How to Sculpt Female Hips: Anatomy with sculptor Rick Casali

Okay everybody, I want to make a quick video on the anatomical landmarks of the hips. It's a very crucial part of the standing contrapposto pose, and I can't tell you how many times I see finished bronze sculptures in the public sphere that don't have this, or the artist didn't think it was important to put in, and it's really a detriment to our society that they don't know it, or they don't think it's important. So this is really the fundamental foundation of a standing contrapposto. So remember, contrapposto means that the weight is predominantly on one hip, one leg, so in this case it's the left side hip, left side, our left, and that's going to make this hip higher than this hip. And if we go from the hip bone here to here, we'll notice a definite diagonal. Okay, so always check that and relate that to your central line. So I'm coming down from the sternum through the linea alba, the middle of the abdominals, through the navel, right down to the crotch. That's going to show me the swing of the spine, and see how the rib cage is going one way and the hips are going another way. Okay, so that the navel is part of that central line. That's very, very doable. To start with the navel, start with what's easy. So you can have a little checklist, and what might be new for you will be the ASIS, A-S-I-S, anterior superior iliac spine, here and here. I'll outline it so it's obvious that this is a bony landmark sticking out on the surface. Coming off the lateral corner of that ASIS is the tensor muscle. So I put a T there for tensor, actually called the tensor of the fasciae latae. It's an elongated teardrop-shaped muscle. On the surface, it'll create a nice convex, puffy corner plane. So it's off to the corner. It's not side, it's not front, it's corner. Also coming off the bottom of the ASIS is what's called the sartorius muscle, and it's the longest muscle in the body. And they're both coming together on that ASIS. So it's sort of like this, like an upside-down V, like a wishbone. You will see the sartorius muscle also attaching to the ASIS, and then traveling diagonally across the inside of the thigh, around the side of the knee, and then poking to the front of the tibia. It's the longest muscle in the body. It crosses two joints, the hip joint and the knee joint. That's your sartorius. So this ASIS is really a little crossroads here for a lot of things. Another thing that comes off the ASIS is a ligament going from your ASIS to your pubic bone, and this is called the inguinal ligament. So this is what creates that bowl-like effect on the front plane of the pelvic block, and on the surface it'll leave a little indentation around that swelling. So you can really feel the guts pushing on the tummy there. So this is the inguinal bowl, let's call it. That's an art term I just made up, or the, you know, there's two inguinal ligaments. Another landmark that's superficial to the inguinal will be what's called the line of the groin. A little indentation going across, especially on a female, you'll see this little, it's like a little crease on the surface. Sometimes that's where they do the, what's it called, cesarean c-section along that line. So it really separates your tummy zone from your bikini zone. Now in between your sartorius and tensor, there is a little triangular depression I've put in here, and this is called the femoral fossa. Femoral fossa. And it's really the bend of the leg. On the surface it'll be a slight depression, and it will be where the biceps femoris muscle enters into that pelvic block. The tendon of it will go into that little triangular hollow there, right between the asus and the, I'm sorry, the tensor and the sartorius. I'm getting my landmarks confused. And then lastly, I would add the pubic bone here. That's a very good landmark. It's going to be the delineation between the front downward plane and the under plane of the pelvic block. And I would also add this thoracic arch as part of the whole thing. So in a rhythmic way, you can follow the tensor plane up into that thoracic arch and then down to the other side. It's a very good connection to make. Always be looking for long, rhythmic connections everywhere you go. So let's just review that checklist for you. You have your sternum, you have your navel, you have the asus points, asus to asus, thoracic arch going across, tensor to tensor on the outside, sartorius to sartorius on the inside. I suppose you could look for a rhythm that way too. You have your inguinal bowl, line of the groin, and pubic bone, and femoral fossa here and here. So the femoral fossa is just south and a little bit lateral to the asus. These are your external obliques. In a way, this is really the top of the whole leg, on the standing leg. You can just think about holding a baby there on that shelf. That's really the top of your leg in a form sense. Not anatomically, but in a rhythmic form sense. This is the top of the leg. All right, I hope this helps. And remember, take these landmarks seriously. It's sort of like you look up in the night sky. If it's all black, you're lost. But if you can see the stars, then you have some constellation points to know where you are. So these are the constellation points. These are the structural anatomical landmarks that give you that strong superstructure. It'll give your work more power and purpose and more beauty. So remember, studying the fundamentals of the figure makes it more beautiful. So have faith in that, and good luck.