Figure Drawing: A Complete Guide (Art of Drawing)

An excellent book for intermediate figure drawers. Lovely illustrations reasonably priced

good book

Great book for beginner and intermediate artists. Lots of information, lots of illustrations and explanations as well - this is really as the title says a complete guide. The writer's approach and style is very clear. Only disappointment was the format: unlike all the other books on drawing, this one is in a smaller (A5? B5?) format, so the illustrations are rather small. It would be much better in a larger format.

LOL, my wife took a deep intake of breath when she saw this excellent book. Somebody at my art group called it pornographic, but I think she must have had a sheltered life?

N/a

I really like Giovanni Civardi’s work and I have several of his books. His artwork is second to none and his skill is unbelievable. However, there’s four things wrong here. 1. The quality of some of the reproduced artwork (round about page 50 and in some other spots) is not good and looks cheap. 2. I can’t guarantee this 100% but each section is not new. It’s a copy of another existing Giovanni Civardi book focused on one topic, then brought together for this 440 page whopper. Certainly the sections here on The Nude, Sketching People and Heads & Faces are all exact copies of his books I already have, the difference being they are all A4 and this book is A5. 3. Which conveniently brings me on to the next gripe. A5 is not a good size as a picture reference book. I much prefer the A4 size and the pictures and typeface in this book have all been reduced accordingly. 4. My final gripe is that although Civardi’s pictures are excellent, he doesn’t actually show you how to do anything. Each section is packed with superb drawings but I want to know how he got there. I’d like to see two or three examples in each section where he showed the different stages of getting to the final picture. I go to life drawing sessions each week and no two artists tackle their work the same way. Some start with an envelope of the shape, some draw the main curve lines, some start with the eyes etc. How does Giovanni Civardi do it? He’s told me what equipment to have and the difference between various pencils but I want to see his method. All in all I like his work. In fact I love it, and I think his books are great but the four shortfalls go against him. My advice is don’t be put off buying his books, but go for the A4 size, individual subjects. More expensive in the long run but better quality and easier to manage.

Probably one of the most comprehensive and simple clearly illustrated on figure drawing you can find., He tackles easily all the difficult individual parts like hands, feet, foreshortening etc and its with a clear text and an applied process that is easy to understand.. A real treasure for starters..

Great book.

Would need to say this is a book to read about drawing, it explains the methods the artist used in some of their examples. It does explain some of the techniques. This is not a book which teaches you step by step, instead it describes the reasons for the technique.

Ben fatto

Very comprehensive explanations and drawing examples. Well worth a read.

O livro é muito bom com uma explicação extensa e bastante desenhos com boa resolução, além de tentar abranger vários temas, inclusive dobras de tecido, o que torna esse livro bem versátil. Eu indico usar esse livro como estudo e também como material de consulta quando houver alguma dúvida sobre como desenhar um determinado objeto ou parte especifica; todavia há algo muito importante para se ter em mente: esse livro é para quem já sabe desenhar pelo menos o básico da figura humana e possui uma noção das proporções, pois se a pessoa não souber nada a respeito de desenho, vai se decepcionar com o mesmo porque ele não é um material para aprender métodos passo a passo. Os pontos negativos são: tamanho reduzido e poucas páginas, pois para um livro que tenta abranger vários temas eu esperava um pouco mais, mas não é algo que vai prejudicar.

So much technical information to draw from. Detailed sketches. Very professional. Well worth the price. Highly recommended.