so on. The drawing below shows a simple breakdown of a manikin figure running one complete gait cycle; the right leg is emphasized. The stance and swing phases are identified, as are the foot strike, foot flat, mid-stance, toe-off (acceleration), flight, mid-swing, and foot descent (deceleration) stages. GAIT CYCLE RUNNING HEEL STRIKE FOOT FLAT MID-STANCE TOE-OFF MID-SWING HEEL STRIKE Stance phase Swing phase STUDY OF A WALKING GAIT CYCLE FOOT STRIKE FOOT FLAT MID-STANCE TOE-OFF (ACCELERATION) FLIGHT PHASE Stance phase Swing phase HEEL STRIKE FOOT FLAT MID-STANCE HEEL-OFF TOE-OFF EARLY SWING (ACCELERATION) Focusing on the right leg MID-SWING LATE SWING (DECELERATION) MID-SWING FLIGHT PHASE FOOT DESCENT (DECELERATION) 270 Classic Human Anatomy in Motion Sequential Movement 271
CLASSI CHUMANANATOMYI NMOTI ON