Quads and Hami's

The leg muscles were the hardest to build yet. I did not realize that the muscle attachment points are in very similar. The hamstrings and the and the sartorious wrap around the knee joint in a way It is easier to see why the knee has the form it does. I think we should hve built these leg muscles before we built the glutes and tensor. 

Building this group of muscles was interesting, not because of the muscles themselves, but the images in the books for the glutius maximus, tensor, and the illiac head were confusing. The images did not seem to have much continuity. The tensor and the illiac head which have a common part, the book did not appear to show any common part. I do not know if I did it correctly or not.

Group Meeting 1

It was noted to avoid drawing in muscle tendons as it distracts from the behavior of the muscles. Tools were discussed, from techniques on carving to how to get into gaps with a smooth finish. The bulk of muscle was brought up and it was determined to feel your own muscles and build from there. The length of tendons as well as their connecting points were compared as well as the lower longissimus thoracis . Eric has had to remove muscle mass in order to place form underneath and build off of. Cal's mannequin has a fashionable mustache. For the actual building of the muscles, either rolling in the hand or flattening of the muscle was found to be easiest.

Muscles Phase #1

Building the abdominal muscles in clay were more difficult than others because if the areas of attachment and the span they cover on the body.
Picture one shows the frontal view. The muscles visible are the obliquus externus abdomimis, and the rectus abdominis.
The abdominal muscles attach to the rib cage and stretch down to the pelvis. The function is to flex the lumbar vertebrae, and to compress the rib cage and abdomen.

Picture 2 is the back 3/4 view. This image shows the spinal erectors which consists of 9 different muscles that connect to various places along the spine and posterior rib cage. The function of this group of muscles it to flex the neck or cervical vertebrae and to flex the thoracic vertebrae.This image also shows the back side of the obliques and the jagged connection to each of the ribs it is attached. Below is the back and front 3/4 views.

The back view shows the network of muscles that make up the spinal erectors. These muscles were difficult to construct because they spiral around each other, and the connecting points are mostly in a the same general area.

I learned that muscles are a even more complex system than I already thought. Plus muscles provide a large amount of structure and shape to the body. I dealt with my frustration with learn this new process by taking my time and molding the muscles in my hand an checking the muscles on the skeleton a few times before attaching them. I did not find anything very frustrating about the process. I really enjoy working with clay and building things. Problems I solved were, figuring the clay molds much better when it is warmed up. I would nead the clay for a minute or two then shape it. I also found that using a tool to connect the clay to the skeleton allows you to create tighter spaces between the muscles.

The next class I think I will just try to build the muscles a little faster and try to improve the shape the muscles by building them up out of multiple pieces.

The only real advice I would give is to look carefully at your book and take your time when building in clay. Also wash you hand once in a while I feel i work better with clay when my hands are clean.

The new knowledge that I have got from building in clay I think that I will use it by visualizing the figure better, just as learning the rib cage and pelvis help to see proportion in the figure.

Pelvis Tracings