Now, again, a quick exercise on the human body. What makes me appreciate a piece of my own art featuring the human figure might be the movement I capture in the pose, or perhaps the distortion or incorrect proportions. I don’t mean to imply that I enjoy real human bodies with deformities; that’s not the case. However, I have drawn some from memory, which may remind me of the pain that human existence entails in the real world. We are plagued by wars, injustice, poverty, and corruption, and these failures affect us all profoundly.
Someone might look at a drawing of a man almost reduced to bones with a pained expression and think it’s ugly, but that, too, is art. What I strive for is to transform the human body into a muscle-driven entity. In this piece, I incorporated a lot of movement (without planning it) in the shoulders, ribs, and also noticed some in the connections between the abdomen and legs. I love drawing all parts of the body, but there’s something special about drawing the ribs; perhaps they remind me of Jesus, and we all know why. Another metaphor might be the creation of humanity.
Leaving aside the philosophical implications in artistic painting or drawing, there’s always room for more distortion and movement (if that’s what an artist seeks) to achieve beauty in our own personal view. Regarding technique, I believe this is a valuable exercise that every artist should experience. The art of quickly sketching the human body without the fear of it being incorrect can yield amazing results and build confidence.
I have seen masters who specialize in creating anatomical cartoon-like pieces, which are a delight to observe. So, these are my attempts to present the human body from my personal perspective, which brings me joy (I really love the greasy feeling of charcoal on paper). I’ve heard great masters say that in comic book art, there’s no need to know all the names of the muscles and bones. For us comic book artists, it would be impossible to draw every movement anatomically correct. Yes, we need to understand basic human anatomy, but it’s impossible to depict every exact muscle when a character, for example, throws a stick. Instead, we find ways to convey the action clearly in a quick glance.
There’s also a lot of stylization in the comic book world; the variety of styles is countless and outstanding, just like in any other artistic medium. Movement is everything in comic books. You need to keep all those little panels full of life, always engaging the viewer's mind with the understanding that if you don’t do your job well, the reader will sense something is off. Sometimes, characters need to perform impossible movements, so we artists must be prepared to do so to keep the audience engaged.