Term 2, Anatomy I — Torso, Week 2
For a description of this unit see my Anatomy I — Torso unit plan. For full context, see the description of my Art Home School Curriculum.
Retrospective
This week was pretty challenging. I finally finished all the bones exercises in the torso section of the Proko anatomy course. Next week I’ll start with muscles finally. I feel like I should have interspersed the Proko exercises with something else, maybe Bridgman. That might have made it a bit less monotonous.
I emailed Medium support about how half my photos randomly get stretched to square aspect ratios and they said they are aware of the problem, but have no time frame for when it might be fixed. I’ve experimented with lots of settings on my camera and I can’t figure out what makes Medium decide to squash certain images. I’m guessing it’s some kind of AI that’s too smart for its own good.
Log
I hit my drawing goals this week. I didn’t log any study time because as I watch the videos I pause them and draw things along the way.
Drawings and Critiques
Monday, Feb. 22
Copy Finch.
I’m doing 45 minutes of copying Finch each morning before work. Sometimes I’m extra tired and I don’t get much done.
Warmup.
Proko spine exercises.
I should go back and try these again now that I’ve studied the pelvis and ribcage.
Still trying to get used to drawing on a tablet.
Tuesday, Feb. 23
Copy Finch.
Warmup.
Digital warmup.
Somehow this took 20 minutes. I should do 250 digital boxes in my next perspective class. It will let me practice two things at once.
Proko spine exercises.
Wednesday, Feb. 24
Copy Finch.
I always use a 2H pencil on smooth Bristol when doing Finch-style drawings. It’s a very pleasant feeling.
Warmup.
Proko spine exercises.
The ‘A’ drawings are my attempts and the ‘B’s are copies of the instructor’s drawings. In complicated poses (and sometimes in easy poses) it’s really difficult to imagine what position the bones are in by looking at the model. I really struggled with A1. You have to remember that bones don’t bend, which should make things easier but somehow makes them harder.
Starting the pelvis exercises.
The pelvis is constructed in a squashed bucket, which is already a challenge to draw freehand because of the ellipses.
Thursday, Feb. 25
Copy Finch.
Warmup.
Proko pelvis exercises.
Friday, Feb. 26
Copy Finch.
I think the eyes are a little off, and the nose, mouth and chin areas look very flat. Otherwise, I’m happy with this.
Warmup.
Proko pelvis exercises.
These remind me of a hat, or stitch.
Proko ribcage exercises.
This looks deceptively simple, but it’s a tough form to draw nicely.
Saturday, Feb. 27
Warmup.
Pelvis.
I was trying to do an extremely foreshortened view. My brain just wouldn’t let my hand do it.
Rib cages.
Proko shoulder girdle exercises.
It’s surprising how easy it is to learn the anatomical information of the torso. Drawing them convincingly is a different matter.
Sunday, Feb. 28
Warmup.
Shoulder exercises.
It’s very difficult to determine the position of these bones from looking at a model. I need x-ray vision pictures to study from.
Copy Bridgman.
I got tired of Proko so I switched to some Bridgman studies. It was a nice breath of fresh air, and very, very weird. I started working on my penmanship too. Learning to draw makes me want to make every mark I put on paper look as nice as possible.
Speaking of making things look nice, here’s a side-by-side of a warmup page from this week compared with a warmup page from 5 months ago when I first started using the conte pencil on newsprint.
5 months ago I drew like my 3-year-old nephew. It’s nice to see progress.
