Purchasing An Anatomy Book...

[HunterKiller_]

I've heard good and bad things about the book by Burne Hogarth, i think i quite like it after having a flip-through at an art store.
Should i buy it? Or do you have better recommendations? I have also looked at Artistic Anatomy by Sarah Simblet, but that's almost double the price of Hogarth here.

[Evil_Sloth]

well i just orderd everysingle burne hogarth and george birdgeman book, cost a pretty penny. from what ive heard the knowledge if invaluable.
just depends how hard your going to work to get that knowledge out of the book.
good luck man.

[dbclemons]

Hogarth's drawing is bit too overly stylized for me (a capital "D" on Dynamic.) However, I think he's a good source for beginner's to get a sense of how to conceptualize the muscles and learn draw them from memory.

I like the way Bridgeman breaks down the figure to block shapes, but dislike his finished drawings.

Other than everybody's favorite Loomis, I'd recommend Stephen Rogers Peck "Atlas of Human Anatomy for the Artist." It shows a clear analysis of the inside and outside of the figure.

Robert Beverly Hale's "Drawing Lessons from the Great Masters" is also very good.

[White Rose]

ummm...before you go buying the book,
why dont you go to the library or to the book store. and just look at the book.read a couple of pages, so you can figure it out if you like it or not.

Everybody has preference, and recommendations. Recommendations help alot. but in the end, Its your choice.
I wasnt a fan of hogarth stuff, cause i didnt understand it. Until I actually sat down and looked through his books. My first book was anatomy of the head.
But I sat down and read, studied..and i learned alot from the book.

So yeah.. go to the book store, and see if you can find the books from him and see if it will work for you. Everyone has a different way of learning, artists they like and dont like.
and oh yeah..before you buy an expensive book.. shop around
places like amazon.. half.... always sell used books.... thats how i got mine at afforable prices.

good luck :3

[Evil_Sloth]

Yeah man Loomis is the standard. Those pdf's on the CA wiki are something everyone should have downloaded.

So it's Hogarth for the dynamics and drawing from the mind, Bridgeman for structure and construction, and Loomis for illustration?

Combined.... they are the three musketeers of drawing!!
:teeth:
With the Bridgeman of his drawings not being clean, I think that's good because it encourages you to find your own feet with your style, same with Hogarth so you can just use them as a base and then put your own taste on top of what you have learnt from them.

Well I just got the books, man I'm going to be spending years studying these guys. :yayca:

[armando]

Depends on your artisitic experience. Hogarth is useful for intermediate artists, people how know a bit about the basics of art. Alot of people say he's good for beginners but I disagree because of all the artistic terms he uses without giving decent definitions. Sara Simblet's book I've had a look through, but didn't really care for it. It mostly has super clear photographs taken with flat lighting, if I remember correctly, which I found hard to interpret. The anatomical drawings in the book are rather flat too, and the other drawings of various body parts I felt were too artistic(difficult to understand the form, and not drawn from useful angles) to be useful. I'll second the other people who said check them out at the library first if possible. Another thing I do is read the reviews on amazon.com.

[HunterKiller_]

Thanks guys. If Dynamic Anatomy by Hogarth is for learning to draw the human body without reference than that is most definitely for me. It's probabaly my great struggle at the moment.

[GNL]

Hunter - seriosuly get Peck's book as DBC said!
Honest its amazing. Hogarths books fine - but get Peck you wont regret it!!

[dbclemons]

Hunter - seriosuly get Peck's book as DBC said!
Honest its amazing. Hogarths books fine - but get Peck you wont regret it!!

Indeed. It's a book that keeps on giving, long after the Hogarth's have been passed on to some other poor smuck. :P

[DavePalumbo]

I just picked up An Atlas of Anatomy for Artists by Fritz Schider at a used bookstore yesterday and I'm LOVING it. It's probably not ideal as a first anatomy book, but it's amazing for a handy reference and more technical study

[HunterKiller_]

Had a look at Peck's on Amazon. I'll see if i can find at any stores.
I'm not into internet shopping unfortuanntely, it seems more of a hassle to me than a convinence.

[GNL]

Hunter man - internet shoppings the only reason i actually buy anything. I hate handing over notes to people in shops.....

What amazon do you buy from if ur in New Zealand?

Dbc - haha your totally right about the D in dynamic anatomy!
Hogarths hand book is quite good- but if i had to choose again i wouldent buy it. I dont like his figures at all, at least compared to bridgemans. They feel a bit blobby/bendy ... dunno if thats just me??

Pecks books just perfect.

oh and the skeleton plates from albinus are quite good too.

[bdfoster]

Hunter - seriosuly get Peck's book as DBC said!
Honest its amazing. Hogarths books fine - but get Peck you wont regret it!!

Let me jump on the bandwagon here. Peck was one of the first anatomy books I ever bought (along with Hogarth), and I didn't realize how good I had it. 13 years later, I still pull Peck out, and just recently started doing a cover to cover read/study/analysis of the book. Again. Meanwhile my complete collection of Hogarth books sits on my shelf gathering dust, where they've been since I went to a figure drawing class and saw how the body really works.

[BlackGuy]

Is there an anatamy book that not only shows the muscles and where they are, but also illustrates exactly what they pull, the range of motion they cause, and how they deform the skin when they're flexed?



Oh and yes, Peck's book is fucking AWESOME.

[Ryn]

I bought Dynamic Anatomy and hated it. I'm more interested in learning technical, unstylized anatomy from which I can build my own art from. A personal choice, surely, but that's just my 2 cents.

[malachi]

Is there an anatamy book that not only shows the muscles and where they are, but also illustrates exactly what they pull, the range of motion they cause, and how they deform the skin when they're flexed?



Oh and yes, Peck's book is fucking AWESOME.

The best book I've come across on anatomy so far has been a weight lifting book that illustrates motion of both male and female figures. I definitely recommend adding this book to your reference library. It's called "strength training anatomy" by Frederic Delavier 2nd edition.

I use it daily for modeling characters.

[BlackGuy]

much appreciated man, I'll check that out next time I'm in the bookstore

[Nerdlinger]

Yo!
Robert Beverly Hale is the name you wanna look out for

[BRANDISH]

yea, hogarth is great and has some interesting concepts that really help.
But do get a decent anatomy book, i have the german bammes book, but i am sure there are good english books, maybe richter, but i havent yet had a look at it myself.
Loomis too, has some interesting concepts also but as a serious "artists anatomy" its not worth shit imho.
i mean wtf high heels as part of female anatomy ?? :eyeloss:

well, anyway, books on "figuredrawing" and "artists anatomy" are not the same thing

[Sirithduriel]

(I'm wondering what is more useful for someone who is only just starting studying anatomy (I have drawn for years, but I never really studied anything, and I'm changing that right now).

I've seen the book by Sarah Simblet in a few bookstores, and I liked the look of it, but I don't know how useful it will be. I liked the overlays of bones over photographs, but as armando said, I don't know how useful such a thing will be.
I rather learn how to construct a body and how it works. I read that Bridgman is good for the construction and structure, so might that be good? And Peck for learning what's where?)


Nvm, just bought Constructive Anatomy by Bridgman and the Atlas by Peck... Yeah, holidays...

[jt4470]

I personally think Bridgman is the easiest to grasp. I dunno..its easier to draw block forms.
I recommend getting the Vilppu Drawing Manual for realistic and dynamic figure drawing (no where near as dynamic as Hogarth, lol). It's one of my fav. anatomy drawing books.

[HunterKiller_]

Pecks is currently winning by majority.
I did check with a local art book store, unfortuanntely, they don't have Pecks, but said they can order it. Might do that.
Thanks for all the feedback.

[Lordmaul30]

bridgman's books are good overall. let's not forget that's where frank frazetta learned his anatomy from. but you need ALL of bridgman's books.

hogarth is good as far as proportions are concerned.

fritz shrider is good although i noticed there were no description's on specific tendons i was looking for....and they were important to surface anatomy....which led me to look for a few others.

vanderpoole's book is good and he was a student of bridgman....

[jblack]

this is a good handbook to get to go with any Anatomy book. Great to have when you need a quick reference...I actually use mine to study and memorize the key muscles while I am in between tasks.

you can get the book here www.watkissart.com

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7007/3376/1600/IMG_0469.jpg

[bkdev]

Altas of Human Anatomy for the Artist by Peck would be my choice.

Hogarth is good if you planning to have alot of body tension and dynamic movements in your drawings.

Loomis is the best for the illustration aspect