In this superb guidebook, a skilled practitioner of figure drawing demonstrates how to achieve mastery of anatomy through careful, knowledgeable articulation of the muscles and bones lying beneath the skin. Joseph Sheppard’s concise instructions have been carefully integrated with over 250 halftone illustrations and over 180 line drawings to lead artists one step at a time through the techniques required in rendering human anatomy convincingly. The opening chapter of the book presents the special techniques involved in mastering human proportion.The chapters that follow each deal with a separate part of the body: the arm, hand, leg, foot, torso, head, and neck (with special coverage of facial features and expressions) and the complete figure. Each of these chapters follows a basic format that combines drawings of the featured body portion from many different angles, coverage of the specific bones and muscles involved, a table of muscle origins and insertions, and coverage of surface anatomy and depictions of the body part in a variety of positions.
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629 reviews for Anatomy: A Complete Guide for Artists (Dover Anatomy for Artists)
4.6out of 5
★★★★★
★★★★★
10
★★★★★
1
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1
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★★★★★
K –
Great detailed drawings. A useful guide for those who want to learn the layers of anatomy, rather than just seeing what’s on the surface. I love how this book shows sequential drawings of the body that add more and more muscles each time. That way, I can learn what’s behind what, and really have a solid understanding of the human figure. However, I wouldn’t say this is a be-all-end-all anatomy book. Rather, it s a great supplement to the wonderful beginner anatomy books that focus more on basic forms and proportion. It bridges the gap between a book like Hampton’s Figure Drawing Design and Invention and a fairly complex (for artists) anatomy book like Stephen Rogers Peck.
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★★★★★
Micky Fieldvillege –
This is a great book if your a fan of Sheppard’s style of drawing.
this book is very much in the style of drawing of the old masters, its based on conceptual drawing and the artists goal to draw without a model.
This book has great diagrams of the anatomy as well as great pictures of the surface anatomy.
This would best be used in conjunction with a more dry text like Richer anatomy for the artist because sheppards diagrams are all monotone and the labels for muscles and bones can be tough if you don’t know them (they are all written in traditional handwriting)
This is pretty comprehensive and in my opinion essential. For the low price don’t leave this text out of your study routine.
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★★★★★
Wilma Gramajo –
Las imágenes vienen bastante oscuras, algunas no se logran definir bien los bordes con el fondo. Podrían mejorar la calidad de impresión.
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★★★★★
Wilma Gramajo –
Cuenta con un gran número de ilustraciones en diferentes posiciones que incluye desde los huesos hasta los músculos más representativos: algunos fueron omitidos dada su poca relevancia (músculos internos o cubiertos por otros mas superficiales o voluminosos) en el dibujo terminado; en ningún caso esto disminuye su valor o apreciación pues ofrece una aplicación más práctica a considerar cuando se dibuja de la referencia o del real. Debo agregar que no es recomendable para quiénes comienzan el dibujo de la figura humana dado su enfoque técnico y limitadas aplicaciones dinámicas aunado a que, como TODOS los libros de anatomía artística, no explican paso a paso “como dibujar x”: el autor da por hecho que el interesado cuenta con el conocimiento básico del dibujo
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★★★★★
Tasianna –
As an artist, i have to say this book is one of the best. It’s really useful and helps a lot. You don’t have to worry about too much when it comes to the book. I feel like there’s a balance between the reading and the drawings shown as a reference. A lot of great information to better yourself.
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★★★★★
BookLuvR –
I’ve been collecting anatomy for artists books for awhile and this is the best one in my collection to date. I like it because it shows each body part’s bones, tendons/connective tissues and muscles from several different angles. It also includes drawings of the body parts’ external views in several orientations. The drawings are done with scientific detail but are clearly meant for artists to use in rendering the human form with understanding of its structural underpinnings. I’ve copied illustrations from this book in my sketch book as observational practice and this has improved my life drawing. A worthy addition to your art practice library!
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★★★★★
Craig Katcher –
This is just another good reference book in my artist’s library. The book is easy to read and easy to follow. It is well laid out and has many examples to help guide your skills along
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★★★★★
Elliot –
Ce livre contient de superbes dessins réalisés autour de l’anatomie. Acheté pour un court métrage et du tout déçu part son contenu.
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★★★★★
Heidi Sunshine –
Absolutely great book!! Brand new. Beautiful.
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★★★★★
Sarah R. –
I have drawn as a hobby for years, but I have always been terrible with full body drawings, this book has helped with that. It is very extensive and goes through each individual body part. It shows you how certain muscles, veins, etc appear based on the angle of the body. It was very detailed which I appreciate it. It won’t magically make you amazing at drawing, but what book will? You have to put the work in yourself. Overall I highly recommend.
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★★★★★
MigoFast –
This has so far been a really great addition to my anatomy book collection. I really like the sort of layered approach to the images and text descriptions are easy to follow EXCEPT in the Kindle edition the Images while the drawings look good the words are barely legible sometimes not at all
Helpful(0)Unhelpful(0)You have already voted this
★★★★★
m –
Muito bom. Acredito ser um dos melhores livros e anatomia para artistas.
K –
Great detailed drawings. A useful guide for those who want to learn the layers of anatomy, rather than just seeing what’s on the surface. I love how this book shows sequential drawings of the body that add more and more muscles each time. That way, I can learn what’s behind what, and really have a solid understanding of the human figure. However, I wouldn’t say this is a be-all-end-all anatomy book. Rather, it s a great supplement to the wonderful beginner anatomy books that focus more on basic forms and proportion. It bridges the gap between a book like Hampton’s Figure Drawing Design and Invention and a fairly complex (for artists) anatomy book like Stephen Rogers Peck.
Micky Fieldvillege –
This is a great book if your a fan of Sheppard’s style of drawing.
this book is very much in the style of drawing of the old masters, its based on conceptual drawing and the artists goal to draw without a model.
This book has great diagrams of the anatomy as well as great pictures of the surface anatomy.
This would best be used in conjunction with a more dry text like Richer anatomy for the artist because sheppards diagrams are all monotone and the labels for muscles and bones can be tough if you don’t know them (they are all written in traditional handwriting)
This is pretty comprehensive and in my opinion essential. For the low price don’t leave this text out of your study routine.
Wilma Gramajo –
Las imágenes vienen bastante oscuras, algunas no se logran definir bien los bordes con el fondo. Podrían mejorar la calidad de impresión.
Wilma Gramajo –
Cuenta con un gran número de ilustraciones en diferentes posiciones que incluye desde los huesos hasta los músculos más representativos: algunos fueron omitidos dada su poca relevancia (músculos internos o cubiertos por otros mas superficiales o voluminosos) en el dibujo terminado; en ningún caso esto disminuye su valor o apreciación pues ofrece una aplicación más práctica a considerar cuando se dibuja de la referencia o del real.
Debo agregar que no es recomendable para quiénes comienzan el dibujo de la figura humana dado su enfoque técnico y limitadas aplicaciones dinámicas aunado a que, como TODOS los libros de anatomía artística, no explican paso a paso “como dibujar x”: el autor da por hecho que el interesado cuenta con el conocimiento básico del dibujo
Tasianna –
As an artist, i have to say this book is one of the best. It’s really useful and helps a lot. You don’t have to worry about too much when it comes to the book. I feel like there’s a balance between the reading and the drawings shown as a reference. A lot of great information to better yourself.
BookLuvR –
I’ve been collecting anatomy for artists books for awhile and this is the best one in my collection to date. I like it because it shows each body part’s bones, tendons/connective tissues and muscles from several different angles. It also includes drawings of the body parts’ external views in several orientations. The drawings are done with scientific detail but are clearly meant for artists to use in rendering the human form with understanding of its structural underpinnings. I’ve copied illustrations from this book in my sketch book as observational practice and this has improved my life drawing. A worthy addition to your art practice library!
Craig Katcher –
This is just another good reference book in my artist’s library.
The book is easy to read and easy to follow.
It is well laid out and has many examples to help guide your skills along
Elliot –
Ce livre contient de superbes dessins réalisés autour de l’anatomie.
Acheté pour un court métrage et du tout déçu part son contenu.
Heidi Sunshine –
Absolutely great book!! Brand new. Beautiful.
Sarah R. –
I have drawn as a hobby for years, but I have always been terrible with full body drawings, this book has helped with that. It is very extensive and goes through each individual body part. It shows you how certain muscles, veins, etc appear based on the angle of the body. It was very detailed which I appreciate it. It won’t magically make you amazing at drawing, but what book will? You have to put the work in yourself. Overall I highly recommend.
MigoFast –
This has so far been a really great addition to my anatomy book collection. I really like the sort of layered approach to the images and text descriptions are easy to follow EXCEPT in the Kindle edition the Images while the drawings look good the words are barely legible sometimes not at all
m –
Muito bom. Acredito ser um dos melhores livros e anatomia para artistas.
Julien SANS –
骨格から筋肉の付き。動作上の骨格など細かく示してはあるが、肝心の表皮までのプロセスが途中で切れて、完成に至ってなくてとても残念でした。
医学書の入門編を医学生から見せてもらったことがあるのですが、そちらの方が参考になりました。
あまり、生々しいものがダメな人はモノクロで鉛筆描きのこちらが抵抗はないのでしょうが、いずれにせよ美術書としては不完全でした。