Anatomy and Character Sculpture / Bachelor of Design in Creative Media
Shofwa Alyadiena / 0350019
Exercises
Lectures
WEEK 1 - MODULE INTRODUCTION
The usual briefing was done this week. Mr Kannan gave us general pointers on creating a proper blog as some students haven't made one before. Fast forward, he showed us the PureRef app after class, which was useful for gathering references and creating a messy mood board if it's ever needed. He also showed us ArtStation, which is a great website for finding inspiration from other artists, and suggested we attempt to upload some of our works there too.
WEEK 2 - BLOCKING
For this week, we were lectured on what to block out for our sculptures. We have to start with the simplest shapes to digest the information easily and turn it into a base mesh for a 3D model. Using real-life human anatomy is the best way to go about a realistic sketch. Even if our art styles are stylized, we need to learn basic anatomy fundamentals to understand what could and couldn't be tweaked. However, if we wish to create a more fluid pose, it's possible to think of the chest and stomach's folds as if it was a bean, or what I heard, a flour bag.
WEEK 3 - BONES
The bones are what make a structure. Mr Kannan explained that by understanding the bone we could begin to understand muscles, which later appear as the image of our character. As the muscles are meant for holding the bones together, we could determine where the twists and turns are apparent. In our 3D modelling applications, it's a good idea to keep the layers separate to be able to control the model better, without thinking about how it may affect the other areas of the model.
WEEK 4 - MUSCLES
Muscles are the tissues that wrap around the bones. the muscles are nearing the build of a human that we see on the surface, so it's just as important as the bone structure to understand the locations of. The muscles inflate and enlarge, much like a balloon- but are achieved through burning or exercise, which can be tied to the character's activities.
Instructions
Exercises
1. Posture Blockout
For this exercise, I used a website that I discovered from the character design class, which was quickposes.com. The website gives you poses and you draw the figures as fast as you can until the time stops.
Although its poses were clearly much more dynamic than I could follow, it gave me a few insights on how to block out a human figure. The main point I've found is that the arms are a lot smaller than I imagined and that the waists are a lot longer than I previously understood them to be. Using references is a lesson I keep having to remind myself, and it always proves to help me improve.
2. Skull and Skeletons
For the skull and skeleton, I referred to the youtube video Mr Kannan shared with us to aid our progress. I struggle to remember all of them at once, but I remember deeply that the cheekbone and the jaw are crucial to the shape of the head.
Other than the skull, there was the skeleton. I started with a terrible sketch, which Mr Kannan then asked me to improve as it was clearly lacking. Although the first sketch was bad, the repeated practice of blocking out the skeleton was useful to me as I could memorize a little easier just how big the ribs are and I started using it as a base for every start of my sketches. It also helped me understand where important landmarks are, specifically the shoulders and shoulder blades for me.
3. Head
The head exercise was done a little later than I would like to admit. I used a reference image I found on google and from it I learned some things about the lighting. The nose in particular was extremely confusing to me, as I always struggled with the perspective of it and how the nose bridge comes into consideration.
4. Muscles
The muscles were a bit difficult for me. Even after a while, I realize that I made a mistake in making the legs too short. I struggled especially with the head as there wasn't a single reference image clear enough for me to use freely. However, I learned more landmarks from this exercise, which were the chest area and the way it wraps to the back.
5. Hands and Feet
Hands and feet were similar in a way, but I learned from this exercise that the palm is much squishier and the rounded part of the foot goes a little longer to the back.
Feedbacks
General Feedback:Reflection
The exercises for this module are confusing, yet gave me much experience. I despised working with the foot, especially in 3D sculpting because for some reason it just wouldn't work the way I needed it to. I keep trying different ways to fix it but end up having to remake them multiple times.
The only comment I can really make is how many landmarks there are to consider in a sculpture. I was overwhelmed, and until now still remember bits and pieces every now and then. However, I believe I made steady progress in sculpting, and it was worth all the frustration.
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