I have been practicing human anatomy for a while through youtube videos and the book "Anatomy for Sculptors". However my progress is slow. Maybe that's how it's supposed to be. I do this as a hobby so I am not enrolled in some expensive art school. I was curious about what goes on inside them. Do people teach human anatomy pretty seriously there? I see many people upload some beautiful characters with almost perfect anatomy with the title "Student Works" so I am baffled. Is there any special way by which people are taught anatomy in art schools, if yes then what can we do(those who don't go to these programs) to gain the right skills. If no, then is just pure practice that is needed?
I also welcome suggestions about what would be the right way to learn anatomy, for example, books or tutorials, or whatever there is. I would be greatly indebted to anyone who takes the time to share his/her experience or suggestion.
Cheers!
bbishop3101 I'm studying human anatomy with these books:
1) Michael Hampton: Figure Drawing - Desgin and Invention
2) Gary Faigin: The Artist's Complete Guide to Facial Expression
3) 3DTotalPublishing: Anatomy for 3D Artists - The Essential Guide for CG Professionals
The techniques presented in these books differ more or less, especially when it comes to the proportions of a human head which can be quite confusing, but I think we have to take the rules presented in these books as an approximative orientation and do the rest with our intuition which we develop by practising as much as we can. I haven't much practice yet with creating complete characters (more with heads), but all professionals tell you that they can only give you recommendations and that it's your part to develop your skills by practising. The last book in the list above offers a very detailed description of the human sceleton and muscles and uses sculpting for creating a character before retopologizing it.
Based on your gallery, you seem to have solid fundamentals when it comes to sculpting characters. Better than a lot of people to be honest. Your question comes at an apt time for me because A) characters have always been my first love within computer graphics, B) I graduated from one of those expensive art schools, and C) I'm currently in the process of recording a [massive] human portrait tutorial course. So let me try to answer your questions the best I can!
Is there any special way by which people are taught anatomy in art schools?
The only "special" thing about art schools in my experience is that all the foundational information you need develop skill is handed to you on a silver platter. Art school students don't have to go looking for it, sifting through the good and the bad. For a high price your learning is quick and high-quality.
I certainly didn't learn many tricks or short cuts. That's not how art works. Art is practice, practice, practice. At art school students practice day after day which makes them progress quicker than people outside of art school. Also people outside art school can easily run into poor information on the internet which can be a step backwards instead of forwards.
If no, then is just pure practice that is needed?
Practice is absolutely key. Personally I think it's the most important part of skill development. Especially for someone of your skill who clearly understands the basics. That being said, I definitely understand that good instruction can be a short-cut in the developmental journey, demystifying things that would otherwise take significant trail-and-erroring to learn on your own.
I also welcome suggestions about what would be the right way to learn anatomy, for example, books or tutorials, or whatever there is.
I started my teaching career with a portrait course which isn't that good; you can tell it's my first course. A little later I taught head sculpting again, and again, and again, and again. However one thing I never put much emphasis on was *Anatomy*. Rather I've always been a bigger believe in the ability to form what I see. Anatomy is a lot of research and memorization for only one application. Training myself to sculpt what I see has limitless potential.
To conclude this novel, as I mentioned at the beginning I'm once again teaching realistic portrait creation with Blender. Here's a sneak peak at the R&D I'm doing:
It will be the most in-depth course I've ever taught. The human face is that complex and I will be teaching everything I know about the subject - including, for the first time, legitimate anatomy knowledge. A knowledge that was painstakingly developed from comparing countless online diagrams, insight from a plastic surgeon, and chats with my dentist friend, resulting in this 3D anatomical reference model/tool (which will be included with the course).
I expect it still to take a year or so for me to complete recording but when published, my goal is for it to be *the best answer* to your original question 😅 Stay tuned!
Rather I've always been a bigger believe in the ability to form what I see. Anatomy is a lot of research and memorization for only one application. Training myself to sculpt what I see has limitless potential.
I never thought that way. This perspective is amazing. I will keep this in mind and try this too from now on..
I think, you perceive things better that you can name and that you're aware of. Off course, it's not done by reading anatomy book after anatomy book and the informations presented there are sometimes not fitting one to each other, sometimes even nonsense. So, it's important to start practicing as soon as possible and to do it as often and as much as possible. The anatomic details found in the human anatomy can also be found in the anatomy of animals so that for example birds have fingers too although it's not obvious at first sight. I find anatomic knowledge especially important for retopologizing and rigging. For animating facial expressions, just to mention one example, it helps that there is a circular muscle around the mouth as well as around each eye. So, I would say that anatomic knowledge and practice are equally important and that practicing is there for making mistakes from which you learn. Many people, I think, fear making mistakes or stop practicing after their first mistakes because they falsely think they were untalented instead of seeing this as an opportunity for developping their skills. It also helps to learn together with other people so that you're here at CG Cookie at the right place where you get concentrated informations as well as encouragement to continue your artistic progression.
I think, you perceive things better that you can name and that you're aware of.
You make a great point duerer. Teaching has taught me how crucial naming / communication is for understanding. Everything we know is built on it and it's folly to neglect it. Truly creating the anAtomic head model was a big boost for me to understand the depths of human anatomy. While I can sculpt a human head without knowing anatomical names, learning the names solidifies the understanding with a more firm foundation.
The more I think about it, while I still believe the "create what I see" approach is extremely robust with vast potential, it's a bit like a con artist; think DiCaprio in Catch Me If You Can. Visually I'm good at imitating what I see but an expert can uncover my limited knowledge quickly. Heh kind of a fun way to think about it imo.
anatomic details found in the human anatomy can also be found in the anatomy of animals
Another good point. So much shared anatomy between animals, just altered. Learning human anatomy does spill over into other species.
It also helps to learn together with other people so that you're here at CG Cookie at the right place where you get concentrated informations as well as encouragement to continue your artistic progression.
Very true! The best part about this community :)