How to Draw Lower Back Muscles – Form

12K
Mark as Completed

How to Draw Lower Back Muscles – Form

12K
Mark as Completed

Assignment

Your assignment is to do quicksketch drawings showing the motion and form of the lats and erector spinae.

Make sure you’re identifying the forms of the muscles that are visible. If you can see the ribs or serratus through the lats, show those. If the lat is flexed and you can see a long cylinder on the side, clearly show that form.

Remember, a “quicksketch” doesn’t mean it has to be a simple gesture or contour drawing. You can show 3d forms in a quicksketch like we did in the mannequinization lesson. And a quicksketch doesn't limit you to 3 minutes. You can spend 10-20 minutes on a quicksketch if you need to. 20 minutes is quick compared to how long we’d spend on a long drawing. The objective isn’t to draw quickly. It’s to show a clear representation of the forms of the body and motion of the pose, while not wasting time on details.

I’ve provided reference photos in the Downloads tab. Download those and start drawing!

Newest
Martin
3mo
Hello again everybody... my go. Have a nice day.)
Giorgi Karkuzashvili
Looking forward to watching the critiques and demonstrations!
@nemuiyo
3mo
Waner Hoogleiter
Manuel Rioja
Assigments for this lesson, part six.
Manuel Rioja
My assigments for this lesson , part five.
Manuel Rioja
Assigments for this lesson, part four.
Manuel Rioja
My assigments for this lesson, part three.
Manuel Rioja
My assigments fpr this lesson, part two.
Manuel Rioja
My assigments for this leson, part one.
Gannon Beck
10mo
Great studies!
Ezra
1yr
Woohoo done! I can see that I’ve come a long way since i started doing proko which is very exciting. I think i had a little trouble showing the form of the erector spinae properly, and positioning the scapula.
Huba Hevele
I have completed,the lower back asignment.I am looking for critique on ma drawings . I was trying to comunicate the gesture, and motion of the muscles, while being accurate with their placement. Some pointers on my rendered studie would be apreciated.Does it read 3d, and did I cept the gesture flowing? Thank you in advance, have a nice day.
Patrick Bosworth
These look great, really nice work!!
@syodraws
1yr
I haven't done all of the assignment photos (yet), but here is the first one I did. I want to make sure I'm going in the right direction, as far as the assignment directions go. I am particularly concerned with whether or not I properly communicated the MOTION of the lower-back muscles.
Steve Lenze
The thing you need to do before you even start, is to look at what the body is doing. Example: he is pulling his leg toward his chest. This is causing the Latissimus muscle to tighten as well as the muscles of the upper back and the bicep to bulge. Also, the abdomen is pinching, this means the lower back is stretching. You are showing wrinkles and compression in the lower back where there is none. I did a quick sketch to show you what I mean.
@palyo
1yr
Hi everyone! These are my drawings for this lesson's assignment. Personally i found the front pose extremely hard for some reason, i didn't know how to approach the insertion properly . Also , the "pushing" pose was really tricky to draw because of the sudden twist in the upperback area. Anyway, i would really appreciate any kind of critique/advice.
@syodraws
1yr
Hi :) A couple of points on the pushing pose: 1) You are using rhythm lines and gesture to communicate the movement of the legs and arms. That is good :) 2) The bulbous forms of the erector spinae are a little off-center from the spine curve. 3) In general, your drawings feel quite sketchy. I notice you use cross-contours, which is good, but I think you should take a little more time to clarify the 3-dimensional forms that the anatomy takes in each pose of your drawings. You don't necessarily have to use shading (although quick shading can help a lot)--you can use cross-contours as you have been doing. To quote Proko, "Remember, a “quicksketch” doesn’t mean it has to be a simple gesture or contour drawing. You can show 3d forms in a quicksketch like we did in the mannequinization lesson. And a quicksketch doesn't limit you to 3 minutes. You can spend 10-20 minutes on a quicksketch if you need to. 20 minutes is quick compared to how long we’d spend on a long drawing. The objective isn’t to draw quickly. It’s to show a clear representation of the forms of the body and motion of the pose, while not wasting time on details." I hope these help you. If there is anything that needs clarification, please let me know. Have a good day :D
@dinchen
1yr
difficult for me to complete the assignment😥😥
@koots
1yr
Also take note of the proportions, bony landmarks and perspective. Try to simplify everything into basic 3d shapes that are easy to replicate and rotate from different angles
@koots
1yr
These are good and can use some more lil more tweaks. Some of the figure's perspective like the bottom two ones do. For example for the bottom left corner the whole figure is basically standing upright rather than slightly leaning and maybe reaching out to something. And for the bottom right picture, the bottom right side of her ribcage is basically flattened out. If you look closely in the bottom right reference the erector spinae is kinda overlapping the lats (the lats is still supposed to be seen despite the overlap) but for yours the lats are hidden and the erector spinae is too big and bulky. Great work keep practicing!
Lenserd martell
The assignment is so good that I'm worried if I can upload it.
@viny
2yr
and done
Mike Karcz
2yr
First attempt at the back. I appreciate any critiques!
Jesper Axelsson
Hi @Mike Karcz, I think this is a nice drawing! I feel like you have nice rhythm in the linework, pretty clear forms and the anatomy looks quite accurate. - Since this is an anatomy study it would be nice if you showed your understanding of the anatomy more clearly. I get the feeling that your copying the details of the muscle that you're seeing, rather than finding the entire muscle; where it originates and inserts, and all inbetween. Try to treat it a bit like the mannequinization exercise in the Figure Drawing Fundamentals course, but now you have a much more complex mannequin, with each piece of anatomy being a building block (just don't forget gesture when you do this). - I would encourage you to practice drawing figures, and the anatomical area of focus, from imagination. It's a great way to test & deepen your knowledge. I like following this routine: 1. Draw from imagination 2. Check were I'm off, with reference. Studying the part I got wrong. 3. Draw again from imagination. - Keep an extra eye out on proportion, especially top to bottom and side to side. Top to bottom: The butt looks a bit big compared to the torso. Side to side: The arm closer to us looks a bit small. You seem to have made it the same size as the distant arm, but it should be larger since it's closer to us. The body is symmetrical from side to side (i.e the left buttocks is symmetrical with the right). Be extra aware of this symmetry when you're drawing. The right side of his butt, looks a little large. It should be smaller than his left, since it's further from us, as with the arms. Hope this helps :) Keep up the good work!
Samuel Parker
Lower back quicksketches
Tsotne Shonia
I wonder if I should've used values to show form🤔 Doing it with lines is incredibely difficult
Course in Parts
View course details
Give a gift
Give a gift card for art students to use on anything in the Proko store.
Or gift this course:
About instructor
Founder of Proko, artist and teacher of drawing, painting, and anatomy. I try to make my lessons fun and ultra packed with information.
Help!
Browse the FAQs or our more detailed Documentation. If you still need help or to contact us for any reason, drop us a line and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible!