Since January 2025, I've been passionate about sculpting, and I'm currently working on my sixth doll. I’ve realized that most of my skills are quite intuitive, but I’d love to gain a deeper understanding of sculpture. Could you please recommend some materials that explain the principles of anatomical sculpting?
For anatomy in general I'd recommend Bridgman's Life Drawing which is about the 3d structure of the shapes involved int he body and how they respond to motion. It's intended for drawing but it is a great help when sculpting because of the blocky way Bridgman shows the shapes of the bone and muscle structure. Anatomy for Sculptors, Understanding the Human Figure By Uldis Zarins and Sandis Kondrats is also lookin pretty good to me if you wanna get more in depth on the TEENY TINY nitty gritty details of muscle insertions and shapes in a more almost Medical context. (background for me spouting off, my education is in figural art and fine arts generally)
I recommend "Gottfried Bammes - Der Nackte Mensch" book if you know German. Also there is some interactive 3D model on Sketchfab like this one
"Anatomy for Sculptors" by Uldis Zarins is probably just what you're looking for! It's a proper textbook, so it's a bit on the pricey side, but it's in English and includes color-coded models to help you understand the way various muscle groups fit together and function.
Books: The Portrait in Clay - Rubino Sculpting the Figure in Clay - Rubino Modeling the Figure in Clay - Lucchesi Modeling the Head in Clay - Lucchesi, Modeling and Sculpting the Human Figure -Lanteri I took online anatomy digital sculpting classes with Ryan Kingslien, an expert in anatomy. You don't need to take a class or own ZBrush—he offers free YouTube videos focused on anatomy that can significantly improve your skills. https://www.youtube.com/@Kingslien Not sure if it's still available, but I have an app that I've found invaluable, the MD3D L'Ecorche model app for the iPad. It's incredibly useful if you can still find it. Otherwise there are physical anatomical models you can buy to help with your sculpting. Here's the link to one: M02058 1:6 Scale Male and Female Sculpting Anatomy Reference Models