Looking for good Anatomy books, any recommendations?

**Koast** · November 10th, 2007, 12:59 AM

The subject pretty much says it all

I'm a fan of the anime/manga style but I wanna look into anatomy to boost up my art skills a bit more, I know I got trouble with drawing a lot of things, and I have been told I was good, but now I feel like I've been ignoring it for too long @_@ I wanna get even better so I can (hopefully) one day get published..! So if anyone has any good recommendations for books, feel free to recommend them to me, thanks! ^_^

**Flake** · November 10th, 2007, 06:44 AM

http://conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=82706

**Renegade89** · November 11th, 2007, 05:58 PM

Ok, good to see you want start with it.
Some good books are the ones made by Andrew Loomis, is a name very popular around here.
http://www.placidchaos.com/Loomis/ you can download all of them for free in pdf , dont worry, is legal since they are not copyrighted, another reason everyone loves them

**Firefly** · November 11th, 2007, 11:15 PM

dont worry, is legal since they are not copyrighted, another reason everyone loves them

um yeah, I don't think that's true Renegade. The books are out of print, but Loomis' family owns the copyright to his books until something like 75 years after his death which won't be until the 2030s.

And to Koast, personally I prefer Bridgman's anatomy books. His work is more organic and feels more natural to me.

**Renegade89** · November 11th, 2007, 11:33 PM

Originally Posted by Firefly

um yeah, I don't think that's true Renegade. The books are out of print, but Loomis' family owns the copyright to his books until something like 75 years after his death which won't be until the 2030s.
.

I think you are right, the english wiki says that, i just seing it know, but other sites dont say the same, the best example is the spanish wiki article : http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Loomis

The last line says :" His books at this moment lack of any copyright and they can be found online". Below they offer 2 links to download the books, all 6 of them.

The english version makes more sense,well millions of criminals including me has those books in pdf.

**Brittons** · November 12th, 2007, 12:18 AM

You know... this is a little unothodox, but I think it makes sense. Look at George Bridgman's complete guide to drawing from life... It's a little complicated and chaotic in the drawings, so it helps to reference it with other things... like... Women's Physic World bodybuilding magazine. You'll feel like you want to die going to the counter to actually buy a copy, but it's a great reference in the sense that their poses are often the same as the one's bridgman drew and the photography is pretty good. Women bodybuilders are good because they take the proportions of what Bridgman drew, where male bodybuilders get huge and sort of distorted. Frazetta is also like Bridgman "cleaned up" and is a good thing to cross reference the chaotic (but amazing) Bridgman drawings that can otherwise be hard to understand. I would recommend a bag of some sort or perhaps a halloween mask when you go to buy the magazine. Maybe pay a neighbor to do it for you.

**Firefly** · November 12th, 2007, 12:33 PM

Originally Posted by Renegade89

well millions of criminals including me has those books in pdf.

Me too.

**L. Scott Knight** · November 12th, 2007, 04:16 PM

Well, I appreciate the link. I never even knew there was so many books by him. I'd only ever heard of Figure Drawing For All It's Worth and I had a sucky scan copy of that.

I've asked at some big book stores and they say they always keep an eye out for a reprint but there is never one.

So I will study these wonderful books and if his estate ever wanted money for them I'd give it up in a heart beat. I'd also buy the books because I'd rather have them in hard form by a long shot. But until they do that what else can I do... not learn from the Master?

**FlameDragon** · November 12th, 2007, 05:45 PM

I'd recommend:

John Raynes Complete Approach to Figure Drawing (dont know if that's the exact title)
Vilpuu (I can give you the link)
Sheppard (for actual the skeleton and muscles, and turnaronds)
Gottfried Bammes

**jt4470** · November 13th, 2007, 02:17 PM

I'm also going to recommend Bridgman, not as a reference per se, but it helps you understand how to construct the figure. While Loomis is great, it can be kind of hard to adapt

**Art_Addict** · November 14th, 2007, 03:54 AM

If you're interested in drawing and painting the figure these are hard to beat :

- Ted Seth Jacobs : " Drawing with an open mind"
- Tony Ryder : "The artist's complete guide to figure drawing"

**OldJake666** · November 16th, 2007, 08:04 PM

I love Atlas of Human Anatomy for the Artist by Stephen Rodger Peck and George Bridgman's Complete Guide to Drawing from Life. They're very different from each other. AoHA takes a more scientific approach while GBCGtDfL takes a more artsy approach. Both rock...

**Cory Hinman** · November 17th, 2007, 08:28 PM

I like the Peck book too, as well as the classic Richer text, ARTISTIC ANATOMY, translated from the French by Robert Beverly Hale, who is also the author of my other favorite figure-drawing/anatomy books, MASTER CLASS IN FIGURE DRAWING, DRAWING LESSONS FROM THE GREAT MASTERS, and ANATOMY LESSONS FROM THE GREAT MASTERS. Also good is the book ALBINUS ON ANATOMY, by Robert Beverly Hale and Terence Coyle.

**jcdlr** · November 29th, 2007, 01:05 AM

Try this book...George Bridgeman's Complete guide to drawing from life.

**Eurysaces** · December 3rd, 2007, 11:59 AM

My favorite (ever since I was a child!) is "The Human Figure: Anatomy for Artists" by David K Rubins.

Not only does this book have excellent pictures of all the requisite bones and muscles, but he also shows each part of the body bending and twisting.

Rubins says in his introduction that he has exaggerated the appearance of muscles and bones in his drawings of the outside of the body. This is so helpful! Unlike photographs and real models, it is obvious from his drawings where all those muscles and bones inside are relative to the outside of the figure.

And! this book is tiny (unlike all those other books) and perfect for toting around to all your life drawing sessions as a handy cheat sheet of sorts.

I've looked at all those other books, peck, bridgeman, hale etc and yes they all have many things that Rubins' book does not, but I think that Rubins remains an excellent first anatomy book, more so than hale's or bridgmans. Peck I think would also be a good one because he has useful diagrams which help you break the figure into simpler shapes. But then he does most of his drawings in guache---ugly!

So, check it out from your local library, or trust me and buy it (from your local independant bookseller of course)