The vast majority of painters who work in a realistic, life-like style work from reference of some sort, be it the alive model or a photo of ane. The human body is an incredibly complex structure, and reference is immensely helpful (if not essential), when trying to create a truly believable illusion of reality.

Equally an artist that works quite realistically myself, I've always had the luxury of reference when creating a book comprehend. As such, I've never HAD to rely solely on my imagination for a LOT of things. As a result, my ability to describe certain things assuredly without reference is defective in lots of areas… Anatomy, Vehicles, Architecture, Drapery, Animals… the list goes on. Lately I've been focusing on getting better at my grasp of human being anatomy, with the goal of being able to create more than believable figures from imagination. Thankfully, there is no shortage of resource available for artists wanting to learn beefcake! In fact, if annihilation, in that location are likewise many, making it hard to find proficient information.

Personally, I feel the real key to drawing from imagination lies in UNDERSTANDING the object yous're drawing. That'south much different than merely being able to DRAW that object.  Only 'understanding' is a hard matter to convey in a volume or video. As such, many fine art-centric anatomy tutorials use some sort of 'system' to aid convey the concept of the figure. "It should be 8 heads tall", "Start with a curve", "Imagine a cube", "Describe a mannequin"… etc. Some of these systems are actually uncomplicated, and some super circuitous. A organization that works well for i creative person might not work well for some other as we all have different ways of 'rationalizing' things in our head, and ultimately you lot need to find a system that makes sense to you lot.

Personally, I have a hard fourth dimension finding good anatomy tutorials that make sense to me, and focus on the specific aspects I want to work on. I e'er found well-nigh resources to be either too bookish (and lacked drama), or also cartoonish (and lacked realism and particular).  Even some of the greatest figure drawing books out there, Loomis, Bridgeman, Bargue, never quite clicked for me or expounded enough on the things I wanted to know.

The following is a list of resources that I'k personally finding helpful on my educational journey, really deepening my understanding of the man body. If you lot've been looking to get better at drawing the human figure from imagination too, check these out, maybe they'll click for you equally well!

David Finch'southward Yous Tube Channel :

Comic volume artists have to draw a LOT of panels. Y'all simply can't shoot reference for everything. It's too time consuming. As such, comic artists tend to depict most things from imagination. The result is they usually have a fantastic grasp of the man figure, and are able to draw information technology from most any angle from imagination. In that location are lots of videos with a comic focus available on YouTube, merely many can exist too stylized for my tastes. One of my favorites are those of acclaimed comic artist, David Finch. I notice his conceivable, notwithstanding idealized mode, works really well for my sensibilities. Check out his channel right HERE.

Morpho Series by Michel Lauricella:

These books might be my favorite anatomy books of all fourth dimension. Michel Lauricella was classically trained at the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, just his approach to the figure feels annihilation but 'classical' to me. His figures accept a very physical quality to them, exuding realism not from their detail, simply from their depth of comprehension. They just Experience existent. You can tell Michel truly understands what he's drawing inside and out. Yous can go them HERE.

Beefcake for Aritsts from 3D Full:

This book is great for understanding the inner workings of the human being figure in a very believable and applicable mode. The entire book consists of a photos of a Existent model, which are drawn over, accentuating the underlying anatomy, besides every bit abstracting the figure into simplified geometric forms.  This blazon of system basically gives you a 'particular' gradation of the human being figure. If you lot're struggling to draw a specific part of the body, it'southward like shooting fish in a barrel to find a pose or body type that suits your needs, and so take it cleaved down for y'all. You can get information technology HERE.

Stonehouse's Beefcake:

For a long time this book was only available in it'due south native Korean, which I had bought anyways to glean what info from it that I could. It'southward a testament to the skill of  Seok Jung Hyun (aka Stonehouse), that his teachings run into despite the linguistic communication bulwark. This volume is a favorite amidst concept and videogame artists, but has been difficult to get until recently. At present yous can easily find this massive 600+ page volume in English linguistic communication on Superani'south website

Ron Lemen's Anatomy Series:

Ron Lemen produced an incredibly comprehensive beefcake video series a few years ago. Considering Ron is also an illustrator like myself, I experience that his style of agreement the effigy has been especially applicable to my needs. Several of his mental 'shorthands' accept worked their mode into my own thought process at present, including his 'tater sack' method of drawing the trunk. I tend to learn better from videos than I do books, and this makes it really easy to draw along with Ron in real time for a lot of information technology. You lot can get the five-volume set HERE.

Ecorche Sculptures:

I know lots of artists accept absurd figurines hanging around their studio. But more times than not, those figures sit on a shelf acting more like decor, rather than a real tool. I've taken to keeping these resin anatomy sculptures right next to my drawing table, and I tin can't tell you how often I pick them upwards and draw from them! Constantly! The key in having them inside arm'due south accomplish at all times. It'southward easy to go on drawing when the alternative means stopping to go scour a bookshelf. Simply when you have a constant reminder staring at yous while y'all describe, it actually helps. Yous tin get the a male and female person set right HERE.