28-Day Drawing Challenge: Anatomy for Illustration and Comics
Josiah (Jazza) Brooks · Artist, YouTuber and Entrepreneur
Jazza breaks intimidating anatomy charts into simple blockable shapes anyone can copy immediately
What you will learn
- A three-step drawing process: blocking basic silhouettes, shaping muscle groups on top, then defining what shows through
- Simplified shape vocabulary for arms and legs (ball joints, tapered cylinders, love-heart-shaped shoulder muscle, horseshoe-shaped tricep)
- How muscle form changes with function, e.g. bicep versus tricep in a curl versus a push, and how to shade constricted versus stretched areas
- Reverse-blocking technique for extracting simplified shapes from photo references
- How to break the torso and back into core sections rather than memorising individual muscle names
Standout ideas
- Reverse blocking: work backwards from a photo reference to figure out which simplified shapes an artist would use to construct the pose
- The seesaw principle for opposing muscle pairs (bicep/tricep, shoulder front/back) as a way to judge which side should look constricted versus stretched in any pose
- Using colour purely as a teaching aid, blue for blocking and red/green for constricted versus stretched muscle, rather than as part of the final drawing
Best for: Beginner to intermediate illustrators who want a practical, jargon-free way to draw believable human anatomy without memorising muscle names.
This course delivers a genuinely simplified, practical framework for anatomy that avoids technical muscle terminology, and the arm and leg sections in particular are demonstrated clearly with reverse-blocking and form-versus-function breakdowns. It leans heavily on live demonstration and repetition, so it rewards drawing along rather than passive watching, and the pacing (Jazza recommends spreading it over four weeks) means it is not a quick reference to dip in and out of. Best suited to artists willing to put in the practice reps between lessons rather than those wanting a fast anatomy cheat sheet.