Tutorials and Notes

Back when Mark Irwin, an Art Director at Upper Deck, called for submissions for Marvel Masterpieces 3, he was inundated with people requesting personalized critiques. Being the busy man that he is, I attempted to help the masses. I began pouring through gallery after gallery. From what I saw, I began writing notes to help folks. These are those notes.

Anatomy
I glanced at roughly 20-30 rejected galleries. And I started to notice a trend. There was a deficiency in knowledge of anatomy. People think they can cheat it, people think they can use coloring skills to hide it. But the problem is, that when you attempt to cheat anatomy, the only way you can do so reliably is to actually KNOW what you're cheating. And hiding it, well, when you're submitting for a job, the first thing the bosses will note is hands and feet. How well do you draw them? How well do you understand them? This is no joke. Hands and feet are the dead giveaway. Now the problem is, how does one go about learning anatomy? Nothing out there will make up for taking an actual life drawing class, but having some good "teachers" via books and sometimes videos and guides is very useful... There are tons of really bad books on anatomy. But there are some treasures out there... Anatomy, let me show you it. First, introductions. Andrew Loomis is/was by far, one of the best anatomy instructors out there. Unfortunately, his all of his books including Figure Drawing for All It's Worth and Creative Illustration have long since been out of print. And when you can find a copy, they go for fairly outrageous prices. So the Loomis Project began many years ago... Scans of the book are available online through various education resources.
Andrew Loomis' collection of books on fineart.sk

Next we have the legendary life drawing teacher Glen Vilppu. Glen has taught some of the industry's best animators, and I cannot find anything I couldn't recommend on his site. Everything is a gift. Everything is well explained, through a logical and anatomical standpoint. He breaks the figure down into building blocks that are easy to swallow. He also has some wonderful books about "on location drawing" for those of you that enjoy, or should start practicing the art of drawing from life.
Glen Vilppu's Studio

I highly recommend purchasing the Drawing Manual and the Drawing on Location Manual. But Karen! That's all HUMAN anatomy! What about animals? I would be stupid to cover anatomy and not touch on animals. Knowing animal anatomy is as important as knowing human anatomy. And who better to teach it then Joe Weatherly. Joe was my teacher at Laguna, and he's the most prominent instructor on animal anatomy that I know. If you live in Southern California and he's doing his zoo drawing trips, I HIGHLY suggest you sign up for them.

Joe Weatherly's Guide to Drawing Animals

I would also be an idiot not to mention the great CHEAP book by Ken Hultgren, an animator at Disney, who broke down the basics of animal anatomy beautifully in his own book which can be found below.
Ken Hultgren's Animal Drawing Book

THINE HOLLOWED ANATOMY BOOKLIST BELOW...
The below booklist is NOT, by any means, the be all, end all of anatomy books. However, it does represent some of the BEST teachers and best books out there. Please note the ISBN numbers below each book. These numbers were listed to make YOUR search for these easier. My authority on these books comes from being a librarian's assistant in an art school. From fine artist to illustrator to animator, these were and still are the top picks.

Anatomy for the Artist by Sarah Simblet: This fantastic fourty dollar book is a boon to anyone that wants a breakdown of musculature and skeletal structures. Sarah takes brilliantly beautiful black and white photography, then puts down vellum overlays. Fantastic for any artist at any level. ISBN-10: 078948045X

Cyclopedia Anatomicae: By far, one of the largest, most concise resources on anatomy for any artist. Anatomicae covers not only human anatomy, but animal anatomy and their similarities. This is a MUST for any artist. ISBN-10: 1579125913

Anatomy For The Artist by Jeno Barcsay: Just because this is listed in many places as a Bargain Book does not mean it should be overlooked. If you're looking for well documented, cheap anatomy book, this lovely very yellow book does wonders. ISBN-10: 1586631748

Constructive Anatomy by George Bridgman: Do yourself a favor. Don't eat out for a few weeks. Don't get that latte every morning. Forget the weekly lotto tickets. For about fourty bucks, you can get Constructive Anatomy AND the rest of Bridgman's books. They're compact only in size. Bridgman is a standby in most anatomy classes. Copying his works has allowed many "AH HA!" moments for folks. Bridgman, Loomis, and Vilppu should be your HOLY TRINITY of anatomical artistic gods. ISBN-10: 0486211045

Other books by Bridgman:
-The Book of a Hundred Hands ISBN-10: 048622709X
-Heads, Features, and Faces ISBN-10: 0486227081
-Bridgman's Life Drawing ISBN-10: 0486227103

Human Anatomy for Artists: The Elements of Form by Eliot Goldfinger: Another fantastic photography book for anatomy fanatics. The pagecount alone should make you drool. I highly suggest buying this book in hardcover (that's what the ISBN is listed for) because you will wear the binding on this book out. We have gone through several copies of this book at my old school library and there is a VERY good reason for that. ISBN-10: 0195052064

Atlas of Foreshortening: The Human Figure in Deep Perspective (Second Edition) (Paperback) by John Cody: Imagine putting a camera to view the tops of people's heads. Imagine them looking up at you. You ever try to imagine that hand coming forwards towards the viewer and through your imagination draw that? How about this handy dandy guide chocked full of photographs. Really, you want this one. It's worth it, and one of the most checked out anatomy books at my college. That might be saying something. ISBN-10: 0471396966

An Atlas of Animal Anatomy for Artists by W. Ellenburger:Not one of my favorites, but still a great resource and cheap! Nothing beats good, cheap anatomy books. ISBN-10: 0486200825

Dynamic Wrinkles and Drapery: Solutions for Drawing the Clothed Figure by Burne Hogarth: Oh Hogarth... I do not recommend Hogarth's books for those attempting to figure out anatomy straight off the bat, but I will, however, recommend this book. His drapery book far surpasses that of Bridgman's. Great for anyone trying to understand the clothed form over a human body. ISBN-10: 0823015874

Animals in Motion (Hardcover): Oh Muybridge, if you were still alive today, I would kiss you. Muybridge is the famous photographer from the turn of the century who photographed peopple and animals frame by frame. Animals in Motion is one of several books Muybridge made which is now available to you from Dover Publishings. Thank you Dover. Thank you so much for making these resources readily available and at great prices. Because studying the human and animal forms shouldn't just be about stoic, stiff poses.... ISBN-10: 0486202038
Humans in Motion: 0486202046

Facial Expressions: A Visual Reference for Artists by Mark Simon: Really, why make it more difficult on yourself? Sure, you have a mirror, but let's say you want to draw a perky lipped female and you're some smarmy young man? Or vice versa... Okay maybe you're not a smarmy young woman but we're getting away from the point. You want this book. It's a fantastic REFERENCE guide for how people emote. Slight hint: Emotion does not come from the face, the face is just a reaction... emotion is in the eyes. ISBN-10: 0823016714

Atlas of Human Anatomy for the Artist by Stephen Rogers Peck: So what'd they give you on that booklist? Peck? Well geez, I wonder why. Peck is often used in anatomy courses across the States. And for 13-20 bucks for his book, you can't really go wrong.ISBN-10: 0195030958

Draw Horses with Sam Savitt: Dear Mr. Savitt, your breakdown of equine structure makes me want to shout the world my love for you. Not only have you made understanding such difficult physiology easy, but it makes sense. Rare indeed is it to find a book that can put your fears of drawing our equine friends to rest. Rare indeed... This book was used as our Bible on several productions at the studio I work at. Hint...HINT. ISBN-10: 0939481235

How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way by Stan Lee and John Buscema: It's pretty easy to see that both John and Stan were Hogarth, Loomis, and Bridgman fans. But you wouldn't KNOW that unless you saw Bridgman and Hogarth's books, would you? If you already noticed the style-loving, then congratulations, you've become an anatomy snob. I pointed to Loomis, Bridgman, and Hogarth before this book was listed because why learn from third-hand Loomisites when you can learn first from Loomis then come to this book and go "Ahhhh I see the influence!" It's a great "aha!" moment for folks when they realize who their heroes were taught by... ISBN-10: 0671530771

The New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding-Arnold Schwarzenegger: I have had this book since I was a teenager. It is ripped up and dog-eared, purchased second hand from my local comic book store/2nd hand bookshop. For folks that want to pump up the volume on muscles, it's a fantastic resource. ISBN-10: 0684857219

Other helpful books:
-Virtual Pose (It's a series, I'm sure you can find it easily on amazon)
-The Figure in Motion
-Animal Anatomy by Charles Knight
-Art Anatomy of Animals (Dover Books on Art Instruction) by Ernest Thompson Seton

I know what you're thinking after researching some of these books. "HOLY CRAP! They're expensive!" For tips on not breaking your budget when purchasing books, please see my Character post after this journal entry. Next: Composition and Character!