Realistic Limbs - Roareye Black

Before the tutorial starts, a brief note. This is a modelling workshop and as such, it will not show how to make one specific art piece, but instead pose different bodyparts from different angles using different techniques. As such, the work will be unshaded to show the structure of the work, and it will be up to you to practice this knowledge and apply it to your own artwork.

Your first step when making an limb is to know where the shoulder/hip is, and where you want the hand/foot to be. By this point you may already have a basic shoulder/hip set up, but for the purposes of this tutorial I shall use this circle as the shoulder/hip is a ball joint. For the hand/foot I'll use this square (See the hands and feet tutorials for how to create a realistic looking hand).

Now you need to place your elbow/knee joint. The elbow/knee is a hinge joint, it can't do anything but move open and closed, so try not to twist the arm/leg. Also remember that the length of the arm/leg has a proportion to the body. The arm/leg is actually the same length as the body from neck to groin, with the hand/foot making the overall arm/leg span longer. Keeping these in mind, so the arm/leg fits in with the rest of the pixel art, put the shoulder/hip joint in where necessary. I have used two teal lines to give me a rough idea of where my elbow/knee should go, and used the green circle to mark it out properly.

Changed the teal to dark purple so it's easier to see, and added in rough ideas of the other arm/leg outlines. To make these you can use the Curve Tool. Remember that all arms/legs have some element of muscle, whether showing alot or not, and all arms/legs have a set shape they usually go by. They will usually be thickest at the bicep/thigh, thinning alot at the elbow/knee to allow for supple arm/leg movements, and then the tricep/calf muscle just below the elbow will be thick again, and gradually thin down to the wrist/ankle. If you get stuck, you have your own arm/leg to look at for study.

Now you just need to go around the outline and smoothen out all the details. Some elbows dip in just after the bend, some knees do too. Usually the leg's calf muscle is made a little bit longer than the tricep in order to give the impression of sustaining bodyweight. With an arm, the inside of the joint bend, the crease line would be curving downwards, with a leg it curves upwards. This is because the thigh will have bodyweight pressure over the calf and will be dominant, however with the arms the bicep isn't holding the bodyweight, and as such the arm structure tends to curve with the bend.

Now just finalise the borders and shade it as you like. Obviously on your finished piece you'll be having the hands and shoulder/hips and feet attached.