Don’t let your eyes fool you—drawing a human may seem like a walk in the park, but trust me, it’s a form of art that takes years of practice to master.
You see, it’s not only about shapes and proportions, but rather about super complex skeletal and muscular systems that should be laid out on paper in such a way that they seem multi-dimensional and in motion. Imagine: there are 650 named skeletal muscles in our bodies that form the composition of the body. And that means they do reflect on paper.
One Thai artist named Wannarit Karin, who founded the ART of Anatomy academy, has mastered these anatomical drawing skills so well, he’s now passing his knowledge to upcoming painters. “I have been invited to be a lecturer for figure painting classes and have organized workshops for various organizations and companies,” the artist says on his website.
Wannarit’s anatomical drawings unravel the complex parts of the human body, from tendons and ligaments to joints and muscle tissue. So, let’s take a look at his mesmerizing classes where art meets medicine right below.
More info: Facebook | ArtOfAnatomy-Thailand.com
A Thai painter named Wannarit teaches anatomical and technical drawing classes that are incredible to watch
To find out more about the Thai teacher behind these incredible drawing classes, Bored Panda reached out to Wannarit Karin. He has been running lectures on technical and anatomical drawing for more than ten years now.
There are a couple of different course types to fit students of various drawing levels, like basic figure drawing class that aims at the fundamentals of drawing full bodies and animated bodies.
Wannarit told us that figure drawing and anatomical drawing was, at first, just a hobby. “I never thought a hobby could become a career because I was just an average art teacher.”
Wannarit teaches his students to draw from the real-life human body, pointing out the muscles to depict on paper
“One day, I saw some of my students couldn’t draw parts of the human body, such as arms or legs, so I gave them a few basic pieces of advice and it worked. They were surprised to discover that anatomical knowledge could help them draw people more realistically.”
Wannarit used to think that Thai artists generally understood human anatomy, but it turned out to be the opposite. “That’s why I decided to open up a class that focuses specifically on human anatomy, and it turns out to be quite popular, even with only 4 classes a year.”
The teacher explained that he studied human anatomy for many years before he started teaching. Wannarit emphasized that learning anatomy requires a lot of memorization and repetitive drawing.
“I’ll admit that it's challenging to do, so I just put up anatomy posters all over my house along with anatomy figures on my work desk, bedside table, and kitchen table. Doing these things allows me to see human anatomy all the time so it becomes common knowledge.”
This is where technical skills, incredible precision, and knowledge of anatomy come into play at once
Wannarit said that artists should store these images in their heads because “they really affect how you comprehend when you have to teach others how to draw parts of the body at a weird angle.”
For example, Wannarit’s class called “anatomy for the artist” mainly focuses on giving students a thorough knowledge of the human body and unraveling complex parts.
“Drawing the head” is another popular class run by Wannarit and it involves practicing drawing a human face from a puppet. It requires an in-depth understanding of the facial structure and the way you build it on paper by using weight, light, and shadowing.
Wannarit explained that in order to draw humans realistically, you can’t avoid human anatomy. “However, anatomy for artists is different from anatomy for doctors because artists have to modify nature to best fit their own style of work.”
It all comes down to the notion of drawing the human body in the correct manner. But being correct in the art world and the medical world are two different things.
“Correctness in terms of art is very subjective and individual, while for doctors, it really has to be specific with correct meanings.”
Wannarit had been teaching art for 10 years before he was invited to be a lecturer for figure painting classes at University
It took Wannarit a long time to understand that human anatomy for artists “is not only knowledge about muscles and bones, but most importantly, about how muscles are related to the overall form, because every part of our body is always in sync.”
In the end, if the artist is able to figure this out, “it could enhance how they portray beauty and unify what Mother Nature has given us,” the teacher concluded.
Anatomical drawing has been a crucial part of classical painting, with many famous painters mastering depictions of the human body. Da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Rembrandt used to study anatomy, attend public dissections, and publish their drawings to earn some money.
The Thai artist also works as a freelance artist for drawing, sculpture, and medical illustration
And people were mesmerized by Wannarit's drawing skills
