How to Draw the Spine
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Anatomy of the Human Body

Torso(163 Lessons)
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Spine

How to Draw the Spine

465K
Mark as Completed

How to Draw the Spine

465K
Mark as Completed

Assignment: Draw the Spine

There are 3 assignments. "Draw Skelly", "Trace Models" and "Draw Models". Go ahead and download the assignment images from the downlaod tab. Post your drawings in the anatomy discussions.

Check the Lesson Notes for instructions on the three assignments.

Once your finished continue on to the next lesson.

Submit your assignments here
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J. Alex Guynn
After watching the deliberate practice video, I decided to do a redux of this assignment, as I wasn't happy with my first attempt. I'm much happier with this attempt, though I'm sure there's room for improvement. I still struggled a bit with a couple of the foreshortened poses.
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J. Alex Guynn
Here's my attempt at this assignment. The roughness of my drawings aside, I struggled a bit with some of the more foreshortened poses and the placement of the pelvis cylinder thing. Any and all tips or suggestions are appreciated. Many thanks in advance!
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Jonatan Rehn
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kaminari
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Samuel Sanjaya
Here's my assignment for the spine. I draw some of the ribs too long, but realized it and fix it on the next drawing. Any feedbacks will be greatly appreciated.
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Steve Lenze
Hey Samuel, There are somethings that I notice you are consistently doing in these drawings. Mostly, your making the pelvis too straight up and down. The pelvis usually points down and away from the torso to counter balance the upward tilt of the ribcage. I did some sketches to show you what I'm talking about, I hope they help :)
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Brandon
Could someone please critique these? I often found myself having struggles in seeing through the body to find the spine in front and lateral view. I also want to know whether my circles in perspective are right or not. After your critique i will do it two more times, see if any new problems arise. Thx a lot...
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Jesper Axelsson
Hi @brandon111, nice studies! "I often found myself having struggles in seeing through the body to find the spine in front and lateral view." For me it has helped to imagine touching the spine, to get a hunch of were it might be. Also, make sure to practice so you can draw the spine from imagination. When you're drawing a figure, you won't really see the spine, since it's burried deep. What allows artists to "see" it, is that they imagine where it would have been, based on their knowledge of it. So learning to draw it from imagination is key. For me learning to draw something from imagination has been a mix of drawing from reference, then trying from imagination, then checking with reference to see where I'm off. "I also want to know whether my circles in perspective are right or not" There are things about them that you get right, but there are also things that are off. If you want me to guide you in that, draw a few cylinders in different angles, from imagination, then tag me (@Jesper Axelsson), so that I can take a look. Draw through the forms (lightly) as if the cylinders were made out of glass. I attached a slide with tips on drawing cylinders. This video Structure Basics – Making Things Look 3D, might also help. While you're at it, feel free to do the same with boxes. I hope this helps :)
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@munchy
Critique please!
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Jesper Axelsson
Hi @munchy, nice studies! The overall proportions of the upper body are looking pretty good. And I think you did a good job making it feel three dimensional, especially in the heads. Nice use of lineweight; with darker lines for the contour and lighter lines for crosscontours. - Some of the cylindrical forms have ellipses with sharp corners and sometimes the crosscontours have the wrong shape and angle. You might benefit from practicing drawing cylinders. If it sounds like a good idea, draw three cylinders in different angles, from imagination. Draw through the forms, as if the objects were made out of glass. Then tag me (@Jesper Axelsson), so that I can take a look. While waiting for my feedback, feel free to check out this thread https://www.proko.com/s/vdjs where I suggested a similar exercise to another student. - The proportions of the spines are a bit off. If you need a refresher, rewatch this video How to Draw the Spine. It might also help to study how the spine relates to the pelvis, ribcage and skull. Drawing it in relationship to those major masses, rather than on its own has helped me a lot. For example, you might notice how the thoracic portion starts where the 12th ribs attach to the spine, or that the thoracic portion ends at the top plane of the ribcage, by the 1st ribs. The thoracic portion of the spine is part of the ribcage volume. It's tucked into the back of it. I hope this helps :) Let me know if you have any questions!
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Jack
5mo
Hi, could someone critique these please? I feel like I'm struggling with perspective and proportion. (Also sorry for poor line quality)
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Steve Lenze
Hey Jack, Sometimes when working with ovals and circular shapes it can be hard to figure out the perspective. When that happens, you can convert everything to boxes, it really helps. I did a couple of sketches based on your drawings to show you what I mean, I hope it helps :)
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Briar D
This homework REALLY gave me wind again. The way these complicated forms make sense even as little stick figures- it felt like something unlocked inside me. I know I didn't make them pretty, but I sure think I learned something.
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Ann
5mo
Here is my first assignment with the skelly. I would be glad to receive some feedback!
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Patrick Bosworth
Nice fluidity between the primary masses, and the subtle twist you captured in the lumbar area of the middle pose really helps sell the draw through! Great work!
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guada f.
Hi! This one gave me a bit of a headache, but still fun. I would love if I could get some feedback or critiques!
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@julide
Any advice ? Perspective feels a bit funky :)
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@redkhaos
Here are my spine assignments! I was a little confused but I tried my best. :)
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@julide
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Jack
5mo
I've only done a couple so far, but can I have some feedback? I'm struggling with perspective
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Steve Lenze
Hey Jack, These don't look that bad, maybe a little rough, but not bad. As far as the perspective goes, your not that far off, you just need to clean things up a little. I did a quick sketch to show you some things you could work on, I hope it helps :)
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Amy Counsell
i already did this assignment a couple of months ago, ive just been meaning to try and apply the feedback i got and only got to it now (ㆀ˘・з・˘) this stuff still really hard tbh, sorry if its hard to see cause i scribbled all over them (o_o) i uh, think i did better? i cant really tell tbh both is just me desperately trying to make sense of what to draw
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@dinchen
spine assignment
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Ezra
5mo
Spine
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Denitsa Dineva
Definitely the hardest task I've ever done so far. Really challenging for me!
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Gian Amir Calibuso
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