The Anatomy of Style: Figure Drawing Techniques (Patrick J. Jones) Paperback – March 1, 2016

The media could not be loaded.  The Anatomy of Style by Patrick J Jones is a book for beginners learning to draw the human figure. This book is a collection of tips and techniques that he wished he had learned years ago. The content comes from his 15 years of experience as an artist and also from the art classes he teaches.This 160-page paperback has several chapters.The first chapter talks about the foundation of understanding anatomy. Here it has a lot of pointers in regards to specific landmarks on the human figure to look out for when you're drawing. There are tips to help you understand the form and structure, for the whole human figure and also in detail for each feature of the head.The other chapters covers poses and gestures, such as the use of contrapposto (aka counterpoise), how to make your figures more lively and less rigid, how to tackle life figure drawings with detail or with limited time, finding your own style, and using what you've learned to draw from imagination.There are many wonderful illustrated examples with notes, several step by step drawings with explanation. I find the instructions very insightful and the book definitely warrant repeated readings.When I went through the book, I was reminded of other anatomy books, such as  Drawing the Living Figure , Figure Drawing: Design and Invention , Force: Dynamic Life Drawing for Animators , Anatomy for Artists: A New Approach to Discovering, Learning and Remembering the Body  and some others. If you're an experienced artist, then perhaps you'll already know much of what's taught because the target audience for this book is for beginners. As a standalone book, the subject coverage is great.Overall, it's a very informative and helpful book on human figure drawing. Highly recommended.(See more pictures of the book on my blog. Just visit my Amazon profile for the link.)

I became familiar with the work of Patrick j. Jones a few years ago, and he easily moved into my list of top 2 modern fantasy illustrators, his work is a beautiful combination of mood, atmosphere, and outstanding technical ability. Being an art student myself i always wanted learn as much as i could from his work, so initially i would scour the internet for anything i could find on his process his website offers a wide variety of tutorials, but i was elated to learn Patrick J. Jones would be publishing a book on painting titled Oil Painting Techniques (which i also highly recommend) but i also hoped for a book on figure drawing as well, low and behold this awesome tome has arrived. This book is the answer to any illustrator who needs to learn to strengthen their concept of working with the figure, while helping the artist find their own voice. The Anatomy of Style perfectly blends the fundamentals of anatomy, while showing artist how learning the basics of anatomy allows you more freedom to express yourself artistically. Many anatomy books, or books on traditional figure drawing are either confusing or do not deal with style or expression Do not misunderstand however, this book does not skip out on the details or wealth of knowledge what so ever, the author is just far more clear and concise at delivering the information most important to learn. The Anatomy Of Style: Figure Drawing covers supplies, anatomy, short and long pose gesture drawing, and how to make the most standard figure drawing pose ooze expression. I highly recommend this book it is a modern day requirement for artist. buy it, read it, copy it, then apply it!

Patrick Jones' draws like an 'old master', but his approach to life drawing is the opposite of what the modern atelier movement likes to characterise as the 'classical techniques of the old masters'. If you look at the best drawings of old masters like Raphael and Michelangelo or Leonardo, they used the same structure+gesture method that Patrick explains here so well. They didn't painstakingly measure what they were looking at, they eyeballed it, and then they made choices about what they wanted to keep and what they could ignore, what they needed to minimise, and what they wanted to emphasise. Patrick isn't presumptious enough to claim an equivalence with those artists, but he could, because his art is underpinned by the same deep understanding of human anatomy, coupled with knowledge that emerges from a careful observation of what happens to all the components of the body as it moves. The modern atelier movement offers techniques that strive towards a photographic accuracy, but Patrick Jones isn't constrained by that tired mechanical idea, he is only interested in practical techniques that help the artist to produce better art. "If it looks right, it's right, even if it's wrong, and if it looks wrong, it's wrong, even if it's right", he says. This is a very refreshing idea, and liberating to artists who are more interested in artistic expression than in faithful reproduction. Highly recommended.

ottimo

Sem dúvida um dos melhores livros de anatomia no mercado, depois dos de Burne Hogarth! Demorou um pouco para chegar, mas acredito que tenha sido devido a mais uma crise (no caso, uma greve de caminhoneiros) neste triste país.

If you already have an understanding of the basics of drawing and anatomy, this book is perfect, to further you knowledge, to add a bit of "life" to your drawings.

This is a must have book for both artists and fans of art alike.Starting off by touching briefly on studio set up and materials needed the artist takes you through skeletal anatomy and the overlying muscles. There follows a section on planes of the head (which I found incredibly useful) and in depth guides into faces. The book then covers gestural drawing and poses, before touching on the process of painting in oils. Illustrated throughout with the most magnificent charcoal and pencil sketches the guy is just a magician when it comes to making drawings come alive, feel like they’re moving. The examples of his oil paintings and the way light plays across the anatomy that he draws and paints is just flabbergasting. All in all I feel this book is an essential part of anyone who enjoys arts library.

Feels like I have been given x-ray vision. In a short time I have become more aware of the underlying causes of the fascinating landscape of the human form.