I always thought that the wooden mannequins are for decoration.
I use reference pictures from the internet, figurosity and I bought various pose sets.
I have some skulls for sketching and I have some other body mannequins that I honestly
never used because they are stiff in a way and not one of them looks like a natural pose
Ooooh, that's a neat idea! 
Never liked wooden mannequins, lol. I have one sitting on my shelf, but that's pretty much all he does: sitting on the shelf and collecting dust XD
For pose references, I got myself a Bodykun + Bodychan and they're pretty useful, though definitely more expensive than a Barbie, at least where I live. I also got myself a Vindoll13... not specifically for drawing, BUT it does make for a very nice mannequin if you want to. It has a more realistic body, it's light despite its size and very easy to pose. Sadly, only the male body is available as of now and the whole thing is pretty damn expensive. I got one because I loved Granado's resin dolls and one of his Vindolls had the same face sculpt as the doll I wanted for half the price... honestly, if I had to buy it solely as a mannequin, I don't think I would have bought it XD there is a Vindoll frame8 that costs a lot less, though! Being only a frame, it's not as realistic as the full doll, but... for pose references, I think it could work pretty well?
So so true. They usually wind up just becoming for decoration, bc they are way too unyielding to get any practical use out of them in my experience. I would actually like to get a nice skull to reference. I'd think I would have one by now, but surprisingly I don't...
I know right! Though the Made-to-Move line definitely upped the Barbie posing game bc the base Barbies are mad stiff too lol. Yeah, it would probably be fun to see how many folks have one and do nothing with it, and then turn it into a dress-up contest or something haha!
I've been wanting both of those Body figures but hadn't gotten them bc of the price. The cheaper ones I've seen aren't that decent quality and tend to be tiny. Ooohh Vindolls huh? I opened that link and get all kinds of nice dude boob in my face haha. They look like they have tons of detail and customization purposes and like I want one of 3 of my male characters, but he would be for cabinet over the art dek haha! The frames look straight up Terminator, but I def can see the potential bc they are flexible.
Thanks for the links!
Nopes. I used both wooden mannequins and jointed dolls but all they are too stiff and don't make natural poses. Digital mannequins are much more flexible and easy to work with.
Check out this online version: https://justsketch.me/11
And if you're into that seriously, just use DAZ: https://www.daz3d.com/10
(both resources are free)
Reminds me of how brother has a big collection of action figures in his room. Sometimes I'll walk in there and he'll pose them in funny ways or even have whole scenes in his book case. One day might take a picture and draw themXD
Currently I like to use the Magic Poser app, which I like since you can add props too.
But before I used to make my own mannequins. I got a template from a figure drawing book which, didn't really have nice things to say about the wooden ones XD
I feel you. I remember trying to make my own 3D models, but it was way too time consuming for a quick ref so I gave up, but that would be the best!! The SIMS used to get me pretty close though posing them wasn't the easiest.
I actually find posing digital mannequins to be quite nightmarish tbh. Every time I try to do it the camera gets swung around somewhere random and then trying to arrange joints with a mouse makes my eyes cross, so I find it neat when there are folks who just do it with ease haha.
Just sketch looks pretty darn neat, Imma have to play around with it!
Thanks for sharing!
Yoooo these are pretty fly. Idk why it never occurred to me to try and make my own haha!I love these boxy folks!!
I have magic poser on my phone, but I just think I'm 3d challenged bc making poses in their makes my eyes cross, but that's most 3d figure apps DX.
I've been wanting to get my hands on the Body Kun type models, but there are SO MANY bootlegs of these out there I cant trust it. I think I'll stick with 3-D models for now.
I've seen quite a few and they aren't nearly as intricate (and also super tiny) so yeah you gotta watch it.
I use the 3D models that come with Clip Studio Paint. The best thing about those is you can customize them for just about any body type.
(Though I did shell out the cash to commission someone to make a 3d model of my main character. )
There's a few 3d model pose apps out there though, like @alliascompany mentioned, Magic Poser is one of them.
I think the closer it is to human anatomy and proportion, the better it is. However, I am the type to use whatever I can get my hand to without paying an extra money; if I only can afford a free poser app, I'll work with it. That's why I have people in my basement.
That's what's up, ClipStudio is loaded with mad crazy helpful tools, I just switched to Procreate bc I'm on tablet more and didn't want to deal with the sub fee. On pc though, yasssss.
Having a 3d model of your character made is baller!! Does the person that made yours still do model commissions?
hahahah, that works too. I've been known to call up friends and ask them to model for me at the park for references. That and bother my sister and fiancé (specifically for hands).
Yeah! Here's the link to his Fiverr page. Just an FYI to be able to pose your model, you'll have to make sure it has a rigging. Which does cost additional to the price of the modeling itself.
I use these little Figma figures I found on ebay. I think they were about $25 at the time? Pretty good range of motion for plastic figures, and they come with little stands and alternate hands/feet and a set of tiny guns.
Lately tho I've been eyeing the more expensive Ficen seamless figures on Amazon, wondering if I really want to drop $70-$100 on a fancy anatomy figure. I don't think they were originally created to be artist tools, but they're pretty perfect from what I can tell. I imagine their arms would fall off less than the figma figures cause there'd be skin holding them together.
Also, having multiple art diciplines is dope af, and I highly recommend it. I'm a game artist by trade, so 3d models are my bread and butter. If I design something complicated for my comic (which is often) I'll often just whip up a rough block out for it as an internal reference. Plus, printing it out on a 3d printer makes a custom little model that's constantly at my fingertips for tough subjects, or things I really want to keep consistent, like Savina's horns, or various weaponry / ships.
Blender is a good free piece of software if you're looking at getting into this kind of thing.
I have both the male and female Phicen figures, which are pretty solid heavy-duty construction. They weigh quite a bit compared to a Barbie doll. The only problem is that the "skin" is starting to wear on the elbows, though I am pretty rough with them. It is nice though, you can usually get them into a good standing/kneeling position and they will hold if they are balanced.
Oh nice! A real honest review, thank you! How long did it take for the skin to start to wear down? How's the range of motion? Can you lift the knees up to the chest?
One of my old art teachers used to use a posable Spiderman action figure as a pose reference, and when I started doing the same thing it seriously was a life saver. I pretty much only use it for perspective, but it's a great tool. I didn't know they made articulated Barbies, I might have to spring for one since that's closer to most of the body types I draw.
