Pencil UNDERSTANDING BONE STRUCTURE

CHARLIE PICKARD continues his ten-part series of quick tips on anatomy to improve your figure drawing; this month, he explores bones and why they matter

- CHARLIE PICKARD

(0)ne of the most undervalued areas of study for new students of figure drawing lies in the bones; it is not uncommon to hear people question our need to have knowledge of them at all. However, the bones are the structural core. While they do not always show themselves on the superficial layer we often draw or paint, in a much deeper way they create the shapes/forms of the figure.

In fact, all of the superficial areas that are more obviously useful lie on top of this deeper structure of bones and are affected by them in profound ways. A proper and full study of A bones will gift an artist with a strong fundamental understanding of not only what details appear where on the body, but also why these details appear the way they do. Their study is foundationally important to any artist who is looking to have an understanding of the figure, which will enable them to not only copy a reference in front of them, but when it comes to their own designs, a thorough understanding of the forms and functions of bones is simply indispensable.

1 Bones offer a consistent base for proportion

One of the easiest ways to see how this knowledge of bones can be beneficial is in how they gift us with a consistent basis for proportion across body types.