Sketching People: Life Drawing Basics [Paperback]

Jeff Mellem (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 22, 2009

Artists of any level will have fun learning the basic requirements for spontaneously sketching and drawing people with the clear, time-tested lessons presented in Sketching People. Capture your subjects quickly and easily by learning observation, gesture, three-dimensional form, drapery, expressions, body language, staging, value and composition. Sketching and drawing from life is a fundamental skill for great artists and with these skills, you can capture the character of everyday life.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Professional artist and graphic designer Jeff Mellem has worked invarious industries over the last decade. Among others, he has designed for magazines, video games, and theater. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from California State University, Fullerton, and studied drawing at the American Animation Institute in Hollywood, California. Jeff uses traditional drawing techniques, the foundation of his work, to develop characters and stories.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: North Light Books (July 22, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1600611508
• ISBN-13: 978-1600611506
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 8.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #172,353 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book for all levels, January 19, 2010

By 

Eric - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sketching People: Life Drawing Basics (Paperback)

I've taken a couple of art classes and enjoy sketching, but I've been looking for some resources to help me improve. I found Sketching People on Amazon and couldn't be happier with this book. I consider myself an intermediate artist, but this book has a lot to offer for all levels.

Sketching People shows you how to draw people's expressions, draw a figure from imagination, and even how to draw clothing. I personally found the chapter on gesture to be really helpful with the techniques it shows on how to draw people when they're moving around.

I'd recommend this book to anyone that is interested in learning how to draw or improve their skills. I can already see the improvements I've made as I flip through my sketchbook. I'm actually a little less apprehensive now to let people look over my shoulder to see what I'm drawing. :)

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome Book!, October 8, 2010

By 

Yves W. Dion - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sketching People: Life Drawing Basics (Paperback)

I have been trying to find a good book that teaches you the basics, and help you along to the more complex figures, and this book did it, I did not buy this in amazon, I bought it at the local book store, but because it is such a great book and I was so excited as to how it was created that I had to come and add my review here.

Thanks,
Keep up the good teaching!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book if you are getting into or improving your figure drawing and life drawing, October 15, 2011

By 

Callie Ferman "art, illustration & graphic de... (Pasadena) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sketching People: Life Drawing Basics (Paperback)

Length:: 2:47 Mins

This is an excellent life drawing book - definitely in the category of "good art books", not the often-seen category of "art books with no substance". I am just taking up figure drawing (in workshops at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena), and this book has been extremely helpful to me so far. Pretty much everyone in the workshop is better than me at drawing, but I think with the information from this book and lots of dedicated practice I can get up to their level!

Here is the summary of what the book contains:

Chapter one: Observational Drawing
"All drawing begins with careful observation. Wheter you are looking at a subjects contours, a person's clothing, soneone's body language, or studying anatomy, areful observation comes before drawing."

Chapter two: Gesture
"Gesture is the first step in creating lifelike sketches. The obervational skills you developed in the last chapter can be applied when you see an action you want to capture."

Chapter three: Basic Forms
"If you think of a drawing as a building and a gesture as the foundation, the basic forms- the sphere, cube and cylinder- are the roof, floor and walls"

Chapter four: Drapery
"We don't encounter very many nude walking around in public, so understading the dynamics of cloth becomes important to sketching people from life."

Chaper five: Expressions
"When we look at another person, we usual look first at his or her face. Not only is it how we identify that person, but it is also how we try to determine whether he or she is angry, sad, elated, disgusted or mischievous. It will show in facial expressions."

Chapter six: Body Language
"Drawings begin to take on a life of their own when a figure begins to act out emotions."

Chapter seven: Staging
"For a visual artist, choosing how to depict an event- what parts are emphasized and what are downplayed, the angle and scene is depicted from, how close the viewer is brought to the action- is done through staging."

Chapter eight: Value
"Light's vibrant engergy is what creates the subtle shade on a form for our eyes to see."

Gallery

Index