Tutored Life Drawing Blog Week 24: The Neck and Shoulders (Patreon)

The neck and shoulders connect the head and torso to form an area of the body that often isn't focused on. However, there is a lot of motion here, as the head has a wide range of movement through the neck, and the shoulders allow the same of the arms.

This lesson looks at some observations about the shape and form of the neck and shoulders, as well as some more prominent anatomical features, and how these change with movement. Common issues encountered when drawing the neck and shoulders include making this area look like it has volume and fits together correctly, and dealing with changes brought about by different views and motion.

Above: study of the neck

Tips for Drawing the Neck and Shoulders

To start, let's look at some elements of shape and contour that can help fine tune observational drawing.

The first is a tendency for triangles to arise in the forms of the neck. These are often created by the underlying muscles and the form of the jaw, and change as the neck is twisted into different poses, or viewed from different angles.

Triangular rhythms often occur in the neck – these are handy for comparing angles and generating negative shapes.

Avoid placing heavy contour lines for these triangles; think of them as rhythms that underpin the observed surface forms. It is also important to check the lines drawn for the surface features don't straighten up to vertical and horizontal lines, so the triangles are useful for comparing angles.

The muscles of the neck sit in front of those of the back before meeting the front of the torso. This angle between the front and back of the neck results in an overlap, where the neck 'slots' in front of the the back muscles. The back muscles run up the the neck and end at the back of the skull, making them the rearmost form when viewed from the front

The forms of the neck (red) sit in front of and lower than the forms of the back (blue).

This overlap swaps direction depending on which side the neck is viewed from. Keep an eye out for this, as it helps give the neck a sense of volume. When the head twists, the muscles of the neck may press against those of the back and make the contour more visible.

Twists and turns creating compressed and stretched areas (blue arrows), with creases wrapping the forms of the neck (red arrows).

In twisting poses, look out for how skin creases wrap around the volume of the neck – they should indicate a roughly cylindrical form. Typically in poses like these, there should be a clear squashed, or active side, with more skin creases across where the muscles are pulling, opposite a stretched out, or inactive side, with few or no skin creases.

One tip for drawing the shoulders is that they can be thought of as forming two triangles across the top of the torso.

Triangles (red) connecting the shoulders to the centre of the neck and back – the fainter lines show how their rhythms are visualised in out of view forms.

This is a useful device as these triangles can be thought of as a top to the torso in foreshortened views. Remember that the back muscles sit a little proud of the rest of the neck, so this top is slightly slanted forwards. Another use of this triangle structure is to follow the motion of the shoulders as the arms lift up.

Anatomical Landmarks of the Beck and Shoulders

The most important visible skeletal structures to the neck and shoulders are the collarbones, shoulder blade and jaw. Whilst the seven cervical vertebrae of the spine run through the neck, not much of this is seen due to muscle and fat, until it connects to the back with the 7th vertebrae at the bottom of the neck.

Approximate placement of the jaw, collarbones, and the manubrium (a bone at the top of the sternum at the centre of the ribcage).

The jaw is useful to consider when drawing the neck as it creates natural rhythms and angles with the muscles of the neck. The collarbones run close to the surface of the skin and some parts of them are nearly always noticeable, even on bodies with more fat. In particular, they tend to result in a couple of landmarks; a small dimple or bump (depending on pose) on the top of the shoulder is formed where it connects to the acromion process of the shoulder blade, and the pit of the neck, a sunken point between the collarbones and the manubrium.

This top view shows how the collarbone and shoulder blade are positioned relative to each other.

The collarbone and shoulder blade wrap around the ribcage to form the shoulder. They meet at the outer side of the shoulder and each show up on the surface of the figure as a curved rhythm, though sometimes only small indications are noticeable. This is the underlying structure that forms the triangles of the shoulders.

Whilst there are multiple layers of muscle and tissue making up the neck, the sternocleidomastoid muscles are especially noticeable, sitting either side of the neck and linking the skull to the torso.

Sternocleidomastoid muscle, running from the back of the skull to the collarbone and manubrium.

This muscle creates prominent forms, especially when the neck is twisting or tilting the head. Note how it helps form the pit of the neck – a small recessed space between the collarbones – and wraps around the deeper forms of the neck to the far side of the skull, behind the ear. Before reaching the collarbone, it splits into two (sometimes less obviously depending on body type and pose), connecting to the manubrium and the collarbone, sometimes forming a little triangular space between these two points.

On the back of the neck, the top of the trapezius attaches to the skull. This muscle will revisited in a lesson the back; what is important now is how it twists around the neck to attach to the shoulder along the spine of the shoulder blade.

This illustration shows how the trapezius (red) and deltoid (green) interlock.

The twisting of the trapezius causes it to wrap around other forms in the neck and fan out to the collarbone - sometimes the creasing of the skin indicates this when the neck twists. The deltoid, the big muscle of the shoulder, aligns with the trapezius along the shoulder blade and wraps all the way around the top of the arm to the end of the collarbone.

The surface forms of the neck can vary quite a bit depending on body composition and genetics. One unusual muscle that shrouds the front and side of the neck is the platysma.

This strong expression shows the stringiness of the platysma, which runs from the face, under the jaw to the opposite side of the collarbone.

The platysma is a very thin surface muscle that runs like a sheet down the front of the neck on each side on top of all the other muscles. It can also vary in shape from person to person, sometimes extending further up the face. It is most noticeable when it tenses, such as with facial expressions; it forms raised creases between the jaw and collarbone. It can lose its elasticity and hang more loosely with age as well. Both these surface behaviours may disguise the details of muscles underneath.

Effects of fat on the features of the neck: green arrows indicate fuller creases of skin as the neck bends, the purple area indicates the rough placement of the submental fat pad, and the blue indicates how the collarbones are still visible.

Whilst the neck and shoulders do not amass fat as readily as some areas of the body, there are noticeable changes. Firstly, any amount of fat smooths over muscle and bone, although the collarbones tend to remain at least partly visible. Whilst there are multiple separate fat pads in the neck, the most prominent is the submental fat pad, which sits under the jaw and behind the chin, rounding out the jaw. When drawing the neck in bent poses, keep an eye out for how the contour lines change, especial around skin creases, which tend become fuller and more rounded.

Application in Artworks – The Role of the Neck in Gesture

So far this lesson has focused on the features and anatomy of the neck. However, the neck also plays a surprisingly important role to conveying gesture, as it connects the head and torso. Because the head it mostly rigid, the neck is what will tilt and turn it. Changes in how the neck is positioned can add subtle interest to poses.

Benjamin West - 'Head of a Screaming Man' (Source: The Cleveland Museum of Art)

This dramatic sketch shows a strong contrast between the compressed left side of the neck and the stretched out right side. The compression is shown by the creasing of the skin under the jaw, and contour lines curving around the forms of the sternocleidomastoid muscle and the throat as they press together under the chin. Long, sweeping lines mark out the sternocleidomastoid on the other side, as it passes in front of the trapezoid muscle, and stretches out with the pose.

Adolph von Menzel – 'Bust of a Woman, Seen from Behind'

This is a more subtle example that shows how the gesture of the neck can add a little extra interest to the pose. Here the head is slightly turned towards the viewer. This is largely shown by the tension in the neck, as the modelling of the tone shows a little tension in the sternocleidomastoid. This is further indicated with a slight creasing of the skin under the jaw as the head is pulled closer to the shoulder. These marks are small, but do a lot of work to convey the pose.

Key Points to Remember About the Neck and Shoulders

• The neck and shoulders have a large range of motion, and the muscle and bone forms can change their shapes and placements significantly.
• This lesson has covered a lot of the surface features, but there are many layers to the structure of the neck and shoulders.
• The neck and shoulders are an important element in expressing the gesture of the head.

Over to You – Understanding the Neck and Shoulders in Different Poses

Recommended Materials: Any

Exercise 1: Drawing the Neck and Shoulders in Different Head Angles

The neck is an important element of the head's gesture, and it is worth investigating how it changes when the head tilts and turns. In this exercise, do lots of sketches of the head, neck and shoulders in different poses, especially from full body poses, as well as portraiture. Don't worry too much about the face if it takes up too much time – as long as the rough placement of the features is indicated, that is enough.

Particular things to consider when making these sketches include the angle of the shoulders and collarbones relative to the head, the compression on either side of the neck, and how the sternocleidomastoid muscles changes with twisting poses.

Sketches of the neck when the head is twisted in different directions.

Exercise 2: Drawing the Neck and Shoulders in Raised Arm Poses

Raised arm poses can change the placement of the collarbones and shoulder blades, and also cause significant compression of the forms of muscle and fat. Similarly to the previous exercise, try making lots of sketches of the neck and shoulders in different arm poses, particularly raised arms. Don't worry about drawing the entire arm if it takes too much time.

Things to consider for these sketches are the placement of the collarbones, how the forms compress and crease around the neck, and any 'hollow' spaces formed between the muscles and bones.

Quick sketches of the neck and shoulders in raised arm poses.

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Further links

>> Watch the Week 24: The Neck & Shoulders main lesson HERE (Student & Life Tiers)  
>> Watch the Week 24: The Neck & Shoulders demo HERE (Student & Life Tiers)  
>> Practice your drawings with our Neck & Shoulders photo set HERE (Student & Life Tiers)

Find links to the whole Tutored Life Drawing Course HERE