How to Draw Like Leonardo Da Vinci – Bones and Muscles of the Upper Arm

This is a realm, where the faculty of imagination and aesthetic romanticism of fine arts have little or no role to play. This body of works is an outcome of unraveled dedication and astute observation. Da Vinci’s drawings were backed by firsthand eyewitness accounts he gathered from dissecting almost 20 male and female corpses. Nevertheless, it is interesting to note that Leonardo da Vinci never really considered himself a master of biology and kept his sketches under the wraps. Following are the guidelines on how to draw the upper arm the Da Vinci way:

• Model Picture. For precision works like these, a reference image is necessary. It is a good idea to stick to original drawing rather than going creative. You may refer to journals, books, internet, and the like.

• Technique. Leonardo da Vinci created his anatomical imageries in series, where each such series pertained to a particular body part. The purpose was to depict the part from as many different angles as possible. Particularly, in the case of limbs, different views afforded an opportunity to understand the relative placements of bones and muscles. Diagrams depicting both, bones and muscles, featured muscles as thin strings for greater clarity and comprehensibility.

• Bones. Other than some rough sketches, Da Vinci made skeleton of an entire arm from various sides, highlighting each bone distinctly. The upper arm in human beings contains one long bone known as humerus. It connects the shoulders with the elbow in a prismatic lower extremity. Humerus slightly tapers as it moves upwards towards the shoulder such that the two ends vary in size and shape.

• Muscles. Da Vinci’s drawings of the muscles are remarkable for their accuracy and completeness. However, his written account was somewhat hazy. He captured the view of an arm from several angles to depict the muscles running through the length. In addition, separate sections of the upper arm focused on area specific muscles. The upper arm has a complex arrangement of muscles that includes the biceps, triceps (extensor), flexors, brachialis, and pronators.

• Shading. The pencil shading effects, primarily near the contours, help distinguish a particular bone or muscle from the others. If you are not sure about the gradations or styles in shading, replicate those from the reference picture.

Annette Labedzki received her BFA at the Emily Carr College of Art and Design in Vancouver, B.C. Canada. She has more than 25 years experience. She is the founder and developer of an online art gallery featuring original art from all over the world. Please visit the website at http://www.Labedzki-Art.com It is a great site for art collectors to buy original art. Artists can join for free and their image upload is unlimited.

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