Figure Drawing: A Complete Guide (Art of Drawing)

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.

Unlike Loomis, whose illustrations are probably from the 1950's, Civardi brings you into the 21st Century with with modern, realistic, excellent illustrations in every one of his books. What I like best is that he shows you techniques, poses, of heads, bodies, anatomy,clothing (and how do shade folds of clothing, etc., without, to me, wordy discriptions and you just get it! His books are chock full of illustrations. You can't go wrong buying any one of his books, though I don't feel they are for beginners.

I got this for my daughter who wanted to learn to draw people and she loves it. Its easy to use and has helped her greatly improve her ability to draw detailed humans.

Lots of pictures to draw with some instruction for beginners, he doesnt delve too much with techniques which is a shame.

This book is great. It has a lot of useful information and reference photos. I will get a lot of use out of this book and so will the next buyer.

Like the info great diagrams

This book is just what I wanted to teach me how to sketch.

Been getting into drawing again. This is really helping me learning more on my work.

Ben fatto

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

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.

Civardi is a great discovery for anyone interested in life drawing and the representation of the human body. His background seems to be in commercial illustration, and he is a consummate professional. For some reason there has been a big explosion of his work in English translation in the last few years, which is great. The main value of a book like this, I think, is not so much the text on anatomy, etc., which can be found in many other authors, and perhaps more cogently presented, but the images themselves: Civardi has a way of making the representation of even highly complex poses seem basic and effortless, with stunning immediacy and palpable plasticity and volume. In part this seems to derive from his method of simplifying the forms into basic geometries, which are then effectively modelled with chiaroscuro in the usual way. His drawing technique in any medium is also wonderfully rhythmic and disciplined, giving a masterly consistency to all his renderings. Really inspiring to peruse. This thick but compact volume includes material from many of his recent books, giving great value for money