Video Tutorial Here:
Introduction 🎬
Drawing muscles can seem intimidating, but Clip Studio Paint (CSP) makes it easy! In this tutorial, I'll show you step-by-step how to master drawing realistic muscles using CSP's powerful tools and features.
Tools & Assets
The assets used throughout this tip are all included in this section.
3D figures
Skeleton 3D
Muscles in 3D
3D body muscles created for this tutorial
Other available ressources
Credits to the creators and thank you for providing us such beautiful assets!
Section 1: Basic Muscle Anatomy Overview 🧬
Drawing muscles can be daunting, however, we can make the process much easier using the tools and the basic knowledge of shapes!
Yep, you read that correctly, shapes define everything around us, and that applies to muscles!
First drag a 3D model to the canvas and let’s observe it together.
When you import the model, you will see only the outline.
To actually see the muscles, you will need to enable the light source, just follow the steps in the video.
You can also paint muscles directly on 3D models using the new CSP feature “Painting on 3D models”, this will immensely lessen your workload if you always draw bodies, you can paint muscles on a 3D model and reuse it whenever you need it and in any pose!
You can find detailed tutorials here:
Or the official tips:
Now let us identify the major muscle groups!
We don’t need the details, unless you’re really into drawing detailed figures. (in which case, check out human anatomy figures and observe them to learn more)
We will now identify the major muscles we as artists need to draw accurate art!
Muscle Groups
Here’s a separated drawing where you can see how each muscle is connecting to other muscles or to the bones.
You can always look for references if you don’t quite get it at first!
Assignment
Use the 3D model and search for reference: Muscular anatomy human body.
Now using the same method as me, block out the shapes of the back muscles and study where they connect and how they group to form the muscular mass we see.
The goal of this assignement is to learn how to observe and get you to practice drawing muscles.
Doing this a few times will help you draw muscles without tracing in the future, since you’ll always be thinking something like “Oh, the pecs are connected to the collarbone from the top, the humerus on the left/right and the sternum in the middle of the chest”.
Share your assignment using my hashtag on social media #ScriblingArtTips
Or tag me @scribling_art
✱TIPS✱
🧬 Start with simple shapes: circles, ovals, and rectangles to simplify muscle groups.
🧬Use CSP's 3D models as references (Materials>3D>Body Type) or find a more muscular 3D model (see previous section).
Section 2: Sketching Muscles 🖌️
Alright, now we have some basic knowledge about muscles and where they connect, now lets block out the main shapes and sketch our own.
Using the previous model, lower the opacity of the 3D layer and create a new layer above it.
I place my model at 30% opacity, and will eventually delete it once i have the shapes ready.
We will break down the muscles in simple shapes and add details as we go.
Upper Body Muscles
I’ll go over drawing the major muscles in the upper body, once you’ve got those, you can explore and search for other muscles on your own.
You need to get your hands dirty if you want to learn something =)
Pecs
Here’s an easy way to draw pectoralis muscles.
You just have to start with a rectangle and work your way through it!
Note:
Humerus is the upper arm bone.
Sternum is the bone between the pecs.
Collarbone is the bone between the neck and chest it forms a ( —__— ) shape.
I’ll include a skeleton for you to observe and analyse. It’s always good to have a basic idea of your own body’s structure, and it can be especially useful for art!
Note:
The skeleton may not be 100% accurate as it is just a drawing, but the main components are there, if you need a more accurate reference just use google and search for medical skeletons! You can even make your own if you want ^-^
Abs
Abs are super important especially in male character, as they instantly give your character charm, if you know what i mean ;)
Drawing them is actually super easy!
Start with 2 shapes, a rectangle and triangle, then erase parts using the lasso selection tool and the eraser, add some detail and you’re good to go!
Arm
In the following image, you can see how i draw basic shapes first, then, by observing my reference (or using 3D model) I try to identify the muscle shapes (such as the leaf and heart shapes) and draw them over my basic shapes, following the structure of the arm.
✱TIP✱ Don’t be afraid to use reference, or even tracing to learn, train that muscle memory so you can eventually draw from observation!
Lower Body Muscles
Now let’s apply what we learned and sketch muscles based on the knowledge we earned thus far.
Building Shapes
Use shapes to form the body. If you’re still unsure, you can always grab the CSP 3D model and draw over it!
You can see how i roughly blocked in the shapes following the 3D model.
Don’t be intimidated to trace above it, you’re learning so don’t let anything stop you from doing so!
You can also follow this method if you absolutely don’t want to trace:
Keep in mind that using this method your shapes won’t be as accurate as with the first method, but you’ll learn much more using this method and you’ll eventually gain more accuracy when drawing bodies.
Rough Sketch
1. Lower the opacity of the shapes layer (<= 30%).
2. Create a new layer & name it Sketch.
3. Choose a pencil brush (I’ll use the built in CSP Pencil brush).
4. Roughly draw the outline over the shapes.
While am working am always looking at a reference, i do not just guess where things should be, having a reference on the side is really helpful and can save you a lot of time.
✱TIP✱
You can use Clip Studio Paint feature “Sub View” to add any reference you want on your workspace and adjust it so that its next to your drawing area, this way you don’t even have to look at another screen or switch screens when working!
Here’s a quick tip on how to use it:
1. Go to Window -> Sub View.
2. On the right-hand Panel (where layers are if you have the default workspace) you will find a window for Navigator and next to it will be the sub view window.
3. Once you locate the sub view window, click on the name plate and drag it towards the canvas.
4. Adjust the size of the new window to your liking.
5. Add your reference image (or CSP file) by clicking on the little folder at the bottom of the window which says “Import”.
6. Select your image and click OK.
7. Now you can adjust the scale to your liking.
8. Remove the sub view window when you’re done by clicking the X button.
I can never stress enough about using references while drawing! You will learn so much just by observing a reference.
‼️Did you know that almost all popular artists use references?‼️
So why don’t you? huh? 👀
Section 3: Inking Muscles Clearly ✒️
Now let’s work on the line art and cleaning the sketch.
Setup & tools
1. Create a new vector layer (Layer > New Layer > Vector Layer).
2. Use the G-Pen tool on this vector layer for clean, editable lines.
3. Lower the opacity of the sketch layer and draw on the new vector layer.
4. Use CSP’s Stabilization feature (Tool property > Stabilization) to ensure smooth, confident lines.
5. Apply different line weights to emphasize muscle depth (thicker lines for shadows and thinner for highlights).
A vector layer allows the editing of lines without having to erase them.
While the Pen tool is active, click on the CTRL key and hold, then click on the line you want to edit.
Vector Eraser Tool:
Easily erase intersecting lines on a vector layer without affecting the main outlines.
Linework
Using the previous tools, we can start doing the linework above the sketch layer.
You can see how i noticed mid-way how my torso is a little bit too tall, so i corrected it in the line art layer by using the transform tool.
In this phase you don’t have to follow the sketch 100%, you can improve and improvise to make your line work look better than the sketch (after all a sketch is just a draft!).
Here’s a quick demonstration between drawing with varying line weight vs no variation in line weight
If your character is drawn in front view (which i assume it is as we’ve just started learning about muscles), you can use the symmetrical ruler tool to lessen the workload.
However, keep in mind, that having a completely symmetrical figure is not attractive nor real, so use this tool with caution, and always add asymmetry to your art.
Symmetry ruler
Here’s a quick guide on how to use the symmetry ruler.
1. On the left-hand menu, go to Ruler (or click “U”) and select the symmetry ruler.
2. Choose the number of lines, here we only need 2 lines, go ahead and type in 2.
3. Make sure “Line Symmetry” is checked.
4. Click & hold where you want you ruler to be.
5. While holding you can get perpendicular line by clicking & holding the “SHIFT” button.
6. Choose a direction for your symmetry ruler and release click.
Puppet Warp
Okay now that we tackled the symmetry ruler, it’s time to introduce the new feature of CSP, the Puppet Warp!
Remember when i said symmetry is not attractive? Well with this tool we can break the symmetry in our drawing to make it more appealing!
Let’s see how it works!
1. First make sure your layer is a Raster Layer, as this tool does not work with vector layers.
2. Go to Edit -> Transform -> Puppet Warp.
3. You will now have to ability to place Pins on your drawing by simply clicking on the canvas.
4. Place pins in the major locations on the body (head, shoulders, mid arms, hands, chest, mid torso, start, mid, and end of legs).
5. Now by clicking any pin, you can move the artwork around without loosing quality or breaking lines.
6. Play around with it to change your figure and break the symmetry.
Section 4: Coloring & Shading Muscles🌗
So, now we’re getting to the real deal!
This step can be done in 3 different ways (maybe more?).
Let’s break them up and you choose what works for you!
Manually coloring & shading
With this method we’ll manually paint the shadows and highlights.
1. Choose a darker base color.
2. Color in the entire body (you can click on the selection tool select the white space then invert selection and you’ll have the entire body selected).
3. Decide on a light source - Choose where your light will come from.
4. Create a new layer & clip it to the base color layer - Name it Highlights.
5. Block in the light on the body - Following the light source & using the lasso tool, block in shapes of light on the body.
6. Using a lighter color, color in the shapes you previously selected.
7. Now do the same for the shadow’s placement - the shade will be opposite of the light.
8. Create a new layer & clip it to the base color layer - Name it Shadows.
9. Shift the hue slightly & select a color for your shade.
10. Paint in your shadows on the clipped layer & set it to Multiply mode.
11. To smooth out the sharp edges, you can either paint over them with a painterly brush (like watercolor or oil) or simply use the Blur effect (Filter -> Blur -> Gaussian Blur).
This sums up this method, it’s simple but it requires a good amount of knowledge of how the light sits on the body and how the shadow opposes it.
Shading Assist
Using this new CSP feature you can quickly block in the highlights & shadows; however it requires some manipulation, and the results aren’t always good.
You can however use it as a complement to the first method.
Just follow these steps to apply it:
1. Go to Edit -> Shading Assist (or click “F”).
2. In the new window, you can select a preset, play around with those & see which one suits your drawing.
3. On your canvas you can see 2 circles appearing, that’s your light source, you can move it around to change the direction & placement of your light.
4. You can change colors of your shading by clicking the “+” button next to “Shading”.
5. You can also change the light source type from ball to Directional Light by clicking the “+” button next to Light Source.
You can start with this feature and then manually add the lights/shadows where needed.
3D Shading Assistance
This method is in my opinion the most effective and it also sums up both previous methods.
Although it may be more demanding, in terms of workload, however, you can get accurate shading/lighting placement and for any pose.
First start by creating a new file, choose a suitable canvas size and hit OK.
1. Grab a 3D model from the Materials - You can choose whichever model, we will adjust them to our needs.
2. Go to the model’s settings and select the “3D drawing figure”
3. Play around with the settings to make the figure have a similar build to your character.
4. Next go to “Light Source” - You can adjust the light direction, color, and intensity in this window.
5. Choose a light direction and the color of your light then decide on the intensity - You can see changes in real time, no need to save anything.
6. If you want a different pose, change the 3D model’s pose to mimic your character’s pose.
7. Save this 3D figure in a new file.
8. Now back to your character, open the Sub View Window and import the 3D figure you just saved.
9. You now have an accurate model with lights and shadows, just follow and draw those on your own character.
Final Color & Shade using method 1 &3
In this step I’m just following method 3 then manually mixing, blending and adding color variation.
Section 5: Common Muscle Drawing Mistakes & Fixes ⚠️
Mistakes to Avoid:
1. Overly symmetrical muscles.
2. Ignoring muscle interaction and overlap.
3. Incorrect placement and proportion.
Liquify Tool:
Gently adjust and correct muscle placement without redrawing from scratch using the liquify tool (Edit > Transform > Liquify).
Puppet Warp:
Adjust and transform the body to deal with overly symmetrical shapes.
Conclusion 🎉
Congratulations! You've learned how to confidently draw muscles using CSP’s robust set of features. Keep practicing, explore CSP’s assets, and don’t hesitate to experiment!
Happy Drawing! ✨
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