[Xyster21]

Can someone suggest to me some good books on anatomy that they have actually used (as opposed to 'hearing' about them etc) and can say were worth reading? I can goto the library, but with my schedule... I would probably read it when its already due... I rather just buy one and have it handy when I get home from work late at night to study/practice/etc from. So if anyone has read a good book on something worthwhile to learn from please suggest I'd appreciate any help

If it helps I am currently reading and doing the work suggested in:

The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain
Drawing on the Artist Within
Bridgman's Complete Guide to Drawing from Life

_________________
Meep meep

[AndyT]

[bearsclover]

Burne Hogarth really gave me a shot in the arm when I was struggling with Life Drawing. (I did Life Drawing okay, but making up my own figures was a problem.) So I got "Dynmaic Figure Drawing" by Hogarth. I loved it. And it really did help. A LOT. Then, things got better for me when my art school invited Mr. Hogarth to teach Figure Drawing there for a while. (It was Otis in L.A.) So I was able to attend his classes for a few semesters. That was pretty cool. And yeah, it helped me even more.

But, with that said, Hogarth's style is, well, "dynamic," and lest you get a "Hogarthy" style by just referring to his book, you should get some other books. There's an excellent anatomy book by Louise Gordon (can't recall the name, just look it up on Amazon.com) that is highly recommended. It was used in several of my Life Drawing and Figure drawing classes.

And then there's the ever lovin' Andrew Loomis. You can find his book online, since the actual book itself is out of print. (For some mysterious reason.) It's as good as they say. I have a copy of "Figure Drawing For What It's Worth" that I got back when I was going to art school, and it remains a favorite to this day.

Hope this gives you a start; I know others will be along shortly to add to the list!
_________________
Madness takes its toll - please have exact change.

[bearsclover]

Man, AndyT, great minds think alike! You also recommended Louise Gordon!
_________________
Madness takes its toll - please have exact change.

[Xyster21]

Andy T: Thx. I was asking because I don't have time to goto the library and look through them for myself. Not that I am lazy... just that the time I get home from work is late and everything is closed except for the 24 hr doughnut shops (And jack in the box)... and then there is school... so my day is jam packed with an hour or so breather in between for food and slacking. I am changing jobs so it will get more flexible later on down the road (hopefully) so that I could go and check em out.
I'll check out those books when I get a chance though
_________________
Meep meep

[AndyT]

[Xyster21]

Hold on a sec I think my friend might have the "Drawing the Human Head" book, might save $$ to buy it off him or atleast borrow it.

Bearsclover: I have the loomis online book(s) :p I remember someone posting a link to it a while back and I took advantage but forgot all about it lol. I will check on the other books u mentioned from Hogarth (first i've heard of him, call me a newb if u want lol). Thx it should get me started for now
_________________
Meep meep

[amichaels]

I have several of the Hogarth books, and they're always close at hand.

[BadMange]

I'd recommend "Anatomy for the Artist," by Sarah Simblet. The photos are awesome, and there are vellum overlays with the bones, muscles, etc. Check it out.

-Bad Mange
_________________
Have a bad mange!

[StylesDavis]

there are some books of a german anatomy professor named gottfried bammes, does anyone of you know them?
i know bridgeman, loomis, hogarth and many other books about anatomy, but bammes' ones are the best by far- and perhaps the most expensive...
_________________
known as "ChrisNix" elsewhere.

[BadMange]

I've heard great things about Bammes, but forget it if you don't read German.
_________________
Have a bad mange!

[fukifino]

[Xyster21]

Thx guys! *writes all the names down*
I'll checkem out and see if my teacher has any of them (probably sure he has one or two).


_________________
Meep meep

[gekitsu]

i have one book by bammes that is quite good in its simplifications and abstractions but all of his other ramblings shouldn't be taken too seriously.
someone who isn't able to see the difference between scientific study of human anatomy and a figure drawing book for illustrators (loomis) and therefore rips loomis to pieces... i dunno.

he real insight in overall body structure came with a book that was recommended to me by andrew jones. it's called:
color atlas of anatomy
a photographic study of the human body

it's filled with photos of dissected corpses - needs a bit getting used to in the beginning but there's nothing like the real thing. there is no need for the "beauty" drawings of supermodel females and schwarzenegger guys when you can see where a muscle starts, where it ends and what purpose it has in one glimpse.
it was quite expensive, though

[jfrancis]

Atlas of Human Anatomy for the Artist by Peck gets my vote. He has little simplifying "cheat sheet" notes and sketches mixed in among the photographs and artistic drawings throughout the book that draw your attention to important points and give you simplified but essentially correct ways of thinking about various body parts and how they work together.

[Connor]

The Artist's Complete Guide To Figure Drawing by Anthony Ryder.

Believe it or not Drawing Comics the Marvel Way by John Buscema and Stan Lee.

[Returner]

Almost all the books are scanned on the internet on various sites.
There are plenty of good tutorials of drawing the head and body on the net.
Buying books will only leave a hole on your wallet. If you're intending to live in the djungle or some remote island withouth the internet I recommend buying a book or two. As I've said before there are tons of pictures of the muscle groups on internet sites. I dont have any good links to give you for now though.

[Levijuice]

Andrew Loomis is definitely best!!

You can download his books here:

http://www.fineart.sk/anat.htm

[Wayne Johnson]

Loomis and Bridgman, and Walt Reed. Only the best in the biz!
_________________
Art is long and time is fleeting.

Andrew loomis

[Edge]

Ha funny....I did a little research over the past week and recently bought that book Anatomy for the Artist as well....Im glad to hear a few positive reviews over it.