Customer Reviews

Cyclopedia Anatomicae: More Than 1,500 Illustrations of the Human and Animal Figure for the Artist

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a terrific supplement to general books on human anatomy. Some of the detail drawings - particularly of joints, tendons, and muscle connections, are the clearest I've seen. Also, the animal anatomy is so good it's been bought by a number of Disney animators and is on their list of recomendations.

I don't know what the other reviewer was looking for in an anatomy book, but I disagree with his conclusions on this one. I teach Figure Drawing at Otis College of Art and Design, and we use "Atlas of Human Anatomy for Artists" by Stephen Rogers Peck as our main textbook. This volume by Peck has a good price, is written and illustrated with clarity, and has general information on structure, proportaion, etc. that is very helpful to beginners. Once you have a good base text, then you supplement it with books on specific information - such as the details and animal anatomy found in the Cyclopedia. A few of us have been searching for this book, and I was thrilled to find it here.

I also recomend anything by Gottfried Bammes, Robert Beverly Hale (especially "Master Class in Figure Drawing"), and Jeno Barscay. I just purchased Nathan Goldstein's "Figure Drawing" and am also very impressed with that (it's a bit pricy though).

The Cyclopedia is a great reference that belongs in the studio. Not the coffee table.

I purchased this book for my own use as an artist and massage therapist two years ago. I have used it so often that I was able to sell over half of my old reference books. The clarity and quality of the work in this book is unsurpassed by anything else I have seen. It IS an advanced work for artists, but you will be hard pressed to find a better book on the actual mechanics of movement and conformational relationship. As artists, this is an area that most of us need to tackle eventually. I have given it (with great results) as a gift to a 14 year-old artist nephew, an adult advanced artist and a horse/dog trainer. I am now buying six more copies to give to the staff of a local college where I work. We hope to make this one of our reference works in anatomy and functional observations. The comparative anatomy portions includes: human, equine, canine, feline, lion, sheep, cattle, hog, camel, simian, crocodile, seal, etc. There are detailed sections for each of the first eight/nine animals and I would have been well satisfied with the human portion alone. In forty years, I have NEVER found a better buy for my money. sf

This is one of the best anatomical reference books for artists I've found. It's more than just a collection of bones and muscles. It's a first course on drawing the figure, both human and animal. The drawings are extremely clear, detailed, and large. Hair, fur, claws, the shape of ears, of noses, it's all in there. All presented in a well organized, easy to see format. It even includes a first class comparitive anatomy section. The book illustrates lots of different animals too, not just horses and dogs, but camels, lions, sheep, and pigs to name a few. I consult this book often.

This is a fabulous book... While it probably isn't the best for beginning artists, I find it incredibly useful. I reference it all the time when a limb just doesn't look quite right, or better yet, before I've started a project, to make sure I get things right in the first place! if you understand the way things connect (bones, muscles, etc) then you will better grasp what movements are 'right'. It's a fabulous reference, and a great read! the pictures are clear and well labeled. I got this book over the summer, and it hasn't spent more than a day or two on the shelf before getting pulled out again. Well worth the money!

I love this book! The illustrations are beautiful and seem to be in great proportions. It is mainly just reference images and comparitive anatomy. I highly recommend this book, it is very interesting to look at and learn from.

I have shopped through many anatomy books to help with drawing and zBrush. This one is my favorite. It's large, has clear illustrations and it's very thorough. Useful and user friendly.

This book is a very good reference for artistic anatomy. I honestly bought the book just for the section on the musculature of the head and neck, but I found quickly that this book has so much more to offer, for example, the comparative studies of human and primate cranio/facial structure. This book is rich with detailed illustrations, which in style resemble that of the the illustrations in the Jeno Barscay book. It presents a very thorough view beneath the skin of humans both male and female, offers insight on the direction of motion for joints etc and even presents a short but helpful section on basic drawing techniques.

The animals chosen to be included in the book are well chosen and explored with an eye towards comparative anatomy. They provide a good sense of the variations of bone structure and musculature in vertebrates and I expect it will be an excellent source of information and ideas for anyone interesting in creating "beast" characters for fantasy illustration.

This is a large book (weighing roughly 2 lbs) and, as such, it's not something you would haul out to the park for a day of sketching, but the lack of portability does not diminish the value of this book as a resource for any serious study of structural anatomy.

I bought this book as a keeper and it is a very good anatomical reference. There is a problem with the binding of my copy which I purchased new. The pages are beginning to drop out. It's a handsome book but quality is measured behond the point of purchase. External appearances can be deceiving. What I thought were stitched signatures turn out to be perfect binding (pages glued in). I love this book but I'm very disappointed in this failure of craftsmanship.

wonderful illustrations to supplement knowledge of anatomy.

Interesting pictures of unusual animal postural attitudes that may be useful for certain anatomical descriptions. I DON'T THINK IT SHOULD BE CONSIDERED A DRAWING MANUAL: IT IS A BOOK OF EXTERNAL AND MUSCULOSKELETAL COMPARATIVE ANATOMY.