Art School Boot Camp: Drawing Rebellious Anatomy

So many people tell me they “just can’t draw bodies”. But what they really mean, is they can’t do it they way they think they’re supposed to do it. They can’t draw the way they’ve been told is the right way to draw—classical, realistic anatomy.

Those classical anatomy rules mandate things like:

• A hand must be constructed with 5 fingers with joints, knuckles, and nails.
• A human body must measure 8-heads high and 2.5-heads wide.

Well what about how the famous cartoonist, Charles Schulz draws hands? Or how the famous animator, Hayao Miyazaki draws his character, Yubaba? Would you say they're drawing anatomy wrong?

My point is: drawing realistically is just one way to draw! There are so many other possibilities of what arms, legs, and heads can look like. Believing that there’s only one right way to draw a body is holding you back and limiting your creativity before you even begin.

So you know what we gotta do? Rebel! Throw out the rules! Draw however the heck we wanna draw!

Years ago, I shifted my mindset from trying to draw anatomy the “right” way to trying to draw anatomy my way. I stopped being frustrated, self-critical, and perfectionist, and I started exploring my unique way of drawing people. And that process ultimately led me to loosen up, have more fun drawing, and develop my overall artistic style.

In this class, I'm going to show you how to rebel against the classical anatomy rules with some of my favorite creativity-encouraging methods. I'll show you where I've landed and how I like to draw bodies and body parts. Together, we'll draw the basic body part groups from the torso to the toes, and I'll be sharing my favorite methods, examples, and exercises along the way.

But more importantly, I'll be leading you to discover your own way of drawing bodies.

So with that in mind, let's ditch the rules and take a rebel's look at anatomy! 

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Trailer music credit: 

Waltz (Tschikovsky Op. 40) by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4605-waltz-tschikovsky-op-40- License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Too Cool by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4534-too-cool License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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WANT MORE?

Check out my other Skillshare classes here!

You can also see more about me and my work on my website: might-could.com.

And you can sign up for my email list for weekly essays on creativity and artmaking!

Thanks so much! <3

• Trailer + Intro
• Your Permission to Rebel
• Drawing Torsos
• Drawing Heads
• Drawing Hands + Arms
• Drawing Legs + Feet
• Drawing Proportions
• Drawing It All Together!