Rib Cages

This week we began learning about how to draw the ribcage correctly. We learned to see the ribcage as an ‘egg’ shape in which the curve is the thoracic part of the spine. It was hard for me at first because I was visualizing the egg shape as being wider on top and smaller on bottom because I was seeing the shoulders and unknowingly including them. Once I started putting the wider part on the bottom (which is actually around where the 7th rib is) it was much easier to make sense of the shape of the ribcage. After doing gesture drawings focusing on the ribcage and how it is related to the spine, we did a 45 minute long contour drawing focusing on the ribcage. I had trouble at first visually stripping away skin and muscle to just see the structure of the bones. Once I started seeing landmark points, such as the sternum, to go off, it helped a lot in drawing the rest. I am including a photo of my 45 minute contour drawing for reference.