Body Details: Male Torso Drawing Techniques!

Learning to do a male torso drawing properly is important to your growth. As a budding professional, you will be asked to do some concept work every now and then.

When that happens, you need to show potential clients your understanding of the human form as a lot of illustrations will require semi-nude figures to attract a targeted audience. You know, the idea that sex sells!

Do not be caught off guard! Learn as much as you can about the human form. The more you understand the male torso, the more you can start playing around creating concept art that is not only amazing, but also anatomically correct.

Over the course of this lesson, I assume you have already had a good grasp of your digital art program to draw these types of practice sketches as I will be focusing on giving out important tips to look for. If not, please visit the previous sections of this website.

1. The muscle groups

You do not have to be a medical doctor. However, an accurate male torso drawing requires you to know a few major muscle groups.

Fortunately, despite the complexity, there is not a whole lot of muscles that you need to learn. From top to bottom and back to back, the major muscle groups are as listed: the trapezius; the deltoid; the Infra spinatus; the teres major; the pectoralis major; the latissimus dorsi; the serratus magnus; the external oblique; the rectus abdominis; the gluteus medius; and the gluteus maximus.

male torso drawing

Unless you are teaching this to other students or artists, remembering the names is optional and for your own benefit for the most part. What is more important is that you recognize the shape of these muscle groups and how it interlinks with other muscle groups.

2. Male torso drawing: front view

For your convenience, begin sketching out your artistic mannequin. As well, introduce some basic guidelines for making sure that proportions are in order. Starting from around the bottom of the chin, you will divide your mannequin into three heads.

The last division is where the bottom of the pelvis is. Please also note that this is an idealistic body type. Variations of the male torso can easily be drawn simply knowing the muscle groups and manipulating it to fill a specific mould.

Following my example, try to draw what I have drawn and note your findings.

male torso drawing

One of the first things you will notice is the ribcage: it does not connect to the pectorals. When people have what we deemed an ‘eight pack,’ it is because the muscles in between the pectorals and the ribcage are developed.

The actual ‘six pack’ itself starts with the ribcage. The key thing to look here is where the belly button is located at. Perfectly divided, it is located between the second and third heads.

Not only that, but the belly button signifies the location of what I like to call the ‘waist ring.’ This is where the majority of the bending starts as well as depicting where to draw the love handles (a major emphasized part of the male body to distinguish it from the female waist) and the elbows of the arms.

3. Male torso drawing: back view

Perhaps the biggest change from drawing torso anatomy from the back is the lack of a collar bone as a means of guidance. You are stuck with using the trapezius muscles as a starting point.

This is why it is important to know the general shape of this muscle so you understand how it merges with other muscle groups.

Thankfully, the deltoids remain almost the same from the back as it is from the front. That means you can use it as a good measuring point for the rest of the muscles.

For instance, where you are expecting the pectorals to meet up with the armpits and the deltoids, instead, you are drawing the teres major muscle group in place of the pectorals.

Of course, to mould it all together, do not draw it with a lot of pressure like you did with the front view. Use very light brush strokes as you only want to suggest these muscles groups.

male torso drawing

Further downwards, the latissmus doris is drawn where the abdomen usually is. This is where your second measuring point is: there is a little diamond shaped area that links the spine with the buttocks.

This area also notes where the waist ring is. From there, you will have an idea where the top of the buttocks will start.

Speaking of the buttocks, there is an indentation between the gluteus medius and the gluteus maximus. You can just shade in that area to give it depth. It is an area that a lot of people tend to forget but is really important for accurate representation of the outer pelvic area.

4. Male torso drawing: side view

Learning the side view holds significance in that you will see how the front muscle groups link up with the back muscle groups.

As mentioned, the deltoids remain relatively unchanged from the front to the back; it makes a good measuring point to construct the muscles groups against.

The primary focus here is to look at how the latissimus dorsi travels from the armpits to the back of the body. After that, you can begin constructing the serratus magnus and the eternal oblique muscle groups.

One important thing to remember is that these two muscle groups not only interlink with one another, but they signify where the ribs are as the oblique muscles are attached to each of the bones in the ribcage.

At the same time, it is always a good idea to show parts of the abdomen as that is where your flow comes from.

male torso drawing

Do not forget about the indentation between the gluteus medius and the gluteus maximus, either. This indentation will show itself when you move the legs upwards in a sideway position.

What notes have you made about the male torso that helps you learn where all the flow points are? It is important to keep track of each major muscle group so you know how the entire body will move together at once.

Obviously, we will be saving that for another lesson. Just keep on practicing and learning the right things to build up a good male torso drawing and a good artistic foundation!