Customer Reviews

Anatomy and Drawing (Dover Art Instruction)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I just bought this book, i was looking at the books on sale and ran across this one, there are severl reasons why i bought this book: A)I have been looking for about a year for a book on drawing the human body thats very detailed. B) .... C) this book has every possible angle that a body can pose in.D) this book is made out to look like someones skech book it has Thousands of drawings in it. E) Its small enough that you can carry it round with you (anywhere).Here are some things thats in the book...It has pages on every kind of mouth,nose,ears,eyes,hand,feet,necks,heads,arms,legs,body movment and faces from all over the world and age and face expressions,in ever direction there is to think of, it has a page of what the body looks like when swimming under water its got sections on how the body works ,its got a section on the skeleton and muscles of the body, and all the names of each part. it also has pages of the body from babies to ages 3,5, and adult that you can look off of. all in all this is one of the most helpful guides on drawing and knowing the human body. buy it! This is so worth the money which was not alot, Enjoy! :)

I inherited this book from my mother who was once a fine art student. The Best and most comprehensive study of the human figure I have ever come across. Both for artists and anatomy students. lists detailed versions or muscles,bones and various body parts in varied angles ,proportions and positions. Brilliant guide for both begginners and advanced art students interested in the study of human figure and form.

I was given an Indian edition of this book by a friend when I was 17 ,Since then I have collected almost all the books relevant to the subject of Artistic Anatomy.Some of those books are not held in as high a regard now as when I bought them.But this book it still holds the same regard in my eyes now as i had in the first few years of intense Anatomy study.

The linework is almost too good to be true.I have occasionaly thought it might have been traced from photos, but some of the imaginary compositions in the book convinced me that the Artist was indeed a rare and gifted draughtsman.I saw that this book has made a return into the world of western art quite recently,and I know of a couple of unauthorised versions which are being sold through the net,I am quite delighted at this resurgence of Interest as I always regarded Perard as one of my top five inspirations, I decided to buy the U.S. edition for the bigger dimensions.

I love this book and recommend it to all discerning figure artists.

I first became acquainted with the name VIKTOR PERARD when I purchased an old drawing book on e-Bay, titled "DRAWING FACES AND EXPRESSIONS". That book (also by Viktor Perard) was published by Grosset & Dunlap in 1956. Viktor Perard demonstrates his excellent art instruction for beginners in that book. So when I read through his "ANATOMY AND DRAWING" I found more of his excellent illustrations, hundreds of them, unencumbered by superfluous textual handholding and theorizing. Perard sure knows how to give a beginner his best.

"Anatomy and Drawing" is free of the seemingly arrogant demeanor that is present in so many of the newer art instruction. He doesn't fill his book with the kind of dull, completed figures as though to say, "See, I'm so much better than you!" Nope. Here is art instruction clothed in plain cloth, by a working artist, basic and true to the CLASSICAL TRADITION.

And the suggested retail price: (((gasp!!!))) $12.95? Are you kidding??? People who can't even teach figure drawing are publishing books priced $24.95... What an absolute STEAL Viktor Perard is!

This book is incredible! I love that there is barely any text, and you're just supposed to copy the pictures. I learned SO much from this book. To learn visual art, you must do it VISUALLY, text and talking about it can only go so far. I found that after copying just a few drawings, my understanding of the human body and how to draw it got so much better. I highly recommend this book to anyone struggling with the composition of the body as well as to anyone of a higher skill level as a great book of reference and as great general improvement.

This book is one of the best books on Human Anatomy and drawing on the market. Many instructors at different art schools recommend this book for their students to have, for their personal libary for use as a reference and as a practice book. I would say that if your wanting to learn how to draw the human body artistically this book would be a wise choice.

To: Future Buyers

Examine a copy of this book from a library near you or from a friend. I ordered this book along with Stephen Rogers Peck's Atlas of Human Anatomy for the Artist. Mr. Peck's book stayed, Mr. Perard's went.

Yes, a picture is worth a thousand words but I don't think it worked for Mr. Perard's work. While copying or analyzing drawings from Old and "New" Masters is a good way to learn how to draw from imagination later on, I think this learning method only works if an art teacher is around to consult with. The author must take that role virtually through concise descriptions of the what, how, and why a certain body part looks the way it is. This is the reason why I still have Joseph Sheppard's Drawing the Living Figure. I think it's one of the best figure drawing books out there. While it doesn't talk about planes and tonal values, it's far more useful than Mr. Perard's book.

Why? Mr. Sheppard's book shows complete figures on the left pages and on the right pages, he shows both the muscles and bones that explains why the figures on the left pages look the way they do.

I ordered Blandine Calais-Germain's Anatomy of Movement cancelling my orders for Jeno Barcsay's Anatomy for the Artist and Louise Gordon's How to Draw the Human Figure: An Anatomical Approach which are also highly recommended here in Amazon and in other art-related sites. Why am I telling you this?

Well, I haven't seen the contents of the cancelled books but I think Louise Gordon's may be similar to Joseph Sheppard's while Jeno Barcsay's may be similar to Peck's. Jeno Barcsay may be more useful than Peck though as Barscay's book shows foreshortened figures. I settled for Anatomy of Movement because as aspiring comic artist, I need to draw from imagination and knowing how the body moves would help me dynamically create action poses.

In summary, I'm not saying Mr. Perard's book is useless as the other reviewers seem to like it very much but I also have to be honest and say that I didn't like it because it didn't suit my needs.