If anybody has a scan of the rest of this cd, please send it to me and I'll post it.

I guess I will use this blog for something, anatomy is a good place to start. If Gareth or anyone else is into this, let me know.


We'll start with this back view of an arm, first give yourself a bone structure or base, no need for accuracy. I just realized it's not even rotated properly. Toss the photo and start a new layer.



Now start adding the muscles and landmarks, if you're not sure of the placement then consult a mirror or Bridgman. They are pretty easy to see in the photo, it's imperative to remember that everything is made up of 3D shapes. Cylinders, cubes, you learn these concepts when studying perspective. Also, Bridgman shows us how parts fit together mechanically, like a machine, pistons and wedges control movement.


Now, grab a large brush and start fleshing out the shapes. We can accomplish a few things here. Obviously we need to know the direction of our light source, or sources in this case. Remember these are shapes, anybody can figure out a cube or cylinder and light it. Don't worry about details, don't noodle, use the biggest brush possible and give yourself some simple shapes, don't over complicate it. If it doesn't look right at this point, it will never look right. Throw it away and start another one. Draw a dozen on the same page if you have to, in fact you should. You can't polish a turd. Your drawings aren't precious.



Continue sculpting the shapes, use a cheesy outline like I do, grab a smaller brush and start adding details. Right now it's a good base to work from. I stopped here but one could build up the paint around the shapes one at a time, never once consulting the reference. It is the little details that make a painting look realistic. The highlights and contrasting shadows. But without the anatomy and perspective, highlights are worthless and distracting. This arm should only take a few minutes. When studying anatomy, don't worry about precise measurements or your ego, if it looks bad just do another one. Use the frustration and draw twenty of them until you get it right. That'll show em.

Yes, I realize this is a naked man with wind strewn hairs. It makes sense I assure you.

From a Jeff Jones photo. In the words of Frank Frazetta, Jeff Jones is the greatest fantasy painter alive.