Constructive Anatomy by George B Bridgeman is an unabridged republication of works by the author in 1920. In spite of its age, the book is often referred to among the artists along with books by Loomis.

One thing that stuck out in this book is its language. Being such a old book, it does have archaic language. Compared to modern books (like those by Christopher Hart), it has that academic tone to it, which might be how they wrote literature in those days.

But that shouldn’t be much of a problem because this book is filled with hundreds of sketches and drawings by Bridgeman. It actually shows each and every part of the human body at various different positions and state of flex. It gives you a feel of how you can actually chisel out the shape of a body – construct the anatomy – from shapes.

I had bought this book on recommendation of some cartoonist friends here in Denver quite some time back. It was lying somewhere until I started working on Slice for the Demon Trio project. That character had pretty pronounced muscle groups and I could not skim on knowing how to draw the different anatomical parts. The book really helped me a lot in painting that work.

Should I buy this book?

Yes. Do buy this book – at around $8-$9, this is quite a bargain at the amount of things you can learn from the book. It wouldn’t be a step by step tutorial kind of book, but it definitely would be a reference book that you need to keep near you, so that you can go to it every now and then to verify that things you have drawn ‘from mind’ are correct.

Disclosure: The above link to book at the Amazon store is an affliate link with my referral code.

This is a review of the book, Drawing Cutting Edge Anatomy by Christopher Hart, which I had bought some time back.

First impression: The book is true to its subtitle – The ultimate reference guide for comic book artists.

I would say that it is a useful book for anyone who wants to learn how to draw human figures. Of course, being that it is a reference for comic book artists, limits the scope to stereotype characters, but the stereotype characters are a good base to study anatomy.

In the book, Christopher goes through each and every part of the human body – both male and female. He gives their anatomical name, and as he says, it is not necessary to remember their names, but it is important to know which muscles lay under the skin.

The book is filled with pictures that can be taken as references for almost any pose you can imagine – both male and female.

Should I buy this book?

Yes – if you can afford it, buy it. This book is, in my opinion a ‘must buy’ for all beginners.

Also, as a added bonus, it has details on how to approach a career as a comic artist, and also interviews of Mike Marts (Marvel Comics), Chris Warner and Scott Allie (Dark Horse Comics).

Disclosure: The above link to book at the Amazon store is an affliate link with my referral code.

As I had mentioned earlier, I bought two books.

I picked one of them, How To Draw Fantasy Females by Chris Patmore, and read through it. I have not completed the book; I am half way through it. But I have now a fair idea of what it is all about and to whom it would be helpful.

Scanning through the, roughly A4 sized, soft bound, glossy paged book, one thing that strikes is the variety of artwork that Chris has compiled. More than half the book features artwork from several different artists and has extensive write ups for each of them.

The book is organized into two parts. The first part is about the different tools and mediums with which you can create figurative art and also a brief history of art in this context. It also touches on the anatomy, the development of backstory, and its necessity.

The second part, and the major part of the book is about several different types of archetypes of female characters. From angels against a backdrop of manhattan like skyline to godesses like Kali. The selection of character archetypes ranges in execution with respect to medium – like pixel based (raster) art, vector based art, and 3D character designs. It contains different workflows from concepts, to traditional medium, to the final targetted digital medium, by different artists.

Should I buy this book?

If you want to learn how to draw female figures, then do not buy this book. It does not cover the basics exhaustively. It is more of a literature (and associated artwork) on creating female characters and developing backstory to maintain consistency. If you already have been drawing, and want guidance for the creative mind, then buy this book.

Disclosure: The above link to book at the Amazon store is an affliate link with my referral code.

I just received the shipment of two artbooks.

Drawing Cutting Edge Anatomy by Christopher Hart

How To Draw Fantasy Females by Chris Patmore

These have just arrived and I am excited to read them. Nothing much to tell now, but keep your eye open – there will be reviews.