One of the primary components that anyone interested in 3D modeling or digital character sculpture must know is human anatomy. However, because there are so many publications and possibilities available, it can be tough to choose one or the other.
As a result, I’d like to offer ten books on human and animal anatomy for 3D modeling and digital sculpture that I believe are vital and that you should have in your collection.
So, without further ado, here are my top ten anatomy books for 3D modeling and digital sculpting.
1. Human Anatomy for Artists: The Elements of Form
The first book I’d like to recommend is Eliot Goldfinger’s Human Anatomy for Artists, The Elements of Form. This is a high-quality book that should never be missed from our library of human anatomy books.
It displays us every component of the human body in detail, accompanied by a plethora of images. Beginning with the skeleton and its various parts and views, each location is labeled with a name and valuable information such as joints and flexions of the various joints.
Then he will instruct us on the many types of muscles found in the body before moving on to the face muscles and how to represent various expressions and gestures in detail. In this approach, he teaches us how the facial muscles affect the various areas of the face and how to build accurate sculptures.
The book goes on to show us the many areas of the body, including the neck, torso, arms, hands, hips, legs, and feet. All of them in different positions, demonstrating the differences between muscles at rest and those in strain.
The book concludes with proportion tables, diagrams, and fitting tips.
2. Anatomy for 3D Artists
Anatomy for 3D Artists is intended for 3D modeling and digital sculpture experts. A book created by Chris Legaspi that has the collaboration of different 3D artists of the stature of Ian Spriggs or Djordje Nagulov, where they expose their advice and work methodologies to carry out their anatomical projects.
Color illustrations of excellent quality are provided. Laura Braga begins the book with a section on freehand and line sketching. This first segment teaches us the variances in dimensions based on the gender of the character, as well as the lace patterns of the various muscles of the body. Then there will be a part of charcoal images in which we will be shown diverse perspectives on the human body. Some classical sculpture tips are also provided in order to focus on it later from the perspective of 3D modeling, specifically in ZBrush and Mudbox.
Human anatomy exercises and the construction of anatomical characters from a beginner level to advanced suggestions, as well as complex postures, will be covered in the second portion of the book. We will be shown step by step how to make a complete model of a man and a woman.
The book concludes with several extremely important anatomical reference photographs for designing natural figures in 3D.
3. Anatomy for Sculptors
If you asked me which of the anatomy books shown thus far in this guide I would buy first for digital sculpture and 3D character modeling, without a doubt, it would be Anatomy for Sculptors.
The book that I am offering to you is the product of a Kickstarter campaign to publish a series of anatomical essays for sculptors. This initiative, coordinated by Uldis Zarins and Sandis Kondrats and funded by a number of patrons, grew into the seed of a YouTube channel with the same name that provides sculpture-oriented anatomy lectures, whether traditional or digital.
The book is brilliantly constructed and contains a lot of knowledge about sculpture that the other books do not. In addition to tables of proportions by gender and age, it provides limitless references for facial expressions, ethnicities, blocking before beginning the sculpture, and even cross sections of different areas of the body to know exactly how we should model each area, among other things.
Of course, it goes without saying that the graphics are really well done and intuitive, allowing us to internalize the concepts taught in the book very effectively. Perhaps the most important of all those seen thus far for digital sculpture and 3D character modeling.
4. Artistic Anatomy
The classic Artistic Anatomy by Dr. Paul Richer, translated and edited into English by Robert Beverly Hale, is a book that never goes out of style among anatomical artists. Although it was initially published in 1890, it is still quite prominent today, and many professionals have it among their anatomy books.
The book is split into two parts. The first portion, which is the most thick in terms of language, provides us with a detailed examination of each and every bone and muscle in the body. It also tells us what other muscles or bones are impacted, what movements they allow, and how they are organized.
In the second portion, we’ll see a variety of visual cues. Beginning with the human skeleton, he will provide a detailed examination of each bone and its many sections. The bones are researched individually and in groups (from the head to the extremities) to determine how they function.
This second segment, on the other hand, provides us with an anatomical analysis of the outstanding musculature. It depicts several ecorchés and their perspectives in each place.
Without a doubt, one of those books on human anatomy that we should have among our resources for 3D modeling and digital sculpture.
5. Strength Training Anatomy
The original version of the Strength Training Anatomy was updated to better understand muscle function during training. Despite being a book aimed at bodybuilding lovers, this is one of the best-selling books among anatomical painters for a variety of reasons.
Strength Training Anatomy, written and drawn by Frédéric Delavier, is a collection of bodybuilding exercises for strengthening and exercising various sections of the body.
To begin, it depicts a Greek sculpture that depicts every muscle in the human body. The index then appears, displaying the portions of the arms and forearms, shoulders, pectorals, back, legs, buttocks, and abs.
Delavier illustrates all of the exercises with a series of well-drawn images that depict the muscles that participate in the various phases of muscular training. So we can see how the muscles work in detail, which is knowledge I haven’t seen in other anatomy texts. Without a doubt, one of the best anatomy manuals for accurately interpreting the appearance of our 3D model or sculpture’s muscles.
6. Women’s Strength Training Anatomy Workouts
The original version of the Strength Training Anatomy was updated to better understand muscle function during training. Despite being a book aimed for bodybuilding lovers, this is one of the best-selling books among anatomical painters for a variety of reasons.
Strength Training Anatomy, written and drawn by Frédéric Delavier, is a collection of bodybuilding exercises for strengthening and exercising various sections of the body.
To begin, it depicts a Greek sculpture that depicts every muscle in the human body. The index then appears, displaying the portions of the arms and forearms, shoulders, pectorals, back, legs, buttocks, and abs.
Delavier illustrates all of the exercises with a series of well-drawn images that depict the muscles that participate in the various phases of muscular training. So we can see how the muscles work in detail, which is knowledge I haven’t seen in other anatomy texts. Without a doubt, one of the best anatomy manuals for accurately interpreting the appearance of our 3D model or sculpture’s muscles.
7. Atlas of Human Anatomy for the Artist
The Artist’s Atlas of Human Anatomy by Stephen Rogers Peck. It’s a favorite among expert anatomical drawing artists, but it’s also beneficial for 3D modeling and sculpture. This book features the author’s own freehand illustrations as well as images of models in various stances for practice.
In addition to providing us with interesting anatomical information about the human bones and musculature, it also provides us with crucial suggestions ranging from fitting to blocking our job. It also provides advice for drawing from various viewpoints, which can be of great interest and assistance.
Finally, the book includes a section on the various expressions of the human face, which explains in depth how the muscles influence the various facial expressions. It also includes another section addressing the distinction based on the ethnic group of the individuals, as well as some tables of differentiated proportions by age and sex, which will certainly be handy when fitting our models or digital sculptures.
8. The Artist’s Guide to the Anatomy of the Human Head
The Artist’s Guide to the Anatomy of the Human Head, released by 3dtotal. A book about facial anatomy aimed mostly at 3D modeling and digital sculpting, while it also includes some interesting illustration work.
To introduce the first chapter, of the book begins with a series of line-drawing pictures depicting various forms of facial expressions and gestures on a face.
This first chapter will look at the skull and its various regions. Of course, all of this is supported by high-quality pictures and concludes with a summary of the distribution of the facial muscles as portrayed in a 3D model.
This 3D bust takes us to the second chapter, where we will see the various expressions and planes of the human face. Mario Anger creates “low poly” pictures of a bust in which we see how to represent distinct actions and expressions with a more stylized form.
Personally, my favorite segment is the one in which we see a series of characters created by the artist Pablo Muoz Gómez who skillfully demonstrates how to apply different attitudes to different characters. Below are illustrations by Sylwia Bomba and more stylized pieces by Abigail Larson.
9. Anatomy of Facial Expression
Uldis Zarins, who we previously discussed with Anatomy for Sculptors, now provides us with the right companion to this book. On this occasion, he has released this book, which focuses on understanding and sculpting the face, as well as its various gestures and expressions.
Anatomy of Facial Expression, like Anatomy for Sculptors, is a well-structured and drawn anatomy book. It includes a variety of examples that are accompanied and described by 3D models, allowing us to see how to sculpt the various sections of our characters’ faces.
The book opens with a detailed examination of the skull, its various zones, and landmarks. In fact, it demonstrates age and geographical variances in this section that are highly interesting and not seen in other human anatomy publications.
Following the skull part, we will now look at the muscles of the face. Everything from the anatomy and function of the various muscles to the effect they have on the skin of the face is covered. There will also be a lot of information about how the eyes affect the nearby muscles based on where they look, as well as the nose and mouth for expressions. Other topics covered in the book include ligaments and the distribution of face fat.
Finally, it provides us with a wide library of facial emotions organized by gender, age, and ethnicity, making this book without a doubt one of the greatest options for learning about facial anatomy.
10. The Artist’s Complete Guide to Facial Expression
The Artist’s Complete Guide to Facial Expression by Gary Faigin is a book focusing on understanding and depicting facial expressions in a trustworthy manner, as the title suggests. Despite the fact that the book is geared towards illustrators, we can benefit from his teachings as modelers.
The book begins with an analysis of the basic structures of the head, the basic forms of the skull, and recurrent proportions, all in preparation for understanding full facial expression.
The second section discusses the expression muscles in the three important areas of the face, all in preparation for comprehending full facial expression in the final section.
Finally, in the final section, we can locate the basic face forms from part two, which are now merged to produce the six primary human expressions: pleasure, sadness, anger, fear, disgust, and surprise. Each expression is depicted with increasing vigour.