[Blind]

I've heard(read?) several mentions on this forum (and elsewhere) that Burne Hogarth's books are not good for someone like myself who's just learning. But I've never heard anyone say why. Personally, I'm fascinated by his books, even just to read (Dynamic Anatomy has some pretty interesting art history info in the beginning, if you like that sort of thing), and the amount of anatomical info in there is astounding. I've got Dynamic Anatomy, Dynamic Figure Drawing, Dynamic Light and Shade, and I plan on getting the others, but... is there some misleading info in Hogarth books that I should be looking to avoid or be wary of? I did a search on the forum looking for the answer, but couldn't find mention of it... just curious.

------------------
- Blind
[email protected]
Clan Shred Company

[spooge demon]

I think those books area just fine for anyone. He was a very colorful character, and I had the pleasure of taking his class.

I like his approach because it teaches a very "3-d aware" approach to the figure. By this I mean you think in your mind about the structure of something, the actual forms and "draw around" it. The opposite approach is designing or copying shapes. Both are required to do the best work.

Other anatomy books are Vanderpoel, Bridgeman, and a few others that escape me at the moment. All teach a very different way of thinking about the figure. Leyendecker gave much credit to Vanderpoel.

A master I new said he learned to draw figures by copying Jack Hamm (!) This makes a lot of sense. To caricature something well requires a complete understanding.

Hey Loki, I am back I mail you

[Blind]

You took a class from Hogarth?! That must have been something... I hear he created some of the figures in his books in life-size dimensions right in front of the class within minutes. Amazing...

I can definitely see what you mean about his "3D-aware" approach. You can't help but envision the figure as the sum of its conjoined parts, in a working form, and develop it from there. I've always been a "copy what you see" type guy, so I started reading this stuff to find out how the real artists do it. It's been very helpful so far.

Vanderpoel, Bridgeman... never heard of them. I'm going to check them out too. I'd like to try and study as many different artist styles as I can handle without getting too overloaded. I've got a couple books from Jack Hamm too. Totally different approach than Hogarth, but still very interesting. Thanks, spooge!


------------------
- Blind
[email protected]
Clan Shred Company

[fragamite]

I got dynamic figure drawing and anotomy. They're brilliant (so far, haven't read all the text)

[itchi]

hello, i'm new

personally i learned a ton from "the human figure: an anatomy for artists" by david rubins. that was my bible for many a years when i was figuring out how the body worked. i have yet to find a better book and still refer to it when i have some troubles with a part of the anatomy.

i also had the pleasure of taking a class from mr. hogarth before he passed away. i think his work is too stylized for a beginner (as was mentioned above i believe). burne goes into great detail about individual muscles and connections which is great, but i think there are better books that show a little more natural looking figures.

just my 2 cents hi dhabih, cool forum!

-sam http://www.geocities.com/itch_studios/

[Drunken Monkey]

Other couple of books that are really really good are Figure Drawing For All Its Worth and Creative Illustration by Andrew Loomis. Very expensive to get too.

Btw anyone know where to get the hardcover Bridgman books preferably with better print of his illustrations than in those cheap 6 dollar brochures on amazon?