 One of the best books in figure drawing & how I use it. |
| Review Date: October 4, 2001 |
| Reviewer: The Artist, USA |
| In my opinion, perhaps it is best to review this book in two aspects: a) what & how they are covered in the book and b) how I use this book. WHAT & HOW THEY ARE COVERED IN THIS BOOK: This book covers every part of a human body and how to draw them. These include proportions, balance, light & shade, head, torso, arm, hand, pelvis, leg, foot, and drapery. Not only does each section show how to draw these human organs, their anatomical aspects are also discussed in sufficient detail. Illustrations are drawings by the author, going from simplified to realistic expressions of the organs. Movement, gesture, and balance are the most useful and interesting aspects discussed for each organ as well as for the whole body. These aspects are usually not as clearly covered in other anatomy books as in this one. This is a special strength of this book compared to others. HOW I USE THIS BOOK: Although the approach I use to do life figure drawing is more like that described in "The Artist's Complete Guide to Figure Drawing : A Contemporary Perspective on the Classical Tradition" by Anthony Ryder (also read my review on this book), this book is valuable to me for the following reasons: - Certain poses that are impossible to set sufficiently long for a detailed rendition, either due to their complexity or time restraint, that a live model cannot maintain. In this case, quick sketches or incomplete drawings are done from a live model; the rest will be done based on an understanding of human anatomy. This is when this book becomes a big help. - Even when drawing from a life model, certain features are not clearly visible or existent in the same model. For instance, a beautiful face does not always come with an ideal body proportion. Obviously, in the final painting using a model, it is sometimes the artist's job to figure out what to use from the model and what to implement from an understanding of human anatomy. In my opinion, it is dangerous to "invent" what you don't see in your painting, since they will appear unnatural. However, to diminish this risk, a good understanding of human anatomy is a powerful tool to the artist for this task. This book is a good and reliable companion for me to tackle this difficult task when it comes to anatomy. To keep it short, I'd like to say that, "I don't read this book. I STUDY IT." STRONGLY RECOMMENDED. |
One of my Top 3 Bridgman books- great in drawing from memory...
|
| Review Date: March 25, 2006 |
| Reviewer: "extreme_dig_cm", Chicago, Il USA, Amazon.com Fan! |
Mainly for intermediate-level artists- I *might* have to pick this as my #1 Bridgman book. It has a little bit of *everything* depicting figure construction from memory. It's also great for general improvement; a few tips & tricks- an indispensable reference for all working artists.
And Bridgman appeals to a very wide-ranging audience: fine & commercial artists; illustrators; comicbook pencilers; animators; video-game designers; fashion artists; sculptors; computer graphics designers; students; intermediate-artists; experts; and professionals. This Complete Guide represents the best of 6 out of his 7 individual books. Drawing the Female Form is the book that gets left out. Designed by editor Howard Simon in 1952; Bridgman passed away in 1943, so it's not Bridgman's fault if anyone has issues with the layout(!).
Here's a quick breakdown of his 6 individual books, from my very favorite to least...
1. Book of a Hundred Hands- His *best* representation of hands; if hands are your main interest, skip all else & buy 100 hands.
2. Constructive Anatomy- His best individual work on detailed figure construction- especially with his cube-based construction of the head.
3. Bridgman's Life Drawing- Like a mini Complete Guide. Treats the figure in its parts as well as with basic, full-figure movement.
4. Heads, Features and Faces- Great for beginners; it isn't in-depth, and it isn't nearly overwhelming like this Complete Guide.
5. Human Machine- Genius in concept- drawings exceedingly sketchy. These are the sketchiest drawings in this Complete Guide.
6. Drawing the Draped Figure- *Very* basic. Everything you need from this exceedingly thin book is included in this Complete Guide.
In short: The basic point of Bridgman's Complete Guide is to help people to draw figures more convincingly, and even from memory. To a great degree, at least in my opinion, this book still succeeds in a very effective way...
P.S. This book is definitely *not* for beginners! Only *Intermediate-level* artists need apply. |
Advanced book, requires companions
|
| Review Date: July 8, 2005 |
| Reviewer: Surreal Friend, NY, USA |
I was very put off by this book initially for reasons that I see in some of the other reviews: very rough drawings, and somewhat inconsistent labeling. However, with my professor's repeated encouragement, I stuck with this book, and I'm glad I did. It outlines a method of machine-like construction that I have found invaluable for illustration, life drawing, and animation.
The idea of breaking down the human figure into simple forms for construction is not new - most good figure books I've come across outline methods of doing this. (One of the other reviews suggests Andrew Loomis, for example, which everyone should definitely check out.) What makes this book unique, though, is that it takes the principle a deeper extreme - you learn how to construct not only the basic masses (rib cage, legs, head, etc) but the individual bone and muscle groups that they are made out of. Solid drawing taken to a new level.
The loose, simplified style of the illustrations is necessary, I think - they capture the bare essense without any distracting detail. They also demonstrate how dynamic a drawing becomes when it is not overworked. On the other hand, they can be hard to "read" if you have no idea what you're looking at, so I think a companion book is necessary as a counterpoint for beginners like myself. My recommendation would be Dr. Paul Richer's "Artistic Anatomy," whose diagrams are the exact opposite of Bridgman's - exhaustive in detail and clarity. Usually, I have the two books open side by side - Bridgman for construction, Richer for clarification. Andrew Loomis is another must - very clear, very accessible. His system of construction is simpler, but as a result it is great for gesture drawing.
Bottom line, this book can be challenging in places, but it is well worth it to puzzle through them. |
Amazing
|
| Review Date: January 9, 2006 |
| Reviewer: Kerrigan Marois, Minneapolis, MN |
| I would rate this ten stars if I could. Speaking as someone who has gone to some school and trying to complete my portfolio through books and tutorials, this book is absolutely indispensable. Its a little hard to understand as navarro states earlier. But once you actually work through an exercise, any exercise, his method clicks very quickly and easily. I am amazed by the amount I learn and skill I gain with every page of this book. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in any area of art. |
THE BEST DRAWING BOOK YOU COULD EVER BUY!!!!
|
| Review Date: November 21, 2002 |
| Reviewer: J.P., SF Bay Area |
| I own several drawing books including: Drawing A Contemporary Approach (Betti / Sale), Figure Drawing (Goldstein), The Craft of Drawing (Wood), Gray's Anatomy, Drawing on The Right Side of The Brain (Edwards). BRIDGMAN'S is bar the best purchase, and possibly the only drawing book you need to teach yourself to draw. Let me preface that by saying, Betty Edwards book, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain I also give five stars, primarially as a fantastic tool for teaching drawing, and for those beginners who are not right-brain dominant but want to draw. Open to almost any page in Bridgman's and you'll see several illustrations to begin working from if you choose. Or, read from the beginning the simple text that helps break down the figure, and the figure's components, into shapes and go from there. This book is brimming with accurate and easy to read text and anatomical poses to learn from. I guarantee you, if you draw as you see in the Bridgman's book, or if you even copy every drawing in the Bridgman's book, you will draw the figure, and everything else, like a professional. This book should be on every teacher and professor's course syllabus for all drawing levels. Great tips, great tools, great reminders. Enjoy drawing! |
|
No video reviews found for this product.
