Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Hellboy

A Hellboy pose / expression sheet in the style of Sean Galloway I did a little while a go, as part of a fun little facebook challenge. Not much to say about this one.

Monday, December 1, 2014

More Books: Art of Drawing Anatomy

It's been a while since I've given a brief review of any of my art books. As I'm sure many of you are just dying to know which books are on my shelves, I thought I would appease you by doing a quick lil' blurb about a book I've had for a year or so, but only read yesterday. Be excited!

Title: Art of Drawing Anatomy (David Sanmiguel)

Who should read it: New artists

Why is it awesome?:

Okay, "awesome" is not actually how I would describe this book. On my shelf I have books that I love, and books that didn't quite live up to my expectations. This would be one of the latter. My reason for picking up this book in the first place was to once and for all figure out the placement of the upper arm muscles, as well as to get tips and tricks on drawing anatomy in general. I was a little disappointed that I didn't get a more useful analysis, such as multiple arm views with muscles flexed and relaxed, explanations of the muscle structure, or a close look at how they connect. You do get some views, but I didn't really find it helpful. After I read the entire book, I think my overall impression was that I could have used a few less "Step-by-step" drawing tutorials for drawing the human form (though useful, it took up a large portion of the book) and more discussion of the actual anatomy (as per the book's title).

However, I am not saying that this book is useless. Far from it! It just wasn't what I was looking for in an anatomy book. In the hands of a new artist, this book would probably be extremely helpful. Though titled an anatomy book, it's really more of a general how-to-draw for the human form. Art of Drawing Anatomy has sections on drawing tools (as well as how to use them), several methods for breaking down the human form (such as using body axes to construct the basic pose), anatomy of bones and muscles, how to get the feel of movement, and, as mentioned before, step-by-step drawings of the human form. It covers quite a bit, and I did find the proportion diagram at the bottom of page 15, the skeleton and muscle drawing shortcuts, and the sections on movement helpful. (There is a section on facial construction, but I would recommend going elsewhere if you want to learn the intricacies of the human face, as this was one of the weaker sections, in my opinion.) This book also has quite a few photos and drawings of the human body, so you won't lack for reference. If you happen to be an artist just beginning to draw anatomy, Art of Drawing Anatomy might just be the book for you. Just keep in mind that it might not be for everybody.

:D