Figure Drawing for All It's Worth

Much like the other books, it's simply good. Nothing bad can be really said about it from me. Bonus points for the funny doodles

As advertised

I was recommended this book by my figure drawing professor. The book covers practically every aspect of human anatomy and form. It is also especially beginner friendly, and offers a clear roadmap to follow. Whether you are a beginner or already understand human anatomy, this book is a must-have addition to your collection of resources. If you're looking at any other guide to figure drawing/anatomy, forget about it and start with this!

This book has been absolutely great. It’s another tool in my belt. Ide recommend the book to beginners or the artist that’s further along the road. There’s bound to be something in here that anyone could find useful. It’s basically everything you need to know about the body and nothing you don’t. Loomis takes a more proportional approach rather than going step by step through the lengthy and unnecessary process of learning all the bones, and the muscles and the this and the that. He’s concise, but doesn’t hold back information. The book is simple, but doesn’t lack depth. Ide happy buy it again, buy it for an aspiring artist, and even pay double for it. This book is truly worth every penny and the effort it took to write a review as it’s not something I often care to do. Please enjoy!

If you want to draw people for a living this is the first book you should buy and it should be the one you reference most often. Loomis takes the difficult task of drawing the human figure and breaks it down into manageable steps. The writing is as good as the artwork, Mr. Loomis explains the reasoning behind his methodology in clear precise terms. His professional advice feels like one magician passing on trade secrets to the next generation. The nudity is tasteful and academic enough that even young aspiring mature artistic teens should have this book in their art library. Everything by Andrew Loomis is a must read, buy this along with Fun With A Pencil and you have a solid education which will teach all you need to know for having a foundation as an illustrator. If I had only one artbook to take with me to a desert island this is the one I would choose.This is a wonderful time for young artists because of the latest reprints of Loomis' instructional books. I have seen many copies of the original volumes in libraries and I believe the reprints to be higher quality than the originals. Going to art college my friends and I had to settle for third and forth generation photocopies made from borrowed copies; it was impossible to buy copies of Loomis' books. Now thanks to these wonderful reproductions Mr. Loomis is training up a whole new army of artists!

I started drawing about a year ago, and since then I've acquired a small library of books. This is one of the best I've found on the subject of drawing the human body. Loomis is focused on commercial art, and styles have changed greatly since the 40's. However, all his comments on technique and proportioning can easily be applied to modern standards. He was a very good instructor.This book contains a few overtly racist images and suggestions. It was first published in 1943, so that sort of thing was "normal." Just don't be surprised if you run across an image or phrase that raises an eyebrow.You can find this book for free in its entirety in the internet archive if you want to check it out before buying it. I think there's no substitute for having the book in my hands & I recommend that you buy it if you like it. It's just not the same when viewed on a screen.Loomis' book Fun With A Pencil, is probably the best place to begin if you are a complete beginner. That one is focused more on cartoon-like drawing, but it covers the fundamentals in more depth than Figure Drawing.

Most books on figure drawing go something like this: Step 1-sketch the figure; Step 2-fill in all the details. That's a HUGE step from the sketch to the detailed drawing!!! Many so-called figure drawing instructional books are simply portfolios of the author's artwork with very little instruction. Tsk.Loomis is different. He goes through all the intermediate steps you need to draw a figure. You learn to draw "manikins" from your imagination, with body parts in the proper proportions, and in all kinds of poses. He also teaches you how to draw the figure in perspective. Once you master that, he covers all the anatomy you need to know in order to create realistic figures. Finally with all that mastered, he covers clothing & shading the figure (value) along with how to draw some of the more complex body parts like heads, hands, and feet.As a professor I can state confidently that the step-by-step teaching approach in this book is the best that you can find, outside of maybe taking a class. But even most figure drawing classes don't cover the material in this book!To summarize you learn the fundamentals of drawing figures: proportion, anatomy, perspective, values, color, and knowledge of mediums and materials. The only drawback for today's students (who I find mainly want to draw Manga and Anime-style characters) is that the drawing style is dated. But if you master the fundamentals in this book you can easily adapt them to other genres.- Professor F., past-Director of UNM's Interdisciplinary Film & Digital Media Program