Book Description
Definitive selection of 3,919 photographs, plus author's observations on animals' movements. Incredible true-action shots cover 34 different animals and birds in 132 characteristic motions. Horses, goats, cats, gnus, eagles, gazelles, sloths, camels, many others shown walking, running, flying, leaping, more.
Customer Reviews:
Its Not Just For Animators.......2000-08-17
The images of the dray horses pulling heavy loads is worth the price of admission for me. This is a great reference for artists who want to create realistic images of animals in motion. It's a fabulous settler of bar room bets. It's a source of animated gifs for web designers (I have the running cat image that's been going around.)
For people who want to understand animals in general, this is a good reference. I never thought that all the ways an animal can go from point A to point B each had a name to it and that a quadruped can have so many ways to move.
Its an interesting historical piece, too. People do not see horses doing useful work any more and it's a reminder that we all had a life before internal combustion. Its an interesting chapter in the history of photography and the history of art, too. (Painting was never the same after people figured out how animals really moved.)
Indispensible Reference for Artists.......2000-01-28
Muybridges momumental work photographing animals in all different gates and poses and tests of ability. Using sometimes up to 100 cameras for a single set up to gain what is now the definitive guide for animators in understanding the motion of animals. It all started with a $25,000 bet: Eadweard Muybridge and a friend argued whether all four of the horses hooves leave the ground completely at any point during a gallop. Being funded for the project, Muybridge proved to be the winner in saying that horses do in fact leave the ground for a momentary second in their strides. The book begins with an anlaysis of locomotion, going over the walk, the amble, the trot, the rack (or pace), the canter, the transverse-gallop, the rotary-gallop, and the richochet, along with the leap and buck and kick. There are roughly 4,000 photos in this collection which claims to be the largest collection of animals in motion. It features not only horses but lions, deers, oxen, elephants, birds and kangaroos. From this development, Muybridge not only discovered that horses gallop with no feet touching the ground, but his discovery led to motion pictures, in which his photos is a very crude version of cinema today. Later he designed a viewer called a Zoogyroscope (or Zoopraxiscope) which, similar to a Zoetrope, was a carousel with slits which you look through while it is spinning to give the illusion of motion (or persistence of vision). Today these pictures are looked at for a couple of reasons, mostly as nastolgia for one to have wonder and excitement of this simple cinema, but it also is a great reference for modern animators. In fact, for those looking at animation, I can tell you that if you ask for an application to Walt Disney Animation Studios, they will give you their requirements and texts, this will be on the list. Highly reccomended for the artist, graphic, fine arts or animation or anything else you can dream of.
Book Description
The 4,789 photographs in this definitive selection show the human figure — models almost all undraped — engaged in over 160 different types of action: running, climbing stairs, tumbling, dressing, undressing, hopping on one foot, dancing, etc. Children walking, crawling and many dozens of other activities.
Customer Reviews:
The Human Figure in Motion.......2006-02-26
Muybridge's "The Human Figure in Motion" is a classic. The frame by frame photographs of figures (male, female, athletes, children) are vintage photos from the latter half of the 19th century. They document action: carrying objects, a man jumping, child crawling, etc, as well as activities common to the time that are not evident in everyday activity now, such as discus throwing, fencing, woman pouring water from a jug, etc. These photos, although small, are still of major importance to the artist who tries to understand muscle groups for drawing the figure. Great resource book.
Good Historical Reference but poor Art Reference.......2004-12-24
This book is of historical interest and shows the genius of Muybridge. It comes practically without text and is simply Muybridge's photo album with lots and lots of images of naked men and women in action. However, to go beyond that and to take the book as an art reference to anatomy is simply a fallacy. The pictures are so small and the resolution so poor (understandably) that unless you are drawing stick figures, it is simply impossible to use as a reference.
Muybridge's landmark photographic studies of human motion.......2003-01-21
Eadweard Muybridge (1830-1904) was the most significant contributor to the early study of human and animal locomotion, whose extensive studies were acknowledged by such pioneers of motion pictures as the Lumiere brothers and Thomas Edison. If you have ever seen slow-motion photography of a horse galloping and seen how they have all four hooves off the ground at the same time, then you can understand the fascination in the early days of photography of taking a series of pictures of people running, climbing stairs, or dancing. In fact, it was the horse that got Muybridge involved in this work. In 1872 Muybridge was enlisted to settle bet regarding the position of a trotting horse's legs. But using a camera with the fastest shutter speed available only provided a faint image. Five years later Muybridge used a battery of cameras with mechanically tripped shutters to show the what really happens (in fact, a trotting horse and a galloping horse move differently in having all four hooves off the ground simultaneously).
Consequently, Muybridge invented the zoopraxiscope, a primitive motion-picture machine, which recreated movement by displaying individual photographs in rapid succession. "The Human Figure in Motion" was first published in 1901 and reflects the work Muybridge did at the University of Pennsylvania, where he had been invited to work at the behest of the painting Thomas Eakins, who painted motion subjects, which explains why art students are even more interested in this book than scientists. Includes are over 160 motion studies of the human figure engaged in everything from dressing to hopping on one foot. There are almost 5,000 photographs in this 390 page clothbound edition. Be warned that most of the models, both adults and children, are "undraped" to use the vernacular of the time. In 1887 Muybridges's most important work, "Animal Locomotion," was published in 11 volumes containing over 100,000 photographs taken between 1872 and 1885. Obviously, "The Human Figure in Motion" is a more accessible way to appreciate Muybridge's groundbreaking work.
don't trust whitey.......2002-12-11
This book is great if you don't plan on drawing from it. although the pictures are nice ,contrasty black and whites they are small and repetitive. But what do I know? alot of obscure movie quotes.
Classic artist resource REQUIRED for any who draws people.......2002-11-23
This is a classic artist's resource that belongs on the shelf of anyone who draws people, at all. This book is filled with thousands of pictures of people doing many, many diverse activities. All of the pictures are of nude people, so as to allow the muscles to be seen clearly. This makes these 19th century photos timeless.
Never has anyone produced such a comprehensive reference of this sort, before, or since. He also produced classic works on the motion of animals, that you have probably seen before, whether you were aware that they were his works or not. Muybridge is a man for the ages. Hopefully, he will one day recieve the recognition that he deserves for his great contributions.
Book Description
Volume 3 of 3-volume set includes studies of horses, domestic and wild animals, and birds in remarkable stopped-action photographs by pioneering master photographer. Also includes the original prospectus and a catalogue of plates.
Book Description
Volume 2 of 3-volume hardcover set includes studies of draped and semi-nude men and women plus the disabled, in remarkable stopped-action photographs by pioneering master photographer. Essential for artists, animators, photographers, cinematographers, anyone interested in the mechanics of people in motion.
Book Description
The world as we know it today began in California in the late 1800s, and Eadweard Muybridge had a lot to do with it. This striking assertion is at the heart of Rebecca Solnit's new book, which weaves together biography, history, and fascinating insights into art and technology to create a boldly original portrait of America on the threshold of modernity. The story of Muybridge—who in 1872 succeeded in capturing high-speed motion photographically—becomes a lens for a larger story about the acceleration and industrialization of everyday life. Solnit shows how the peculiar freedoms and opportunities of post-Civil War California led directly to the two industries—Hollywood and Silicon Valley—that have most powerfully defined contemporary society.
Customer Reviews:
Stunning writing.......2007-06-12
Rebecca Solnit is an amazing writer. She brings to the surface all the hidden currents of the Muybridge story in a narrative that is at once informative and moving. This book constantly surprised and delighted me with its deep insights and fascinating details. Not only is it well researched, but the results of the research are germane to the story and are all neatly brought together. It was a pleasure to discover that fine writing like this still exists. I can't wait to read her other books now that I have found her.
This is a marvellous book.......2007-03-26
This is a splendid book, intelligent,stimulating, the best kind of cultural history. It illuminates the origins of photography, cinema, and the construction of the American west.
Solnit Takes on the West, Photography and Doesn't Disappoint.......2007-03-02
Muybridge was an interesting character aside from his pioneering landscape photography and motion studies. Rebecca Solnit is an interesting character aside from her accessibility and easy readable style. She is uncommonly skilled in describing her subject and what he did as well as explaining the historical context and landscape into which Muybridge inserted himself.
Gold rush California was a wild and raw landscape, filled with the last gasps of the American frontier as the Sierra was trampled by the world's riffraff. Muybridge dragged his huge camera into the mountains capturing images of Yosemite from perspectives many of us with much lighter cameras and easier trails wouldn't dream of attempting.
While Solnit makes a reasonable case for Muybridge's pioneering technology work in pre-motion pictures as well as still photography, she misses the continuing photographic California thread down the road from Leland Stanford's Palo Alto ranch, where Silicon Valley turned the telephoto lens around and photographically shrank designs onto silicon wafers. A minor point.
Nevertheless, this book, like her Savage Dreams, is an exquisite bit of California and photographic history. Anyone with an interest in Yosemite, landscape and nature photography should have this on their bookshelf!
Unique story of the pre-modern West.......2007-01-10
Few authors have tied together the many facets of the post civil war, pre-modern West as well as Rebecca Solnit. Her literary vehicle is a man as strange as his name, Eadweard Muybridge. Of course you can also read this book to learn about the early days of photography and the technology which preceeds motion pictures. For either reason this is an excellent biography and will serve the inteerests of many readers.
Interesting Reading.......2006-06-01
Solnit has some interesting things to say about Muybridge's photography, and about how photography, our self image as a society, and even California's culture of rebirth, innovation, and redemption are tied up. But even apart from such heady stuff, Muybridge was a rascal who lived an interesting life (besides his photography, he murdered his wife's lover and invented the technology that is the basis for movies). So read this book, you'll enjoy it, and maybe learn a bit too.
Book Description
This remarkable collection features 166 black-and-white, stopped-action photographic sequences by the forefather of motion pictures. Men and women, mostly nude, perform a variety of motions — running, jumping, lifting, and more. Essential for artists, illustrators, and animators, these strips can be put to numerous imaginative uses. Includes 10 bonus Flash animations plus 15 photographic sequences that are ready to be animated.
Book Description
This amazing collection of 167 black-and-white photographic sequences captures the movements of 34 different animals as they run, fly, leap, and perform other characteristic actions. Essential for illustrating animals in art and animation, these strips are great for art and craft projects, too. Includes 10 bonus Flash animations plus 15 photographic sequences that are ready to be animated.
Book Description
60 of the best, most representative sequences from original 5,000 prints. Taken at speeds up to 1/6000th of a second, incredibly precise images show undraped male and female subjects against a ruled background, running, walking, leaping, twisting, throwing, many other activities. Views from front, rear and three-quarter angle.
Customer Reviews:
Good references for animation........2005-11-09
This book has a lot of photos for understanding human locomotion.
Great, but a tip..........2000-08-17
Its all covered in "The Human Figure in Motion". If you want Muybridge, may as well get a more comprehensive volume, eh?
one of the great wonders of photography.......1999-11-26
Muybridge's seemingly artless photography sequences are one of the great wonders of photography, fascinating & humorous. How else could one react to a series of photos showing a nude woman stepping on to a chair to pour cold water on to another? Or to two young men playing leap frog?
Here are rather average bodies - by contemporary standards - throwing baseballs, kneeling & turning, heaving rocks, crawling, descending stairs, walking, running, carrying buckets, attempting a somersault while a pigeon crosses the path. The backgrounds of graphs & lines not only provide the artist's units of measurement, but establish a visual continuity more modern than he could have known.
The Male and Female Figure in Motion is a classic collection, beautifully produced & inexpensively priced. Great for artists & lovers of photography, this volume is part of Dover Publication's Pictorial Archive series, which means you are free to use them in your arts & crafts or post them on web pages. Dover also offers a companion collection of Muybridge's important animal locomotion photographs.
Bob Rixon
Book Description
Volume 1 of 3-volume set includes studies of nude men and women in remarkable stopped-action photographs by pioneering master photographer. Essential for artists, animators, photographers, cinematographers, anyone interested in the mechanics of people in motion.
Customer Reviews:
fantastic book, but no animals..........2003-02-27
if you are interested in clear depictions of humans in motion,
it is interesting that the absolute best work on the subject comes from the late 1800s. If you are interested in animal locomotion, get another book. I am assuming that the other 2 volumes will someday become available, making this a true "complete" study.
perhaps someone will update Muybridges work in the interim.
Motion Broken Down.......2000-03-28
As an artist and beginning animator, I have found Muybridge's motion studies to be helpful in understanding how the body travels in time (animals and machines too) using time-lapse photography. This book remains current and comprehensive especially in light of the current digital revolution's emphasis on special effects and eye candy. Muybridge's work is important because it goes to the roots of motion and reveals its simplicity and beauty. I highly recommend this fascinating book for those with curious minds.
Book Description
Best, most representative sequences have been specially selected from the monumental original and are presented here in crisp, double-page plates printed on high-quality stock. Horses hauling, walking, trotting, etc., plus sequences of donkeys, an ox, pig, dog, cat, deer and other animals capture details of anatomy and movement with astonishing clarity.
Customer Reviews:
Six of one, a half dozen of the other.......2006-07-16
The 45 sequences in Horses and Other Animals are included in the larger Animals in Motion by Muybridge. The difference being that in Animals, you get more sequences and usually better reproductions; in Horses and Other Animals you get fewer sequences, but larger images making the detail a little more visible - except in those cases where the reproductions are a little gray and washed out. You choose - more and better or fewer and more gray. You don't really need both books.
Too bad was only 95 pages!.......2003-07-29
I should have got Animals in Motion that is over 400 pages, though this book was just fine, it was, I presume, the appetizer for his other book which had four times as many illustrations for only a few dollars more. Perhaps I'll sell this one and buy the other one and see for sure. Otherwise, its a great book. It had about 13 pages just horses, then went to a donkey and cats, lions, camels and other stuff I didn't need nor was interested in. I wonder if the other book has MORE horses? There was an introduction of one page, a short summary, and the rest was whole pages filled with movie clip style shots that were about 2" SQUARE each frame, maybe 8 - 12 frames per page, each page one animal in motion. I need to see more, more and more of everything, but that's because I'm drawing horses and wanted to see 30 movement shots of one animal instead of 8. The more I have to choose from the better, so guess I'm gonna use the images here until I need to move up to the next Muybridge book, the 418 page one, Animals in motion which I now realize I should have got in the first place.
This book is great for 3d Animators.......2000-07-21
For those of you who are 3d animators this book is great, it really helps to know how to truly make lifelike those horses or other animals that are more complex then bipeds. I recommend this book to all.
davesheri@hotmail.com
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Muybridge, Eadweard
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| Arts & Photography
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The Human Figure in Motion
The Animator's Survival Kit: A Manual of Methods, Principles, and Formulas for Classical, Computer, Games, Stop Motion, and Internet Animators
An Atlas of Animal Anatomy for Artists
Animal Anatomy for Artists: The Elements of Form
Facial Expressions: A Visual Reference for Artists
