Realism vs. Anime: The importance of anatomy (Your opinion)

[Read and Refute]

Both are entirely different styles along with semi-realism it's hard to compare them. They've grown apart from each other with their own distinct properties, but if we're going by this then the highly-stylized stuff animu is known for having branched off from realism.

Plus, it's pretty important considering it's one of the parts that is keeping this from being able to look like this.

Both are highly stylized, but it's damn obvious that the second is better. This is mainly due to several big circumstance, but if you just look at the anatomy it is obvious which one is of higher quality.

(P.S. I don't want that big head yours put in your posts if you are to reply to me, so please leave it out)

[Lyanda]

Thanks everyone who responded.

@Read and refute: Hum... You got a point there. Anime is just highly stylish realism... Which the quality depends on the basic knowledge of the real world.

(Don't mind me, it's just me, musing)

Lol, I turned my post style off. smile

[Shintenzu]

Lyanda

Basically, I have a school project that's due in a few days. And I have based it on human anatomy, semi-realism style

The goal of my project, other than actually teaching anatomy, is to show the importance of learning anatomy, and human proportions; to those who loves to draw anime.

Of course, the proportions will be slightly stretched, but the only reason for that is that I've found books teaching realism anatomy, manga anatomy, but nothing in the middle (for semi-realism).

I want your arguments/opinions as in to why anatomy is important

To how it helps an artist that loves to draw anime/manga

And also, if an anime-ish/semi-realism style can also be considered as "art". (Because I've seen a lot of people not accepting it as a real art-style)

Or anything else you can think of the subject.

Thank you a lot for this. *bows* m( _ _ )m

The reason why there is no book that teaches "Semi Realism" is because there shouldn't be. Semi realism is the concept of stretching human proportions slightly for stylistic purposes without taking it too far. In short it is about stylizing your characters based on your own aesthetic preferences rather than copying someone else's.

As for anime being a legitimate art-style, it is... It just isn't a very impressive one for 2 main reasons: A large percent of anime looks almost identical to one another and the amount of technical skill present in most is rather low.

[dakki-dono]

Anime and semi-realism have their place in the art world, but it is very rarely outside of professional work calling for it.
While I can appreciate the effort to want to promote knowing real anatomy before extending exploration to "semi-realism", this reads as little more than an excuse to draw how you want for art class rather than taking it entirely seriously. If you go through with it, for your own sake, include at least one (more is better) realistic pieces in the project as well as any "semi-real" pieces.

[rane the insane]

I dont think you should bend the project into this strange hybrid. It wont be beneficial for someone to be allowed to change it up and "slightly stretch the anatomy". The point of life drawing is to train you the basics. Pulling it away from drawing life it becomes a creative drawing class, not life drawing.

Instead of changing the activity, why not have it so you can explain why there is the importance for anatomy for anime. So have a series of realistic drawings then have their anime equivalent. In the same pose. Then maybe a bit about how they correlate to one another in comparison. But dont bastardise anatomy in an inbetween stretched body thing. :p

[Lyanda]

dakki-dono

Anime and semi-realism have their place in the art world, but it is very rarely outside of professional work calling for it.
While I can appreciate the effort to want to promote knowing real anatomy before extending exploration to "semi-realism", this reads as little more than an excuse to draw how you want for art class rather than taking it entirely seriously. If you go through with it, for your own sake, include at least one (more is better) realistic pieces in the project as well as any "semi-real" pieces.

Ahaha, the thing, it's actually somewhat true. Or more like, I want to promote anatomy for those who draw anime. Well, it's not like it's an art project anyway. It actually has nothing to do with art, but more like ANY subject of our choice, which I happen to chose this subject on my own. :3

And another reason it's semi realism, because I'm not in the level to call it full realism yet. sweatdrop

[Lyanda]

rane the insane

I dont think you should bend the project into this strange hybrid. It wont be beneficial for someone to be allowed to change it up and "slightly stretch the anatomy". The point of life drawing is to train you the basics. Pulling it away from drawing life it becomes a creative drawing class, not life drawing.

Instead of changing the activity, why not have it so you can explain why there is the importance for anatomy for anime. So have a series of realistic drawings then have their anime equivalent. In the same pose. Then maybe a bit about how they correlate to one another in comparison. But dont bastardise anatomy in an inbetween stretched body thing. :p

Yeah, I know... Well, at least it is teaching me something. I don't think I'm actually stretching anything much, but the thing I make just seems weird, and I can't grasp the real thing right, so I decided to make it semi-realism.

Yes, I've thought about changing subject into an analyse of styles and all, but I have no time to do all that DX I did do it in the beginning though, I explained a bit on why learning anatomy is important, and put a warning that it is not realism, but semi-realism.

[rane the insane]

Lyanda

rane the insane

I dont think you should bend the project into this strange hybrid. It wont be beneficial for someone to be allowed to change it up and "slightly stretch the anatomy". The point of life drawing is to train you the basics. Pulling it away from drawing life it becomes a creative drawing class, not life drawing.

Instead of changing the activity, why not have it so you can explain why there is the importance for anatomy for anime. So have a series of realistic drawings then have their anime equivalent. In the same pose. Then maybe a bit about how they correlate to one another in comparison. But dont bastardise anatomy in an inbetween stretched body thing. :p

Yeah, I know... Well, at least it is teaching me something. I don't think I'm actually stretching anything much, but the thing I make just seems weird, and I can't grasp the real thing right, so I decided to make it semi-realism.

Yes, I've thought about changing subject into an analyse of styles and all, but I have no time to do all that DX I did do it in the beginning though, I explained a bit on why learning anatomy is important, and put a warning that it is not realism, but semi-realism.

If you're a student, no one should be expecting you to be doing hyper real stuff anyway. I think the exploration of focussing on TRYING to achieve accurate anatomy should be your goal. Not changing the anatomy to look "semi-real" (as in wrong) due to your current lack of skill (nothing to be ashamed of). I would still suggest you focus on the real to the best of your abilities and analyse what anime focuses on.

Example: In generic anime style instead of the arms and legs being focused on muscled form, the focus is on joints and elongated limbs. The torsos are also slender while the pectorals are sometimes defined. It is important for someone who draws anime to have an understanding of the human anatomy to get correct the general proportions of limbs within their exaggeration to avoid what could look uncanny.

[Arvehz]

No, seriously, what's up with people calling animus "semi-realism"? It's like animu suddenly deserves a different name just because it doesn't have kawaii uguu eyes and chibi proportions.

What the ******** is this sorcery.

[Syrella]

Arvehz

No, seriously, what's up with people calling animus "semi-realism"? It's like animu suddenly deserves a different name just because it doesn't have kawaii uguu eyes and chibi proportions.

What the ******** is this sorcery.

I just get the impression that "semi-realism" as a trend here on Gaia and elsewhere is a rather lazy attempt when people try drawing something that isn't anime. They start off saying... "I'm gonna do realism", realize anime features are coming through anyway, and then slap a "semi-realism" label on it so that they can say "I meant to do this!". Hell, I'm guilty of doing it. xd True "semi-realism", when done well, can be awesome. I love cartooning for similar reasons. The key is to just do it well and not use it as an excuse for a lack of fundamentals.

@OP: In my opinion, if you plan on doing a project, you're gonna be better off going for realism. Mind you, realism doesn't have to be photo-realistic. However, there should be evidence that you know what you're drawing and that you've used reference (and used it properly, ie no copying).

Similarly, it's a lot easier to stylize later in the process. Once you know what you're doing, stylization isn't something that has to be mysterious and out of reach. That said, you'll have to find your own aesthetic and that's something that will take time to develop. Look at other people's art that you like and admire and really study what they do well. Look at their sketchbooks, if possible.

[Gurto Bell]

Seeing as you are presenting this, I think it's something you could question to your own peers in your presentation. For example, begin by having two images; one of a life drawing and another of a manga drawing. Ask the group what they see are the differences. It's something that will help engage the group and assist them in understanding what you're talking about.

[TomRiddleisDead]

I'm a digital media student with a focus on video editing, but I really like animating (flash and 3D) as well.
I had to take 3-4 drawing and anatomy classes when I first started. We continue to draw based on the methods we learned.
Now that I understand how the muscles connect, where they are, what they look like, etc. as well as with the bones, my drawings have become 3948329482 times better.
They just look so much more believable. You're not sitting here wondering why her upper arm looks funky, you're actually paying attention to the story.

Anime/Manga is a style of drawing. While some definition of anatomy differs from real proportions, it still needs to be consistent and identifiable.

[A R T J E N]

Skye River

Please don't use GaiaOnline as a place to help you with your homework. How do you expect to learn if you keep asking others to help you ? Wasting your time to go online is counter productive and you will never get it done.

Can't learn if you don't ask questions.

[No Gambling in Paradix]

anatomy is very important. After all, good art is not necessarily that which is exactly the same as life--it is life, presented in such a way that shows that the artist knows what he or she is doing, and chooses to sidestep certain rules in an aesthetically-pleasing fashion.

I draw in a semi-realistic style, and understanding anatomy has really, really, improved my work. I take human anatomy and physiology, and once on a whim I decided to first draw a skeleton and then draw the way the body looks on the outside over it. I was having trouble drawing legs and such, but once I drew over the skeleton I suddenly understood exactly how to make things better. It's difficult to manipulate things well if you don't know what you're manipulating.

[Errol McGillivray]

Arvehz

No, seriously, what's up with people calling animus "semi-realism"? It's like animu suddenly deserves a different name just because it doesn't have kawaii uguu eyes and chibi proportions.

What the ******** is this sorcery.

An (unsuccessful) attempt to validate anime as an "art style".