Tutorial: Torso Construction

Hello there and welcome to this tutorial on torso construction ^^  Here I’ll be sharing the methodology and thought process I use while drawing the torso in my images. It should be noted that there are a ton of ways of doing this, and I encourage you to try out different methodologies (each artist has their own unique way of doing this ^^), and to work from reference!! Make studies and try out different construction methods, find out what works for you!

Ok! Let's start with the basics! The way I think of the torso when drawing

Try imagining the torso as a flour sack, inside this sack there are two rigid objects connected by a tough spring (see the image below to visualize the shapes). You have probably seen those basic shapes a million times (one represents the ribcage and the other the hips), but I find that thinking of it this way also gives me an idea of how and where the skin folds will form, as well as helping me make sure I don’t twist the torso too far (if the flour sack would brake in that angle, a living body probably would as well!). Seeing the torso this way lets us foresee the ways it can or cannot bend, which places are rigid and which are flexible (flexible area marked in red below XD). 

Now, keep in mind that this is the most basic shape for the torso, but its in this stage when we can better visualize the larger changes, specifically the proportions of the torso; is this a very muscular guy?  A skinny gal?  An otter or stoat with a long torso? We can play a lot with variations, and its easier to do when we only have the basic shapes down.

Process

Ok I already explained how I think of the torso in my “mind’s eye” now lets see how to apply this to an actual drawing process.  As I showed in my sketching tutorial, I usually start with an action line, and then add in the circles that represent the ribcage, Hips and head, so I’ll start from there (figure 1 on the image below).

Once these basic shapes are drawn, I usually add two straight lines showing the angle of the shoulders and hips, to better show how the body is twisted, tilted, etc. And this is followed by the two shapes shown below:

They both start on the shoulder line, and follow the curve of the body (or flour bag XD), down to the end of the figure we created to represent the hip. With these shapes I’m already defining which will be the front and back areas, as well as helping me define how the proportions will work. These lines are just a very abstract version of the areas they represent for the front and back of the torso respectively, and will later on also help me place those details.

Once this is done I already have the basic construction down, and I can move onto the next stage. 

Here I start working out the details of the torso, focusing first on the main “landmarks” like the pectorals, the belly button and any area where the bones protrude a bit (like the clavicles) (using those abstract shapes I did before as my guides), since this will allow me to place the rest of the details in the right places.

Reference is invaluable in this stage, since these details can vary greatly depending on the pose and shape of the subject. Depending on how abstract or detailed the illustration is, this can be the fastest or the most time consuming stage of the construction process.

Here are some gifs showing my process:

How to get better/practice this?

Do gesture drawings, using the poses and images as reference. In this case, during the quick 30 second sketches, focus more on the intention, shapes, pose and proportions of the torso, and only really go into details on the longer gesture sketches (5 min), paying special attention to the way the muscle shapes vary depending on arm and hip placement (the pectorals can change and stretch quite a bit depending on arm position ^^). I recommend https://line-of-action.com/ for this! (yes, again XD).

Well, that’s all for this tutorial! Hope you guys find it useful ^^  and as always feel free to DM me if you have any questions! I hope this was useful to you ^^

-Tiesci