Customer Reviews

Master Class in Figure Drawing

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

 

 

I am currently in Figure drawing 2 and this book is a wonderful help. I have few figure drawing books that I feel compleatly happy with and this one is the best. It shows you how the masters worked with simple shapes, line, value, mass, and anatomy to represent the figure. It breaks up the chapters into body parts and each chapter deals with that specific part. By presenting works of master artists and disecting them you understand how the human form works and can be expressed. I would reccomend this book to anyone interested in drawing the figure, especially beginers.

I purchased the companion tape series from Jo-An Pictures Ltd in NYC (212-532-5003) several years ago. The book and tapes record the lectures given by Robert Beverly Hale at the Art Student's League in NYC. You may never find better instruction on artistic anatomy and drawing the human form! He was without doubt the greatest instructor of this subject! The tapes are almost like attending his classes! You must draw from life as well as study this material to master the subject. If you cannot afford the tapes, at least get this book! You will not find a better investment but you must also make the effort! A valid observation from his lectures: 'You can not draw a form, if you don't know it exists.' If you want to draw figures that will impress other artists, clients with medical training or other sophisticated viewers, then master the lessons in this book!

I believe Tony Ryder may have attended Robert Hale's lectures at the Art Student's League. Also get Tony Ryder's book entitled "The Artist's Complete Guide to Figure Drawing". It represents the other traditional approach to figure drawing. His explanation of light and shadow on the human form is the best I have ever seen. He emphasizes that it takes many hours to complete a finished drawing. Quick sketches are good for warming up but it's only one aspect of practice. Both books are well worth the investment!

Mr Coyle has done great justice to his old mentor Robert Beverley HALE with this magnificent book. The lessons are based on Mr Hales teachings on the techniques and thinking of the great master drawers, and not only are the examples all master works, but innovative use of coloured line overlays makes sometimes difficult concepts abundantly clear. The real point of this book, as with all R.B.Hale books, is that YOU can learn to think in the same highly visually intelligent way as these greats of the past, and learn to apply that thinking to your own creations. BRAVO Messrs Hale et Coyle!

Robert Beverly Hale's three books on Artistic Anatomy should be owned by every beginning and professional artist. Beverly Hale shows the reader that to become an adept draftsman,it is best to learn from the drawing masters of all time. Beverly Hale also tells the reader how the best figure draftsmaen,from daVinci to Degas,learned from the works of past great masters.

Reading and learning from Robert Beverly Hale's three books on Artistic Anatomy is like learning the ways of the Force from Yoda himself.

This book is incredible,every artist should have it in his/her reference library.

Page after page of artistic anatomy and drawings of the masters,Leonardo,Rubens,,Degas,Michelangelo.

I practice my drawing skills by copying the masters and learning a lot in the process.

This book is used for my drawing class and is a great source for us to use in our course. I have improved my drawing so much with this helpful book. I would recommend it for anyone wanting to learn from the recognized best anatomical artist in the US. , Mr Hale.

Enter the Master class in Figure Drawing and find yourself transported back into time and feel as though you are actually in Hale's classroom ! Drawing from life is important but getting a little info tfrom those who have been here before can help you too.I like the way this book is written it really does feel like classroom notes but that adds to the charm ! Get this and draw like a maniac from life! I'll bet you'll get good at this if you do!

Very pleasde with the book. However I believe it may have got damp in the mail (top right hand corner of book) but still happy!!

I found this book to be a mixed bag. First of all the book is too quick, it's not as in depth as I hoped it would be. There is too much words and not enough diagrams for my taste. Another issue I take is the type of models (body types) the book uses as examples. They all look like pudgy out of shape Roman era sketches which is rather dated for any contemporary art field. There are ZERO actual photos of people but rather charcoal sketches (some good, others decent and most useless). I would use the analogy that you wouldnt hire a home builder who ONLY studied how to make log cabin homes, so why would you buy a book that ONLY focuses on old world body archetypes that no one wants to see these days?

The missing piece of the jigsaw for me.

After a coupe of years of drawing from observation, Beverley Hale finally revealed the truth - what you is only half of the equation.