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KrisCynical — Tut: Center Line of Gravity
Published: 2009-09-20 18:48:35 +0000 UTC; Views: 17622; Favourites: 716; Downloads: 606
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Description
GAW DA is stingy with character limits on titles... it was too long with "Tutorial".
Anyway.
I've noticed in my doodling the last few days that my anatomy is getting kind of stiff and isn't flowing as well as it used to, so I've decided to re-read my lecture notes from the Figure Anatomy class I took in college. That class was a tremendous help to me so I figured if I transferred what I was reviewing into some tutorials, it would not only help cement it back into my head but would also (maybe) benefit other people as well.
As stated on the tutorial itself, this is a combination of material from Atlas of Human Anatomy for the Artist by Stephen Rogers Peck as well as notes from Aaron Board's (www.aaronboard.com ) Figure Anatomy class at Ringling.
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Comments: 41
i am trying to draw a jaguarman (a curved figure) and this explanation about CLG will help me a lot.
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This ought to come in handy when I want to draw better-looking bodies.
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When it comes to making sure they don't look like they're about to fall over, yeah. lol
For male torso anatomy you might want to check out my other tutorial, too: fav.me/d29znnh
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I will need that one too, so I can somehow do better bodies.
Also, ever heard of Posemaniacs.com?
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You should pick up a copy of the anatomy book I referenced in both tutorials. It really is amazing and very useful, so much so that my tattered and worn copy is still within arm's reach of my desk even seven years after taking the class it was the textbook for. It breaks down anatomy into small sections with medically correct drawings of the muscles, followed by sketch pages that break down the same anatomy in a visual way that makes it easy to understand and remember for artists. You can find it on Amazon right here: www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0195030…
Yep, I've heard of that site. Personally if I'm trying to figure out something about a pose like the angle of the shoulders/hips, weight distribution, etc., I get into the pose myself and pay attention to what my body is naturally doing. When I need further reference than that I often have my mother help take pictures of me in the pose, usually by holding my tablet with the front facing camera turned on so I can see what angles and such I'm getting, and she taps the screen when I tell her to capture the image.
I just had to do that this past week for my current illustration of a character with a staff she uses for magic. I needed to figure out the position the staff would be in after being swung, what the hand would look like holding it at that angle, and what the other hand looked like in the weird angle I had it in, outstretched. I used a light up sword I bought in Disney World a few years ago as my "staff" in the reference shots, which brings me to my last suggestion:
Start building a prop collection if you haven't already. I've been building one for the last 15 years or so, just as I come across things that I think might be useful at some point. I have all different types of hats, a baseball bat, a katana, a sabre sword, a dagger, a cigarette (even though I've never smoked, I've been commissioned for OCs that smoked), a cane, crutches, etc. They've all been useful at least once. A knife shop in the local mall here recently got in a replica of the Hylian Shield from Legend of Zelda that's made out of metal and resin that caught my eye in their window. Now I'm thinking about buying one to have a shield with actual weight and mass for a new prop. I'm also looking for a good English straight sword and a realistic FAKE handgun.
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Hum, as my best friend sometimes likes to draw (when it's not tribals of course), I should show him this and your other tutorial ^^
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MORE TUTORIALS PLEASE, BTW. Always good to take a look if there's something new for me.
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Ha, a couple of things I didn't use as helpers - as the position of the hole of ear.
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So what about when the person is partially turned like a 3/4 view. Would the Center Line of Gravity still be in the same areas? Or how would that work?
Hope thats not a completley stupid question to ask
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No, it's not stupid when you're learning.
If the person is in 3/4 view with the chest facing you then the CLG should drop from the middle of the collar bones to:
If the back of the character is facing toward you, the same applies but from the spot at the base of the neck as the starting point.
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True.
All right, I think I got it. Thanks for your help!
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Thank you for this drawing. I'm surprised at the number of artists I've seen lately that put up reference sheets and their characters look ready to fall backwards...
I think I may at some point write one of these tutorials for line of gravity in anthropomorphic/furry characters. Because I see quite a few of the ones with the digitigrade legs that fall because they think the tail actually gives them adequate balance =_=
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The center line of gravity is the same for both men and women if that's what you mean. As for female anatomy, I'm still working on that myself so I don't feel well-versed enough to make a tutorial on it yet.
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very nice. I like the mix of mundane and technical terms. very good. very apt. very thorough. a top notch tutorial. Now, if only i could actually draw in the first place ;-;
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Very helpful 
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Amazingly done and very helpful! Thank you so much
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Thank you so much for the info! its really helpful and its so simple! This will go to good use!
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Great stuff dude. I will live and breath true anatomy now
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Ringling in Florida? I was thinking of going there. Is it a good school? I'm in MI so I really need to do some look information up on the college before I can go lol
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Yes, Ringling in FL.
Of course I'm going to be biased, but it is an excellent school particularly for illustration and computer animation. If you check out their website, they were just included in a guide of the best schools in the US, and they've had the #1 rated computer animation program for several years running. Their web address is ringling.edu. (If you type in Ringling.com it will take you to the circus website since the school was started by John Ringling of Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey.)
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I have been to their site many times [though still can't find what I need, I'll have to call them lol] and I really like the look of it ^_^ and I hope I'm able to go down there [and a bonus is I get out of the cold :3]
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...yeah their website has a rep even to the student body for being kind of terrible. I believe you can request a catalog if you call them that is quite informative.
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I have requested a catalog twice on line XD I'm just going to call next chance I get lol
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Thanks for the tutorial 
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Thank you! I love tutorials, especially from super talented people!
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Wonderful, thanks for posting this. It will be very helpful as I'm learning how to draw people.
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You should put up some more examples that show some more dynamic poses, 'cause that's where it gets really tricky....
*shrugs* just an idea.
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Good job! I first learned of this in my first illustration class in college and I was wondering why it's not a concept that was forced on me prior to that. But maybe because of this, other people will get it in their heads earlier on, great help!
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