Drawing The Living Figure

This innovative art instruction guide focuses upon the specifics of surface anatomy. Over 170 of Sheppard's drawings show many different live models in front, back, and side views, and in various standing, sitting, kneeling, crouching, reclining, and twisting poses. Each drawing is accompanied by two diagrams, one for bones, one for muscles.

Innovative approach to artistic anatomy focuses on specifics of surface anatomy, rather than muscles and bones. 177 drawings of live models in front, back, and side views, and in widely varying poses.

div Innovative approach to artistic anatomy focuses on specifics of surface anatomy, rather than muscles and bones. 177 drawings of live models in front, back and side views, and in widely varying poses. /div

With over 270 unique examples, renowned artist Joseph Sheppard demonstrates how to draw the nude female realistically and with authority, to make each image come alive! In addition to basic drawing techniques, Sheppard provides insight into the procedure of drawing from life, from how to look at a model, to composition and emphasis necessary to create a compelling drawing. Drawing the Female Figure covers the most important aspects of the female figure in a variety of poses: anatomical points, proportion, attitudes and weight distribution, rendering, variations and types, foreshortening, and the figure in motion. With the keenest attention to detail, Sheppard demonstrates how to draw each facet of the female anatomy in standing, seated, kneeling, crouching, and reclining positions. With instruction and tips for every level of artist working with any medium, Drawing the Female Figure is the perfect addition to every creative person's library. Joseph Sheppard attended the Maryland Institute of Art and was awarded a Guggenheim Traveling Fellowship to Florence, Italy in 1957. His work has won numerous prestigious awards and is featured in nearly two dozen museums and collections worldwide, including the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC, and the Carnegie Institute Museum of Art in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. For more information, please visit the author's website www.josephsheppard.com.

Many of us want to learn “how to draw.” But as artist Anthony Ryder explains, it’s much more important to learn what to draw. In other words, to observe and draw what we actually see, rather than what we think we see. When it comes to drawing the human figure, this means letting go of learned ideas and expectation of what the figure should look like. It means carefully observing the interplay of form and light, shape and line, that combine to create the actual appearance of human form. In The Artist’s Complete Guide to Figure Drawing, amateur and experienced artists alike are guided toward this new way of seeing and drawing the figure with a three-step drawing method. The book’s progressive course starts with the block-in, an exercise in seeing and establishing the figure’s shape. It then build to the contour, a refined line drawing that represents the figure’s silhouette. The last step is tonal work on the inside of the contour, when light and shadow are shaped to create the illusion of form. Separate chapters explore topics critical to the method: gesture, which expresses a sense of living energy to the figure; light, which largely determines how we see the model; and form, which conveys the figure’s volume and mass. Examples, step-by-steps, and special “tips” offer helpful hints and practical guidance throughout. Lavishly illustrated with the author’s stunning artwork, The Artist’s Complete Guide to Figure Drawing combines solid instruction with thoughtful meditations on the art of drawing, to both instruct and inspire artists of all levels.

Learn to draw the human figure with a two-step approach used by the biggest animation studios in the business with Figure Drawing for Artists.

Realistic Figure Drawing offers hundreds of beautiful figure drawings executed in Sheppard's classical, timeless style. Each of the ten chapters opens with a brief introduction, followed by illustrations presenting the key ideas about drawing the figure. Through studying these drawings, and honing your own skills through practice, you'll learn how to: &break;&break;Capture the dynamic action of the figure &break;Render the figure in light and shade &break;Proportion the figure so it has dignity and grace &break;Draw the masses and forms of the figure accurately