I like Bridgman - what else is a must-have for figure drawing?

[quaternion]

Hi,

I really like drawing studies from Bridgman (my favourite is Constructive Anatomy). But I would like to ask which other books on figure drawing / anatomy for artists are really good, or must-haves?

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Another question (this is really another one, I do not want to constrain the above question): there's two things that I miss in all of those Bridgman books that I know.


He never does any elaborate shading/rendering
He doesn't draw many complete figures


Could you suggest a book that fills these gaps (I mean especially aiming at these gaps)?

But the first question is more important to me!

[Dorkthrone]

Look up Loomis and Hogarth.

[bloodless]

wrong section?

Look up Joseph Sheppard

[quaternion]

Thank you!

Can you give me some help to pick some of these books to start with?

Hogarth: I googled and found Dynamic Figure Drawing and Dynamic Light and Shade the most appealing, but that's just from the titles.

Sheppard: I have basically found these:


Anatomy: A Complete Guide for Artists
Realistic Figure Drawing
Drawing the Male Figure
Drawing the Female Figure


The first two can be easily bought in Germany, but the last two are currently not in stock, and the used ones are expensive (about 50€ each). The libraries of my city only have Anatomy: A Complete Guide for Artists.

[Shard]

dont forget Bargue..you'll have plenty of full figure reference and elaborate shading with his drawing course.

[Jonas Heirwegh]

Bammes...

[Slash]

vilppu

[PieterV]

Bammes, Vilppu... Peck seems pretty good too, haven't got his books tough.
Don't like Hogarth personally... Loomis is great al around, I always tought his construction methods are a bit stiff, but that might just be me.

Here are some Vilppu vids: http://www.youtube.com/user/vilppustore

[OmenSpirits]

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=152626

Follow ^ link^.

[Elwell]

Another question (this is really another one, I do not want to constrain the above question): there's two things that I miss in all of those Bridgman books that I know.


He never does any elaborate shading/rendering
He doesn't draw many complete figures


Could you suggest a book that fills these gaps (I mean especially aiming at these gaps)?

The Human Figure by Vanderpoel (http://www.amazon.com/Human-Figure-John-H-Vanderpoel/dp/0486204324) takes the same basic structural, constructive approach as Bridgman in a much more refined, classically finished direction. Get it, you'll like it, and like Bridgman, it's cheap.

[Meloncov]

Mattesi is definitely worth a look.

[Ian Miles]

I really like Jack Hamm recently. :)

[sfa]

Get the new book by Michael Hampton called Figure Drawing: Design & Invention. It's essentially a primer on the Art Center College of Design method of constructing the figure, popularized by Steve Huston and his students (Kevin Chen, Charles Hu, etc.). Hampton also went to ACCD and had the good fortune to study under John Watkiss and Glenn Vilppu, so you can see a little of those instructors' influences creeping in as well.

The book is 240 full-color pages packed with information and drawings. Price is relatively dirt cheap - $35.00. Hampton goes over essentials such as gesture, straights versus curves, the I/C/S lines, simplification of muscles and bodies into basic volumes, head construction, rendering, emphasizing story over mere copying - pretty much the whole shebang.

If you guys don't have the good fortune to take figure drawing classes here in Southern California at schools like CDA, 3Kick, or ACCD, this book really is the next best thing to getting the kind of instruction they offer.

And just so you know, quaternion - yes, it's a fantastic complement to Bridgman too, since both are constructive methods. You can use one to help broaden your understanding of the other.

Check out a sample PDF of the book here:
http://www.figuredrawing.info/Book_Sample.pdf

You can order the book here:
http://www.figuredrawing.info/

P.S. This is being released as a limited run. I don't know how many books they have left or if they are planning a reprint... so don't sit on the fence too long if you're thinking about buying it. Good luck and enjoy!