Complete Guide to Life Drawing

Gottfried Bammes, born in 1920 in Freital, Germany, worked as an art teacher at the College of Fine Arts in Dresden. Bammes was a prolific writer and artist, was considered to be a master of life drawing and anatomy,and produced numerous books on the subject in his lifetime. In 1974 he was awarded the National Prize of the German Democratic Republic for Science and Technology and received the Culture and Art Prize of the City of Freital in 2000. He died in 2007.

• Preface 8Basic approaches 10Study of ProportionThe principal proportions of the body 12, The contours of the male body 14, Building the structure for a male figure 16, The male figure broken down into geometrical shapes 18, The male figure: structural issues and exercises 20, Further exercises on the male figure 26, The male figure in profile 30, The female figure 32, Exercises on drawing the female figure 34, Studies of the female figure with further exercises 40, The young female figure 46, Studies of the young female figure with exercises 50, Sketchbook work 54, The young male figure 58, The child’s figure 60, Infants (2–5 years) and pre-pubescent children (7–10½ years) 62, Young figures in sketchbook work 64Rest and MovementStudies with a brush 68, The contrapposto stance 72, Exercises and sketchbook work 74, Exercises recommended for locomotive movement 84, Examples of different movements and solutions 86Legs and FeetOverall structure and recommended exercises 94, Structure and mechanism of the knee joint 100, Exercises in drawing the thigh and knee 104, Structural shape of the foot skeleton 108, Exercises in drawing feet 112, The leg as a whole with its muscle groups and mass 116, Exercises for studies of the leg 120Torso and Shoulder GirdleFrom the basic skeletal shape to the developed form 128, Exercises on drawing the skeleton of the torso 132, Shoulder girdle and rib cage 136, The torso muscles 140

A lot of things claim to be the complete guide but, at a whopping 312 pages, this one certainly looks and feels the part. Getting inside it confirmd that this is indeed a substantial work, with every aspect of the human form examined from block shapes through muscle and bone structure to the completed artwork. Each section follows the same progression, so it becomes easy to follow which, given how much there is to absorb, is a definite plus. Because there's so much, though, you need to be aware that this is something to sit down and take time with, rather than dip into. Think of it as a structured course and you won't go far wrong with it. Gottfried covers male and female figures, both static and in motion and in a variety of poses, as you'd probably expect from a book of this kind. He also deals in the same detail with eyes and ears as he does with bodies and legs, so there's literally no stone unturned. If you can't get a private tutor, this is very much the next best thing. It's structured very much like a course and is absolutely thorough in its attention to detail and should satisfy the most demanding student.-Artbookreview.net This one of the most thorough and exhaustive guides to figure drawing I have ever seen and certainly lives up to the claim inherent in its title. Progress is steady and logical, starting with the basic shapes of male and female figures, adults and children, and moving on to how they appear both stationary and in motion, before progressing to the various body parts and, eventually, how everything fits together. All the sections follow the same pattern, moving from basic form and structure to musculature, followed by a series of exercises and examples. As a result, the book becomes easy to follow and it's definitely the intention that the reader should work through it as a formal course. This is a substantial book and its length betokens the thoroughness of the author's approach, which is about the nearest thing you can get, in a book, to face-to-face teaching.(Henry Malt)-The Artist Learn to draw the human figure from scratch without having to persuade anybody to take off their clothes! Of course there is no substitute for a real teacher and real flesh-and-blood models but if these are lacking a book like this is surely the next best thing - This is a large book with over three hundred pages and it covers a lot of ground. You can learn to draw people of every age in here, starting with learning about the basic proportions and progressing through motion studies, individual body parts and keeping a sketchbook. The tasks to complete are many, and they start off very simply indeed with basic exercises, many of which are quick to complete but which build up an impressive body of knowledge. Get to grips with proportions using strips of paper, learn about the relationship between one limb and another, practise brush strokes, go out and observe people and many more. The book is profusely illustrated not only with work by this artist but with many sketches from old masters and others from the Renaissance to the present day. There are drawings showing muscles, bones and other anatomical details and naming them, so the student gets a good look at the underpinnings of the human body and how it moves. After trying out a few exercises I was impressed at how much I was learning, so if you want to master drawing and painting the human body then this is a good book to get.-Myshelf.com This practical guide is organized around the human anatomy with considerable attention devoted to proportion of the figure and how to portray bodies in motion and at rest. Bammes (The Artist's Guide to Human Anatomy) emphasizes the many drawings and illustrations of various styles packed tightly onto each page and allows them to do most of the explanatory work. Minimal text descriptions accompany the figure drawing examples, offering the reader necessary advice and highlighting technique. This guide will be most effective for serious intermediate and advanced artists who wish to improve their life drawing skills.-Library Journal USA