Constructive Anatomy

Very informative and detailed muscle drawings but a bit advanced and complicated

Breaks down each aspect into what it consists of, for example, the arm, what main muscles are there and etc. I was hesitant to buy this due to negative reviews and was worried the book might be too small, the book is actually a good size. Also, the illustrations are very clear. This book will help me understand the body and be able to draw it better I'm sure of. For those who want a tutorial, it's not really a tutorial book, it's moreso just informative and a great way to help you predict the structure of your future human drawings from imagination (at least, this is why I am using it)

Overall, this is one of my most favorite drawing books from my shelf. It includes a good number of drawings that can also be seen in "Drawing from Life", but it misses the part that talks about drapery, for instance. This book is rather small and so can easily be taken with you in your backpack alongside with your sketchbook. In this book Bridgman covers all the essentials to figure drawing. It has a large chapter on different ways to draw hands, which I enjoy the most. Bridgman shows off more simple and constructed ways to draw the body (hands and legs in a very self explanatory and dynamic way) as well as more advanced techniques. I would personally say that this book has the potential to fit advanced artists as well as beginners since I have seen hardly any book that breaks down the basics better than this publication. (Hogarth is also very good, but different from Bridgman, so I would recommend to the beginner to practice with both and then pick the artist he feels he can relate to the most style wise.) What more is to say about this book is that readers that don't understand latin may feel a little lost with the descriptions of the muscles here, which is a little sad when you want to learn how all of the parts of the body are working together in depth.

I was hesitant to buy this book but after proko and Marshall dandruff had suggested this book I bought it and was worth the money.

Hızlı kargo, özenli paket, iyi kitap. Araştırıp ne olduğunu bilerek aldım ve beklentim karşılandı.

In fact, I can safely say that this really is the most important book on artistic anatomy one can learn from. Many seem put off at first glance (I know I was) and say one of or all of the following... 1 - "the drawings look sketchy sometimes" 2 - "the anatomy seems exaggerated" 3 - "the look might "cramp" your style" 4 - "will copying the drawings really teach me anatomy?" Well, after having gone through the book once, reading how others go through it, working on form & exercises, and since I'm going through it again, I'll address these points. ---------- 1: The "sketchiness" isn't there for the sake of being rough. Those lines & curves are there to show the rhythm and flow of how this part leads into that part. Keep in mind that not every drawing in the book is like this. 2: The anatomy isn't really exaggerated. Consider that Bridgman's approach is on how muscles wedge into one another. If you study form, can analyze it, and can combine verious forms with overlapping, and then look at the drawings, things will click. The forms of various muscles stand out to show how the wedging works and sometimes the muscles happen to look flexed, that's all. 3: This was an odd comment I read at [...], and there's no way that going through this will "cramp your style." If this is the first anatomy book you're considering, and if you've never gone through a drawing book at all, then you don't have a style. Don't worry about finding your style if you're just starting out - take the time to learn foundational principles & techniques, and make that your goal. 4: I imagine that alot of people would think of copying like this: "Draw this line, put that curve right here, draw the line next to it, now move the pencil over here and draw this curve, repeat." Don't do that. It wasn't until I had a better grasp on form & the "classical approach" when things began to click. Once you learn the fundamentals of rhythm & gesture, observing angles, form, and "sculpting in the paper," use that understanding to analyze not only subjects for life drawing, but also drawings. As Glenn Vilppu says, "Don't copy the model, analyze it." --- With that said, this book will show you anatomy as a set of forms, how they look from different views & actions, and, overall, how everything fits together. It's the perfect book to pull out once you can draw those geometric skeletons. Take your time and understand the text as Bridgman will explain what you're looking at. Analyzing the drawings is one thing, but the text does mention a lot of aspects on how the anatomy works. There is one flaw in the book, and that is the layout. I found myself having to flip between a few pages to look at the right drawing with the appropriately labeled parts so I could flip back to the text and better understand the stuff. This got a little frustrating but if you're patient, you can pick up alot of things from this. Like I said, take your time.

This is a must have for artist. This is very useful for figure drawing especially for muscle positions and shapes. Best book. I think I'll have other Bridgman books as well.