The Practical Guide to Drawing Anatomy

Barrington Barber

• Publisher: Arcturus
• Year: 2014
• eBook ISBN: 9781784042493
• Topic: Arte
• Subtopic: Técnicas artísticas

A stylish, easy-to-use Anatomy reference, this book is an invaluable resource for artists who want to make convincing drawings of the human figure. Clearly annotated diagrams throughout show the detail of the bone structure, the muscle layers and the surface of every part of the body. There is a section on the body in movement, as well as examples after master artists such as Michaelangelo, Ingres and Rubens.The Artist's Workbooks series are practical guides for artists for artists interested in getting to grips with a particular subject.

TECHNICAL INTRODUCTION

BONES

The skeleton is the solid framework of the body, partly supporting and partly protective. The shape of the skeleton can vary widely. It will affect the build of a person and determine whether they have masses of muscle and fat or not.

Bones are living tissue supplied by blood and nerves. They can become weaker and thinner with lack of use and malnutrition, or heavier and stronger when having to support more weight. They are soft and pliable in the embryo, and only become what we would consider hard and bone-like by the twenty-fifth year of life.

Humans have 206 bones, but a few fuse together with age and it is possible to be born with some bones missing or even with extra ones present. We each have a skull, ribcage, pelvis and vertebral column, as well as arm, hand, leg and foot bones. Most bones are symmetrical. The bones of the limbs are cylindrical, thickening towards the ends. The projecting part of a bone is referred to as a process or an eminence.

Highly mobile areas of the body, such as the wrists, consist of numerous small bones. Other bones, like the scapula (shoulder blade), can move in all directions, controlled by the muscles around it.

The bones of the cranium (skull) differ from all others. They grow from separate plates into one fused vault to house the brain. The mandible (jawbone) is the only movable bone in the head.

The long bones of the arms and legs act like levers, while the flat bones of the skull, the cage-like bones of the ribs and the basin shape of the pelvis protect the more vulnerable organs such as the brain, heart, lungs, liver and the abdominal viscera.

MUSCLES

The combination of bones, muscles and tendons allows both strong, broad movements and delicate, precise ones. Muscles perform our actions by contracting or relaxing. There are long muscles on the limbs and broader muscles on the trunk. The more fixed end of the muscle is called the head or origin, and the other end – usually furthest from the spine – is the insertion. The thick muscles are powerful, like the biceps; and the ring-shaped muscles (sphincters) surround the openings of the body, such as the eye, mouth and anus. Certain muscles grow together and have two, three or four heads and insertions. Combined muscles also have parts originating in different places.

The fleshy part of a muscle is called the meat, and the fibrous part the tendon or aponeurosis (see overleaf).

Striated (voluntary) muscles operate under our conscious control. The 640 voluntary muscles account for up to 50 per cent of the body’s weight and form the red flesh. Organized in groups and arranged in several layers, these muscles give the body its familiar form. The drawings below show the various different types of striated muscles, with the tendons at each end. Note the distinctive shape of the sphincter muscle on the far right.

Smooth (involuntary) muscles are confined to the walls of hollow organs, such as intestines and blood vessels. They function beyond our conscious control.

Cardiac (heart) muscles are both striated and involuntary, with a cell structure that ensures synchronic contraction.

TENDONS

The tendons are fibrous structures that attach...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Introduction
• Technical Introduction
• Full-Figure Skeleton
• Full-Figure Musculature
• Full-Figure Body
• Proportions at Different Ages
• The Male and Female Skeleton
• The Full Figure: Master Artist
• The Skull
• The Male, Female and Infant Skull
• Muscles of the Head
• Muscles of the Neck
• The Head: Master Artists
• Facial Expressions
• Skeleton of the Arm and Hand
• Muscles of the Arm and Hand
• Skeleton of the Hand
• Muscles of the Hand
• Surface of the Hand
• Surface of the Arm and Hand
• Skeleton of the Leg
• Muscles of the Leg
• Surface of the Leg
• Skeleton of the Foot
• Muscles and Surface of the Foot
• The Legs and Feet: Master Artists
• The Body in Movement
• The Body in Movement: Master Artist