Best seller

Illustration for Comics: Anatomy of a Superhero

A course by Ariel Olivetti , Illustrator and Comic Book Artist

Illustrator and Comic Book Artist. Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Joined July 2018

Learn to draw the skeleton, muscles, and poses to convey the true power of your characters

Best seller
98% positive reviews (1K)
22,215 students
Audio: Spanish, English
Spanish · English · Portuguese · German · French · Italian · Polish · Dutch

Learn to draw the skeleton, muscles, and poses to convey the true power of your characters

Every story has a classic hero who performs extraordinary feats, but there is one character who pips them at the post when faced with unimaginable threats: the superhero! Their superhuman powers are shown in their abilities, but also in their anatomy, which is something that comic book artist Ariel Olivetti has been studying since 1993, working for publishers such as Marvel and DC Comics.

In this course, learn how to draw the superhero anatomy used in comics, getting to grips with the proportions of the human figure, the main muscle groups of the body, and the different poses.

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What will you learn in this online course?

16 lessons & 23 downloads

  • 98% positive reviews (1K)
  • 22,215 students
  • 16 lessons (1h 56m)
  • 23 additional resources (18 files)
  • Online and at your own pace
  • Available on the app
  • Audio: Spanish, English
  • Spanish · English · Portuguese · German · French · Italian · Polish · Dutch
  • Level: Intermediate
  • Unlimited access forever

What is this course's project?

Create a full illustration of a human superhero figure, from the skeleton to the muscle groups.

Projects by course students

Who is this online course for?

Illustrators, visual artists, comic book artists, and anyone who wants to learn about superhero anatomy to show the true power of their characters.

Requirements and materials

To take this course, you need basic knowledge of drawing.

As for materials, you need a pencil, paper, and an eraser.


Reviews

22,215 Students
1,001 Reviews
98% Positive ratings

Ariel Olivetti

A course by Ariel Olivetti

Teacher Plus
Illustrator and Comic Book Artist

Ariel Olivetti was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and studied graphic design at the University of Buenos Aires. It was his passion for drawing the human figure and creating characters that led him to design covers for the prestigious Argentine comic magazine FIERRO in the 90s as well as to cocreate the comic strip El Cazador. He has been working as a comic book artist and illustrator for more than 25 years, publishing in different editorial magazines such as Dark Horse, Valiant, Sideshow, MARVEL, DC Comics and Upper Deck.

His first work for the United States market was for Marvel Comics with The Last Avengers Story, and later for titles like Daredevil and X-Men. He has also collaborated on a limited DC series called Space Ghost. Other titles he has worked on include: Sabretooth and Mystique (1996), Alpha Flight (1997) and What If? (1997) for Marvel; and JLA: Paradise Lost (1998), Haven: The Broken City (2002), Green Lantern (2003) and Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight (2006) for DC.


Content

  • U1

    Introduction

    • Presentation
    • Influences
  • U2

    Different anatomical proportions

    • Different anatomical proportions
    • Proportions of the idealized human figure
    • Proportions of a superhero
    • Construction of a skeleton and its poses
    • First sketches: design of our skeleton
  • U3

    Muscle packages and proportions part by part

    • Proportions of a head
    • Eyes, ears, mouth and nose I
    • Eyes, ears, mouth and nose II
    • Torso muscles
    • Arm muscles
    • Leg muscles
    • Proportions of the hand
  • U4

    Poses of the character

    • Poses of a character with basic muscle packages
    • Final illustration
  • FP

    Final project

    • Illustration for comics: anatomy of a superhero

What to expect from a Domestika course

  • Learn at your own pace

    Enjoy learning from home without a set schedule and with an easy-to-follow method. You set your own pace.

  • Learn from the best professionals

    Learn valuable methods and techniques explained by top experts in the creative sector.

  • Meet expert teachers

    Each expert teaches what they do best, with clear guidelines, true passion, and professional insight in every lesson.

  • Certificates
    Plus

    If you're a Plus member, get a custom certificate signed by your teacher for every course. Share it on your portfolio, social media, or wherever you like.

  • Get front-row seats

    Videos of the highest quality, so you don't miss a single detail. With unlimited access, you can watch them as many times as you need to perfect your technique.

  • Share knowledge and ideas

    Ask questions, request feedback, or offer solutions. Share your learning experience with other students in the community who are as passionate about creativity as you are.

  • Connect with a global creative community

    The community is home to millions of people from around the world who are curious and passionate about exploring and expressing their creativity.

  • Watch professionally produced courses

    Domestika curates its teacher roster and produces every course in-house to ensure a high-quality online learning experience.


FAQs

Domestika's courses are online classes that provide you with the tools and skills you need to complete a specific project. Every step of the project combines video lessons with complementary instructional material, so you can learn by doing. Domestika's courses also allow you to share your own projects with the teacher and with other students, creating a dynamic course community.

All courses are 100% online, so once they're published, courses start and finish whenever you want. You set the pace of the class. You can go back to review what interests you most and skip what you already know, ask questions, answer questions, share your projects, and more.

The courses are divided into different units. Each one includes lessons, informational text, tasks, and practice exercises to help you carry out your project step by step, with additional complementary resources and downloads. You'll also have access to an exclusive forum where you can interact with the teacher and with other students, as well as share your work and your course project, creating a community around the course.

You can redeem the course you received by accessing the redeeming page and entering your gift code.

If you're a Plus member, when you complete a course you've purchased, you'll instantly get your personalized certificate. You can see all your certificates in the Certificates section of your profile. You can download your certificates as PDFs and share the link online. Learn more about certificates.
Illustration for Comics: Anatomy of a Superhero. Illustration course by Ariel Olivetti Best seller

Illustration for Comics: Anatomy of a Superhero

A course by Ariel Olivetti
Illustrator and Comic Book Artist. Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Joined July 2018
  • 98% positive reviews (1K)
  • 22,215 students