Dynamic Wrinkles and Drapery: Solutions for Drawing the Clothed Figure (Practical Art Books) Review

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This is an excellent *solutions manual* for the artist who draws human figures or includes fabrics in his or her drawings. If you already draw, and you want to create dynamic fabrics and clothing in your work, this book is for you. The study of wrinkles and drapery in this text very impressive, and was exactly what I was looking for.
***Note: If you don't already know how to draw, this book won't be of much help, as no drawing techniques are included to show you *how* to draw these wrinkles. Some basic drawing knowledge is needed, and assumed. Used with other drawing technique books, however, I think even the beginning art student could get some good theories, understanding and ideas out of this book.***
What makes clothing look natural and lively is how it flows and folds with the body when you sit, stand and move. This text explains how fabric flows with the body and naturally folds in a variety of different situations.
Chapters cover how the body moves and how its movement and positioning effect clothing. Chapters also cover the various types of wrinkles found in clothing and other draped fabric, including:
- direct thrust wrinkles (wrinkles created when the body extends and pulls on the clothing),
- bend wrinkles (seen when the body bends and twists, particularly on arms and legs),
- crossing wrinkles (wrinkles in a zig-zag pattern, coming from two directions, often seen on loose clothing),
- compression wrinkles (outward pulling wrinkles created by crushing or squeezing of fabric),
- fragmentation wrinkles (seen on older, worn fabrics as lasting impressions in the fabric, or when movement is uncertain),
- swag and hanging wrinkles (think drapery, roman clothing, capes, and flowy or heavy dresses),
- trap and closure wrinkles (when a crossing wrinkle traps or blocks off another wrinkle flowing in a different direction),
- flying wrinkles (wrinkles affected by air or wind movement), and
- passive, inert, and lying wrinkles (flowing wrinkles on non-moving fabric).
Lastly, the text briefly but effectively covers wrinkle patterns, and how wrinkles are affected by different textures and types of material.
I think this book does a very effective job of classifying and explaining wrinkles so that their use in drawing makes sense. Its a very good solutions manual to help you achieve realistic looking clothing and drapery. I highly recommend it to the dedicated artist.

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Human Anatomy for Artists: The Elements of Form Review

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(More customer reviews)This is an extremely exhaustive book and well worth the price. As far as I know, there exists no more comprehensive book on how every muscle interconnects in the human body -- it is truly an encylopedia of the human anatomy.
A few things keep me from giving it a 5 star review.
1: Goldfinger's illustrations are fair, but not masterful, particularly those of the human face.
2: Strangely, there are almost no fully rendered full-body illustrations or even any fully rendered "body part" illustrations -- almost all the good sketches are of isolated body parts alone. For example, there isn't any fully rendered muscular illustration that encompasses both the upper arm AND the lower arm(!) There ARE full body illustrations, but only in a more schematical form.
3: There are no "application" illustrations of the anatomy in case studies such as bending, posing, flexing, etc. Most of the examples are in prone positions.
Granted, much of this information can be taken from any number of other anatomy books, particularly Richer's "Artistic Anatomy," which this book is largely based on and I also highly recommend.
Nevertheless, as a reference guide to the human body, this book has no peer. If you truly want to understand how the muscles of the body interconnect, there is no better alternative. This book is obviously a labour of love.

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The power of the image of the nude--the expressivity of the flesh--has inspired artists from the beginning.An understanding of human form is essential for artists to be able to express themselves with the figure.Anatomy makes the figure.Human Anatomy for Artists:The Elements of Form is the definitive analytical work on the anatomy of the human figure.No longer will working artists have to search high and low to find the information they need.In this, the most up-to-date and fully illustrated guide available, Eliot Goldfinger--sculptor, illustrator, scientific model-maker, and lecturer on anatomy--presents a single, all-inclusive reference to human form, capturing everything artists need in one convenient volume. Five years in the making, and featuring hundreds of photos and illustrations, this guide offers more views of each bone and muscle than any other book ever published: every structure that creates or influences surface form is individually illustrated in clear, carefully lit photographs and meticulous drawings. Informed by the detailed study of both live models and cadavers, it includes numerous unique presentations of surface structures--such as fat pads, veins, and genitalia--and of some muscles never before photographed. In addition, numerous cross sections, made with reference to CT scans, magnetic resonance imaging, and cut cadavers, trace the forms of all body regions and individual muscles. Information on each structure is placed on facing pages for ease of reference, and the attractive two-color format uses red ink to direct readers rapidly to important points and areas. Finally, an invaluable chapter on the artistic development of basic forms shows in a series of sculptures the evolution of the figure, head, and hands from basic axes and volumes to more complex organic shapes. This feature helps place the details of anatomy within the overall context of the figure.Certain to become the standard reference in the field, Human Anatomy for Artists will be indispensable to artists and art students, as well as art historians. It will also be a useful aid for physical and dance therapists, athletes and their trainers, bodybuilders, and anyone concerned with the external form of the human body.With the renewed interest in figurative art today, this will be an especially welcome volume.

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Dynamic Figure Drawing Review

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(More customer reviews)Subtlety is certainly not the strong point of this book. If you want realistic figures, look elsewhere like the Barcsay anatomy book. DYNAMIC FIGURE DRAWING doesn't explore the nuances of quiet poses or the beauty in overweight, underweight, or aged figures.
But if you aspire to draw or paint powerful, idealistic, and expressionistic figures, combine the lessons of this book with drawing from athletic models. If you're into Michelangelo with his use of larger-than-life figures that use exaggerated poses and anatomy to convey strong emotion, you'll like this book.
After practicing the lessons inside the book, you'll be able to spot and draw them better when you draw from a model. Your powerful figures will have more authority to them. And with enough figure drawing under your belt, plus what you've learned from this book, you'll be able to draw figures out of your head in any position you want them in.
The Disney animated feature "Tarzan" was obviously inspired by Burne Hogarth's version of the comic strip "Tarzan." The animators learned many lessons from Hogarth, including foreshortening and dynamic poses and anatomy. I'll bet this book was an important reference to whoever worked on that film.

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This powerful book offers a systematic approach to rendering action figures that seem to leap off the page.

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Dance Anatomy (Sports Anatomy) Review

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(More customer reviews)When I found out that Jacqui Haas was writing this book, I was so excited that I convinced my Human Kinetics rep to give me a PDF copy because the book hadn't been published yet. Upon reviewing it, I immediately adopted it as the text for my undergraduate course in Dance Kinesiology. Our university got some of the first ones off the press.
I wanted to change textbooks for my course because students needed something more accessible and practical. This book is definitely it. I actually altered how I teach my course in order to incorporate the various exercises that Jacqui offers. In addition, I teach under the quarter system (rather than the semester system), so I have a very limited amount of time to communicate a lot of information. "Dance Anatomy" has been extremely helpful in helping me set a more achievable framework for this.
For an undergraduate, science-based class like Dance Kinesiology, I prefer some extra anatomy content. I can easily add this into my teaching sessions from the outstanding foundation Jacqui lays in "Dance Anatomy." My students have gladly received the book, and are encouraged by its straightforward, readable approach.
As a scientist working with artists, I find that this text is ideal for my artistic students, many of whom are new to grappling with science. As is typical of Human Kinetics' books, the illustrations in "Dance Anatomy" are outstanding, and this helps students visualize the anatomy that makes them move. The book celebrates both the amazing design of the human body and the equally amazing ability of the body's anatomy to bring forth the beauty and athletic artistry of dance. While appropriate for a wide audience, the book will be especially useful for dancers from high school age upward, dance teachers, and instructors of undergraduate Dance Kinesiology classes.
Jeff Russell
Assistant Professor of Dance Science
University of California, Irvine

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