Customer Reviews

The Human Figure (Dover Anatomy for Artists)

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Nelson Shanks refers to the illustrations of this book as examples of simplifying the human form into patterns of light and dark. While the illustrations do accomplish this, the book is by no means a reference manual for rendering the human body. Also, most of the illustrations appear washed out in my copy of this book. If you are interested in beautiful examples of sensitive charcole renderings of the human figure, this book is outstanding. If you want a visual reference work on the under-structures of the human form, you can find better books than this one.

For anatomical reference, I highly recommend: "Bridgman's Complete Guide to Drawing From Life" by George B. Bridgman, and "The Human Figure: An Anatomy for Artists" by David K. Rubins.

I consider myself to be a pretty intelligent and patient reader and even I have to admit that the text is really difficult to read. The plates (illustrations), however, are outstanding. If you're advanced enough to be able to study and learn directly from drawings without the aid of much text then you should definitely pick up a copy of this book. I can't think of any other drawing books where you can learn as much for... $ The illustrations in the new Dover reprint actually lose a lot of quality compared to the orginal printing, so if possible try and find an older copy.

This is an elegant, eloquent little book. I'm a professional illustrator and sculptor, from a family of artists, and I find this small book stands out among the many references available.
It has a graciousness about it, not merely addressing anatomy, but giving a graceful translation of form.
I think it's good to have a number of references, and this is one I wouldn't do without!

This book is still "standard issue " for masters like Nelson Shanks - and still in the store at the Art Students League in New York. Why? because its one of the best resources out there for people who want to become master artists - Books like "drawing on the right side of the brain' are great for people who want to learn how to draw. But becoming a master is something different (I am not belittling Drawing on the right side of the brain -its a great book) some people find its hard to believe that a cheap edition (and yes I wish the reproductions of the drawings were better) can provide as much 'knowledge' as a slick, more expensive book - its a longer harder path and more challenging - but follow the principles in this book , and copy the drawings (particularly on the head) and you'll be on your path to becoming a master drawer.

One of the finest books available on figure drawing, written by someone who could do it! His advice helps you look at the big picture, rather than getting lost in details. It requires some patience to read, but most worthwhile things do. A real gem!

One of the best books ever written or drawn! If you have the time, patience, and intelligence to read the text, you'll find some of the best advice ever written on figure drawing. Vanderpoel approaches it from an academic point of view. Pointing out the major body forms and planes. He shows the student how to look for the most important things. This is not an anatomy book but an approach to the human figure concieved as a three dimensional object in space. Read it! I promise you that you can benefit by this method of thinking!

There are so many mixed reviews for figure drawing books. I can say without a doubt in my mind that Vanderpoel's "The Human Figure" is far superior to any book I've come across so far. Vanderpoel had an incredible grasp on the human figure. His drawings are perfect in their simplicity. I am always amazed when I look through this book; many of the sketches look like they were done in seconds but they capture the exact subtleties and fluctuations in both the female and male bodies and heads.

Other figure drawing books I've purchased or browsed pale in comparison. Sure, Vanderpoel's text is wordy, intellectual, and sometimes uninteresting, but you have to look at the time period and purpose of the text. Vanderpoel was interested in the anatomical dissection of each part of the body. His goal with this book was to show the reader what is "going on" beneath the surface so you can understand why there is a bulge in muscle here or cartilage there, etc. The book is broken into chapters that cover each part of the body, starting with the head, and more specifically--the eye, then nose, mouth, ear, etc. The text is accompanied by drawings of what Vanderpoel is describing. For instance, the first chapter--Eyes--begins with explanations of how the eye sits in the eye socket, and how the eye socket relates to the skull as a whole. Drawings include skulls in different positions so you can see the brow bone and eye socket from different angles, and how the eyeball might sit in the head at different angles. The text goes on to explain how far inside the socket the eyeball sits, how the eyelid covers the eye when the eye is looking up or down, how big the iris and pupil are in comparison to the whole eyeball, etc. Studying this text can help artists to understand how to dry eyes in portraits conceptually with practice and time.

This is how figure drawing was intended to be: a study of the anatomical goings-on below the skin. Figure and portrative artists should have at least a pretty good grasp on this to make sure their drawing relates to itself as a whole. Too many artists these days just copy pictures of things, or even trace! It's shameful, in my (very opinionated) opinion.

Vanderpoel was a master and I feel honored to have this publication as part of my collection. I was first given this book by an art teacher when I was 14 or 15 years old and many years later it is still the first (and one of the only) books I find myself going back to when I want to brush up on my figure drawing skills.

John H. Vanderpoel is probably the best artist in the last century to have written an instructional book about drawing. The Human Figure may not always be easy to follow, owing to its having been written over fifty years ago and thus not in a style to which contemporary readers are accustomed, but it rewards patient study with knowledge that is clearly articulated, true and absolutely indispensable to serious artists.

This book is a treasure at a time when such information is very hard to come by. Highly recommended.

This book is not a step by step instruction book. Instead I think it is a great book to excite your imagination as to the function of the human mechanism. The superb illustrations give you a feel for the human form. I don't think they are detailed enough to use as reference instead they only support what is written in the book. This book helped me gain a better understanding of the human form. I recommend it for that purpose alone and not as an instructional book.

This is not a how-to manual and it's not an introductory course on figure drawing. Why I rated this with 5 stars? Well, I think the best of this book is that it shows clear and concisely some underlying principles to the figure drawing. You already know everybody looks different, but you also know everybody has some common features too. This book highlights those common features in an extensive way for the whole human body. If you are looking to start with figure drawing, maybe it will not be so helpful; but if you already have spent some time doing it, and you need to summarize your experience in concise tenets, this is the book for you.