Reddit reviews Wellden Medical Anatomical Human Skull Model, 3-Part, Numbered, Life Size

To be able to really draw well, you need to understand its nature.

A thing you can do is follow in the footsteps of old masters. Read about artists you like, find out what steps they took to learn. What a good teacher does is help you learn how to see. The skill we develop on our own but a teacher who has progressed father can see more because they’ve trained themselves how to look and see details and render them. You might in time want in person instruction but you already have examples to learn from, especially now with the internet. If you want a book I suggest The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci (Oxford World's Classics). It has no drawings, only notes but it might help you. Plus it’s cheap and not hugely thick.

So understanding a things nature goes two ways, physically and emotionally. I would suggest you focus on the physical, get yourself to learning the anatomy under the skin. Fortunately we don’t live in an age where studying anatomy is illegal, we don’t have to dig up corpses of murders to find out how people work. There are plenty of anatomy photos online you can practice with. You can get a fake skull for 30 bucks or so (be sure the skull is for teaching anatomy or it might not have the right markers. Also get one where the skull cap opens so you can use as a candy dish for Halloween). Learning what muscle groups look like and where is crucial to improving. You don’t have to go as far as learning their names (but it can help), but knowing how a thing physically works will make you better. You’ll find if you compare animals and people that while the proportions are different the skeletons and muscle groups are similar. Also everyone has the same ‘landmarks’ regardless of how fat or thin or muscular they might be. You can find drawing anatomy books at used book stores as well as online. It’s worth investing in.

The other half, emotion is important when setting the tone and mood of the image, as well as defining your subject. You learn this through observation and empathy. If you’re practicing drawing yourself. Use a mirror and make faces projecting any emotion. The eyes are the seat of emotion, slightly raising the lower eyelid can make all the difference between happiness and indifference. Right now for you physical anatomy is more important, but you can still practice conveying emotion too.

All the info you need exists in nature. Btw studying plants and well… all the things help you get better. The more you understand the more you will see and be able to put into drawing. That counts with emotion and mood as well as physical mass. So yah keep pushing yourself a little every day to draw something new and you’ll make a lot of progress

Also: bio books
Ernst Haeckel: Art Forms in Nature Coloring Book https://www.amazon.com/dp/0764974718/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_KJQcBbKBS180V
Art Forms in Nature: The Prints of Ernst Haeckel https://www.amazon.com/dp/3791319906/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_vLQcBb6P811G0
The Anatomy Coloring Book https://www.amazon.com/dp/0321832019/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_VMQcBb9XJGXX9
Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees: Eastern Region https://www.amazon.com/dp/0394507606/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_7OQcBb7QBN95M
National Audubon Society Field Guide to Insects and Spiders: North America (National Audubon Society Field Guides (Paperback)) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0394507630/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_5PQcBb0PZQYNW

Preserved specimen: Real Bat Specimens Science Classroom Specimen for Science Education https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072BCCTL1/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_ZSQcBbE7HYPN2
Real Snake Skeleton Specimen in Acrylic Block Paperweights Science Classroom Specimens for Science Education https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078581LLZ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_OTQcBbN1W3JWE

Models:
Wellden Medical Anatomical Human Skull Model, 3-part, Numbered, Life Size https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01EKC5SHS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_YZQcBbCF8D61B