Figure and anatomy
Proportions, the framework and the big movement, with bones and muscles underneath them. This is where drawing the figure with understanding begins, instead of neatly copying a silhouette.
Lessons in this category come with the Basic plan — $12 a month. Choose a plan
Lessons in “Figure and anatomy”
subscribers only5:58Timelapse. Value study of the male figure
Hi! I like working with value shapes — they set the mood of a piece and the drawing becomes more emotional. But without an understanding of construction, a value drawing is unfortunately doomed. We don’t get into value and detail until the proportions are nailed down. So first you work out the line contour, then refine the proportions. Once we have an accurate line, we can find the silhouette of the shadow shape inside the figure and then work everything out by its edges. And in parallel we refine the anatomy, the landmarks, and work up the forms. And yes, you can load up the background to tie the figure to it and make the composition of shapes on the sheet more interesting. Good luck!
subscribers only5:04Timelapse. Nude lady in a difficult pose
Hi, friends! Let’s start the week with a timelapse of a value study of the female figure in a difficult pose. For a value study you want contrasty light on the model, so the shadow separates cleanly from the light. So if you’re drawing from imagination rather than from life, think this part through carefully.
subscribers only2:43Timelapse. A study of a lady from the back
Hi everyone! And I’ll be running a masterclass, "Promoting yourself as an artist," where I’ll share the tricks that will help you monetize your work and grow from beginner to pro. You can register for the event here (registration is required!), and in the meantime here’s a timelapse of drawing a nude lady from the back, plus a bonus — the brushes I used in the piece. The study starts from a dynamic, lively silhouette in line, after which comes the work on the inside. There are a few particular things in this drawing: the shoulder blades are spread as far apart as possible, so that they push into the edges of the ribcage silhouette, and the ribcage is pulled as far to the right of the pelvis as it will go, to make the dynamics stronger. The value accents are placed in three spots on the figure — the hair, as the largest mass, the bottom of the ribcage and the bottom of the glutes. The arms and legs are left unfinished — the sketch looks more alive that way. Don’t forget that when you copy, you can change details of the figure (straighten a leg, change the hair, and so on) — it will gradually help you understand the process more and teach you to draw from imagination. Thanks for watching and for the support, friends!
subscribers only23:05Legs foreshortened from the back, and legs in motion
Hi! In the first — legs in a dynamic pose. You’ll learn how the knee joint and the foot relate, how to sort out the masses of the quadriceps, why the transition from the thigh into the pelvis matters so much, and how to draw the transition from the foot into the shin without breaking anything. In the second video lesson — legs foreshortened from the back. And in a dynamic pose too: imagine a leprechaun skipping off to hide his gold! Note that in real life muscles are very rarely that visible (except on very lean gym types). But when it comes to studying the figure as an artist, that kind of exaggeration is just right. Hope these videos are useful to you :)
subscribers only27:25Anatomy breakdown of the figure. Working on the details
Hi! We’re carrying on drawing the male figure from the back and studying the anatomy in detail. We work on the details and the important accents, refine the light and shade, add a background — in short, we gradually finish our drawing. Disclaimer: this is the second-to-last part of the lesson. Those of you following along will notice that in the last video I hadn’t drawn the pelvis and the legs, and in this one they’re already done. Have a good, creative weekend!
subscribers only26:03The female ribcage
Thanks to one of my subscribers I found out that it wasn’t loading over there, fixed it, and decided to upload it here too. Friends, if any video lessons or timelapses suddenly become unavailable, go ahead and write about it in the comments or in a direct message — I’ll check and sort the problem out :) And for now, here it is: a video lesson on drawing the female ribcage. The commentary on the process is off camera — don’t forget to turn the sound on.
subscribers only26:01Anatomical breakdown of the figure. Working with shadow and value
Friends, hi! Here’s that same multi-part series where we first do a detailed anatomical breakdown of the male figure from the back and then draw it :) In this fourth part we focus on shadow — bringing out the forms and the volume. Remember: if you don’t push the shadow far enough and drift into halftones, the drawing falls apart. Once the shadow edge is more or less right, we close in the halftone. The earlier parts of the lesson are below. By the way, how do you like this format — the full deep dive into the process?
subscribers only1:55Timelapse. A linear construction breakdown of the male back
Hi! Today I’m drawing the male back and showing the working process — from the first line to the last stroke. You can follow along with me or pick a different figure. By the way, I have a whole series of video lessons ready on the anatomy breakdown and drawing of the male figure from the back. I’ve posted a few already, and the rest will appear here over the next month.
subscribers only3:10Timelapse. A male figure with a skull instead of a head
Hi! Sometimes you can leave some parts of the figure unfinished, or even strip them back to the muscle layer and leave only the skeleton. This timelapse is an example of that. In it I draw a male figure with a skull instead of a head, in order to follow how the sternocleidomastoid attaches to the skull more clearly. Draw along with me!
subscribers only25:21Anatomical breakdown of the male figure. Refining the silhouette
Friends, hi! Those of you who haven’t written anything yet — please share your thoughts too, so this blog gets better and more useful. In the meantime we’re carrying on with the male figure from the back — refining the silhouette, working from the anatomical breakdown we did earlier. A reminder that there’s a whole series of lessons on this figure, so the video has an open ending :) The continuation is coming soon, stay tuned!
subscribers only24:14Anatomy breakdown of the male figure. Pelvis, legs, arms
Hi! We’re carrying on with human anatomy — today we’ll break down the structure of the pelvis, the legs and the arms of the model in the photo. In this lesson and the previous one we focus on the main muscles you need to know in order to draw the figure. Is everything clear? If any questions have come up, go ahead and write them in the comments! Thanks for the support!
subscribers only3:15Timelapse. Linear construction study of a seated female figure
Hi! Today I have a timelapse for you with a linear construction study of a seated female figure. We analyze the form of the human body and watch how its parts come together into a single whole. Thanks for the support, and have a great weekend everyone!
subscribers only30:56Anatomy breakdown of the male figure. The back
Hi! I’m opening a series of video lessons on studying human anatomy. We’ll be drawing the male figure from the back, with the emphasis on the movement and the construction, and we’ll touch on light and shade a little. In this lesson, the first of the series, we’ll lay in the silhouette with broad arcs, after which I’ll do a detailed anatomy breakdown of the model’s back from the photo. Which muscles attach to the shoulder blades, what’s so good about the seventh cervical vertebra, why the muscles of the spine are only visible in the lumbar region — I answer these and other questions that matter to an artist. Watch, take notes so the material sticks better, or, for example, take a photo of a different model and break it down yourself. I’d be delighted to watch you explore the human figure. To be continued in the next episodes ;)
subscribers only4:20Timelapse. Male torso with a value breakdown
Today’s timelapse is devoted to an analytical drawing of Iron Arnie’s torso. The ref is attached to the post. An athletic build like the young Schwarzenegger’s is a great chance to study the structure and the forms of the muscles. I start by finding the silhouette and constructing the figure, and then work with value. Draw along with me and don’t forget to share your work. Thank you for your support!
subscribers only6:59Timelapse. Male figure in 3/4 and from the back
Hi everyone! I’ll start with the timelapses of drawing the male figure — in 3/4 and from the back. The figure is athletic, so there’s a chance to study the structure and shapes of the muscles. You can copy, analyze and pick up the key moments of building a study.
subscribers only9:21Timelapse. A value study of the figure with a partial background
Hi! Today, as a second pass on the last video lesson of the marathon, I have a timelapse of a value study of the female figure with a partial background. The background section was brought in to strengthen the compositional dynamics and emphasize the forward movement of the figure. The portrait and the limbs have been refined, and the torso is worked up more actively. You can try repeating the construction of the figure, or take your own pieces to a finished stage by working up all the parts of the figure.
subscribers only50:49A long study of the female figure
Hi everyone! This is the video lesson for the sixth and final assignment of the human figure marathon. We work on a long study of the female figure, modeling the form softly, keeping the accents as light as possible, and giving our main attention to the silhouette. We’re adding a week to the time so everyone can get it done! Important! One person — one comment. Good luck, everyone!✨
subscribers only38:20Long-pose study of the male figure
Hi everyone! This is the video lesson for the fifth assignment of the Human Figure marathon. For the long-pose study I picked a reference with a fairly difficult pose. But you’ll manage!)
subscribers only43:41The male torso
Hi everyone! This is the video lesson for the fourth assignment of the marathon “The Human Figure”. In it I go through in detail what to watch for when drawing the male torso.
subscribers only52:41The plus-size figure
Hi everyone! And here’s the video lesson for the third assignment of the Human Figure marathon! Today we have a wonderful model with plenty of texture to her, and it’s important to convey her forms, her silhouette and the flow of the volumes properly, and to work with value. In the video I break all of that down using two different angles. An important note about working with photo references: you don’t have to (and in fact shouldn’t) "quote" directly in your sketches what you see in the reference. You can add some details or, on the contrary, take them away.
About “Figure and anatomy”
Anatomy for artists is not a separate lecture here, it runs inside figure drawing. The section has 69 classes: long lessons on the male and female figure from the front, from the back, lying down and in difficult foreshortening; lessons on the skeleton, including a separate look at the skeleton from the back; series on the pelvis, the torso, the muscles of the abdomen and back, the shoulder girdle and the neck; value studies where the form is carried through to volume; recordings of the teaching streams from the marathons.
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What changes in your work. The figure starts from movement, not from the contour: first the line of action and the relationship of the pelvis to the shoulder girdle, then the plumb line from the pit of the neck, which has to land on the supporting leg. You begin to check human proportions by relationships rather than with a ruler: how many heads fit down to the pubic bone, where the middle of the figure falls, how high the elbow ends up relative to the waist. Foreshortening stops being a reason to put the sheet away, because what shortens is volume, not line.
It breaks most often at the junction. The torso gets drawn as one piece, although the rib cage and the pelvis are two independent volumes joined by a mobile lower back, and almost all of the figure’s movement lives in that gap. The pelvis gets drawn as a flat trapezoid, so the legs grow out of a skirt instead of out of joints. The muscles are then sewn onto the wrong frame: in the lessons on the muscles of the back you can see that the latissimus does not run sideways from the armpit but goes down to the lower back, and it is its edge that defines the silhouette from behind. That is why the skeleton is taken apart before the musculature and not after it.
A newcomer would sensibly go like this: “Drawing the skeleton”, then “Drawing the skeleton from the back”, then “Construction drawing of the female figure” or “Drawing the male figure from the front”, whichever you prefer. After that take the joints one at a time, starting with the pelvis and the torso, because mistakes there cost the most. Leave the two-hour long studies until the frame stops falling apart.
The section does not promise that afterwards you will draw the human figure from imagination. This is artistic anatomy, not medical anatomy. Latin names are not memorized here; what gets taken apart is what comes up under the skin and changes form with movement. Video does not replace drawing from life either, although the reference packs are shot with live models and read as volume rather than as the flat lighting of a stock photo.
FAQ
Do I need to learn anatomy from books first?
No, and the order is usually the other way around. First you draw the figure and run into a specific place where the form does not add up, and then you go and look at how it is built. After that, books like Barcsay and Bammes read like reference works rather than textbooks you have to get through.
Where do I start if my figures keep drifting?
Almost always the cause is the proportions of the large masses, not the small details. Start with the skeleton and with the relationship of the rib cage to the pelvis, and check the plumb line and the line of support on every drawing. Muscles are better left for later, otherwise you will be piling detail onto a crooked frame.
How long does a long lesson take?
The figure lessons run from 90 to 140 minutes and assume that you are drawing alongside the video rather than watching it through. The short classes on individual joints fit into 15–30 minutes and work for a weekday evening. Timelapses exist as a reference for sequence, not as a lesson.
Does the section work for digital drawing?
Yes, the frame and the proportions do not depend on the tool. Some classes are filmed digitally, some in pencil and sauce crayon. Value studies carry over to a tablet and to paper equally well.
Are there assignments and feedback?
The Basic plan opens the archive of lessons together with their assignments. Recordings of the streams where submitted work is reviewed are collected in the Work Reviews section: other people’s mistakes make your own easier to see. Mini-courses, reference packs and the marathon are part of the Club plan.
Figure and anatomy — how Azat draws it
Works by Azat Nurgaleev on the subject of this category: not an illustration to a lesson, but what the lessons lead to.
Man in a white shirt 
Figure on a colored background 
Reclining model 
Model on a sheet 
Male figure 
Male back