Uldis Zarins

Uldis Zarins teaches anatomy in the Art Academy of Latvia and is an award-winning sculptor with more than 25 years of experience. In 2015 he started the Anatomy for Sculptors online community.

Being a dyslectic student in the 2000s, he developed a method for translating medical anatomy texts into visual information that he could use while sculpting. All the anatomy books for artists at the time were text-centered, and his reference sketches soon became popular among colleagues – it became clear that visual artists soak up information best when it’s visual. For the purpose of sharing his sketches, Uldis created a small Facebook group which quickly snowballed – in the era of no Facebook ads the Anatomy for Sculptors community grew to 50 000 people in just a year.

The group members encouraged Uldis to compile his materials in a book. In spring 2013, he launched a Kickstarter campaign, and the amazing Anatomy for Sculptors community came together and quickly crowdfunded the idea for the book. A team of artists, 3D designers, anatomy experts, and medical specialists joined Uldis to create content and precise renders of anatomy models. And that is how Uldis became a published author.

Now the Anatomy for Sculptors handbooks are bestsellers among visual artists striving to better understand the human form.

Anatomy for Sculptors is the artistic branch of Anatomy Next Inc., an ed-tech startup that uses clear and reliable 3D anatomy models to create empowering education tools for artists and medical students.