Studying Human Anatomy with Stan Prokopenko—Supplement

I’ve finally started the Stan Prokopenko Anatomy of the Human Body for Artists course!

And…I quickly hit a wall.

My issue is that some things are not explained as fully as I need them to be explained. We all have our  own personal best ways to learn and for me, that means needing to understand everything in as much detail as possible. I need to know the WHY behind things to really “get” them.

That means anatomy tracings as the start was a struggle for me. I can’t trace the anatomy because I don’t know what I’m tracing. I understand the importance of learning this step but for me, the step came too early in the course.

The spine lesson was a struggle. The proportions of a straight on, neutrally-positioned spine were expertly explained. But once the spine moves from that neutral position, it wasn’t clear to me how to address those proportions. Moreover, the assignment involved drawing the pelvis and rib cage attached to the spine before the pelvis and rib cage were taught. It’s most likely that understanding the proportions will come with practice, time and further study.

I had the same problem with the pelvis lesson. In this case, Proko realized—based on recurring mistakes he saw in the critiques—that he needed to more fully explain how to draw the bucket of the pelvis. Despite his thorough explanation, I still found myself struggling.

I think I figured out why.

I was reminded of something that Robert Beverly Hale said in his book “Drawing Lessons from the Great Masters": the best way to learn to draw the body is to understand the bones.

For me to get the full benefit of the Proko lessons, I need to spend some time studying the actual bones. That means sitting in front of my skeleton and drawing the pelvis every day every day from every angle until I can do it decently from memory. And when I’m not at home with the skeleton in front of me, I can use the 3D models of the male and female pelvis on Proko’s site.

This is what I need: to touch the pelvis; to look at it up close; to get a complete sense of how it looks and therefore how it should be drawn.

My skeleton looks like this.

If you want to learn how to draw the human figure well, I suggest you follow Hale’s advice and invest in a skeleton or a set of bones. If that’s not financially possible, invest in Proko’s Skelly app or something similar. This way you can view an accurate 3D model of the bones that you can see from every angle and get a solid feel for how each bone is constructed. 

Admittedly, the skeleton pictured above which I purchased (about 20 years ago) is around $350. But if you can afford it, it's an excellent investment towards your drawing education.

What area or areas of anatomy are you learning or interested in learning? Leave a comment! Thanks!