Figure Approach to Drawing and C

This is an excellent book. It covers a lot of information with large illustrations and photographs. I use this book daily for help with my illustration assignments.

This book was very easy to understand and follow. A great book to learn how to draw figures!

One of my favorite figure books(!)- If you've ever seen the bestselling How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way, a major teaching that stands out is its emphasis on spheres, cubes, and cylinders when learning to draw anything & everything, including the human figure. Well this is *exactly* what Walt Reed's The Figure is essentially all about. The teachings here were developed in & represent the Famous Artists School, and the figure basics here are really excellent yet standard fare. I've even seen some of these principles repeated by recent Japanese animation & comicbook instructionals. Yes, these principles are definitely great; it's the style & way these principles are communicated that makes this book seem a little bit dated. Reed's instruction here is presented with a combination of work by various artists and black & white photos of nude models, giving this entire effort a very mixed-media effect in its overall design. It was created in 1976, and while the photos are generally well done, the models here look very much to be from that time, and maybe even earlier. Also included: drawings, etchings, paintings & sculptures; all by various masters in the history of western art. Add to this the book's physical dimensions- 9" x 12" x 1/2"- and this is really not a simple looking how-to-draw type book. Yet the teaching here really *is* simple & effective! It's basically about building the figure with cylinders, although spheres & cubes are depicted as well. My favorite aspect of the book is Reed's own drawings & instruction, which demostrates the simplified figure accompanied by a wealth of helpful hints, tips & tricks. These instructions are also shown along with the photos of models to help reinforce principles by drawing from life. Hands & faces get special attention. We even get a little on basic light & shade and a section on figures in action! Usually, it's books that present a unified look & style, like the ones by Bridgman and Hogarth, that tend to look a little more timeless in my personal opinion. But Walt Reed's The Figure is fantastic in its actual *effect*, and that's really, basically the most important thing. It's a worthwhile book to add to anyone's collection! P.S. Parts of this book were included in an 8-1/2" x 11" x 3/8" compilation entitled Basic Figure Drawing Techniques, edited by Greg Albert. This compilation is printed on better quality paper, and includes material from 5 current books. In my opinion Reed's contribution is the best. Also- Another great, 5-star work for beginners: Jack Hamm's excellent Drawing the Head and Figure. Highly recommended!

I have used this book for about a week and am totally impressed with the results. Before, I did not like to draw hands or faces or lips, now, I find them amazing and a great adventure to draw. I would recommend this book to any one who has never drawn the human figure in a proper way, it's a great way to learning how to. I would like to thank Walt reed for being such a good person as to allow us to know what he knows and sharing all his knowledge. Learning how to draw the human figure is not scary as I thought, I now have discovered a new world of excitement and fun through the use of a simple pencil and paper. Oliver Gonzalez.