Posable models?

[indigodrawing]

I've had one of those wooden posable mannequins but I've never used it very much because a) the joints aren't very articulate and b) put it in any pose other than standing bolt upright and the stand can't support it, resulting in the whole thing toppling over.

I've seen these newer plastic articulate mannequins like Figma or Body-Kun and I'm wondering if it's worth investing in them? If you have one then do you use it? Do you find it useful?

[ar-ninetysix]

My little sister got the Body-kun and Body-Chan figures for her birthday, and she's told numerous times that it's not only helped with poses, but her overall understanding of anatomy. So.. I'd say it's worth the price based on her experience with them. Though I will say, we got the pair from eBay, some parts felt like they were used when they were said to be brand new, I'm not sure if they were, and in the same way, I'm not sure if they weren't. I didn't have a real reference for how they should have been so... either way, if you've got the money, why not get 'em?

[Swamp]

Personally I love the A9! https://armaturenine.com/
Great movement and a little less stylized.

[rmdooley]

Yes. Invest in body-kuns

They are well worth it

[amortelito]

yes! figures are an amazing option. You can also see a pose from different angles. Also you can practice some weird camera angles, to see how the figure looks in perspective.
If you play around with a clothed doll you can also see the fabric folds.

[ryoko]

I have the figma body-chan and find it very useful, especially for drawing at different angles. You can rotate them around while they're posed to get a good understanding of perspective and using different light sources can help with shading/shadowing

[vothnthorvaldson]

So, I have the Figuarts BodyKun, which I'm happy with. He's a bit more muscular than the average guy, but he has a body type that actually exists.

However, I can't find a woman mannequin who looks human rather than cartoonish. Anyone knows of one that is realistic? Whatever brand, price (with some limits!) or colours, all what I need is a plausible body type.

[Eightfish]

I feel like no matter how articulated those things are they'll always be limited because they can't show things like squishy flesh or the way a person distributes weight. Real people aren't made from solid wooden units. They're a frame of bone with muscle and skin attached in very specific ways. Those models are never going to be able to let you see things like how your shoulderblades or boobs move with your arms or how the fat gets all squished up on your abdomen when you bend forward.

I think doing figure drawing from real people or websites like this (warning: photos of nude models) is way more helpful. Do a ton of figure drawing sketches with different angles, poses, etc and eventually you'll pick up enough anatomy knowledge to do pretty much any pose from your head. That's how I learned, and when I was doing this I saw myself improving so, so much quicker than I had been before.

Edit: Oh my god I did not realize this post was one year old. Probably would not have responded if I'd noticed. But I'll keep this up because I think my advice is good and that link could be helpful

[vothnthorvaldson]

I use these models for extremely rough gestures (just with geometrical shapes), and I personally find that it helps with understanding how 3D perspective translates into 2D perspective in a way an image, even photographic, can't.
But it's useless for understanding the 'fleshy' aspect, for sure.