Anatomy for the Artist

Rating:
Summary: The Holy Grail of figure drawing books
Review: Of all the figure drawing books I've seen and owned (ranging from 'okay' to 'just plain god-awful'), this is the most superb manual to ever hit the shelves. Let me start by saying that this book probably isn't the best resource if you have absolutely no prior background in figure drawing. This is NOT a foundational text. No wire-frame sketches, no triangles and cylinders, none of that '7-to-8-heads-tall' business. This is for those who have at least had that first or second figure drawing class and wish to expand their abilities, and believe me, this is the best you can get. The photos are gorgeous and well-lit, with not a single grainy shot in the bunch. Each area of the body is covered in detail ...The variety of poses offered are limited, but they do the job of showing you the interaction of light, skin, and the bone and muscle underneath, so you can, after plenty of practice, make up your own poses -- and not have your figures look as if they just rolled off a cliff. Even the texts on art history and anatomy are interesting. The translucent overlays of bone sketches over actual photographs were awesome, and the author should have given us more than just the handful that were offered. Barring that, get this book. Take it with you wherever you go. Know it. Cherish it. Love it. Issue threats of grievous bodily harm to those who would dare lay their hands on your copy. You'll be glad you did.

Rating:
Summary: the body perfect
Review: The photography is great and the pictures are helpful to anyone studying anatomy...with so many anatomy books looking at the body from the inside out, it's nice to finally have one that looks at it from the outside in.

Rating:
Summary: A worthwhile anatomy book
Review: This book doesn't try to contain all the knowledge there is related to anatomy and drawing the human figure. That would take several volumes or more. It just does a few important things well. I think the main strength of this book is that it gives you an intuitive feeling for the human body's structure. It does a lot more than just list parts. It tells you how the body works, how the parts work together, and the nature of those parts. She gives you more scientific and historical information than other books generally do. The second strength is the large number of well-lit photographs of fit, lean, muscular models in many informative, useful poses. The models are pretty good for seeing the contours of muscles, bones, and connective tissues. I think the inclusuion of a few body builders might've been good too. The latter chapters of the book deal with poses and the body in motion. They include many photographs of models. I appreciated this, and it's something not a lot of anatomy books have.
As for the overlays, I didn't think they were all that important. As for the drawings of the muscles and bones, they were useful and good, but they could've been better. I would've prefered some sort of smoothly shaded renderings instead of scratchy pen & ink drawings. It would also have been nice to have the muscles in different colors so they'd be easier to differentiate. Although vellum is nice, it tends to warp from humidity and it's not transparent enough. Therefore it would've been better to make the overlays out of plastic.
While this isn't the be-all, end-all of anatomy books, I think it is one of the better books to include in your anatomy library. I have several other great anatomy books besides this one.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent photography. Average content.
Review: This is an interesting book in that the photography is excellent. Do you like nude bodies that are in very good shape? This one has it in excess. As one who has studied artistic anatomy for over twenty years I own just about every book written on the subject. One of the things I appreciate are sources showing surface anatomy; with models that have muscle definition. The odd thing about this book is how much could have been done with it. There are about 7 or 8 transparencys that over lay the photos. All but one of these show the skeletal detail over a photo. When I am looking at the surface anatomy of a figure and trying to determine which muscles are which, I would rather have an overlay of the muscles than of the skeleton. This must have been the decision of an editor. The drawings depicting the muscles are good, no better than what has been done. Goldfinger's Human Anatomy for Artists or Richer's Artistic Anatomy are very hard to beat. The other odd note about this book is the bibliography. It's as though the items chosen were selected for their quirky nature and not their value as a source of information. Five stars for the photography, negative two stars for the anatomical content.

Rating:
Summary: a excellent general reference
Review: this is really a coffee table anatomy book, as it is centered on john davis's spectacular color photographs of physically pleasing young models, artsy anatomical illustrations of bones and muscle groups, a gallery of studio poses, and kewl design touches. (the translucent muscle diagrams are especially neat: they fold over matching full color photographs of head, limbs and torso, though the book bindery doesn't always line up the two exactly.) a bonus is the unique and interesting introductory history of anatomical studies. the coverage is broad stroke -- focusing on large muscle groups, or anatomical units such as the hand, not on individual bones or muscles. my disappointments include the appallingly skimpy treatment of facial emotions, the breezy anatomical descriptions (one gets a poor idea of individual muscle form and action), the narrow sampling of model physical types (all are gorgeous), and the fatuous gallery of simblet sketches, who likes to draw bodies piled on top of each other. for practical work, i much prefer eliot goldfinger's masterful "encyclopedia" of human anatomy for the artist, but simblet's book is easier to use as a quick or general reference and also makes a provocative browse for your dinner guests. best is to own both, and go to goldfinger if your question requires authoritative, in depth information.

Rating:
Summary: decent
Review: This is the best reference guide for drawing people that I have found. The poses and lighting are excellent! Most artist references on the figure show the skeleton and muscles but this book uses semi-transparent overlays so an artist can see a photo of a person then, using the overlay, see how the skeleton or muscles shape the body. A must have for any serious artist.

Rating:
Summary: A must have for serious artist
Review: This is the best reference guide for drawing people that I have found. The poses and lighting are excellent! Most artist references on the figure show the skeleton and muscles but this book uses semi-transparent overlays so an artist can see a photo of a person then, using the overlay, see how the skeleton or muscles shape the body. A must have for any serious artist.