Invest in an Artist Mannequin to Create Poses You Can Draw and Learn From!

Sometimes, it can be hard to think of a good pose. An artist mannequin is an invaluable tool that you can use immediately to create the pose you want! Find out what other good resources are out there to help you with poses!

The first thing that comes in mind is a wooden mannequin. These inexpensive dolls are great reference tools that help the artist figure out different poses in a convenient manner.

Plus, you can test what poses you have in your mind to see if it's right for your composition immediately!

However, these are not the only type of reference tools available. If you look hard enough, there are some traditional and new ways of finding your own artist mannequin.

Let us look at a few resources that could benefit you in learning as much as you can about the posing your subjects because, eventually, your goal is to pose without the aid of any references!

1. Wooden mannequin

As mentioned, the wooden artist mannequin is the most popular and convenient way to find a pose to test out. The obvious advantage is that these will help you with posing in an unlimited number of ways with an unlimited time span.

Like everything, there is a negative. The downside is that you will need to reference musculature and how muscles behave from other types of resources since wood does not contract or expand like real muscles.

There are many types of wooden artists mannequins. While the common ones depict the human form, there are a few animal mannequins available that you can buy.

Moreover, there are mannequins that put emphasis on body parts such as the hands or head.

Even regular action figures can make great artist mannequins provided that there are sufficient joints in the body.

To get the best deal, I recommend grabbing an artist drawing kit. These are high value packages which usually will have a wooden mannequin, along with various different types of drawing instruments, that you can purchase with very little cash!

Excellent resource:

2. Art models

Unless you have your own personal model, any artist looking to get into the field of art will have a chance to take a drawing course. I think of these as realistic artist mannequins that you can learn a lot from!

Depending on the course material, you may require to draw a male and female figure in the nude or semi-nude poses.

As such, they are living artist mannequins that require your undivided attention as you work on creating the form.

On the positive side, you will learn about the human form and musculature very quickly! The downside is that these courses are expensive and limited in the amount of time the poses can be hold.

That means you need to be quick on your hands (and brain) to get the most out of these courses!

Regardless, all artists should at least experience drawing a live model to truly understand the human form.

As your goal is to be a professional and profitable artist, this is a benefit that should not be taken lightly as it really does help to create a very strong artistic foundation!

3. Virtual artist mannequin

With improvements in computer technology over the years, it has become possible to have demanding 3d software run on standard computers without too much difficulty.

One of my absolute favorite 3d programs is Poser 3d. While expensive, it has built in wire frames of people that you can use to pose with.

It is a virtual gold mine of premade mannequins you can use for not only studying the human body, but to understand perspectives and proportions!

Sounds awesome, right?

There is a drawback, though. As it is a posing program, you will need to actually take time to pose your character (whereas you can do it quickly with a wooden mannequin). This process alone can take a few hours' worth of tinkering!

Plus, it would be a waste to get an expensive program solely for the purpose of posing. However, if you want to start working on 3d or animation, then it's a good investment to have..

Just remember that these virtual mannequins are not portable. As an artist, you need to take your ideas wherever you go. Some clients will demand concept sketches on the fly. You need to be ready to deliver!

Having said that, you need to have a clear-cut artistic goal and remember the purpose of artist mannequins in the first place!

4. Creating your own artist mannequin

Whether you get your understanding of the human or animal forms from live models, a wooden mannequin, or a virtual mannequin, the whole purpose is to develop your understanding of how form is made.

With these references, the main goal is to create your own artistic mannequin that you can use as a base sketch for all your drawings and paintings.

Personally, I have reached a point where I can build an accurate representation of the human body with minimal references, if any, at all.

I started with a wooden figure and live drawings to get an understanding of the human form. From there, I crafted my own made-up mannequins that I can use to build muscles and form on.

You can do the same!

The primary objective of this site is to empower you to build a strong artistic foundation so you can build your own mental mannequin.

Your imaginary mannequin can help you with composition, proportions, and perspectives in the long run as you do not need to spend time finding objects or figures that have what you require.

The only limitation is your creativity once you get that strong foundation down. This is a gift I want you to have.

For now, keep following the lessons on this site as getting the knowledge and the feeling that you can draw almost anything without any references is something worthwhile and an asset to have!

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