Like drawing materials, there are several books published each year which promise consumers the inside scoop on whatever domain they claim to explore. I’ve compiled a list of the books that I’ve found were some of the more useful over the years. What you chose afterwards will depend on your own personal needs as an artist.
Anatomy Books:
The Art of Animal Drawing is very good for dynamic animal pose related anatomy. The simplified breakdown of anatomy examples makes it easier to learn how to draw horses, deer, tigers and many other animals. I recommend this book for those who which to learn how to properly draw a variety of dynamic animal poses.
Cyclopedia anatomica is a more detailed book on animal anatomy and covers the similarities that occurs in our own anatomy. This book does a very good job at showing the similarities and differences between the two by having them next to each other. I recommend this book for those who are interested in learning how to draw animal anatomy.
Human Anatomy for Artists is an extremely good book which covers the individual muscles of the human body and their proper functions. This is especially useful thanks to the photographs of tensed muscles which are placed besides the anatomy drawings. I highly recommend this book for those wishing to have a more comprehensive understanding of muscles structure and their functions.
Atlas of human anatomy and surgery is a very good book because the muscles are grouped together in several different layers. By having the various muscles shown together is makes it easier for figuring out how to properly draw surface muscles. I recommend this book for those who want t more global understanding on human anatomy.
Atlas of human anatomy for the artist is an anatomy book which focuses on surface anatomy muscles and the skeletal structure. The notes section is this books strength because of the small diagrams and explanations given. I recommend this book for those who only require a more basic overview of the muscle structure in the human body.
Virtual Pose series is a very useful tool because it includes a rotational dvd. This series is useful because the poses are rotated within the book as well as having a fully rotatable dvd option. The only problem with this dvd is that the loading time can be significant and it is prone to crashing issues. I recommend this book for those who are trying to understand how to properly draw the human figure.
Animation Books:
The Animators Survival Kit is a very good book which breaks down the animation principals using coloured diagrams. I recommend this book for all those who are learning to animate or those who have animation experience.
Clothing Reference:
Fashion: A History from the 18th to the 20th Century is a very well put together book which covers a variety of fashion styles of these periods. This is extremely helpful for character costume design because of the photographs which have been included.
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