Muscle Portfolio

Definition of Life Drawing

Life drawing otherwise known as Figure drawing refers to the activity or skill of drawing

live, usually nude models and is widely considered a key element in animation.
 Negative and Positive Space

Positive space alludes to regions where the subject is situated. Negative space is the territory

encompassing the subject. Or then again as such, positive space is the primary center territory

while negative space is the foundation.

Example of Negative and Positive Space

 Proportion

Proportion is the relationship of at least two components in a piece and how they contrast

with each other as for size, shading, amount, degree, setting, etc.

Examples of Proportion
 Foreshortening

Foreshortening is the strategy for delivering a particular item or figure in an image top to

bottom. The artist draws the object of focus by its changing degrees and the bending that is

seen by the eye from any angle.

Example of Foreshortening
 Gesture Drawing

Gesture drawing refers to the line of action or pose a model does for art. This is usually done

in a set time either 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 minutes.

Example of Gesture Drawing

 Essay on Muscle Study

The human muscle anatomy is one of two most important aspects of the human body as it ais

in movement. The muscles in focus from the body to complete a full study, will derive from

the face, arms and legs. I believe these three limbs are the most essential to produce

movement in the body, with inclusion of the torso in some cases. These muscles aid the

human body by providing proportion through muscles mass and carrying out basic everyday

tasks, this will be discussed further down the essay.

The human face comprises of numerous small muscles scattered around to serve two major

functions, facial expression and mastication. An individual wouldn’t be able to survive

without the function of facial expression as it is a common method of non-verbal

communication, it is often associated with babies due to their lack of speech develpment. The

muscles responsible for facial expressions are the frontails, Orbicularis Oris (puckered lips),

Laris Oculi, Buccinator and Zygomaticus (smile). Mastication refers to the process of

chewing and the muscles that aid in carrying out this function are the temporalis, medial

pterygoid, lateral pterygoid and the buccinator.

Secondly, the arms are important for carrying out a basic everyday task such as lifting,

pushing, pulling, throwing etc. of an object. The arm consists of the two main muscles

responsible for its movements, they are the Bicep and Triceps. The biceps are located at the

upper front of the arm and enables the elbow joint to bend, in doing this the bicep contracts. It

also aid in the elevation of the shoulder with it being in contact with the glenohumeral joint.

The triceps are located at the upper back of the arm and relaxes when the elbow joints are

bent but on its straightening the triceps will contract while the bicep relaxes. The triceps is

composed of the long, lateral and medial head, hence the term tri- meaning three.
Thirdly, the muscles in legs are essential to movement as they enable an individual to travel

from one place to the other. There are three main muscle groups which enables an individual

to carry out its function, they are known as the Quadriceps, Hamstrings and the calf muscles.

In the instance someone was to take a step the quadriceps move the skeleton bones such as

the knee area to create an extension forward in the intended direction. The hamstrings would

then immediately come into play as it is located directly behind the thigh and assists with

knee movement. At this point the leg would be in a mid-air position, when lastly the calf

muscles ties it up with its connection to the foot, ankles and toes. This enabling the and

individual to step down.

Inc essence, the human muscular anatomy helps individuals to carry out movements through

various limbs such as the head for facial expressions and mastication, the arms for lifting and

throwing objects and the legs for walking.

 Reflection

The muscular system was the main study for my recent activities. In doing this gained

knowledge on the different types of muscles that helps the body to carry out its main function

such as walking, eating, lifting objects etc. To show my understanding of the course I did a

muscle study activity. This further enhanced my grasp on how the muscles in the human body

are structured and how they are a major part of giving a person their features of identification.

A study of different masses and proportion was carried out in the male, female and child

muscle structure through a variety of complex poses in action.

In the completion the muscle study, there were numerous difficulties faced. With the

use of videos and images, I found it challenging to accurately represent the focus which was

the muscle mass. I was not accustomed to drawing muscled figures given that all my previous

art studies were more focused on the skinnier to lean body type. It was a great disturbance

from mu usual art style, but the more I drew, the more I got into it and soon everything began

to flow smoothly. Time consumption also played a large and challenging factor. Great

amount of detail went into my muscle study on various parts of the body which made it seem

endless when I counted the hours. But again, the more I got into it, the more I lost myself in

it.

Though I thought I did my best in completing this muscle study, there were many

things I believed I could have improved on. I believe I could have done better had I managed

my time more wisely. I found I had lacked motivation to actually complete the drawings. I

took numerous breaks and ended up having to re-time myself on various occasions. I also

added an excessive amount of details to most that might not have required as much attention

to details. Lastly, the proportions for a few of my figures could be slightly improved.
 In the animation industry, having experience in the muscle field will prove to be a

valuable skill as the human body is made of muscles and gives the character a distinguishable

proportion that the audience could easily recognise with one glance.
References

A few Images