Anatomy isn't THAT important

Coming from me, that might seem like an oxymoron. However, it's true. It was a mistake many of my peers and I made during our early years of anatomy training in college. We had just learned the bones and muscles and all of us were eager to demonstrate our understanding of what many would argue is the most important fundamental basic in visual artistry. But, the opposite was true - atleast for a while. Why? Well simply put, when one has no knowledge of anatomy, they try to draw what they see. If one has a good understanding of shape theory(how to combine curves and straights), then one can produce very appealing images even with a limited understanding of the subject matter at hand.






This page of Nima by Enrique Fernandez is a very strong example of shapes importance over anatomy. Nima is greatly exaggerated. Her feet are tiny, her waist and ribcage are narrow, and together they contrast her large thighs. The man's shapes are very rectangular and straight. Fernandez isn't relying too much on his expansive anatomy knowledge, but rather on his more instinctive understanding of shapes and how they convey a message to a viewer.






In stark contrast to Enrique, Keisuke Itagaki's Baki the Grappler showcases what many do wrong. I don't wanna appear like I'm hating on the man and his work, but in the diverse pool of hypertalented comic and manga artists, Itagaki's art leaves much to be desired. His muscle knowledge isn't bad, but it isn't anything incredible either. He understands it better than the average person, but over emphasizes the shapes to where there is no balance, harmony, or message other than this guy is swole af. Characters are purely smaller or larger versions of other characters.





In my own journey, I've been finding the balance between anatomy and shapes. I will indefinitely continue to draw outrageously muscular characters, but exploring shape language on top of anatomy only makes for more intriguing artwork.





Robert Valley further pushes shape language. He creates a reality so skewed and distorted, yet believable. The reason I thought of making this post was because I see many of my followers who are inspired by me or have learned from my YouTube videos ignoring shapes in order to showcase how well they are beginning to grasp anatomy. This in of itself is perfectly fine. But I feel somewhat responsible for holding them back on what they can really accomplish if they didn't focus so much on anatomy. Good art doesn't have to be accurate. It doesn't even always have to be believable. The most important thing is that it's pleasing to look at. If it has that and the other aspects, then you're a mighty fine artist.

Hope you enjoyed.