Book Description
This book will have beginning artists of all ages drawing faces that are strikingly realistic and detailed. Artist Carrie Stuart Parks honed her fast and effective drawing skills as a professional forensic artist. Here she makes drawing fun and easy, showing beginners how to render vivid self portraits and portraits of others, all in a matter of hours.
Artists will successfully learn how to master proportions and map facial features accurately. They will then study shapes within a composition and learn to draw them realistically. Lastly, artists will study the subject's values and use them to bring life and accuracy to each portrait. A final "checking" step helps artists capture heightened realism and accuracy.
This book features clear step-by-step instructions, before-and-after examples from students, and proven drawing exercises used to train artists throughout the country.
Customer Reviews:
Secrets to Drawing Realistic Faces.......2007-04-11
This book was recommended to me by someone who is an artists for crime victims. It was used in the classes she went to. I am practicing drawing eyes at the moment. I have to say that I am now drawing the best eyes ever. This book explains more that where to put the features. It explains how to make the features come to life.
Drawing Techniques Analyzed and Simplified .......2007-03-23
Again, I checked this one out from the library before purchasing. I did not want another book that just told me to sit down and 'draw what you see'. When it comes to faces, the proportions are the hardest part for me. This book goes into great detail explaining how to 'measure' the features of a real person, not the imaginary kind we see in fashion layouts. I have actually seen great improvement after only a few drawings. The best way to improve is to do separate studies of each facial feature until we get them right, and this book explains how. Practice is what brings the progress. Finding time is the problem. This book makes it very clear that anyone with good eyesight can learn to draw peoples' faces. It's just like learning any other skill. This woman teaches this course to police artists, ordinary people with no previous artistic training. It works!
This book really helped!.......2007-02-08
I love this book, I got it from the library, but I had to have my own copy. I was able to actually capture a likeness for the first time! Her technique of measuring can be applied to more than just faces. I bought her second book, but this one is better.
Drawing Realistic Faces.......2007-02-07
I am very happy with this book, gives you a step by step insight on portraits. This book was also shipped to me within two days, fast and efficient!!
Great Book for Learning to Draw Realistic Faces.......2007-01-10
I love to draw, and most know the Hardest thing to draw is the face. Drawing a Face Realisticly can make or break a Masterpiece, before i was ok my sketchs were nice. I got this book and Practiced, every step, very easy to follow, and understand. Within weeks, i was creating some Portrait Quality Sketches, Now all my friends and Family are asking me to Draw them. I would Recomend this Book to anyone that loves to draw, especially Realistic Drawing.
Book Description
All artists are tired of persuading their nearest and dearest to look sad…look glad…look mad…madder…no, even madder…okay, hold it. For those artists (and their long-suffering friends), here is the best book ever. Facial Expressions includes more than 2,500 photographs of 50 faces—men and women of a variety of ages, shapes, sizes, and ethnicities—each demonstrating a wide range of emotions and shown from multiple angles. Who can use this book? Oh, only every artist on the planet, including art students, illustrators, fine artists, animators, storyboarders, and comic book artists. But wait, there's more! Additional photos focus on people wearing hats and couples kissing, while illustrations show skull anatomy and facial musculature. Still not enough? How about a one-of-a-kind series of photos of lips pronouncing the phonemes used in human speech? Animators will swoon—and artists will show a range of facial expressions from happy to happiest to ecstatic.
Customer Reviews:
Facial Expressions.......2007-09-29
This is a wonderful resource for artists. It offers a variety of models with a wide range of expressions. I Highly reccommend it.
ABSOLUTE NECESSITY!.......2007-09-19
I just recently started creating a webcomic and I never could have done it without this book. The expressions range from highly exaggerated to more subtle and, I promise you, will work for almost any expression you want to create. Also, many expressions are shot at multiple angles, making it much easier for me to create the exact image I am thinking of. Perfect.
Excellent reference for drawing comics.......2007-08-23
I'd used this book often when drawing my manga. However do note that the facial expressions are mostly very exaggerated. When drawing my characters talking or just a gentle smile, I could not find reference from there.I'd to use a mirror. I hope there's a volume two with two people interacting with each other and different camera angles.
Ummm a little disappointing great book.......2007-07-16
I think it's the only book right now which has addressed reference material for facial expressions. It's really useful, but professionals may get disappointed with the quality of some pictures and blurriness. It's not that all pictures are bad quality, but when you have such an amazing reference you ought to expect a lot and that's where this book is disappointing. But for sure this book will be useful for all beginners and probably higher level artists. For this price don't hesitate to buy if you really want a reference for facial expressions. Some people may not like the quality of the paper, but I think you should also consider the price.
good drawing book.......2007-07-05
i thought the book was something different from what i ordered. but i guess its good for artists
Customer Reviews:
Useful tool.......2007-07-27
Although the book is printed on a faily couarse grained paper and the photographs could have had better contrast, I have found the book useful. The poses are sufficiently varied to provide a good cross-section of body movement.
Good Ordinary.......2007-04-02
I bought this book when I saw it in the art store. I like it. The poses are natural and the models, while all WASPs, are of different shapes. I liked that the women were differently shaped-- some more curvacious like J-Lo, others like a Flapper with few curves. Their breasts are differently shaped which definitely helps in learning the figure. There are only a few male models and they could have been better had there been more-- I hate to judge a body as unattractive based on the amount of hair or what-have-they, and as an artist I appreciate the differences and these could be better appreciated had there been more. There was only one pregnant woman in the pregnant section and she is perhaps seven months pregnant-- she is not at the point where she is uncomfortable-pregnant or in the earlier stages-- this book could be greatly improved if Mr. Smith had done more women in different stages of pregnancy and a greater variation of models in general. I do know that when it comes to creating a book that publishers are at the mercy of meeting certain costs with a number of pages, so they try to be useful but original and try to meet several goals. This is all right-- it won't be my favourite book on the nude body, but it's not one that I will give away, either.
Will use this often.......2007-01-13
I found many usable poses in this book. Some diversity in body types, which is nice. I could do without the hairy armpits, but thankfully we all have the creative liscense to erase that.
I left out one star because the male nudes are terrible. I think there are only 3 different male models, and I don't even want to look at them, not to mention draw them. No muscle definition, one is pot bellied, and another with a bald head and flabby body completely covered with hair...easy to render as that is (a contour, then tons of hair)I'll pass. Two thumbs down on the choice of male models.
Designed to develop familiarity with the figure .......2006-08-08
First off, let me start off by saying that this is not a how-to guide for drawing the figure. It does not attempt to teach you, and it's not designed to do so. Also, don't expect this book to have great photos that will translate into beautiful, finished pieces of art--I don't think one should expect it to be. Instead, it is choke full of full figure poses with which a student can learn the human anatomy by repeated practice of drawing different poses.
The book is what it says it is--it is merely a visual reference. This book is designed to help those who are already familiar with drawing the figure, but needs to practice the full figure at home without the help of live models at their disposal. It is not a replacement for live models, so some may deem this inadequate--but note that this is probably the best book out there of this kind. Some of the reviewers complained about the homogeneity of the models and their poses--well, not everyone is looking to expand their figure drawing prowess by drawing ethnic, overweight, or innovative poses.
Speaking from personal experience, I feel that this book is helping me to develop familiarity with the figure, ultimately resulting in speed and better gestural expression. If this isn't what you're looking for, I don't recommend this book for you. As for Sarah Simblet's book, which this book is sometimes compared to, get it if you need to be taught how to draw the figure. Otherwise, I feel that book is useless, as most of the photos are of individual body parts, rather than the full human figure. It may be used to try to gain familiarity with individual body parts, but there aren't enough photos of each part to help become familiar with any of them. It does look pretty fancy though. Very glossy. Unlike this simple and functional book for those who believe in the value of repetition.
Love it.......2005-02-23
I browsed through this book at a Barnes & Nobles a few weeks ago, and almost immediately fell in love with it. But I did have to wait to go online as it was nearly 30.00 at B&N and I knew I could get it cheaper at amazon.com, which I did for a mere 22.00 with shipping.
Before "The Nude Figure" my best reference book was "Drawing the Female Nude" by Giovanni Civardi, which featured his drawings of two models in various poses. It is a great book for the beginner, but after five years of using it I needed something new - and Playboy just wasn't working.
The Nude Figure by Mark Smith featured only photographs of various models and all kinds of different poses. All of the photographs are in black and white which is a definite plus in my mind, helping you to see the defining lines and edges. The poses are divided into chapters as follows:
Standing Poses - This chapter is full of your basic standing poses. Arms up, arms down, from the side, from the back.
Seated Poses - Seated on the ground in different positions including Indian style, which I find very hard to draw.
Reclining Poses - All kinds of laying down positions, all from different perspectives. Some look quite easy to draw and others are quite hard.
The Figure on a stool - These I find quite difficult simply because of the stools - I am not good at any kind of still life, even if it has a woman sitting on it.
Kneeling Poses - The Kneeling poses are quite useful, but some of them just look awkward and I don't see how you could use them in a work of art - but I guess there is always a way.
Bending Poses - Most of these look like stretching before a workout poses. I don't se how they could be useful in a work, but for practice everything is good.
Crouching Poses - A lot of these poses make the model look like she is ready for a race.
The Figure in motion - I am very happy with this section as I do a lot of fairies and it is full of people jumping up in the air - something you could never get a live model to hold.
The Pregnant Figure - There are only a few pages of this, and I'm glad they put in here. It's not too often that you get to see a nude pregnant woman to draw from. I think this will come in handy someday.
Unusual Poses - Just like it sounds, many of these aren't very practical, but very useful in learning how different muscles shift in different positions.
The bulk of the photo's are in Standing, Seated, and reclining poses. Those fill up most of this book.
If you are wanting to learn how to draw men, this book is not for you. In all of the chapters (excluding the pregnant figure), men are only featured on about two pages. But this is a very good thing for me, as I only draw women.
Also the people in this book are all pretty fit. There aren't any fat people in here, not a big scope of different shapes. Again, I am happy with this as I don't want to draw fat people, but other artist might be disappointed by this lack of diversity. Some of the women have hairy armpits though, and some don't - that's diverse enough for me. Plus the women may all be over-all fit, but they are all built differently.
The photo quality is OK, but not fantastic, no glossy pictures in here, in fact some are grainy. But they are all adequate, and I think they did this to keep the cost of the book down, which makes me happy, as I would not have paid 40.00 just to have more glossy pictures. They use a lot of different lighting techniques in this book, but some of them I hate only showing the outlines of the figures when I want to see muscle.
Overall I am quite happy with this book. I know it will give me plenty of ideas for years to come, and I would recommend it to anyone wanting lots of good poses to use in their art. It is the best book of poses I have found thus far. 90% of the poses are very usable, my only problem is trying to choose which one I want to try out next.
Product Description
This book is focused on various techniques and styles in drawing human figures and portraits. The book has 192 pages, each page includes one or more figure/head drawings done from live models. There are about 20 step-by-step demonstrations from detailed and traditional approaches to fast and painterly styles. Along with the step-by-step demonstrations and examples, the book is filled with detailed description of methods of using charcoal pencil, vine charcoal and compressed charcoal. The text also includes opinions, tips, ways of thinking and observing. It's a book that will benefit both beginners and advanced learners.
Customer Reviews:
A required reference work on the figure for your growth and development!.......2007-08-30
Henry's book opened up a new world of drawing to me and looks to be - regardless of price - the deal of the century given what some works of similar cost offer the reader or artist.
Henry's astounding level of line quality, and his ability to see - in an elegant way - what should be recorded on the page set his work and this collection of his drawings apart. While they are different in many ways, I put this book up with my Burton Silverman books as an oft' considered reference. Amazing and wonderful just to leaf through.. and fantastic as a learning tool! A Classic!
A master class in figurative drawing.......2007-06-19
As one of the great draughtsman and artists of our time, Mr. Yan has compiled a book which really encapsulates what figure drawing should be all about.
A beautifully laid out book, Mr. Yan covers in a thoughtful and methodical way how to approach drawing the figure in several of the major classical styles, his thought process and step by step instructions on how to do so.
In saying that, his work transcends mere technique and has an energy that comes from being truly free to express one's self. He provides you the tools to do this, the rest is up to you!
Wonderful and inspiring book!.......2007-06-11
I bought this book as a gift to my father, Francisco Lopes. His opinion about it is:
"This is a book that inspires the artist to express in his drawings a sense of living energy to the figure. You should have Henry Yan's book in your library even if you are a professional artist or not. It is an important and complete course of charcoal drawing."
The difference between art and replica.......2007-06-10
I have been studying figurative art for several years and own most of the figurative books on the market. The difference between other books and Mr. Yan's book is that other books teach you how to copy the figure where as Mr. Yan's book show you how to create figurative art. The powerful drawings in this book make me think about values in a new way. If you are into figurative drawings, this book is a must have.
wonderful artwork !!.......2007-06-07
Henry Yan's figure drawing gives you a great approach on how to work with lines, proportions and structural shapes to achieve volume in your drawings, but as well to work with a more painterly approach using mass and the use of shadows and lights to shape the form... it's illustrated with great examples of these two approaches, and you'll also see how he combines those two approaches line and mass in his examples.
You will find in this book Henry Yan's different steps to achieve such splendid drawings. Aside the explanations on his method of work, it's abondantly illustrated(portraits as well as figure drawings). There is to me a real quality in his line, composition of image and use of lights. Besides his great technicity,I find his work filled with a search of sensibility and mood in the capture of the model's pose.... that goes beyond just achieving "perfect technicity" so to speak, but in search of what the model's pose and scene inspires you, far more than just simply "copying" things. I have so far never seen a figure drawing book like this, it will defenately remain a source of inspiration to me. His "painterly" approach in his figure drawings is a great inspiration on how to use this method in colored paintings as well. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in figure drawings and in art in general.
Book Description
Leaping, somersaulting, stretching, dancing figures animate this gallery of marvelous action poses, photographed for artists of all levels to use as reference when portraying human figures in motion.
Expertly composed and lit pictures of male and female models in suspended action show the body from numerous vantage points. Students practice figure drawing by copying the photos, while advanced artists use them as points of departure, altering body positions to suit specific compositional needs.
Customer Reviews:
used or not at all.......2007-05-27
like others said the pictures are grainy. not enough lighting on some...need some ethnic women...
Several Problems.......2007-01-13
I've seen several mentions of grainy photos, and they are grainy, however that is the least of the problems with this book.
First of all many of the figures have been traced out from the background the photo was taken with and pasted onto a plain white background, causing multiple problems, like persepctive and flat or squished body surfaces where the models were originally sitting or lying on something. The "cutting and pasting" is sloppily done, and in many of the photos the tips of toes and fingers have been cut off, very annoying.
Secondly, there are several photographs that take up two pages...but this is a bound book, so the entire center of the body is not visible, and because a portion is in the binding even the countour is not usable. In additon to the two page layouts, there are multiple other figures that fall directly in the center of the book, and are rendered unusable by the binding. The only thing I can figure is that this was originally a spiral bound book, or had pull out pages, like a magazine centerfold. I can't imagine someone would intentionally publish a book with such an awful layout.
Lastly, some of the "motion" figures are cheats. One in particular is clearly a man laying on something propped up on a pillow, but he has been cut and pasted as though it were an upright pose...maybe that explains why so many found the poses "unatural". That wouldn't be a big deal if the book wasn't called "The Figure In Motion", and was maybe titled "Some Figures In Motion, and Some Sedentary But Turned To Appear As Though They Were In Motion."
Couldn't give it no stars, as I will use some of the photos, but my money could most certainly have been better spent.
decent book, not a must-have.......2006-12-31
the photographs aren't of the BEST quality [very grainy], but that didn't really bother me much.
the poses are very un-natural and a little forced.
there is a lack of male models in this, so if you're looking to use this as a reference book for males i suggest you keep browsing elsewhere.
over-all a good buy.
The Figure in Motion.......2006-09-16
This is the best book on anatomy (for sculptors), that I have found so far!
Almost any shift of any muscle can be found in one of the photographs. Some of the pictures are a little too dark, but not so much that you can't get the pose. Since I found this book, I haven't needed any other anatomy books.
Must have book for your reference library.
figure in motion.......2006-08-05
i am pleased with this book. i can't imagine another pose that is not in this book on motion
Book Description
Portraits not only capture a likeness, but offer for generations to come a glimpse into the subject's life. Sounds like quite a challenge. But with Ann Kullberg's help, it's not as difficult as one might think to create lifelike colored pencil portraits.
Using her own beautiful portraiture for instruction and inspiration, Kullberg walks artists through the process step by step--from basic information about materials and techniques to two demonstrations that show how complete portraits come together from beginning to end.
Readers will also find Kullberg's secrets for making their portrait come alive, along with 17 mini-demos that make it easy to paint realistic features, hair and clothing.
Customer Reviews:
Colored Pencil Portraits: Step by Step.......2007-09-14
This book is equally useful for beginning colored pencil artists through more advanced portrait artists. It is a must read for beginners, as I am. Author Anita Kullberg begins with basic colored pencil techniques, composition and the all-important skills of using light, dark and mid tone values. Then, she leads the reader through the step-by-step techniques of painting skin tones, facial characteristics and realistic hair. By the time I painted my second portrait using Kullberg's techniques described in this book, my painting was believable and recognizable. Far more important to the amateur, I really liked my work! The book is indexed for an easy search for content and Kullberg's "Hints" are real gems. This is a great reference book in addition to the tutorials.
Best book on colored pencils ever!!!!.......2007-08-08
This book was spectacular. The author and artist is absolutely amazing. When I found the book I had no idea how to blend and make skin tone with colored pencil being a black and white pencil artist, but I was able to read her instructions and use them to make my first colored pencil portrait and it looked fantastic. If you are an aspiring portrait artist and you want to learn colored pencils, this is a book you can't do without!
Colored Pencil Portraits: Step By Step.......2007-07-31
This book got me started on colored pencil, it was my very first introduction to the medium. Ann Kullberg through her enthusiasm is incredibly motivating- with carefully thought out step by step techniques and beautiful paintings to show you exactly how she achieved each effect. She goes through every process of creating a portrait in colored pencil starting from a blank page- learning the tools; to composition; right up to the business of selling your work. Ann is also very humble and took the time to answer all of my questions personally when I wrote her a letter. It was because of this and the great joy I got from working through her lessons I went to one of her workshops. She is a patient teacher who will not hesitate to help another-sharing all of her secrets. Ann Kulberg is of great strong moral character and a master of her trade. I would recommend any product she has created.
Colored Pencil Portraits: Step-By-Step .......2007-05-14
This is a wonderful book. It is very informative if you want to learn to work with colored pencils. I recommend it to any bidding artist!
If you can attend her workshop-do it!!!.......2007-04-17
I just attended her portrait workshop for 3 days & can tell you that this gal is the real deal! She's genuinely gifted & has such a wonderful & bubbly personality! I had attended a workshop 2 yrs. ago from a different cp artist & vowed not to go to any more until I decided to go to Ann's (whose workshop I wished I could've took in 2005 instead of Arlene's). This book will help you so much!! I am used to doing colored pencil with the scumbling method which takes forever!! Ann has developed the most amazingly easy technique that is so much faster & looks just as good if not better!! I think the only bad reviews must be by her ex! Ha! I want to attend the 2nd workshop someday that goes with her 2nd book. I have her CDs that go with her books & CDs of her online magazine for colored pencil. All are so helpful!! Her method & books will help even the worst of artists I believe! Thank you Ann for all of your help!!
Book Description
Great artist experiments with tonal effects, light, mass, other qualities in over 100 drawings. A revealing view of developing master painter, precursor of Cubism. 102 black-and-white illustrations.
Customer Reviews:
Sweet little sketch book from a master.......2005-08-09
This is a copy of a sketchbook of Cezanne's pencil sketches. It has a good introduction and explanation followed by a listing of the sketches and then finally all the sketches. Interesting to see if you like to draw, and especially to see if you enjoy Cezanne's paintings.
A delightful sketchbook.......2001-04-18
"A Cezanne Sketchbook: Figures, Portraits, Landscapes and Still Lifes" is a reproduction of the informal drawings of the artist Paul Cezanne. These are all black-and-white sketches, accompanied by an informative introduction by Carl O. Schniewind. The sketchbook captures Cezanne's monumental human figures, haunting faces, and lyrical landscapes.
The really wonderful surprise in the sketchbook is the fact that the artist allowed his young son Paul (b. 1872) to also draw in the sketchbook. Thus we see these charming childish sketches alongside the work of a master artist. When you also consider the many portraits of little Paul by his father in this volume, the "Cezanne Sketchbook" becomes a moving testament to the love that binds a father to his son.
Amazon.com
"Hands and feet are not difficult," counsels Robert E. Fairley, author of Drawing and Painting Hands and Feet, "but they do require acute observation and thinking. If you follow the exercises in this book your skills will improve, and you will start to think about your work in a fresh way." Fairley begins by exploring the structure and anatomy of hands and feet, and offers several exercises for understanding muscles in movement. The next section is composed entirely of exercises in drawing hands and feet. The author employs a refreshingly wide array of media, including charcoal and graphite, ink, silverpoint, and pastels. Several of the exercises are composed using one's own hands and feet as models. Fairley's passion for his subject comes alive in these simple exercises as he stresses and masterfully illustrates the inherent energy and expressiveness of hands and feet in movement and repose. He ends the book by exploring how to incorporate hands and feet in a natural way into one's painting, and shows his works in acrylic, watercolor, and oil by way of illustration. --Mary Ribesky
Customer Reviews:
Na!.......2003-12-16
Why not just take pictures of hands and feet to study from yourself. How about trying some anatomy books. I didn't find this book offered anything of real value in assisting with the ability to draw hands and feet at all. If you want to better understand how to draw hands get the book Drawing Dynamic Hands by Hogarth. His books actually assist one in gaining a better understanding of how to draw the human figure even if you don't want to draw in his style.
Customer Reviews:
Well Thought Out Pastel Overview.......2006-04-06
A couple of ways to tell if a book on art is good is if the paintings or drawings look like something you'd like to do yourself, and the writers are known for their accomplishments. The rest involves having professionals help with the layout and organization. Seems like all of these qualities exist in this book. The host of contributors is a who's who among successful pastelists as is the main author. The paintings and drawings are superior. The book is well organized into all the major topics you'd want to cover with this as a new medium for an experienced artist.
My only criticism of this book is it does not get into alot of detail for beginners. The section on materials is very good for beginners but the artistic process is not all that well detailed. I think of this book as more an assembly of tips on suggested practices, and a vehicle for pros to pat themselves on the back.
But for a serious pastelist or portrait artist, this is definitely something to read and have in the library.
Beginning Portraiture to Intermediate Portraiture.......2001-09-08
The book is a great place to start with regards to pastels and portraits. It covers the basic anatomical features of the face as well as layout and design of the portrait.
Books:
- Secrets to Drawing Realistic Faces
- Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, Second Edition: How to Edit Yourself Into Print
- Steel Construction Manual, 13th Edition (Book)
- The Annotated Cat: Under the Hats of Seuss and His Cats (Picture Book)
- The Beginner's Handbook of Woodcarving: With Project Patterns for Line Carving, Relief Carving, Carving in the Round, and Bird Carving
- The Big Book of Painting Nature in Watercolor (Practical Art Books)
- The Chinese Brush Painting Bible: Over 200 Motifs With Step-by-Step Illustrated Instructions
- The Complete Oil Painter: The Essential Reference for Beginners to Professionals
- The Dot (Irma S and James H Black Honor for Excellence in Children's Literature (Awards))
- The Dream Book: Symbols for Self Understanding
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- New York Festivals 4
- History: Fiction or Science
- Catalysis and Surface Properties of Liquid Metals and Alloys
- Color and Light for the Watercolor Painter: How to Get the Effects You Want Every Time
- Encyclopedia of Mosaic Techniques
- History: Fiction or Science
- Everyday Pediatrics for Parents: A Thoughtful Guide for Today's Families
- Masterpieces of Eighteenth-Century French Ironwork: With Over 300 Illustrations
- Critical Perspectives on Contemporary Painting: Hybridity, Hegemony, Historicism
- Phytoflagellates
General
| Instructional & How-To
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
How to Draw Lifelike Portraits from Photographs
Secrets To Realistic Drawing
Drawing Realistic Textures in Pencil
How to Draw What You See (Practical Art Books)
Pencil Drawing Techniques
