Something different for a change, rather than the Photoshop tutorials which have been coming here in the past couple of weeks I will give a look into a book which I use for reference when it comes to drawing. Just like with anything, if you’re planning on learning it you’ll need a “tutor”. This doesn’t so [...]
Something different for a change, rather than the Photoshop tutorials which have been coming here in the past couple of weeks I will give a look into a book which I use for reference when it comes to drawing.
Just like with anything, if you’re planning on learning it you’ll need a “tutor”. This doesn’t so much have to be a school or a person, but you’ll probably find a hard time teaching yourself everything by yourself.
When it comes to figure drawing you can of course learn this at art school or from various resources but there are 2 major names when it comes to published material, Loomis and Bridgman (if you’re interested in comic style drawing you can also add Christopher Hart to this list).
These draftsman have a couple of great things in common, first of all they’re talented in their trade but second of all they shared their knowledge in distinctive ways through their books. Many can instantly recognize the studies you do using Bridgman as reference, you can say that this says a great deal about the popularity of his books.
A great thing about this book is that rather than diving into the anatomy directly or just focuses on rendering the image it begins really basic with explaining on how you can create your very first figure ever with just using a couple of lines.
This level of simplicity in explanation is used throughout the entire book, you will get explained exactly on how you will be wanting to move forwards and after you get the hang of the basics you will slowly start to move into the anatomy, placing more eye into the detail of your figures.
In total the book offers you over a thousand different images, a great set of reference which you can use for doing your studies and improving your skills.
Probably the best thing about this book is it’s pricing, the Loomis books can be quite expensive but the Bridgman’s books are affordable for everybody. Especially when starting out you’ll probably not want to spend too much money since after all what if you would find out that you won’t like drawing at all, with the Bridgman’s book starting at just over $7 you can buy it for just over the price of a big mac menu.
For myself one thing is sure, I’ll still be using it for a while to work up my figure drawing skills. So far it’s been quite a good help already and a great source for inspiration for the moments I just couldn’t come up with a pose to draw.
Disclosure: The amazon link used above is an affiliate link, this means that if you would decide to purchase the product I get a referral bonus.
Oct 20 at 8:37 pm
Comment: #1
Ah. Just yesterday I got two books from Amazon by Bridgman - ‘Constructive Anatomy’ and ‘Heads, Features and Faces’.
I definitely is a bit difficult read - but is mostly due to style. After Hart’s book, I can quite relate to what Bridman is saying. Thanks for the tip.
Oct 21 at 2:04 am
Comment: #2
They’re a bit old-fashioned to read :P, but having a book of Hart along in example to fill in the gaps you don’t understand works great. Not to mention of course seeing things in different styles allows you to create more of a personal style as well :).
Oct 21 at 4:30 am
Comment: #3
Yup - tie these books along with lots of practice, and you soon start to get the hang of it.
I have been using Hart’s book, and people have started to say that I am getting better at anatomy - not that it is great. But considering the fact that earlier it was a bit… err… crap?
Oct 21 at 12:34 pm
Comment: #4
Anatomy definitely is a hard point to get right, even though I have to study it for medicine it’s completely different when you actually try to draw :P. But it’s getting better at least, especially if I compare it with the drawings I made before I really started to learn, haha.
Main thing for me which comes with some issues still is proportions, but the more I practice the better those become as well :-).