Drawing Portraits: Faces and Figures (Art of Drawing) [Paperback]

Giovanni Civardi (Author)

Book Description

Series: Art of Drawing | Publication Date: March 1, 2002

The artist covers all the important techniques including anatomy, proportions of the face, creating realistic features, using tone, formal and informal portraits, and more. Step-by-step demonstrations accompany simple exercise and a gallery of original pictures.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Giovanni Civardi is an Italian artist and teacher who for years has combined studies at the Faculty of Medicine, Milan, with the practice and teaching of sculpture.

Product Details

• Paperback: 64 pages
• Publisher: Search Press (March 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1903975093
• ISBN-13: 978-1903975091
• Product Dimensions: 11.8 x 8.3 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #89,219 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #67 in Books > Arts & Photography > Drawing > Figure Drawing

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not Much Substance, June 9, 2005

By 

Persephone - See all my reviews

This review is from: Drawing Portraits: Faces and Figures (Art of Drawing) (Paperback)

Civardi is a talented artist, but there was little substance to the book. There was very little detail about the actual drawing process and skills that might be helpful. After actually seeing the book, I was very disappointed. I had the same problem with his drawing techniques book. Both were very brief, expensive and short on substance, more like pamphlets than instruction books. If all you want is a slender book with some examples of his work and you don't mind the price, you might like this, but someone looking to learn portraiture would be best served elsewhere.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Contains mostly drawings, little description, July 11, 2005

By 

N. Parker - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Drawing Portraits: Faces and Figures (Art of Drawing) (Paperback)

This book had a lot of examples of Civardi's work but not a lot of tips or instructions about drawing it. In the beginning, there is a full page of suggestions but that's about all there is to it. Lots of pictures of body parts, no step-by-step, no breakdown of lines or sections. Basically, the book shows you the finished products, not really the process of drawing. As another reviewer said, if you would like a book with a lot of examples of his work, this is it.

I would suggest Jack Hamm's "Drawing the Head and Figure" over this book. Lots of substance, and the instruction is done in a way that leaves lots of room to create a unique style.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good examples of realist drawing, November 14, 2003

By 

S. F. Bell (Raleigh, NC United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Drawing Portraits: Faces and Figures (Art of Drawing) (Paperback)

I'm something of a fan of Civardi's books because I like his clean, "classical realism" style. This book is rather thin and light in describing the details of technique or giving exercises. I wouldn't recommend it to an absolute beginner (if you're just learning to draw, you would probably be better off with Betty Edwards' flawed but effective "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" or a similar book). But if you've started regular drawing practice, and want some good examples of realist portrait drawing along with useful general advice on appoaches to the subject, this book may be worth a look.