REFERENCE BOOKS FOR ARTISTIC ANATOMY AND FIGURATIVE DRAWING:
(Click book titles to be taken to their particular page on Amazon.com - you don't have to buy from them, but you can see what the cover looks like, etc. and compare prices)
[b][u]INSTRUCTIONAL:[/u][/b]
["Albinus on Anatomy"](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/048625836X/002-3325844-7329607?v=glance&n=283155&n=507846&s=books&v=glance), by Robert Beverly Hale and Terence Coyle - Dover Publications, publisher
["Artistic Anatomy"](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0823002977/002-3325844-7329607?v=glance&n=283155&s=books&v=glance), by Dr. Paul Richer - Watson Guptill, publisher
["Anatomy Lessons From The Great Masters"](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0823002810/002-3325844-7329607?v=glance&n=283155&s=books&v=glance), by Robert Beverly Hale and Terence Coyle - Watson Guptill, publisher
["Atlas of Human Anatomy for the Artist"](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0195030958/002-3325844-7329607?v=glance&n=283155&s=books&v=glance), by Stephen Rogers Peck - Oxford University Press, publisher
["An Atlas of Anatomy for Artists"](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0486202410/002-3325844-7329607?v=glance&n=283155&s=books&v=glance), by Fritz Schider - Dover Publications, publisher
["Anatomy for the Artist"](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0316875236/002-3325844-7329607?v=glance&n=283155&s=books&v=glance), by Jeno Barcsay - Barnes & Noble Books, publisher
["Human Anatomy for Artists - The Elements of Form"](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0195052064/002-3325844-7329607?v=glance&n=283155&s=books&v=glance), by Eliot Goldfinger - Oxford University Press, publisher
["Master Class in Figure Drawing"](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0823030148/002-3325844-7329607?v=glance&n=283155&s=books&v=glance), by Robert Beverly Hale - Watson Guptill, publisher
["Figure Drawing For All It's Worth"](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00005VWK3/002-3325844-7329607?v=glance&n=283155&s=books&v=glance), by Andrew Loomis - Viking Press (out of print)
["Dynamic Anatomy"](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0823015521/002-3325844-7329607?v=glance&n=283155&s=books&v=glance), by Burne Hogarth - Watson Guptill, publisher[](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1892053039/002-3325844-7329607?v=glance&n=283155&s=books&v=glance)
["The Human Machine: The Anatomical Structure and Mechanism of the Human Body"](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0486227073/002-3325844-7329607?v=glance&n=283155&s=books&v=glance), by George Bridgeman - Dover, publisher
["](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0879515368/pricecompar0d-20/ref%3Dnosim/102-1911993-6034569)[High-Focus Drawing - A Revolutionary Approach to Drawing the Figure", by James McMullan - Overlook Press, publisher](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0879515368/pricecompar0d-20/ref%3Dnosim/102-1911993-6034569)
["The Artist's Complete Guide to Figure Drawing"](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0823003035/ref=pd_kar_gw_1/103-2497184-1739012?%5Fencoding=UTF8%2CUTF8&v=glance&n=283155) by Anthony Ryder (artist).
Excellent book, and not too expensive! The artist is a traditional artist working in pencil ~ his work is HIGHLY realistic and beautiful.
[Anatomy for the Artist (Hardcover)](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/078948045X/sr=8-2/qid=1149647792/ref=pd_bbs_2/102-5070899-5230558?%5Fencoding=UTF8) by Sarah Simblet, John Davis
This books contains beautiful photographs, more so than it does Anatomical instruction. It does contain a few overlays of skeletal drawings etc., but it is worth the money for the excellent professional quality photographs of highly muscled models.
EDIT:
[](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-form/002-3325844-7329607)[[b]Entire Master Draughtsman Series of Paperback Books:[/b]](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/ref=br_ss_hs/103-2497184-1739012?platform=gurupa&url=index%3Dstripbooks%3Arelevance-above%26dispatch%3Dsearch%26results-process%3Dbin&field-keywords=Master+Draughtsman+Series&Go.x=15&Go.y=5&Go=Go)
Great books because they are cheap, light, and great for copying from, as you will not be concerned about destroying the book ~ they are really instructional devices, more than anything else.
(to find: run search for "master draughtsman series" on Amazon.com).
[b]
EDIT 12/07:[/b]
[Visualizing Muscles: A New Ecorché Approach to Surface Anatomy (Paperback) by John Cody](http://www.amazon.com/Visualizing-Muscles-Ecorch%C3%A9-Approach-Surface/dp/070060426X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198271373&sr=8-1)
Fantastic reference featuring photos of a model painted with muscle striations. Great book!!!
EDIT 12/07:
BOOKS BY / ABOUT DRAUGHTSMEN:
["Michelangelo"](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0914427520/002-3325844-7329607?v=glance&n=283155&s=books&v=glance), by Bernard Lamarche-Vadel - Chartwell Books, Inc., publisher
["Michelangelo And His Drawings"](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0300047967/002-3325844-7329607?v=glance&n=283155&s=books&v=glance), by Michael Hirst - Yale University Press
["Pontormo"](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0810937174/002-3325844-7329607?v=glance&n=283155&s=books&v=glance), by/edited by Salvatore S. Nigro and Marianne Scheider - Schirmer / Mosel, publisher
["The Drawings of Rubens"](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0875051863/002-3325844-7329607?v=glance&n=283155&s=books&v=glance), Master Draughtsman Series of books - Borden Publishing Company, publisher
["The Drawings of Harry Carmean"](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/087505210X/002-3325844-7329607?v=glance&n=283155&s=books&v=glance), Master Draughtsman Series of books - Borden Publishing Company, publisher
["Carmean"](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0875052304/002-3325844-7329607?v=glance&n=283155&s=books&v=glance), by June Harwood - Harwood / Carmean, publisher
[b][u]OF INTEREST:[/u][/b]
["Encyclopaedia Anatomica - Museo La Specola Florence"](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/3822810185/002-3325844-7329607?v=glance&n=283155&s=books&v=glance)- Taschen, publisher
_____________
Clearly, you don't need all of these! The best thing to do is hunt a few of the top INSTRUCTIONAL books down online or in the bookstores, and see what you like best.
So long as the books that you find contain reference including the skeleton in front, back, and side view, as well as the muscular and surface structures in these three views, you should be fine. Often, artists like to have several books on hand, however, as each reference book can offer something unique, even if the same subject matter is covered.
In terms of books about ARTISTS, everyone should have a book containing Michelangelo's Drawings and Paintings in my opinion! After that, Rubens. After that, Pontormo. These are just my three favorite artists that I drool over. But definitely collect books on artists you love and never loan them! :)
Hope these are useful!
~Rebeccak