Anatomy Resources : BOOKS

#81

The book looks interesting, but the model form freedom of teach it’s a bit expensive. and i was thinking more about this book:
“Atlas of Human Anatomy for the Artist”, by Stephen Rogers Peck
is it good for me?

#82

It’s a good book, and I would recommend it. That being said, you will eventually need several anatomy books, as no one book can offer everything. That said, I think Peck’s book is a good starting point.

As for free resources, check out Bridgman online:

http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?f=177&t=602916

Also Google Gray’s Anatomy, there’s an online version of just images as well, as well as just tons of online resources regarding anatomy.

#83

Hi all,

I have been studying anatomy from a few books (mostly Bridgman, Richer and Peck, coupled with Vanderpoel) and now I am looking for a good book which help me see the origin of each individual relevant muscle and their insertion. I’ve found that Bridgman’s sketches, though illuminating in some other aspects, are not very helpful with this. And it is hard to understand the origin/insertion of each important muscles in Peck and Richer, because they usually appear together with the neighbouring, and often interlaced, muscles. Would you guys recommend any particular book? I can think of three books, and would like to hear what you could say about them:

One is Eliot Goldfinger’s Human Anatomy for Artist’s. I know it shows each individual muscle separately, and in great detail, but my feeling is that it also shows too many muscles that are not that relevant when depicting the human figure, and this overload of information sometimes not so relevant information may prove convincing. Am I wrong?

The other one is Valerie Winslow’s recent Classic Human Anatomy. I haven’t been able to look at it, but would be glad to hear people’s opinion about it.

The last one is “Albinus on Anatomy”, edited by Robert B. Hale and Terence Coyle. Would you say this book is particularly helpful for what I am looking for? I haven’t been able to take a look at it either-- I was able to read Hale’s foreword to it on Amazon, though, and it sounds promising… Do the plates/descriptions/explanations that follow live up to this promise?

Thanks very much!

Brenno

#84

Good idea! Thanks for the books :thumbsup:

#85

I hope this is an appropriate thread to mention my new book:
The Art Model’s Handbook: The Naked Truth about Posing for Art Classes and Fine Artists.

Figure drawing is a collaborative exercise. The model can better serve artists by understanding why they draw the human figure and what constitutes and interesting pose. Artists and instructors can have a more productive session by understanding the model’s perspective and the standard protocols for working with models.

Art Books Reviews senior editor Eileen Morey gives the book 5-stars:
“This book is 141 pages of to-the-point information. There’s no fluff, and the author is knowledgeable, experienced, and addresses issues on both sides of the canvas (or sketchpad)
If there’s anything missing from this book — from either the model or artist’s standpoint — I can’t see it. And, I’m speaking as a third-generation artist who worked as an artist’s model during her college years.”

Only $16.95 on Amazon.com. More reviews, table of contents, and ordering information can be found at http://www.artmodelbook.com/index.htm

#86

Really good Thread guys!

Well, I have on my website a list of my books, I`m always putting more stuff there…
Drop me a message anytime for any reason.

http://longhifineart.com/blog/?page_id=390

Hope I can learn a lot with you folks.

Cya around

Best Regards from Brazil.

#87

Bridgman’s books are more for conceptualizing mass and form.

(All links below are to some pictures of the books on my blog.)

Goldfinger’s Human Anatomy for Artist is a comprehensive anatomy reference book. It shows lots of individual parts in drawings and accompanying photos. What’s lacking might be whole figure illustrations.

Classic Human Anatomy by Valarie Winslow is pretty good. It shows the essentials that contribute to surface form. For the price, it’s well worth the money.

Another reference book you want to check out should be Human Anatomy for Artists by Andras Szunyoghy. Very big and detailed illustrations.

I can’t say about Albinus on Anatomy because I don’t have that book yet. But I’ve seen a few pictures before and they look great.

#88

I’ve a couple of anatomy books reviewed on my blog complete with some pictures and a page flipping video. I’m also still learning drawing as well.

Hope they will be helpful.

#89

Ok seriously, isnt there some easier book to get started with?

I’ve got 5 of the books recommended here, all of which got high reviews everywhere I looked. But none of these actually feel like they’re really for beginners ( even though some reviews say otherwise ). Isnt there some book out there that covers a few general things to help you slowly get started on the topic of anatomy rather than covering you in a huge pile of technical terms and details from the start? Because personally I dont feel like any of the books I read are really accessible to the average artist.

#90

Yes, you are wrong. First of all, he shows not all muscles, but only key important ones. i.e. he skips some deep muscles which Barchai for example lists. Still I believe Elliot does a better job, as Barchai lists some redundant which do not affect the outer form. And yes, you need to learn them all, which Goldfinger lists, if you want to draw/model well. Anatomy courses in our academy of arts take 2 years, one year for bones and the other one for muscles. Sure you can learn it faster as in academy they also learn 10 other courses. So you can memorize all those muscles in several months of learning.

I chose 3 books, which serve me well: Bammes, Goldfinger and Barchai (Barchai just because it’s in Russian and I kind of got used to it as used it from the school). I believe Bammes old prints (1982) and Goldfinger’s “human anatomy for artist: the elements of form” are two serious sources for those who are at the level of studying anatomy thoroughly. When I started, I liked form figure drawing books, but then you realize until you learn all the bones and muscles origin and insertion you won’t get far. Still, I believe there’s no ideal book, and each person may like different one.

#91

I have to second your opinion on Classic Human Anatomy by Valarie Winslow

I have this book and it is really really good. I can’t stress that enough. It goes through the skull, torso, arms, hands, legs, and feet picking out the bones as well as showing its structure in front, back and side view in skeletal and muscular forms.

#92

HI DEAR REBECCAK

I’m just looking to a few free books can be found through internet. I guess 1 or 2 references are enough. is it possible?
can you give me the links? I’ve red your references. but they’re too much. as you said it’s not necessary to read all but which of them are the best? can i download them free?

#93

I didn’t see that anyone had posted this, so I thought I would mention that if you are doing Figure Drawing, the book Figure Drawing: Design and Invention by Michael Hampton is an excellent resource, works like a class, and is much used by many in the illustration/concept art industry. It goes into gesture drawing and drawing the figure and is also works through analytical figure drawing which deals with the actual breakdown of anatomy within the figure.

I have also found the Force series by Mike Mattesi a great resource for animating and concept art, though the style is admittedly looser and less anatomical.