Anatomy of the Human Body
Torso(163 Lessons )
The Basics
Spine
Pelvis
Rib Cage
Shoulder Bones
Intro to Muscles
Pecs & Breasts
Abs
Obliques
Torso Drawing
Shoulder Muscles
Lower Back Muscles
Upper Back Muscles
Neck Muscles
Arms(101 Lessons )
Legs(107 Lessons )
First video of my new course :) Introducing “Anatomy of the Human Body for Artists”
Newest
Ron M
12h
Question for Stan; I purchased this course sometime ago and had watched a few videos. Only now I made the time to begin in earnest. I see that the course is made of 3 main sections; torso, arms and legs. Why there is no section for the head? Isn't that part of human anatomy :-)) ?
Daisy Silly
8d
Ho everyone I hope ur having a nice day.recently I have been practicing anatomy (learning muscles and poses stuffs like that) but I feel as if I haven’t been getting anywhere so I was wondering if anyone can suggest some ways to practice (and I hope this art course can help me) so pls suggest ways to practice and art critiques pls
•
7d
I second @Taco's comment, and also, if you are able, try to find a figure drawing group near you. Depending on where you are it may be difficult to find, but highly worth the effort. Drawing from photographs is a great alternative but drawing from life will help you fine tune many processes that the camera does for you.
Taco
7d
Great way I found to practice was a website called Line-of-action.com. You can set draw timers and look at different references of humans, hands & feet, animals, landscapes. And its all free the references do get a little repetitive if you do end up using it a lot but I found it to be a great resource. Although I found out yesterday day that proko has a similar feature in the classroom part of the website called timed sessions and it looks like there are some free model packs you can use towards these timed sessions. If you have the funds you can buy more model packs from the store here on proko. Hope this helps and happy drawing. =)
Blanche
8mo
hi, are we supposed to do the figure drawing course before this one?
•
8mo
Hey Blanche! It's not a requirement, but the Figure Drawing Fundamentals course is a great companion course to Anatomy! If you're already comfortable drawing figures and just want to learn more about anatomy you can jump right in, but if you are just starting to learn about how to draw figures definitely check out Figure Drawing Fundamentals course, once you learn the fundamentals, you'll be able to get a lot more out of the Anatomy course. Hope this helps!
Jack Mills
9mo
hello, I was wondering if I was good enough to start this course? I have recently finished the Figure Drawing Fundamentals course and wanted to know if I should move onto this course next or if I should be practicing something else?
Adam Noonan
2mo
Hello, I would say to continue drawing figures. Anatomy is just for a deeper more intutive understanding of why the forms do what they do. It allows you to manipulate them and be more creative. If you are still learning how to "draw" the figure this class wont really be of much help to you. If anything, it will only slow you down. Think of it as learning Calculus before mastering pre-calculus.
Kuro Aresjot
9mo
The tracing exercise is all great, but it's really hard to translate into other irl models, or use in personal works. I feel like there's a step missing before this starting tracing. Also It's hard to find references that would group muscles that would keep simple for artists. Any suggestion in how to digest anatomy? Been struggling on this particular topic.
•
9mo
I get what you're saying! If you're totally new to anatomy it can be overwhelming to try to grasp not only the base form of each muscle, but how they insert and all the different shapes they make in different positions. That's a lot of info to cram into your brain. I've found it helpful to have a reference book open while learning. The first anatomy book I bought was Artistic Anatomy by Dr. Paul Richer and I still reference it to this day. Truthfully, learning and understanding Anatomy takes a decent amount of studying and memorization, but using mnemonics and visual queues makes it more fun and salient. Get creative with it! For example, you can remember the shape of the pelvis by picturing a butterfly. As for muscle grouping, George Bridgman (Constructive Anatomy, Drawing from Life) is a great resource, however some people find it difficult to translate his drawings without prior anatomical understanding, so I would recommend starting with a reference book and working on these tracing exercises, and doing a lot of them. The reps will pay off and the way you start grouping the muscles with the anatomical knowledge you are gaining will become your style!
@deathbyjay
1yr
•
1yr
Looking good, you seem to have a good grasp on anatomical breakdowns and knowledge of muscles. The next thing you can practice is how you convey the form of these muscles--paying particular attention to their volume and insertion. The key to this is thinking about how these muscles actually function and move around, so whether they twist, turn, push, pull from certain points, or how they sit on top of the figure. I attached some notes for more specific areas--but let me know if you have any questions. Keep up the good work! :)
@tylenol
1yr
I was really lazy and can’t focus so I’m just posting this to post
Alexandra Venice
1yr
I'm having trouble with drawing figures and anatomy, every time I look at my character's body it feels awkward and off
•
1yr
I would recommend starting out with gesture--a quick, flowing sketch--before diving into constructing the anatomy for your characters. This both makes tackling the figure much easier and adds liveliness and energy into your poses. This video goes more in-depth: https://www.proko.com/s/3VTb Hope this helps!
Londyn Upshaw
1yr
same
@marskitten
1yr
Hi, I'm looking for a community to help me criticise and help me improve my art but I'm not sure if this Proko course is still active
•
1yr
If you post your assignments and hit the "request a critique" button when you submit it does flag your submission so people can come help you out.
@stergios_biternas
2yr
Hi, I'm not an 2D artist or painter (sculptor) but these anatomy videos from proko have been my absolute favorite. Would going through this course benefit me as well? I really like the information but I'm not sure on how to translate the assignments from something done on paper to something done with clay?
@fefelix
2yr
I think doing the assignments on paper will nurture your sculpting skills, too. The entire course is all about learning, remembering and replicating specific 3d forms. There are assignments later on in the course that feature more detailed rendering in drawing - for those ones it would sure be best trying to sculpt the subject instead of drawing it - but all the assignments that only involve sketches and getting to know the forms are just as valuable for a sculptor as they are for any 2d artist. While there won't be any advice on sculpting in general, following the lessons and assignments as they are will provide you with all the tools needed to succesfully sculpting the human figure and all its anatomy.
Sab
2yr
Well, thanks Stan. The course is awesome.
This year I´m going to do 364 challenge to finally end this course. Every day I will post my progress lesson to lesson.
Make great things everyone, 1 lesson done 363 to come.
Andres Torres
2yr
Is there a certain order to complete this course in? Or can I jump around to what I want. Like can I go to hands then go to hamstrings?
Samuel Parker
2yr
I did that when I first bought the course 3 years ago. I'm just starting to do the course from the beginning, lesson by lesson; including the assignments and I think that is the best way to do the course. You will learn so much more by doing the fundamentals of drawing the skeleton in perspective, than you would by browsing the course out of order. The assignments are awesome because they improve your solid drawing skills and anatomy knowledge at the same time.
So I would definetly reccomend doing this course start to finish.
@cordi_cat
2yr
Is there a way to see the playlist without the premium vids in between or do I just skip, I'm currently an art student at Uni/illustration school and plan on buying the course if I vibe with the free videos first
maria cristina paradiso
2yr
Hello, my relatives are medical doctor, for study anatomy of human body, Anatomy of Sobotta and Anatomy of Netter are goods? I have too human anatomy for artist by Eliot Goldfinger
•
2yr
Hey, @maria cristina paradiso!
In my experience, medical books didn’t bring me enough benefit. I tried using Sobotta a few years ago and, despite the beautifully made illustrations, I just felt that the book was too technical and intricate for what I needed. I learned anatomy much better from courses such as Proko’s and the ones at New Masters Academy, as well as from art-geared books like Michael Hampton’s “Figure drawing: design and invention”. I never studied from Goldfinger’s book, but I’ve heard nice things about it. In general, I just felt that learning anatomy for art purposes required less detail and a stronger focus on form, design and appearance, which are things I didn’t get from medical resources.
But I’ve also heard some artists mention that they studied from medical books and it worked for them (if I’m not mistaken, @Glenn Vilppu used to do it) - so I guess there might be some degree of personal preference and learning style involved. With all that said, if you want, perhaps you might give the medical books a try and see if they work well for you. And, at the same time, if possible, definitely study from art-oriented courses and books as well.
Hope this helps!
Neo
3yr
Not entirely sure which section to post this into. This is my second round going through the (free version) of the anatomy course. The course is excellent btw, I've never come across anything this focused and informative. The first time I did the assignments for each lesson (I went through with them together with some friends on telegram and irl, this was a couple years ago).
This round I think I need to focus a bit more "on the whole" so I've invented my own assignments. My personal challenges has been to remember the exact insertions and overlapping order & interactions of different muscles. I think it will help me remember better to focus how everything sits together in proportion (develop my own visual cues to aid memory).
My plan is to first focus on carefully laying out where the muscles are together and memorize it, do several model interpretations (like the first one below) and invent muscles on skelly (I got the app). Then move to simplifying the structure so it's easier to sketch quickly and do more gestural / simple muscle form studies off model photos. And hopefully later get the premium course when I can afford it and go through all the original assignments again to refine in the details.
Feedback is welcome and requested, especially regarding the side views, accuracy & proportions!
In this particular study my question is what is that small bump on the back (highlighted green)? I think it's a rib surrounded by unevenness of erector spinae, but it's also surround by something from the other side of it?
Neo
3yr
The follow ups.
C M
3yr
Hello :-) May I ask if there is a link to the old downloads page? I got as far as backing up 33a, but notifs don't come through for any videos added, and there aren't numberings on the videos on this new version of the site. Thanks.
C M
3yr
Thanks @Katey Jensma for response and link; much appreciate, and will email.
Katey Jensma
3yr
Hi @C M the video and transcript downloads are only available in the downloads tab of each individual lesson. If you have more questions about this feel free to reach out to me at support@proko.com
@rin3012
3yr
Hello, want to ask whether as a beginner, can I follow "Figure drawing" or this course without using pencil (using fineliner instead)?
William Horton
3yr
Im assuming if FineLiner is a digital art program then most likely! I don't see why not.
Justin Hatcher
4yr
Here are my oblique drawings from this morning. I am open to any and all critiques :)
H H
4yr
Anatomically, I think you have a good understanding of the shape of the obliques. That being said, I think you could push the gesture a bit more, make it a bit more dynamic. I think you would greatly benefit from emphasizing the pulling and the twisting more. Especially the center line of the abs, it doesn’t feel like it being pulled away by the major masses. Maybe looking at reference and observing what and how things stretch or squash. Otherwise, these are very clean drawings!
Arya Pandey
4yr
Here's my first post! Sharing a couple of studies I did after going through Burne Hogarth's Dynamic Anatomy. Going to dive into all these amazing courses that have been laid out for us! I'd be glad to know what specific areas I should target to get a better understanding of mass and structure. I practice one portion every week (e.g. the torso, the arms, the legs, and so on). Is that the right way to do it? Thanks in advance!
•
4yr
Hi Aryapandey, very nice work! Your question is actually quite tricky to answer. The truth is there is no one best way to go through all the things an artist has to learn, but we all do indeed have a whole lot to learn! I think it is good that you're dedicating several days a week to these isolated areas. In my opinion it is usually a good idea to pick a couple things at a time to be studying in tandem until you grow comfortable with them, but not too many things that you become overwhelmed.
I will say that there tends to be a stage of development as artists where we get comfortable enough with drawing that we become excellent copyists, but we aren't retaining as much knowledge as we could be.
My suggestion is to always be clever and 'test' your progress by drawing from imagination. This has helped me so, so much in my own education. For example if you spend a couple of days drawing from Burne Hogarth's books, spend some time afterwords drawing those same things from imagination to test how much you retained, and what you need to go back to and study again. Are you able to draw a convincing torso, arms or legs, with nice shapes and form? Using a process like this, you create a self-improvement feedback loop that will really help push your ability to make choices and not just 'copy'.
Also, as a sculptor who draws, I cannot undersell how much developing one skill has helped the other. If you really want to get better at understanding 'mass' i highly recommend giving some anatomy and figure sculpting a shot! I guarantee some practice in that arena will help your drawing skills.
Hope these tips help some, and keep up the great studies!
David Gutmann
4yr
I'm studying the Proko Anatomy course right now and he covered the skeletol structure like ribcage, pelvis, spine etc. before touching muscles at all. Although Bones are not as exiting as muscles I think thats a good aproge. Bones clearly show the 3 most important parts when drawing the figure (pelvis, Torso, head) and leave out all the other stuff like the back muscles wich will only confuse you at first. Bones also contain the most important landmarks when finding the placements of the muscles. Thats why you should propaply start with studying the skelleton. Also focus on the pelvis rib cage and spine first since they make up the most complex but crucial movments like twisting and so on.
Adam Shaban
4yr
Hello! I just wanted to ask as a beginner artist if I should start with the anatomy course or with the figure drawing course
Jesse Yao
4yr
I'd like to add that Stan has recommended 2 weeks maximum on each module in one of his courses, regardless of if you feel comfortable with the material in that module or not (cited from the Draftsmen podcast). This is to prevent getting stuck in one module for months trying to perfect it, which is counterproductive.
And as Lincoln said, Figure drawing first, then anatomy. It's actually better to probably do both at the same time, with some proportion like 90% figure drawing 10% anatomy, but focus primarily on figure drawing
Lincoln Phung
4yr
As a beginner It's recommended on the proko site to start with the Figure Drawing Fundamentals course if you had to choose between the two. You can see it's answered here: https://www.proko.com/getting-started
If you're a complete beginner I'd also recommend looking into DrawABox to get some structured training for basic shapes, forms, perspective. Besides courses though I would say just try to get into a habit of drawing regularly and for fun as well. Don't want to burn yourself out on homework/courses where art turns into a chore.
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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.
