Detail with overlay of Skeleton with Muscles by Bernhard Siegfried Albinus
IF YOU’VE EVER HAD THE EXPERIENCE of rotating a 3D character model in a digital modeling program, you’ll be familiar with the weightless sensation. The character model remains rigid as it’s rotated on any axis with the effortless click and drag of the mouse. To bring the character to life the illusion of weight and movement must be created by the artist with a skillful use of lines and shapes.
The following section covers the fundamental concepts of anatomy and the forces involved in human movement. These concepts will help you instantly bring a sense of life and energy to your characters, but I recommend that you also draw from life whenever possible. Drawing from life is the best study method for understanding the figure because it allows you to record experiences firsthand and that translates to more believable figures in the realm of virtual space.
Much of what makes each of us distinguishable as individuals is communicated in the way we carry our physical weight. What artists must keep in mind when studying the figure is the unseen force of gravity, which our bodies constantly oppose. In this section you’ll explore the anatomical mechanisms that prevent us from collapsing against this downward force, the human skeletal and muscular structures that work together to create a tension that holds us upright.
Team Fortress 2: Anatomy of a Heavy Weapons Guy (Artwork courtesy of Valve Corporation)
You can think of the human skeleton as being like the structural frame of a building. Every architectural structure starts with a solid, supportive skeleton over which the walls and roof are built. Without this supportive frame the building would collapse. The supportive frame of the human figure is the skeleton, which would likewise collapse into a pile of bones if it weren’t for the muscles and tendons keeping it upright.
Humans can stand upright because our bodies have developed a series of muscles collectively known as antigravity muscles. They function like metal springs, maintaining tension between body parts. Starting at the heel, these muscles work their way up the body, alternating from the front to the back in a system of opposing curves to create forces that keep us from collapsing against the pull of gravity.
Each curved contour is complemented on the opposite side of the figure by a straight line. In reality the human figure doesn’t feature straight lines, but artists use straight (or relatively straight) lines to suggest the supportive skeletal structure that holds the figure together, like the nearly straight bones of the upper and lower leg. Muscles, in contrast, tend to be rounder so opposing curves are generally used to trace the flow of muscles throughout the body and create an illusion of movement and life. This play of curved against straight lines is fundamental to creating believable figures.
The antigravity muscles of the lower leg feature a muscle group that connects the heel with points above the back of the knee. A similar arrangement of muscles is also present for the upper leg, where muscles connect the pelvis and a point just below the kneecap.
The attachment points of the muscle groups across the knee keep our legs locked in the upright position when standing and support our weight when walking. If these muscle groups didn’t overlap the knee, the entire leg would topple forward under the force of gravity.
The concept of opposing curves is especially important for movement, as without the alternating placement of antigravity muscles, the action of walking would not be possible.
Moving up the leg, take note of the increasing mass and weight being transferred down through the legs to the feet. The largest, and therefore the heaviest, mass of the body is the ribcage. Its position at the front of the body creates an imbalance, shifting the body’s weight toward the toes so that the body has a natural urge to fall forward. Luckily antigravity muscles allow us to choose when this happens. In the action of walking, the antigravity muscles of the legs exploit the downward pull of gravity and our body’s imbalance to create forward motion.
To restore an element of balance, the form of the ribcage is tilted backward, which the pelvis must counterbalance with its forward tilt.
Opposing curves and the asymmetry of the body are likewise visible when observing a figure walking from the front. With each step the pelvis tilts depending on which leg is supporting the body’s weight. The supporting leg is known as the stance leg, while the leg that’s swinging forward is called the swing leg. The muscles used in one leg oppose those in the other as shown by the accented lines in this illustration.
The shoulders must simultaneously counterbalance the pelvis’s movement by tilting in the opposite direction, as it tilts from side to side, to keep the figure from falling over sideways. The Old Masters called this counterbalancing mechanism “contrapposto.” One side of the upper body compresses as the other side expands. The expanded side is where most of the energy is concentrated, as the muscles flex to stop the swing leg from swinging out too far.
Team Fortress 2: Heavy
Drawing figures vertically straight is a common mistake. The human figure has an innate rhythm of opposing curves running from head to toe. These opposing curves can be drawn to communicate energy and weight with stronger forces being communicated by lines with a stronger curve.
The addition of a heavy object in the Heavy’s hand increases the asymmetrical tension working against the downward pull of gravity, and so opposing curves become more pronounced.
Straight lines create a visual contrast and they also communicate a sense of solidity and support. For instance, notice the Heavy’s straight left arm, which supports the weapon’s weight.
The distribution of energy throughout the body varies from person to person. Acclaimed concept artist Iain McCaig refers to stock characters from physical theater to categorize various character types based on which part of the body they lead with (from left): thinkers with their heads; heroes with their chests; lazy types with the pelvis; cowards with their knees.
You should always consider the communication of energy with line when designing characters. Much like the downward forces suggested by the bowing out of the sides of Greek Doric columns, you can make a character look heavier by manipulating the curvature of lines and increasing the character’s contact with the ground. Alternatively, straight lines communicate effortless energy and strength.
You can play even more with proportions and weight for different effects. For instance, a person with a small point of contact with the ground appears lighter, even if they have a rounded silhouette.
If you replace the rounded silhouette with straight lines (far right) you arrive at a contemporary idea of feminine beauty that communicates a feeling of weightlessness. Artist Albert Lozano used this concept to create the young Ellie for Pixar’s Up, describing her shape as an “exclamation point, sort of light on her feet and lifting up into the air.”
Weight doesn’t actually exist in digital space, so you must employ such visual tricks to create an illusion of its presence.
Portal 2: GLaDOS (left) and Wheatley (right)
The effect of using lines to communicate energy is applied in an interesting way in the design of GLaDOS and Wheatley from Portal 2.
The overextended position of GLaDOS’s head and body is the culmination of a series of opposing curves that begin with line (A), visible from this view as a straight line, to give a convincing feeling of energy and support. You can see just how important such cables are in creating tension and giving GLaDOS a powerful sense of menace when Wheatley takes over her body. During this changeover, tension is released when the cables are removed, leaving Wheatley hanging with a significantly lighter and less threatening appearance.
Pigsy (Enslaved: Odyssey to the West); Steve (Minecraft)
Lili (Tekken); Lalaffel, Elezen, and Roegadyn (Final Fantasy XIV)
Study the above lineup of characters by reducing their designs to black silhouettes. Notice how the various sensations of weight are communicated through the different contour lines and how the characters connect with the ground.
The Minecraft miner communicates no sense of weight whatsoever due to the straight contour lines of his design. This design fits the style and charm of Minecraft, but in cases where a stronger sense of life and movement is wanted it’s important to consider incorporating curves into the silhouette.
Studying proportions is the practice of applying a measuring system to the human form. The figure is such a complex subject that artists throughout history had to develop personal measuring systems based on a mix of systematic observation and personal taste.
The standard unit for measuring the human body is the human head. The average adult person is 7.5 heads tall, although some artists prefer to use a measure of 8 heads in height. Whatever standard unit an artist prefers, that unit is consistently applied to determine the proportions of the figure being drawn, whether from life or imagination.
Figure proportions from Artistic Anatomy by Dr. Paul Richer
Dr. Paul Richer’s illustrations, from his book Artistic Anatomy (Watson-Guptill), are widely considered to be among the most accurate and clear references for artistic anatomy. It’s a worthwhile exercise to make studies of his suggested system of proportions, starting with a lightly drawn grid 7.5 units in height and 2 units wide (A). To locate the vertical placement of key anatomical landmarks, Richer has counted 4 units down from the top and 4 units up from the base (B).
Once your grid is set up, you can start by indicating anatomical information with simple lines and points that will help you memorize the relative position of various anatomical features. Where an anatomical feature falls between a head unit, divide the unit into halves or thirds (as shown) rather than smaller increments that would be harder to memorize. Add increasingly complex anatomical information as your knowledge of the human figure develops.
Note how Richer’s system references the underlying skeleton as opposed to fleshy points of the body. The reason for this is that the skeleton is more reliable as a measuring tool because of its solid and relatively standard form. Soft fleshy landmarks have a tendency to shift between poses and vary more drastically between individuals.
Working from the head downward, note that the figure’s midpoint is located at the top of the femur (thigh bone), where the upper leg connects with the pelvis. Take a moment to note that hands are bigger than you might think; when the fingers are stretched out wide the hand will cover the face. With the arms down by a person’s side, the fingertips, if stretched out, reach all the way down to the middle of the upper leg. Record such observations by annotating your study with notes and simple line and point indications (C).
Suggested ideal human proportions by Andrew Loomis
Try the exercise on this page with alternative proportion systems used by other artists. In illustrator Andrew Loomis’s system of proportions note that the head is used as a consistent unit of measurement throughout human development, going from a proportion of 4 heads in height in infancy, up to 8 heads in height in maturity, as opposed to Richer’s 7.5.
Here are five video game characters and their approximate height in head units, from left: Kirby (1 head), Mario (3 heads), Link (5.5 heads), Rebecca Chambers (7.5 heads), Markus Fenix (9 heads).
Figure proportions are open to artistic exaggeration. A character can be designed with childlike proportions (1 to 7 head units), regardless of the character’s age, to give it an innocent appeal or with adult proportions (7.5 to 8 head units) for a mature feel. You can go even further and design characters with a heroic 9 heads in height, like Gears of War’s Markus Fenix, which is the proportion the ancient Greeks used to depict their gods. Notice how Mario appears physically younger than Link despite Mario’s older age insinuated by his mature facial features. (photo credit 3.1)
Studying the human skeleton is an important aspect of figure drawing because the volumes and shape of the skeleton define much of the body’s outward appearance.
Skeletal landmarks are the points on the surface of the skin where the underlying bone is nearest the surface. They serve as reliable indicators for the exact position of the skeleton because they’re visible on all body types, from fat to thin. Using fleshy forms to map out your drawing is not advisable because the soft texture means that it’s susceptible to change.
Skeleton with Muscles (1749) with overlay by Bernhard Siegfried Albinus (1697–1770)
The skeleton is a hard and solid structure that doesn’t deform. It is thanks to alternating soft forms located in between the bony masses that movement is possible. These soft forms are highlighted in red and are situated across joints as well as in the neck and abdomen.
Head of an Apostle Looking Downward (1508) by Albrecht Dürer
Emphasizing the contrast between hard bone and soft flesh is critical in order to convey that a character has a believable skeletal structure holding them together. If the underlying skeleton is not suggested, then the figure will appear too soft and blob-like.
Albrecht Dürer understood the figure like few other artists in history because of his devotion to its study, which is evident in the way he has drawn the flesh of the face to appear stretched over the hard forms of the skull.
Study of Diogenes for the School of Athens (ca. 1510) by Raphael (1483–1520)
Raphael’s reclining figure, which is supporting its weight on one arm, illustrates this contrast of soft and hard masses. Notice how the torso appears to hang between shoulder and pelvis much like drapery strung between two poles. What makes this gesture possible is a combination of flexible elements of the body held together by the rigid skeletal structure.