From the author of the classic Human Anatomy for Artists comes this user-friendly reference guide featuring over five hundred original drawings and over seventy photographs. Designed for painters, sculptors, and illustrators who use animal imagery in their work, Animal Anatomy for Artists offers thorough, in-depth information about the most commonly depicted animals, presented in a logical and easily understood format for artists–whether beginner or accomplished professional. The book focuses on the forms created by muscles and bones, giving artists a crucial three-dimensional understanding of the final, complex outer surface of the animal. Goldfinger not only covers the anatomy of the more common animals, such as the horse, dog, cat, cow, pig, squirrel, and rabbit, but also the anatomy of numerous wild species, including the lion, giraffe, deer, hippopotamus, rhinoceros, elephant, gorilla, sea lion, and bear. Included are drawings of skeletons and how they move at the joints, individual muscles showing their attachments on the skeleton, muscles of the entire animal, cross sections, photographs of live animals, and silhouettes of related animals comparing their shapes and proportions. He offers a new and innovative section on the basic body plan of four-legged animals, giving the reader a crucial conceptual understanding of overall animal structure to which the details of individual animals can then be applied. The chapter on birds covers the skeleton, muscles and feather patterns. The appendix presents photographs of skulls with magnificent horns and antlers and a section on major surface veins. Incredibly thorough, packed with essential information, Animal Anatomy for Artists is a definitive reference work, an essential book for everyone who depicts animals in their art.
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366 reviews for Animal Anatomy for Artists: The Elements of Form
4.6out of 5
★★★★★
★★★★★
12
★★★★★
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★★★★★
Beatrice Gröger –
This book is really worth the money. I bought it after I struggled with finding helpful references for a personal project. I SO wish I had found it sooner! I now use it often as it covers so many different species that you WILL find the animal you need or at least something similar/relatable. It breaks down the basic anatomy in an easy understandable way. Once you get the basics, you’ll be able to apply them to fantasy creatures as well 🙂
The book features multiple views of the animals bones and muscles, photographs,further breakdowns of some sections to deepen the understanding and lots of silhouettes to make the different proportions clearer (something that’s often overlooked).
I will use this book often from now on and I’m glad I bought it. Would definitely recommend it 🙂
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★★★★★
Low Su Yi –
Most affordable price online
Helpful(0)Unhelpful(0)You have already voted this
★★★★★
Natapea –
In beautiful depth of detail for those who need help sometimes with proportions like me.
Helpful(0)Unhelpful(0)You have already voted this
★★★★★
Kindle Customer –
good descriptions and anatomical details also in most cases gives gives the finished body outline so great for making models
Helpful(0)Unhelpful(0)You have already voted this
★★★★★
Rayleigh003 –
Bien que ne comprenant pas tout de l’anglais (lv2) je comprend l’essentiel. c’est beaucoup imager avec des animaux en squelette, squelette simplifier, tout en muscles, … c’est complet à mon sens
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★★★★★
JOSE –
Great Book!!! Better than I expected.
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★★★★★
Pippa –
This is probably the only book you need if you are someone who enjoys drawing animals and does creature design. The book is beginner-friendly and easy to follow, making it appropriate for both the hobbyist and the experienced. The language is written in a way that is easy to understand. All diagrams are labelled clearly with appropriate omissions made to anatomical parts that are not necessary for the artist to learn.
I love the layout of the book: it has been designed/organised in a way that makes it easy to navigate. You can really tell that the author went the extra mile to compile and preserve the most accurate representation of each unique animal. Every page has a clearly labelled diagram, often supplemented with a concise description of which bone or muscle is being presented, and what their functions are — this is what makes the reading experience enjoyable [to the art student] rather than strenuous.
This book primarily focusses on 4-legged mammals, especially the horse (and other similar hooved-animals), the hound, and the wild cat. The book does very briefly touches upon other animals (vertebrates) towards the end (bird, bat, sea lion, gorilla, etc.) but only as reference, not in excruciating detail. This book DOES NOT cover amphibians, reptiles, insects, or sea creatures so make sure you know what you are looking for.
Helpful(0)Unhelpful(0)You have already voted this
★★★★★
Federica Marroni –
ho regalato questo libro al mio ragazzo che dopo 3 anni di accademia di belle arti ha deciso di approfondire l’anatomia animale. Bene l’ha sfogliato tutto pagina per pagina davanti a me e ad ogni tavola era sempre più entusiasta. Tavole perfette, che partono dalla scomposizione in forme elementari fino a quelle più dettagliate. Ottimo, dettagliato, professionale a livello medico.
Helpful(0)Unhelpful(0)You have already voted this
★★★★★
Book Scout –
This is a truly first rate book for serious artists wishing to gain insight into the anatomical structure of animals, but who don’t wish to skim through pages of unecessary text. Goldfinger has complied a massive 256 pages of informative and detailed drawings and photographs that are not only useful but amazing to look at. Text is kept to a minimum, and his written information is fascinating and insightful. He has aimed the book at both the sculptor and figuritive painter/drawer making it a valuable resource for all artists. He begins by explaining in easy to understand terms how anatomical structure is compiled; how cartilage works, why muscles sit where they do etc. Throughout each animal group (of which he covers many) he describes some of the behavioural habits of creatures and how these impact on the animals appearance – the teeth of rodents for example. You cannot turn a page without finding either a detailed drawing of a skeleton, musculature, silhouttes,black and white photography or even vascular construction. In fact the only minus is the black and white photography which would have added a new dimension had it been in colour. It cleverly compares similar animals to one another thus highlighting their differences. The four silhouettes of the Lowland Gorilla, Chimp, Orang Utan and Gibbon are incredible. Animals covered are too numerous to mention here but they include a thorough analysis of the horse, dog, cat (domestic and big), primate and then the dometic and wild hoofed species. He includes rodents, elephants, giraffes, ox, seals, sea lions and a fabulous insight into birds and their wing construction. I am smitten with this book and would recommend it to everyone seeking a highly detailed insight into these species.
Helpful(0)Unhelpful(0)You have already voted this
★★★★★
Amazon Customer –
I was a little disappointed with this book, I did check the few photos of the inside pages that were available and made a decision on this and the reviews, a lot of the pictures are of horses. The main animal I’m interested in the Hare only had one single page of a black silhouette, and the rabbit was only on two pages and then a silhouette. The book and reviews suggested it was a fantastic resource for a sculptor but I find it very limiting in views and angles especially front on to the animals (which is very important when you are sculpting an animal and wish to see the muscles from the front angle.) Unfortunately it was very expensive and i regret the purchase as it has limited use to me, perhaps it was my fault and I should have researched the book even more than I did.
Helpful(0)Unhelpful(0)You have already voted this
★★★★★
dth –
Good book!
Helpful(0)Unhelpful(0)You have already voted this
★★★★★
Amazon Customer –
good
Helpful(0)Unhelpful(0)You have already voted this
★★★★★
deadchristmastrees –
Wow! I was completely blown away when this book arrived in the mail! I purchased this book for a course I’m taking in college that is basically an intro anatomy and evolution class but uses a lot of sketching and animation to teach these things. I wasn’t too enthusiastic about the art portion of this course and was less than thrilled about having to buy a $40 book on drawing animals….or so I thought.
When this book arrived I was pleasantly surprised! It was EXTREMELY detailed and every muscle was painstakingly labelled. This book isn’t a ‘how to draw…’ book, although it does have a lot of that. The beginning has a lot of info about body plans and proportions. While these first chapters have a lot of tips and help for artist, its basically assumed that the reader can already draw or has a general understanding of how to shape an animal. You wont find any basic steps on drawing or sketching. Goldfinger is really clear in his explanations and gets you to look at the structure of a body in a very simple, easy to understand way.
The majority of the book is of diagrams of the muscle and bone structure of different species. I’m not just talking cats, dogs, and horses either! This book has full, completely labelled and correctly proportioned diagrams of everything from lions and seals to hippos and lizards. Every single one has all or a majority of its muscles labeled. The more common animals are even more detailed in there being various views and closeups of certain areas.
I have almost no qualms about this book but I will point out a few things. First, if your more interested in skeletal anatomy this may not be the best book. Most of the concentration is on muscles since, i guess, that’s more significant to an artist looking to draw these creatures. There are skeletal diagrams of the more common animals so its not completely lacking in that sense. The other issue I had was in the way muscles were labeled although I don’t know of any other way the author could have done it. Basically every muscle was labeled with an abbreviation and then at the bottom of the page is a key in which the abbreviations and their meanings are listed alphabetically. This made learning the muscles kind of tedious and confusing but honestly, with ALL those muscles to label, I don’t see any other way of doing it.
Originally, I planned on keeping this book in perfect shape so I could resell it at the end of the semester but Im most definitely keeping it! There are endless ways that this book could help me in the future. I recommend it for ANYONE wanting to learn more about animal anatomy. Not just artists. I’ve had other anatomy textbooks that aren’t even this thorough.
Beatrice Gröger –
This book is really worth the money. I bought it after I struggled with finding helpful references for a personal project. I SO wish I had found it sooner! I now use it often as it covers so many different species that you WILL find the animal you need or at least something similar/relatable. It breaks down the basic anatomy in an easy understandable way. Once you get the basics, you’ll be able to apply them to fantasy creatures as well 🙂
The book features multiple views of the animals bones and muscles, photographs,further breakdowns of some sections to deepen the understanding and lots of silhouettes to make the different proportions clearer (something that’s often overlooked).
I will use this book often from now on and I’m glad I bought it. Would definitely recommend it 🙂
Low Su Yi –
Most affordable price online
Natapea –
In beautiful depth of detail for those who need help sometimes with proportions like me.
Kindle Customer –
good descriptions and anatomical details
also in most cases gives gives the finished body outline so great for making models
Rayleigh003 –
Bien que ne comprenant pas tout de l’anglais (lv2) je comprend l’essentiel. c’est beaucoup imager avec des animaux en squelette, squelette simplifier, tout en muscles, … c’est complet à mon sens
JOSE –
Great Book!!! Better than I expected.
Pippa –
This is probably the only book you need if you are someone who enjoys drawing animals and does creature design. The book is beginner-friendly and easy to follow, making it appropriate for both the hobbyist and the experienced. The language is written in a way that is easy to understand. All diagrams are labelled clearly with appropriate omissions made to anatomical parts that are not necessary for the artist to learn.
I love the layout of the book: it has been designed/organised in a way that makes it easy to navigate. You can really tell that the author went the extra mile to compile and preserve the most accurate representation of each unique animal. Every page has a clearly labelled diagram, often supplemented with a concise description of which bone or muscle is being presented, and what their functions are — this is what makes the reading experience enjoyable [to the art student] rather than strenuous.
This book primarily focusses on 4-legged mammals, especially the horse (and other similar hooved-animals), the hound, and the wild cat. The book does very briefly touches upon other animals (vertebrates) towards the end (bird, bat, sea lion, gorilla, etc.) but only as reference, not in excruciating detail. This book DOES NOT cover amphibians, reptiles, insects, or sea creatures so make sure you know what you are looking for.
Federica Marroni –
ho regalato questo libro al mio ragazzo che dopo 3 anni di accademia di belle arti ha deciso di approfondire l’anatomia animale. Bene l’ha sfogliato tutto pagina per pagina davanti a me e ad ogni tavola era sempre più entusiasta. Tavole perfette, che partono dalla scomposizione in forme elementari fino a quelle più dettagliate. Ottimo, dettagliato, professionale a livello medico.
Book Scout –
This is a truly first rate book for serious artists wishing to gain insight into the anatomical structure of animals, but who don’t wish to skim through pages of unecessary text.
Goldfinger has complied a massive 256 pages of informative and detailed drawings and photographs that are not only useful but amazing to look at. Text is kept to a minimum, and his written information is fascinating and insightful.
He has aimed the book at both the sculptor and figuritive painter/drawer making it a valuable resource for all artists.
He begins by explaining in easy to understand terms how anatomical structure is compiled; how cartilage works, why muscles sit where they do etc.
Throughout each animal group (of which he covers many) he describes some of the behavioural habits of creatures and how these impact on the animals appearance – the teeth of rodents for example.
You cannot turn a page without finding either a detailed drawing of a skeleton, musculature, silhouttes,black and white photography or even vascular construction. In fact the only minus is the black and white photography which would have added a new dimension had it been in colour.
It cleverly compares similar animals to one another thus highlighting their differences. The four silhouettes of the Lowland Gorilla, Chimp, Orang Utan and Gibbon are incredible.
Animals covered are too numerous to mention here but they include a thorough analysis of the horse, dog, cat (domestic and big), primate and then the dometic and wild hoofed species. He includes rodents, elephants, giraffes, ox, seals, sea lions and a fabulous insight into birds and their wing construction.
I am smitten with this book and would recommend it to everyone seeking a highly detailed insight into these species.
Amazon Customer –
I was a little disappointed with this book, I did check the few photos of the inside pages that were available and made a decision on this and the reviews, a lot of the pictures are of horses. The main animal I’m interested in the Hare only had one single page of a black silhouette, and the rabbit was only on two pages and then a silhouette. The book and reviews suggested it was a fantastic resource for a sculptor but I find it very limiting in views and angles especially front on to the animals (which is very important when you are sculpting an animal and wish to see the muscles from the front angle.) Unfortunately it was very expensive and i regret the purchase as it has limited use to me, perhaps it was my fault and I should have researched the book even more than I did.
dth –
Good book!
Amazon Customer –
good
deadchristmastrees –
Wow! I was completely blown away when this book arrived in the mail! I purchased this book for a course I’m taking in college that is basically an intro anatomy and evolution class but uses a lot of sketching and animation to teach these things. I wasn’t too enthusiastic about the art portion of this course and was less than thrilled about having to buy a $40 book on drawing animals….or so I thought.
When this book arrived I was pleasantly surprised! It was EXTREMELY detailed and every muscle was painstakingly labelled. This book isn’t a ‘how to draw…’ book, although it does have a lot of that. The beginning has a lot of info about body plans and proportions. While these first chapters have a lot of tips and help for artist, its basically assumed that the reader can already draw or has a general understanding of how to shape an animal. You wont find any basic steps on drawing or sketching. Goldfinger is really clear in his explanations and gets you to look at the structure of a body in a very simple, easy to understand way.
The majority of the book is of diagrams of the muscle and bone structure of different species. I’m not just talking cats, dogs, and horses either! This book has full, completely labelled and correctly proportioned diagrams of everything from lions and seals to hippos and lizards. Every single one has all or a majority of its muscles labeled. The more common animals are even more detailed in there being various views and closeups of certain areas.
I have almost no qualms about this book but I will point out a few things. First, if your more interested in skeletal anatomy this may not be the best book. Most of the concentration is on muscles since, i guess, that’s more significant to an artist looking to draw these creatures. There are skeletal diagrams of the more common animals so its not completely lacking in that sense. The other issue I had was in the way muscles were labeled although I don’t know of any other way the author could have done it. Basically every muscle was labeled with an abbreviation and then at the bottom of the page is a key in which the abbreviations and their meanings are listed alphabetically. This made learning the muscles kind of tedious and confusing but honestly, with ALL those muscles to label, I don’t see any other way of doing it.
Originally, I planned on keeping this book in perfect shape so I could resell it at the end of the semester but Im most definitely keeping it! There are endless ways that this book could help me in the future. I recommend it for ANYONE wanting to learn more about animal anatomy. Not just artists. I’ve had other anatomy textbooks that aren’t even this thorough.
THE BEST BOOK PURCHASE I’VE MADE ALL YEAR!!!