How to Draw Anatomy
- 1). Choose your subject. If you will be drawing the inner anatomy of an organism, you will likely need to draw from a biology textbook. If you will be drawing the surface anatomy of an organism, you can either draw from a live subject or from photographs. Choose a picture or a live subject to draw from.
- 2). Divide your subject into its most basic shapes. For example, if you are trying to draw the muscles of a human male torso, draw a large square with rounded edges (narrowing toward the bottom) for the basic shape of the torso. Attach a square in the top center for neck, and rectangles on either side near the top left and top right corners for the arms and legs. Draw these shapes lightly so you can correct or erase them as need be.
- 3). Draw an outline around the shapes you drew in Step 2. Refer back to the original subject to create the most accurate drawing possible.
- 4). Draw the larger details of the subject. For example, if you are drawing the muscles of a male torso, draw the outlines of the muscles rather than the fine lines of texture on each muscle.
If you are drawing a relatively symmetrical image, draw some light mapping lines over the original photograph (if possible), then draw light mapping lines over your drawing to help you draw accurately. A simple way to draw a mapping line is to draw a vertical line down the center of the subject and a horizontal line through the center of the vertical line, dividing the drawing into four equal quadrants. As you draw, look at each quadrant separately and draw the contents of each quadrant individually. - 5). Draw the finer details and textures on the subject. For example, if you are drawing the muscles of a male torso, draw the little lines on each muscle that mimic the shape of the muscle itself.
- 6). Leave your drawing for a while and return when you have given your mind a rest. This will help you identify errors when you look at the drawing again. Make corrections as needed.
- 7). Erase any mapping lines once you are satisfied with your drawing.
- 8). Label the parts of the anatomy as needed. This may be necessary if you're drawing the anatomy for a biology project or as part of a diagram for an audience that may not know all the parts. Avoid writing the labels over the drawing, because this will make it more difficult to read. Instead, write the label of each part to the side, then draw a line from the label to the part that it is intended to point to.