HOME | DD

Description
Drawing Chunks and Fatties - Basic Anatomy

I'll use the term chunks to describe muscular+fat characters, since I don't think there is a simple catch-all term for them. Fatties are pretty straightforward - they're fat, and often include the heavier chunks. I can and do sometimes draw muscular figures, but there's plenty out there on drawing them...

Several of my fellow artists made the observation that I seem to have a talent for drawing large-bodied figures. One even suggested I might do a tutorial on it, since drawing convincing large figures is apparently a difficult skill to master. So here goes...

Figure 1. This is a cross section of a basic human-type body, such as what you'd get with a CT scan or an MRI. Taken at a level below the ribs and above the pelvis, it roughly shows the spine, internal organs (mostly intestines), the muscles forming the abdominal wall, and most importantly, the two major body fat deposits that will play a factor in defining a figure's shape. (A) "omental" or "intra-abdominal" is the fat around the internal organs and confined by the abdominal wall. (B) "subcutaneous" is the fat outside the abdominal wall directly under the skin. (A) has an important role in the core bulk of a figure and how solid the figure may appear to be. (B) is much more subject to the effects of gravity and positioning than (A).

Figure 2. The three bodies are shown from the side (lateral view) with a line roughly comparable to where the cross-section at Figure 1. would be taken. The left figure has predominantly omental fat, which makes the stereotypic fat male form. The middle figure has predominantly subcutaneous fat, which is less common in males and more common in females. The right figure is a near-term pregnant female to try to clarify overall body shape.

Figure 3. Same idea as Figure 2. but seen from the front (ventro-dorsal view). Omental fat tends to be more prominent in the upper abdomen, which is why many fat men have a belly that sticks out more than sags. The abdominal musculature keeps most everything above the pelvis. Subcutaneous fat is attached to connective tissue outside the muscles, and forms varying thicknesses, which develop into folds and rolls. The pregnant woman's belly fills out from the bottom upward. At first consideration, this seems like semantics, but if you've been the artist having to explain that your character is "X" when everyone thinks he/she is "Y", that is the reason. A male figure tends to have more belly above the navel, while a female tends to have more below the navel.

Description
Drawing Chunks and Fatties - Basic Anatomy

I'll use the term chunks to describe muscular+fat characters, since I don't think there is a simple catch-all term for them. Fatties are pretty straightforward - they're fat, and often include the heavier chunks. I can and do sometimes draw muscular figures, but there's plenty out there on drawing them...

Several of my fellow artists made the observation that I seem to have a talent for drawing large-bodied figures. One even suggested I might do a tutorial on it, since drawing convincing large figures is apparently a difficult skill to master. So here goes...

Figure 1. This is a cross section of a basic human-type body, such as what you'd get with a CT scan or an MRI. Taken at a level below the ribs and above the pelvis, it roughly shows the spine, internal organs (mostly intestines), the muscles forming the abdominal wall, and most importantly, the two major body fat deposits that will play a factor in defining a figure's shape. (A) "omental" or "intra-abdominal" is the fat around the internal organs and confined by the abdominal wall. (B) "subcutaneous" is the fat outside the abdominal wall directly under the skin. (A) has an important role in the core bulk of a figure and how solid the figure may appear to be. (B) is much more subject to the effects of gravity and positioning than (A).

Figure 2. The three bodies are shown from the side (lateral view) with a line roughly comparable to where the cross-section at Figure 1. would be taken. The left figure has predominantly omental fat, which makes the stereotypic fat male form. The middle figure has predominantly subcutaneous fat, which is less common in males and more common in females. The right figure is a near-term pregnant female to try to clarify overall body shape.

Figure 3. Same idea as Figure 2. but seen from the front (ventro-dorsal view). Omental fat tends to be more prominent in the upper abdomen, which is why many fat men have a belly that sticks out more than sags. The abdominal musculature keeps most everything above the pelvis. Subcutaneous fat is attached to connective tissue outside the muscles, and forms varying thicknesses, which develop into folds and rolls. The pregnant woman's belly fills out from the bottom upward. At first consideration, this seems like semantics, but if you've been the artist having to explain that your character is "X" when everyone thinks he/she is "Y", that is the reason. A male figure tends to have more belly above the navel, while a female tends to have more below the navel.