DIGITAL CONSTRUCTIVE ANATOMY

 

DCA DRAWING AND SCULPTING AIDS / References: Gottfried Bammes, Vladimir Mogilevtsev, Leonardo Da Vinci, Albrecht Dürer

 

 

 

Introduction:

 

These digital drawing aids are used in conjunction with physical models that are set up in the classroom. The drawings are made from life using sight sizing with a pencil, viewed from a 1 or 2 point perspective and constructed in accordance with their respective principles.

Classroom setup and example drawings:

Please note that the realistic skull drawings where made during the introductory class for ages 15/16.

 

 

 

 

1.    Male Skull / Planar Skull / Construction, Proportions and Perspective:

The model is viewable through Sketchfab* with quite a few extras (also see note below on mobile use)

Male Skull - Realistic and Planar - Constructive by @geert_etcher_melis on Sketchfab

This is an expanded interactive version which contains the realistic male skull, the planar skull, dark outlines and cconstruction cages. In fact it contains 12 iterations all in one!!

I use it during my life drawing classes’s  “Introduction to drawing the human skull” to talk about the proportions, the primary / secondary and tertiary shapes, the importance of the encompassing pespective cage, how construction lines aid in getting the structure of the drawing right.

The morph from realistic to planar proves to be very insightfull during structural analysis when drawing.

Furthermore, since the students can open the viewer on their phones or laptops, they have the chance to interact with and study the model themselves. 

 

Here’s how it works:

a.    A. Once the Sketchfab viewer has loaded the model, press the pause button in the lower left corner to pause the animation.

b.    B. Use the slider button to scroll between the different versions included in the 3D model:

 

1.      Realistic skull - slider at 00:00

2.      Realistic skull with perspective/proportions cage – slider at 00:70

3.      Realistic skull with perspective/proportions cage and construction lines – slider at 01:45

4.      Realistic skull with construction lines – slider at 01:80

5.      Morph from realistic skull to planar skull – slider at 2:30 – 3:70

6.      Planar skull - slider at 3:70

7.      Planar skull with perspective/proportions cage – slider at 4:15

8.      Planar skull with perspective/proportions cage and construction lines – slider at 4:70

9.      Planar skull with perspective/proportions cage, construction lines and dark outlines – slider at 5:00

10.   Planar skull with construction lines and dark outlines – slider at 5:60

11.   Planar skull with dark outlines – slider at 6:00

12.   Realistic skull with dark outlines – slider at 6:70

 

 

2.    Planar Male Skull and proportions/perspective cage for Augmented Reality:

This model is optimized for the Sketchfab mobile app’s  AR functionality* (see note below on mobile use)

 

Male Skull Planar for AR by @geert_etcher_melis on Sketchfab

Place the model next to your subject and compare + study the volumes, proportions and perspective (vanishing lines)

  

 

 

*IMPORTANT NOTE FOR MOBILE USE:

 when you want to open the models on your mobile phone using the Sketchfab app, you may want to disable the “high polycount filter”:

When you want to load the model and get the “Large scene” message, press OK and you should be good to go.