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The Artist's Complete Guide to Facial Expression [Paperback]

Gary Faigin
4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (59 customer reviews)

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Book Description

August 19, 2008
Artists love this book, the definitive guide to capturing facial expressions. In a carefully organized, easy-to-use format, author Gary Faigin shows readers the expressions created by individual facial muscles, then draws them together in a section devoted to the six basic human emotions: sadness, anger, joy, fear, disgust, and surprise. Each emotion is shown in steadily increasing intensity, and Faigin’s detailed renderings are supplemented by clear explanatory text, additional sketches, and finished work. An appendix includes yawning, wincing, and other physical reactions. Want to create portraits that capture the real person? Want to draw convincing illustrations? Want to show the range of human emotion in your artwork? Get The Artist’s Complete Guide to Facial Expression!

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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Gary Faigin trained at the Art Students League and the Ecole des Beaux Arts de Paris. He has taught at the National Academy School of Design and at Parsons School of Design; currently, he is the artistic director of the Gage Academy of Art in Seattle, where he lives.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 288 pages
  • Publisher: Watson-Guptill; 2nd edition (August 19, 2008)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0823004325
  • ISBN-13: 978-0823004324
  • Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 0.8 x 11 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (59 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #28,309 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

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Customer Reviews

Highly recommend you purchase this book if you do figurative art. music fan  |  15 reviewers made a similar statement
This is a well written book with lots of information. Pamela G. Peters  |  16 reviewers made a similar statement
Expressions are explained and drawn to show even subtle differences. MIMI  |  7 reviewers made a similar statement
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
78 of 80 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Guide for NLD and Autistic Spectrum Disorders December 21, 2003
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Yes, this is a book meant to be used by artists and enthusiasts, and it is good for that. I am using this book in another way. For people with NLD (Nonverbal Learning Disorders) and on the autistic spectrum (Pervasive Developmental Disorder(PDD), Autism and Aspergers) it is an invaluable instructive tool for teaching how to read facial expressions, and how we use our musculature to form these expressions. I'd been searching for a book like this for years, but was looking in all the wrong places: psychology, social skills, spectrum disorder studies, and psychiatric tomes directed toward the therapeutic community. Then I found this book, serendipitously, at an art store. I am so grateful! My son has high functioning autism, and is terribly frustrated trying to understand non-verbal and social language cues. This book satisfied him in every way, and he now studies it. Not only is he learning the difference between subtle facial expressions, but he is learning how these expressions are made, physiologically. He is becoming more expressive himself, and more able to understand the clues of every day social interactions. I have given this book as a gift to Speech/Language Pathologists who deal with Pragmatic Language skills, to Occupational Therapists, to psychologists and psychiatrists who run social skills groups to help kids and adults navigate the social maze, and to my nephew, a professional clown (on the order of Bill Irwin and Jeff Hoyle, not Emmet Kelley) who is fashioning an act involving social cluelessness (a very common subject in commedy, when you think about it). For these reasons, I highly recommend this book to professionals and parents who are the mentors, friends and teachers of NLD and spectrum disorder people and those people themselves. Terrific. I give it the highest possible marks.
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46 of 46 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent reference for the pro and amateur alike April 29, 2002
Format:Hardcover
I got this book to develop more range as an illustrator and I'm very pleased with the quantity of examples, depth of instruction, and quality of the material.

This book contains detailed information on how to draw all the structures of the face and helps the reader to develop the ability not just to draw various facial expressions, but to understand the physiological occurrences that create different expressions. As any student of life drawing or anatomy knows, it's good to know what the engine underneath the hood is doing to get the exterior right!

The author painstaking guides you through the process of drawing the major facial features, starting simply with the gross structures and paring down to a high level of detail.

This book is a valuable addition to my collection of illustration books and I would recommend it to any illustrator, would-be illustrator, or casual artist who wants to develop her or his skills.

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27 of 27 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Learn to see what makes a face "tick" September 3, 2002
Format:Hardcover
This is just the best book around to understand how to make a portrait alive with feeling. As the title states, it is all about facial expressions and not about drawing per se, or even portrait drawing. It lists the basic expressions, the main muscles of the face, and then goes on to illustrate how they are related and how expressions "work".

The book is not as dry as this description sounds. The prose is witty. Most of the illustrations are purposeful pencil sketches or cartoons rather than academic portraits: they are very illustrative and to the point.

Reading this book helped me understand better how to make a portrait come alive, by keeping all the features of the face coherent. It won't help you draw, but it will make you "see" better what makes up a face and an expression.

Definitely 5 stars: the book is fun, easy to read, well bound, and as far as I can tell, exhaustive.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars No artist should be without this book
The amount of information in this book is incredible. I am grateful to the author in sharing his wisdom in a straightforward way with plenty of examples. Read more
Published 13 days ago by INFJ unkie
5.0 out of 5 stars The Artist's Complete Guide t Facial Expression
This is a well written book with lots of information. The information included in this book will be helpful for sculpture as well as painting and drawing portraits.
Published 21 days ago by Pamela G. Peters
5.0 out of 5 stars Many faces of humanity to explore and reveal.
The book is excelent. I am captivated! The artist covers a wide range of human emotions. This is needful, because every expression of life has its own look. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Stephanie Thornton
4.0 out of 5 stars Facial Expressions
Had the previous version of the book and find this one to be a little more complete. Good way to develop under lying drawings for paitings.
Published 3 months ago by Michael Martonick
5.0 out of 5 stars Looked long and hard for a book like this.
As a beginning artist, I looked may places to find a resource like this. Faces and expressions are detailed, giving muscular and emotions aspect of expressions. Read more
Published 3 months ago by NCWA renewal attendee
5.0 out of 5 stars wonderful expressions
After reviewing many books relating to painting faces and facial expressions I found this book to be most valuable. Read more
Published 4 months ago by MIMI
5.0 out of 5 stars Complete Guide to Facial Expression
Another good book for getting the expressions correctly for my characters. I use it mostly for the carving and painting that I do.
Published 5 months ago by Marleen C Hoffman
4.0 out of 5 stars Compliment your library
This is a great addition to any artists library. All illustrations are an artists rendering ...I would have like some actual photos but that`s just me. Read more
Published 5 months ago by music fan
5.0 out of 5 stars Very Satisfied
I'm just reading the book and i find it very informative and useful especially for individuals like me who have no formal training on fine arts and only rely on photographs or... Read more
Published 6 months ago by aeonsiege
5.0 out of 5 stars Learning how to draw!
I found this book very helpful for me. I've never drawn faces before, but now with the help from this book I think I can draw the expressions that I want. Read more
Published 6 months ago by L. Vadnais
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