Sculpting the Figure in Clay: An Artistic and Technical Journey to Understanding the Creative and Dynamic Forces in Figurative Sculpture

So i was looking for a reference for sculpting both male and female, and i figure this would cover both. It has some tips on sculpting poses in general which is good, but it only has visual references to the female body. Normally I wouldn't subtract for this, but it's not obvious without reading the book itself.

If you are looking for how to sculpt a human body, this is the right book to purchase. Instructions are easy to read and understanding, even for a foreigner (English isn’t my native language) like me.

I teach sculpting and have for a number of years. I had mentors when I started sculpting, but I also relied heavily on reference materials,from experts such as Rubino (the current author of this volume) and Bruno Lucchesi, among others. Though I put Bruno at the top of my list, a close second is Rubino. He is truly a gifted sculptor who is an expert teacher. This volume on Sculpting the Figure in Clay is his best and most comprehensive. It even includes black & white photos of models in various poses which are perfect for sculpting. I will certainly "steal" his suggestions. No other reference book of this type ventures into doing an "abstract" figure, after completing a realistic version. This section I found particularly instructive, as it makes it easier for me to relay this type of information to my current (and hopefully future) students.As a fellow artist, I commend and congratulate Rubino on an excellent and indispensable sculpture reference book.

This book was suggested to me by a friend when I said I was interested in taking sculpting. While it had great info on how to build up the figure, I was rather disappointed on the lack of info on types of clay one could use. The author only mentioned plain old water based clay which dries. I wished he talked about oil based clays because they dont dry out.If you want more info on types of clay look elsewhere.

Nice method for visualizing the process of sculpting the figure. The tutorial has a wealth of photos and guides the reader through the steps in making first sculptures.For a person somewhat new to clay sculpting it helps in developing the work process and will support planning and creating future projects.

This was exactly what the doctor ordered for me. Even as a digital sculptor there are invaluable rough form tips that are helping me work through my female abdomen/mid-lower trunk form problems that I just had no good solutions for.

I was originally looking for a primer on armature which this book did not provide; however, his instruction on how to build form using different blocks of clay was very helpful. I showed it to my sculpture instructor and he said he, too, has this book and found it really helpful.

This book is awesome! I love the way the author approaches sculpting the torso form. A very valuable addition to my library, I will refer to it often! I bought one and apparently one of my students liked it so much it disappeared. So, I bought another one! Great book, don't hesitate with this purchase!

Excellent! This book gives you a really good step by step guide to modelling in clay, with plenty of pictures and without all the waffle art books can be prone to. It is practical and to the point. It also gives you additional photos from all angles for you to practice with. The only criticism is that all the photos are of female models, but this isn't really much of a sticking point as I saw these extra photos as a bonus.Still, having mentioned that, I went on to try to do a seated male (this book has standing and reclining females) and found myself a little bit stuck in some places.Overall though, an excellent place to start and for the price you can't go wrong.

As a beginner I found this book to be very informative and well laid out. Unfortunately I cannot judge it against others as this is my first book on sculpture.

Excellent book. Really good photos and views for sculpting human form.

The Book gives a great step by step process for the initiate into the world of Clay Sculpture.

Very good book