The Gnomon Workshop - Anatomy Workshop Volume 1 & 2

In this first lecture of a series focusing on human anatomy as it relates to figurative art, figure painter and instructor Charles Hu discusses key skeletal and muscular landmarks along with methods for maintaining the correct proportional relationships between the various structures of the human body. Throughout the lecture, Charles refers to skeletal reference to illustrate how skeletal elements not only connect, but more importantly, how these structures move in relation to one another, providing a clear roadmap for maintaining correct proportional relationships in your figure drawings. Charles begins with an initial "mechanical" representation of the human form from the front view. He first discusses the basic proportions and structures of the human head. As the human head is often used as the base unit of measurement in figure drawing, the important landmarks and relationships between the brow region, eye sockets, cheek bones, nose, mouth and chin will be explored in great detail. After blocking in the head, the neck and shoulder area is discussed before moving down to the chest, stomach and pelvis regions. Again, key structural landmarks are discussed in order to understand the anatomical, structural, and proportional importance of each. Charles then moves on to discuss arms and legs, along with correct proportional guides for laying in key elements like elbows, wrists, knees and ankles. Once completed with the anatomical sketch from the front view, he moves onto the drawings from both the back and side views, providing a clear and comprehensive study of the base human form. Suitable for all artists developing their understanding of the figure and its complex anatomical relationships, this lecture and demonstration is an immersive and critical foundation.

In this lecture, the second title in a series on human anatomy as it relates to figurative art, figure painter and instructor Charles Hu expands on the structure and proportion principals discussed in his first lecture, translating them into a live figure drawing studio environment. Charles begins this lecture by discussing the principals of shading and light to describe three dimensional forms, as he will be demonstrating shading techniques later in the lecture. Here, Charles discusses topics like the difference between core shadow and cast shadow, direct light versus bounced light, and how to find the 'true' color or value of a form under complex lighting conditions. He then moves on to drawing the figure from a live model in a studio environment. He begins by laying in the figure, employing the principals covered in his first lecture, identifying the key structural landmarks on the live model, then demonstrating some new techniques to help maintain correct proportions under real world drawing conditions. He proceeds to do 'lay-ins' for the figure in a standing position from the front, a seated figure, and lastly the standing figure from the back to illustrate how to draw the same figure from various angles and different poses. The final phase is to shade and refine one of the drawings to take it to a more finished state. Charles begins by blocking in the cast shadows and then the core shadows on the figure, then refines the shading to include bounced light and highlights by pulling those areas back out with an eraser. The finishing stage involves adding more detail back into the shadows, and pulling out some final areas of bounce light. Suitable for all artists interested in developing their understanding of the figure, Charles Hu masterfully explores this complex subject while providing a clear and methodical workflow.

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