Constructive Anatomy

"Excellent. The most valuable, detailed anatomical studies (which are also beautifully drawn) of all parts of the figure." - American Artist "The best book on artist's anatomy available anywhere." - Art Students League News Countless artists and students since the 1920s have used this and other books by George B. Bridgman (for nearly 50 years a teacher at the Art Students League in New York) for a solid foundation and understanding of human anatomy. They have found, and continue to find, that his unique way of discovering the vitalizing forces in the human form and realizing them in drawing carries the student pleasantly over one of art's most severe hurdles. Bridgman's superb anatomical sketches, of which there are nearly 500 in the book, also bring clearly to fruition his lucid theories of how to draw the human body in its structure and its complex movements. Constructive Anatomy, an anatomical reference guide for the working artist, sculptor, and student, graphically shows important parts of the human body, both in motion and in repose - hand, wrist, thumb, fingers, forearm, arm, armpit, shoulder, neck, head, eye, nose, ear, mouth, chin, trunk (front, side, and back), pelvis, hip, thigh, leg, knee, ankle, foot, and toes. Drawings of bone and muscle structure of the working of the joints and the interrelation of the various parts of the body are mainly concerned with movement of all sorts - movements that are described in detail as well as illustrated. The bending, twisting, and turning, creasing and interlocking of the various parts of the body are represented in drawing as the wedging of masses in specific ways that are clearly defined by Mr. Bridgman. Every artist will save tedious hours of research with this simple but effective approach, and will be delighted with its directness and fervor.

Describes the factors involved in sketching the human form in various positions

Originally published: Sterling Pub., 1952.

In this book, Michel Lauricella presents both his artistic and systematic methods for drawing the human body—with drawing techniques from the écorché (showing the musculature underneath the skin) to sketches of models in action. In more than 1000 illustrations, the human body is shown from a new perspective—from bone structure to musculature, from anatomical detail to the body in motion. Morpho is a rich, fascinating, and helpful book that can go with you everywhere on your sketching journey. p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px Times; color: #212121} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px Times; color: #212121; min-height: 19.0px} p.p3 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Cambria; color: #212121} span.s1 {color: #232323} In this book, artist and teacher Michel Lauricella presents both his artistic and systematic methods for drawing the human body with drawing techniques from the écorché (showing the musculature and bone structure beneath the skin) to dynamic sketches of models in action. In more than 1000 illustrations, the human body is shown from a new perspective—from bone structure to musculature, from anatomical detail to the body in motion. Lauricella believes that only by learning basic human anatomy can one’s drawing skills be perfected. Morpho is a rich, fascinating, and essential book that can go with you everywhere on your sketching journey.

Shares ideas on perspective, planes, and anatomy as they relate to portrait drawing

A variety of sketches depicting bone and muscle structure, as well as human features, illustrate these lessons in drawing human forms

George Brant Bridgman (1865–1943) was a Canadian-American painter, writer, and teacher in the fields of anatomy and figure drawing. Bridgman taught anatomy for artists at the Art Students League of New York for some 45 years. Constructive Anatomy: Illustrated by George B. Bridgman. Excellent book of anatomical drawing instruction. Ideal for beginning to intermediate artists, begins with instruction on drawing hands and works its way through the human body giving detailed instruction on how to draw realistic human figures. The drawings that are presented here show the conceptions that have proved simplest and most effective in constructing the human figure. The eye in drawing must follow a line or a plane or a mass. In the process of drawing, this may become a moving line, or a moving plane, or a moving mass. The line, in actual construction, must come first; but as mental construction must precede physical, so the concept of mass must come first, that of plane second, that of line last. Masses of about the same size or proportion are conceived not as masses, but as one mass; those of different proportions, in respect to their movement, are conceived as wedging into each other, or as morticed or interlocking.

After more than thirty years of research and teaching, artist Valerie Winslow has compiled her unique methods of drawing human anatomy into one groundbreaking volume: Classic Human Anatomy. This long-awaited book provides simple, insightful approaches to the complex subject of human anatomy, using drawings, diagrams, and reader-friendly text. Three major sections–the skeletal form, the muscular form and action of the muscles, and movement–break the material down into easy-to-understand pieces. More than 800 distinctive illustrations detail the movement and actions of the bones and muscles, and unique charts reveal the origins and insertions of the muscles. Packed with an extraordinary wealth of information, Classic Human Anatomy is sure to become a new classic of art instruction.