Planes of the Human Body

[rmelville]

Lately, I've been trying to build up my knowledge and understanding of the planes that make up the human figure, and I wondered if anyone has any suggestions on learning material (books, charts, 3D models, etc)?

There seems to be a lot of material out there regarding the planes of the head, but I haven't been able to find nearly as much on the planar structure of the torso and limbs. I've been reading through Bridgeman, but sometimes I have difficulty interpreting the planes in his drawings, so any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks!

[K-bot]

Bridgmans (http://books.google.com/books?id=Fk91Y-FiOJYC&dq=constructive+anatomy&pg=PP1&ots=_0IQe6Bek7&sig=_tuHYT4Vy6uEcET6KqtcpIFlG2E&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result#PPP1,M1) book is great for this, it explains all the forms as interlocking wedges and planes.

None of the really good planar drawings are in that sample though, I recomend you pick up the book. I got mine at Barnes and Noble for $7 PRICELSS


EDIT: I just noticed you said your already reading this book. You should copy the drawings out of it if your not understanding. You learn art by doing not looking.

[Elwell]

Vanderpoel (http://www.amazon.com/Human-Figure-John-H-Vanderpoel/dp/0486204324)

[Arshes Nei]

Vanderpoel (http://www.amazon.com/Human-Figure-John-H-Vanderpoel/dp/0486204324)

Was this the book that had stories of students making mistakes? Like the one guy who was a salesman and kept making the heads really big compared to the rest of the body due to the fact he was a salesman and faces make a bigger impression?

[rmelville]

K-Bot: You're right. I need to spend more time copying those Bridgman drawings.

Elwell: Thanks. I'm definitely gonna check that book out. Can't beat the price either.

[tecnophreak]

i just got anatomy for the artist bby sarah simblet from barnes and noble to bruch on up whats goin on UNDERNEATH the skin. thats where the magic happens.
its a whopping 40$ though, but every bit worth it so far

[Euphemism]

Draw from real life, do life drawing, and read up on Andrew Loomis' works and how-to books. Just don't buy anything by Christopher Hart. EVER. D:

[Arshes Nei]

Draw from real life, do life drawing, and read up on Andrew Loomis' works and how-to books. Just don't buy anything by Christopher Hart. EVER. D:

Very True. Also if he's looking for planes of the body, finding stuff from Gottfried Bammes is very good. I'd also recommend actually studying Henry Yan's book because he seems to capture it very well through charcoal. Yan is a very nice guy, he autographs any of his books he sends out and actually is a bit conversational when you send an email request.

http://www.henryyanart.com

[K-bot]

Yes, the Yan stuff is very cool.

[Vay]

Bridgmans (http://books.google.com/books?id=Fk91Y-FiOJYC&dq=constructive+anatomy&pg=PP1&ots=_0IQe6Bek7&sig=_tuHYT4Vy6uEcET6KqtcpIFlG2E&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result#PPP1,M1) book is great for this, it explains all the forms as interlocking wedges and planes.

None of the really good planar drawings are in that sample though, I recomend you pick up the book. I got mine at Barnes and Noble for $7 PRICELSS


EDIT: I just noticed you said your already reading this book. You should copy the drawings out of it if your not understanding. You learn art by doing not looking.

I never knew you were supposed to copy bridgman's sketches. They are so loose, I don't know which one to copy. I need to learn the planes so I can shade better, so is Bridgman's book enough for learning planes? I heard about the Reilly method, but is it worth buying another book on that even if I know what the dark parts are and light parts are?

[sone_one]

Kevin Chens studies at characterdesign.com (http://characterdesigns.com/index.php?sitepage=tutorials)

on the topic of lifedrawing (=/= drawing from life),
i think it makes no sense to be pushed into without a
concept to go by. loomis, bridgeman, chen/lemen/gist
(based on reillys concept) are providing those, among
others. algorythms to manage, process and organize
the vast quantity of information youre confronted with,
while a model is posing in front of you.

without a concept youre bound to move between,
putting down icons (another form of concept, e.g.
football-shaped eyes,...) and copying. but youll hardly
be able to distill valueable information.

[JeffX99]

To be honest I don't think you have to look much farther than Loomis Figure Drawing:

[trout mix]

To be honest I don't think you have to look much farther than Loomis Figure Drawing:

What's this from?

[Elwell]

What's this from?

http://www.amazon.com/Figure-Drawing-All-Its-Worth/dp/0857680986/

[AndreasM]

You can also download his books in PDF files here (http://www.placidchaos.com/AM/index.php/2006/02/21/andrew_loomis). Vanderpoel is a bit of a heavy read, but recommended. One of my teachers (http://ameralart.com/) used to reccomend this one in his anatomy classes, saying "keep this one under your pillow, read it when you go to the bathroom" etc.

What's worked for me so far...don't hesitate to combine all the ideas presented in different books. You could easily lump all the ideas from Bridgman, Bammes and kChen together with loomis and Richer (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_14?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=richer+anatomy&x=0&y=0&sprefix=richer+anatomy). Use kchen and bridgman as a starting point, and refer to Richer when you need to dvelve into the specifics. One thing that worked for me, was to copy some of kchen's figure diagrams, and then draw a layer of muscles on top, with Richer's book as reference. I sometimes would find Bridgman's marks to be a bit mystifying or too abstract, and would redeem this by simply copying in detail some plates from Richer's book. Copy everything, untill you get a feel of the forms you are studying.

As for mass drawing, I think Thomas Eakins' drawings (http://inspirationalartworks.blogspot.com/search/label/Eakins%20Thomas) shows a very simple and effective way of grouping planes and values.

[Disciplette]

Are there any books similar to these about animal anatomy that can be recommended?