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Anatomy is one of those crucial foundation skills necessary for any 3D artist. I have talked before how anatomy is a building block from which all artists should start in order to make better art. In the Gnomon Workshop DVD, Anatomy Workshop: Volume One, Structure and Proportion with Charles Hu, Charles does a very good job of using his figure painting experience to explain his process and ideology behind drawing with correct anatomy and proportions.
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Image Source: thegnomonworkshop.com
Charles Hu is a figure painter and art instructor. His work has varied from portrait paintings and character designs to murals and comic books. After graduating from the Art Center College of Design with a Bachelors of Fine Arts degree, Charles Hu has taught at the LA Academy of Figurative Arts, started his own fine art school called 3Kicks Fine Arts, and he is now an instructor at both the Art Center College of Design and the Gnomon School of Visual Effects.
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Image Source: conceptart.org
During his demonstration all Charles uses is an easel in order to hold a full size drawing pad, what looks to be conte crayons of a few varying colors, and off to the side is a skeleton on wheels. Watching Hu draw from the shoulder, marking out eight heads for the proportion of the man he is going to draw, all feels comfortable like a friend teaching you something new they learned. His demeanor is kind and soft spoken.
Throughout the DVD Charles is constantly recreating the drawing from different angles. He starts with a front view of a man, and lays out the proportions, and then begins to place landmarks that help break the body into its section. Placement of the rib-cage (an egg not a circle!), the hips, the elbows, wrists are all landmarks Charles talks about. Then Hu fleshes the drawing out with the final outside lines, usually using his black crayon. Now you have a drawing with usually three different colored crayons showing the proportions, the skeletal system, and the final drawing all in one drawing.
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Image Source: thegnomonworkshop.com
Charles does a very good job of explaining his reasoning and methods in more than one way. For example, when drawing the back side of the body and talking about the shoulder blade and how it is a joint that floats on top of the back of the rib cage Charles uses three visual demonstration methods. First he uses the available skeleton to point out the location of the scapula and that with these types of skeletons the shoulder blade is bolted to the ribs so it is no longer movable. Now using his own body Charles moves his shoulder so the camera can see how its smooth movements involve the shoulder blades “floating and sliding” motion. Then finally he draws the area of discussion so that now the students have had three visual representations for the shoulder blade.
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Image Source: thegnomonworkshop.com
In this first DVD Charles Hu mainly focuses on male anatomy, but also makes sure to take the time to point out the key differences in male and female proportions, and how certain landmarks differ between the two. One of the more interesting things I found was all the proportions of the body that relate to each other, the forearm is the length of the foot, etc. The way that Charles teaches this course is educational with lots of information, but also easy to understand and retain.
I highly recommend this foundation of anatomy DVD especially for students who are struggling with proportions and basic anatomy, because it is those things that are most often the largest struggles for younger artists . Put this DVD on pull out your own drawing boards and sketch along with Charles and you will be practicing and learning at the same time. I personally can’t wait to learn more in depth anatomy knowledge from the other DVD’s in this five volume series.