Do I really need to know the muscles of the neck aside from the

>>2715345
No just learn the superficial muscles since they're the only thing that affects surface form. So for the neck that's basically just the trapezius and sternocleidomastoid.

>>2715349
Sounds good to me.
I'll probably whip out an anatomical reference book when I need to do hyper realism. I guess it's good to have an understanding of all of the muscles though.

>>2715355
>I guess it's good to have an understanding of all of the muscles though.
Not really. Deep muscles that never show are not very useful to know. Maybe it will heighten your appreciation of the body or make you feel like you have a more complete understanding of it, but in practical terms it won't actually aid your drawing or painting.

Learn the skeleton at least in basic forms (skip the details of each vertebra or the bones of the wrist), then learn the superficial muscles, then study from masters, photos, and life to see how those forms appear on the body and how they look on different body types, as well as how surface anatomy like fat deposits and skin are a part of the equation.

>>2715362
Thanks very much.
I wasn't very certain on what to do after I push through the atlas of human anatomy.

I know it's not going to be load up another anatomy book.

To be honest, knowledge separates the good artists from the great ones.

>>2715345

It depends on your goals. If you really want to understand anatomy, and understanding is something that always will be reflected in your art, you need to be aware of function and not just surface form. Putting an arbitrary limit to your level of anatomical understanding and saying "I probably won't need to understand more than this for my drawing" is terribly pretentious and indicative that your heart isn't really in it. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but you might have to accept what that will entail in your practice. Still, art isn't just about technical assimilation so you should feel free to do what you want.

Most of the neck muscles are only noticeable during particular moments of strain and movement (such as the platysma, which technically is the most shallow muscle on the anterior medial side). So if you want to draw a stiff, straight neck you might be fine with a couple surface groups, but you'll be limited when depicting movement in various directions. Muscles aren't terribly complex to understand once you recognize a few key characteristics (contraction/pull, key shapes etc). Be aware that some divisions of groups are quite arbitrary - plenty of doctors stress the understanding of the body as -one- muscle. It's also important to recognize fascia and fat deposits making up the subcutaneous form. So many useless "anatomy" paintovers ignore these facts and imagine these solitary bulging things making up most of the mass underneath the skin.

>>2715362
>Not really. Deep muscles that never show are not very useful to know.
not quite. There are muscle, which while not showing up, changes the way those which show up look. For example pectoralis minor is under pectoralis major therefor is not visible, but when contracted, it pushes up the major one. So knowing where the minor is placed and in what situations it contracts is not useless

>>2715345
at to respond your question
>It almost feels like a total waste of time that I'll forget due to lack of use.
just learn everything. Like you said, what you don't need your brain is going to forget. But don't force it to remember it for all life from first time. Learn it knowing you will revisit this stuff to relearn and remember it all your life.

>>2715349
>>2715345

Kek
You also need to know the Mylo Hyoid, the Adam's apple (forgot medical term), and theres a few more muscles that activate during different expressions.

The neck is one of those super important parts and if you fuck it up, your figures are going to look like trash. The neck is more than just a cylinder.

>>2715345
1. learn major muscle groups
2. use reference
3. DO study the proper anatomy if you want to truly understand something

you will absorb how to draw them properly over time if you do this.

>>2715345
A thing to consider is that you don't actually need to store all information in your brain. You can have well built references you did yourself, like picking specific pictures, pages from anatomy books and so on and making organized folders for what you need.

Then if you need to paint a neck for example, you can have all of the information required for the whole painting within 30 seconds. It's with practice that you will remember more and need less of this.

>>2715345
This is literally what reference is for, learn the landmarks and reference details when necessary.

>>2715867
care to share resources on the neck muscles and expression? This interests me greatly.