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Drawing
People: How to Portray the Clothed Figure
By: Barbara
Bradley
Review 2: Book
 
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This
book is written by illustrator and instructor
Barbara Bradley. She shares many tips in this
volume to help any artist accurately portray the
clothed figure. Many of her drawings and sketches,
all in pencil, are included in the chapters. Artists
from novice to expert are sure to find something
of use in this book.
Barbara
Bradley begins with general drawing tips, such
as explaining how to properly hold a pencil, and
sett up a workspace. Next, She moves onto talk
about different body types, proper prospective,
and creating accurate proportions.
Everything
is simplified to convey a large amount of helpful
information on how to easily create acurate sketches.
Each page is filled with sketches of examples
to help you on your way. One
thing I personally liked about this book is that
she illustrates the relationships between how
the body bends, and it's affect on clothing.
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Different
types of folds are described and pictured in great detail.
Also, there are suggested exercises included that provide
a way to practice the techniques. She discusses briefly
how to experiment with different mediums and paper.
While she does discuss light sources and tonal value,
not much time is devoted to those subjects.
also enjoyed her suggestions for drawing heads and hands.
Perspective and proportion of the head and facial features
are discussed first. Then, she shows wonderfully how
the position of the eyes and brows affect the emotion
of a subject. This is a great section for the beginner,
since she offers some general tips to remember, and
shows many different sketches for varying emotions.Next,
she elaborates on the different shapes of noses and
mouths. There are a full two pages devoted to drawing
hands, that includes several tips, and drawings of hands
in different positions. Pencil artists will also find
the information she provides on how aging effects head
and hands useful. One sketch in particular that was
interesting showed the progression of a woman's head
from age 25 to 85. It really illustrated how the facial
features change. Finally, she devotes an entire chapter
drawing children. Children have different proportions
then adults, and she gives some tips for drawing them
correctly.
The
sketches throughout the book are really nice to look
at. They all have a sense of movement. She draws many
different types of clothing from all time periods, and
emphasizes how it should sit on the body. Also included
are sketches of different shoes, hats, and more. One
thing I was a bit disappointed in, is that the pictures
appear to be somewhat unfinished sketches. As a result,
they do not have a nice clean look, neither do they
illustrate fully how the proper tonal values should
be established for a realistic look. However, the information
included is still of great value.
In
conclusion, definitely pick up this book if you want
to expand you knowledge about drawing people. You will
find lots of useful information and tips on getting
proportion and perspective right. Plus, the information
she includes on basic shapes of bodies, facial features,
and hands is sure to get you started right. Just keep
in mind that this book does not delve into presenting
true realism, but it gives you all the basic elements
to master drawing figures. This gives you a good foundation
for any other artistic pursuits.
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