Excellent. The most valuable, detailed anatomical studies (which are also beautifully drawn) of all parts of the figure. -- American Artist
The best book on artist's anatomy available anywhere. -- Art Students League News
Countless artists and students since the 1920s have used this and other books by George B. Bridgman (for nearly 50 years a teacher at the Art Students League in New York) for a solid foundation and understanding of human anatomy. They have found, and continue to find, that his unique way of discovering the vitalizing forces in the human form and realizing them in drawing carries the student pleasantly over one of art's most severe hurdles. Bridgman's superb anatomical sketches, of which there are nearly 500 in the book, also bring clearly to fruition his lucid theories of how to draw the human body in its structure and its complex movements.
Constructive Anatomy, an anatomical reference guide for the working artist, sculptor, and student, graphically shows important parts of the human body, both in motion and in repose -- hand, wrist, thumb, fingers, forearm, arm, armpit, shoulder, neck, head, eye, nose, ear, mouth, chin, trunk (front, side, and back), pelvis, hip, thigh, leg, knee, ankle, foot, and toes. Drawings of bone and muscle structure of the working of the joints and the interrelation of the various parts of the body are mainly concerned with movement of all sorts -- movements that are described in detail as well as illustrated. The bending, twisting, and turning, creasing and interlocking of the various parts of the body are represented in drawing as the wedging of masses in specific ways that are clearly defined by Mr. Bridgman.
Every artist will save tedious hours of research with this simple but effective approach, and will be delighted with its directness and fervor.

Bridgman's classic, essential guide: 1,000+ drawings and 22 expert lessons on mastering the human figure from every angle
Bridgman's Complete Guide to Drawing from Life combines six well-known books by celebrated artist and lecturer George A. Bridgman, who taught figure and anatomy drawing at New York City's Art Students League.

This fifth edition preserves Bridgman's comprehensive, unequalled lessons and original sketches but repackages it with a new eye-catching cover that distinguishes it from the competition. In addition, the interior art has been cleaned and the design freshened in two-color. In its sleek new format, this authoritative volume is sure to continue as one of the premier figure-drawing publications of all time.

Certainly one of the most difficult, often neglected areas of art study is the correct rendering of heads, features, and faces. This volume, prepared by an expert in the field, is devoted exclusively to just that. With its clear, concise text, its almost 200 excellent illustrations, and its overall life-drawing approach, the book provides valuable guidelines on how best to portray faces, features, and heads.
There is probably no better instructor to turn to than George B. Bridgman. He brings to the subject both his expertise as an artist and his fifty years' experience as lecturer and teacher at the Art Students League of New York. Throughout the book, he places as much emphasis on perspective and planes as on anatomy. In this way, you'll develop a more precise understanding of each feature, the head and face in general, the relationship between features, and the relationship between a specific feature and the face or head. Mr. Bridgman's consideration of the head includes such topics as the head at eye level and below eye level; planes of the head; and round and square forms. Four features -- eye, nose, mouth, ear -- are dealt with in detail. Sections on light and shade, comparative measurements, and principles of cube and oval construction further enhance the scope of the book. The finely executed drawings complement the textual material, illustrating all important concepts.
Of special value is the author's inclusion of the work of famous portrait artists. Vermeer, Hals, Rembrandt, Reynolds, Louise Elisabeth LeBrun -- these are the people who made portraiture a master art; and you'll be able to study, up close and at your leisure, the qualities that let their work achieve the status it did.

Many art students and professionals have mastered the art of depicting unclothed figures, but still have trouble accurately rendering clothing or other forms of draped cloth. Part of the problem -- before this book came along -- was that there was a lack of concise and simple instruction on the subject, and much that was written was too vague to be helpful. This comprehensive, well-illustrated book was created to solve the problem.
In these pages George Bridgman -- a longtime instructor at New York's Art Student League and one of the nation's foremost teachers of figure drawing -- offers expert advice on depicting draped figures. Clothing is none other than a drapery arranged around a body that is beneath it. To express the multitudinous forms it takes, one should learn to express in a direct way the different characters of folds, for each one plays its individual part as distinctly apart as actors play their different characters upon the stage.
Students learn the characteristics of seven different kinds of folds and how to render them, including pipe, zigzag, spiral, half-lock, diaper pattern, drop, and inert folds. Mastery of these principles is the key to realistic portrayal of garments, as well as the proper rendering of cloth in still lifes. The straightforward, easy-to-follow text is illustrated by 200 of Bridgman's own sketches and diagrams, reproduced from pencil renderings in crisp halftones. Art students, teachers, and professionals alike are sure to welcome this inexpensive republication of a practical, hands-on manual by a master of figure drawing.

Life Drawing is not so much a unique system of drawing the human form as it is a new way of conceptualizing it. To draw the figure, the artist must have an idea of what the figure to be drawn is doing -- he must sense the nature and condition of the action, or inaction. In this book, Mr. Bridgman, who for nearly 50 years lectured and taught at the Art Students League of New York, explains in non-technical terms and illustrations in hundreds of finely rendered anatomical drawings how best to find the vitalizing forces in human forms and how best to realize them in drawing.
Mr. Bridgman begins by examining movement. After abstracting the main masses of the body -- head, chest, and hips -- into their rough geometrical equivalents, he gives complete instructions for building a simple model which mounts these masses on wire. By manipulating this scale model, the student may observe how these masses move in space and into what relationships such movement brings them.
Once the student understands how the human form moves, the author tackles the actual problems of drawing the human figure in motion. He first covers simple drawing and building of the figure, then balance, rhythm, turning or twisting, wedging, passing and locking, and the more complex relationship of the masses -- distribution, light and shade, mouldings (concave and convex), proportion and how to measure it, and movable masses. From here instruction turns to specific areas of the anatomy; the head and features, including the neck; the torso, front and back views; the abdominal arch; the shoulder girdle; the upper limbs, hands, and fingers; and the lower limbs, thigh and leg, knee, and finally foot. Every point of instruction and principle is illustrated in one of nearly 500 of Mr. Bridgman's own life drawings.
There is no student nor serious artist, either amateur or professional, who cannot profit greatly from Bridgman's instruction. Like his famous anatomy course at the Art Students League, it is likely to vitalize your work with the human form.

What is the difference between art anatomy and Bridgman's concept of the human machine? The human machine is the body as not only a fixed framework but also as a complex work of art which moves and was designed to move.
In over 400 drawings, George B. Bridgman demonstrates the machine through the presentations which made him a gifted lecturer and teacher in his nearly fifty years at the Art Students League in New York and which gave life to drawings by his many students during those years. All skeletal and muscular systems are fully identified, and all are shown in front, back, and side views.
The Human Machine begins with the framework of bones. In each section (head, neck, hand, arm, forearm, elbow, trunk, shoulder, back, scapular region, pelvis, hip, thigh, leg, knee, foot, and toe as well as the combinations of the major sections working together), George Bridgman starts with the skeletal components of the system; then he adds the muscles, shows the changes in the muscles as the body moves and, finally, shows the appearance of the bodily section in action. At the title implies, Bridgman, throughout, supplements his anatomical work with comparative drawings of simple machines. The anatomical approach to figure drawing is the foundation for the study of human form, and as in his other books on figure drawing, Bridgman's Life Drawing and The Book of a Hundred Hands, Bridgman's approach to the subject is important and unique. The Human Machine will give students and serious artists the conception of the human structure as the complex of beautiful machines it is, and will show how bone and muscle structures are solely responsible for our movements and for the shapes which we, at various times, display.

Mr. Bridgman states unequivocally in his introduction that before preparing this book he had not discovered a single volume devoted exclusively to the depicting of the hand. Apparently Mr. Bridgman has appreciated what few others have felt -- the human hand's great capacity for expression and the care that the artist must take to realize it. The hand changes with the age of the person, is shaped differently according to sex, reflects the type of work to which it is put, the physical health, and even the emotions of the person. To represent these distinguishing features, to capture the expressiveness of a particular pair of hands, the artist must understand the construction, anatomy, formation, and function of the hand.
There is probably no better instructor to turn to for this understanding than Mr. Bridgman, a well-respected artist who for nearly 50 years lectured and taught at the Art Students League of New York. In this volume, a full text is accompanied by many illustrations depicting virtually every aspect and posture of the human hand. He first considers the back view of the hand, the wrist bones, the tendons, the muscles, the hand bones, the arch, and the veins; and then those of the palm. Throughout he pictures the musculature at work beneath the surface of the skin. He continues by showing how the muscles operate on the thumb side and on the little finger side when each is the center of force; how the thumb and fingers are constructed, their freedom of movement, joints, and complete anatomy as well as views of them straight, bent, and flexed; how the knuckles are formed, what shapes the fist can take and how flexible it can be; and he concludes with illustrations of the total movement, either turning or rotary, of the hand in its various positions.
The 100 illustrations the author has selected perfectly define the regions of the hand so that any artist, beginning or experienced, will increase his mastery of it. Better rendering of the human hand is sure to add new expressiveness to your human figures along with new forcefulness and new interest.

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

Properly rendering human heads, features, and faces numbers among the most challenging aspects of figure drawing and painting. This concise and useful book-written by a world-renowned art instructor-is entirely devoted to the artistic study of the human head and its deep capacity for detail and expression. With more than half a century's worth of experience as an artist and lecturer at the Art Students League of New York, George B. Bridgman is a uniquely qualified instructor. His clearly articulated lessons are accompanied by nearly 200 examples and diagrams that demonstrate how best to portray heads, features, and faces.

Bridgman emphasizes the importance of understanding the relationships between facial features and the planes of the head. He considers round and square forms; how to draw the head at eye level, above eye level, and below eye level; and eyes, noses, mouths, and ears individually. Lessons are also included on light and shadow, comparative measurements, and the principles of oval and cube constructions. The ultimate beginner's guide to accurately rendering the human head, Heads, Features and Faces is a must-have for any serious study of human figures.

Readers interested in related titles from George B. Bridgman will also want to see: The Book of a Hundred Hands (ISBN: 1626543453).

The Book of a Hundred Hands by the noted painter and teacher George Bridgman is the indispensable guide to realistically drawing human hands. Bridgman studied under painter and sculptor Jean-Léon Gérôme at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, as well as under the famed painter Gustave Boulanger. Bridgman had a long and illustrious career as a teacher of anatomy and figure drawing at the Art Students League of New York. He taught thousands of students over many years, including numerous notable artists. In The Book of a Hundred Hands, written in his succinct and practical style, Bridgman shows how expressive human hands are and how much meaning can be conveyed by their position and appearance. The illustrations in the book show all of the regions of the hands in a variety of positions and in enough detail to help any artist render hands in a more realistic and meaningful way. Every artist of every skill level who paints or draws the human figure will find Bridgman's book to be an essential addition to their reference library.

Constructive Anatomy is George B. Bridgman's excellent book of anatomical drawing instruction. Ideal for beginning to intermediate artists, Constructive Anatomy begins with instruction on drawing hands and works its way through the human body giving detailed instruction on how to draw realistic human figures. Bridgman's drawing methodology builds upon the analysis of human anatomy, how the skeleton fits together, and how muscle sits upon the skeleton to create the human form. Once an artist comprehends the anatomical construction of the human body great confidence can be gained in realistically depicting the human body. With consideration to three dimensional perspective and how figures look as they move through space Constructive Anatomy provides a foundation for life drawing that the aspiring artist can build upon throughout their artistic life.

Properly rendering human heads, features, and faces numbers among the most challenging aspects of figure drawing and painting. This concise and useful book-written by a world-renowned art instructor-is entirely devoted to the artistic study of the human head and its deep capacity for detail and expression. With more than half a century's worth of experience as an artist and lecturer at the Art Students League of New York, George B. Bridgman is a uniquely qualified instructor. His clearly articulated lessons are accompanied by nearly 200 examples and diagrams that demonstrate how best to portray heads, features, and faces.

Bridgman emphasizes the importance of understanding the relationships between facial features and the planes of the head. He considers round and square forms; how to draw the head at eye level, above eye level, and below eye level; and eyes, noses, mouths, and ears individually. Lessons are also included on light and shadow, comparative measurements, and the principles of oval and cube constructions. The ultimate beginner's guide to accurately rendering the human head, Heads, Features and Faces is a must-have for any serious study of human figures.

Readers interested in related titles from George B. Bridgman will also want to see: The Book of a Hundred Hands (ISBN: 1626543453).

En el libro de Anatomía Constructiva, Bridgman desarrolla y enseña su método para el dibujo de la figura humana a partir del uso de cajas.

El ojo percibe los contornos, los planos y los volúmenes. Bridgman argumenta que en el dibujo la línea es lo primero. Pero antes que el dibujo, precede una construcción mental donde el concepto de volumen viene primero, luego el plano y finalmente la línea. Las diferentes partes del cuerpo pueden abstraerse en simples formas geométricas. Para entender mejor los volúmenes, el movimiento y las luces, Bridgman recomienda utilizar formas cúbicas o de cuña, en vez de formas redondeadas o cilíndricas. En las partes articuladas cada una acopla con la siguiente a manera de ganchos, cuñas o engranajes.

Quiere aprender a dibujar correctamente la figura humana?

Este libro te da todos los elementos básicos para lograr una construcción sólida, a través de la comprensión de los volúmenes del cuerpo y la geometrización de la anatomía. La simple acción de copiar las bellas ilustraciones de este libro lo convertirán en un mejor dibujante.

Anatomía Constructiva es un libro para todo aquel que quiera mejorar su dibujo de anatomía y una imprescindible referencia para profesores y dibujantes profesionales.

Contiene cientos de dibujos que cubren la estructura ósea y muscular: cabeza, manos, brazos, torso y piernas analizadas en detalle. Un enfoque directo y efectivo, tratado con simpleza y entusiasmo.

2018 Reprint of 1920 Edition. Full facsimile of the original edition, not reproduced with Optical Recognition software. Illustrated Edition. Constructive Anatomy, an anatomical reference guide for the working artist, sculptor, and student, graphically shows important parts of the human body both in motion and in repose -- hand, wrist, thumb, fingers, forearm, arm, armpit, shoulder, neck, head, eye, nose, ear, mouth, chin, trunk (front, side, and back), pelvis, hip, thigh, leg, knee, ankle, foot, and toes. Drawings of bone and muscle structure of the working of the joints and the interrelation of the various parts of the body are mainly concerned with movement of all sorts -- movements that are described in detail as well as illustrated. The bending, twisting, and turning, creasing and interlocking of the various parts of the body are represented in drawing as the wedging of masses in specific ways that are clearly defined by Mr. Bridgman. Every artist will save tedious hours of research with this simple but effective approach, and will be delighted with its directness and fervor.

Excellent. The most valuable, detailed anatomical studies (which are also beautifully drawn) of all parts of the figure. -- American Artist
The best book on artist's anatomy available anywhere. -- Art Students League News
Countless artists and students since 1920 have used this and other books by George B. Bridgman (for nearly 50 years a teacher at the Art Students League in New York) for a solid foundation and understanding of human anatomy. They have found, and continue to find, that his unique way of discovering the vitalizing forces in the human form and realizing them in drawing carries the student pleasantly over one of art's most severe hurdles. Bridgman's superb anatomical sketches, of which there are nearly 500 in the book, also bring clearly to fruition his lucid theories of how to draw the human body in its structure and its complex movements.

Canadian-American artist, writer, and teacher George B. Bridgman taught anatomy and figure drawing for nearly fifty years at the Art Students League of New York. He is considered one of the most prolific art instructors of his time, and counted Norman Rockwell as one of his many students. Work from Bridgman's art books was even found in Jackson Pollock's sketchpad.

In The Book of a Hundred Hands Bridgman examines the human hand and all its capacities for expression and nuance. There are few anatomical features that tell us as much about a person as their hand, and Bridgman takes great care to highlight how a person's age, sex, emotion, physical health, and occupation can all be expressed in their hands. To properly convey all these details, the artist must have a thorough understanding of the form, function, and anatomy of the human hand.

The over 100 illustrations included in this work show the hand in nearly every position and posture. Special attention is given to the bones, tendons, joints, and musculature of the hand, displaying all these aspects in a variety of different situations and perspectives. The Book of a Hundred Hands is essential reading for any artist regardless of experience or technical skill.

Canadian-American artist, writer, and teacher George B. Bridgman taught anatomy and figure drawing for nearly fifty years at the Art Students League of New York. He is considered one of the most prolific art instructors of his time, and counted Norman Rockwell as one of his many students. Work from Bridgman's art books was even found in Jackson Pollock's sketchpad.

In Life Drawing Bridgman explores how artists can impart life into their subject matter, particularly the human form. With instructive text and numerous illustrations, this book explores how to discover the vitalizing forces of the body and communicate them in drawing. Bridgman begins with the study of movement, examining the main masses of the body - head, chest, and hips - and shows how they each relate to the motion of the overall form. He then proceeds to examine the figure in motion-bending, twisting, and turning- before moving on to examine all the individual components of the body in motion. Complete with over 500 of Bridgman's life-drawings, this book is sure to benefit any artist, amateur, or professional.

Canadian-American artist, writer, and teacher George B. Bridgman taught anatomy and figure drawing for nearly fifty years at the Art Students League of New York. He is considered one of the most prolific art instructors of his time, and counted Norman Rockwell as one of his many students. Work from Bridgman's art books was even found in Jackson Pollock's sketchpad.

In Life Drawing Bridgman explores how artists can impart life into their subject matter, particularly the human form. With instructive text and numerous illustrations, this book explores how to discover the vitalizing forces of the body and communicate them in drawing. Bridgman begins with the study of movement, examining the main masses of the body - head, chest, and hips - and shows how they each relate to the motion of the overall form. He then proceeds to examine the figure in motion-bending, twisting, and turning- before moving on to examine all the individual components of the body in motion. Complete with over 500 of Bridgman's life-drawings, this book is sure to benefit any artist, amateur, or professional.

The Book of a Hundred Hands is exactly what it sounds like. With this delightful little book George Bridgman has handed the world's artists a remarkable resource. As he points out, the human hand has a tremendous capacity for expression, and the attentive artist takes advantage of this potential to imbue their work with detail and meaning. After all, we can tell a lot about a person from their hands: everything from a subject's age and gender, to their psychological and emotional states, and even occupation.

With 100 carefully-selected illustrations that clearly identify the regions of the hand in a variety of positions, The Book of a Hundred Hands is the perfect workbook and reference for any artist, beginning or experienced. Whether you read it as a textbook or pull it from your shelf for inspiration when you're stumped on a particular hand-rendering problem, this book is a worthy addition to any artist's library. The lessons it contains are sure to elevate your human figures to new levels of expression and detail.

Readers interested in related titles from George B. Bridgman will also want to see: Heads, Features and Faces (ISBN: 1626544972 ).

What is the difference between art anatomy and Bridgman's concept of the human machine? The human machine is the body as not only a fixed framework but also as a complex work of art which moves and was designed to move.

In over 400 drawings, George B. Bridgman demonstrates the machine through the presentations which made him a gifted lecturer and teacher in his nearly fifty years at the Art Students League in New York and which gave life to drawings by his many students during those years. All skeletal and muscular systems are fully identified, and all are shown in front, back, and side views.

The Human Machine begins with the framework of bones. In each section (head, neck, hand, arm, forearm, elbow, trunk, shoulder, back, scapular region, pelvis, hip, thigh, leg, knee, foot, and toe as well as the combinations of the major sections working together), George Bridgman starts with the skeletal components of the system; then he adds the muscles, shows the changes in the muscles as the body moves and, finally, shows the appearance of the bodily section in action. At the title implies, Bridgman, throughout, supplements his anatomical work with comparative drawings of simple machines. The anatomical approach to figure drawing is the foundation for the study of human form, and as in his other books on figure drawing, Bridgman's Life Drawing and The Book of a Hundred Hands, Bridgman's approach to the subject is important and unique. The Human Machine will give students and serious artists the conception of the human structure as the complex of beautiful machines it is, and will show how bone and muscle structures are solely responsible for our movements and for the shapes which we, at various times, display.

Canadian-American artist, writer, and teacher George B. Bridgman taught anatomy and figure drawing for nearly fifty years at the Art Students League of New York. He is considered one of the most prolific art instructors of his time, and counted Norman Rockwell as one of his many students. Work from Bridgman's art books was even found in Jackson Pollock's sketchpad.

In Features and Faces, Bridgman directs his attention to one of art's most difficult subject matters: the accurate portrayal of heads, features, and faces. Throughout this book Bridgman draws upon his lifetime of expertise, placing as much emphasis on perspective planes as he does on anatomy. The study of the eyes, nose, ears, and mouth is given particular attention, giving the student a clear understanding of how these components function in relation to the overall face of the subject. With over 200 fine illustrations displaying all the important concepts covered, this book is an indispensable resource for any art student or enthusiast.