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Personal Book Libraries

We each have our own libraries of books we find particularly useful for learning art and anatomy. I found a real gem today, and have been buying a lot of animal anatomy books of late, so I thought I would share the titles of a few of mine that I would feel comfortable recommending. I did manage to purchase a couple that I will probably never use.

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Anatomy Drawing School
Human - Animal - Comparative Anatomy
by Andras Szunyoghy and Gyorgy Feherf
ISBN: 3-8331-2528-4

I picked up this gem today in the bargain books section of Borders. It's a tomb (hardbound, 603 pages), including detailed drawings and description of human, horse, dog, cat, pig, ape, sheep, bear, deer, cow, camel, and lion. It also includes comparative drawings of different animals next to humans, with same muscles clearly labeled so you can see how they change on different animals.

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Animal Painting and Anatomy
by W. Frak Calderon
ISBN: 0-486-22523-2

I love this book, and consider it one of the better in my library, but it isn't the easiest read. The original publication was in 1936, so the book is very text-heavy. However, it does a wonderful job covering the dynamics of muscle movement, and applying anatomy into artistic composition. I have not finished reading it yet.

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Animal Anatomy for Artists
The Elements of Form
by Eliot Goldfinger
ISBN: 0-19-514214-4

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. It provides very clean anatomical diagrams, and comparative illustrations.

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Animals in Motion
by Eadweard Muybridge
ISBN: 0-486-20203-8

This book is entirely composed of photographic plates of animals in motion. It's not an anatomy book, but I consider it invaluable in my library. I just wish someone would create an equivalent book using modern photographic equipment. Some of the plates are difficult to see.

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So, what books do you guys have that you wouldn't want to live without?

I don't have a lot of drawing books in my personal collection by I have picked up most of the above in my school library once or twice.

The thing I wouldn't want to live without is a DVD collection called 'Animal Motion' by Rhinohouse (http://features.cgsociety.org/story.php?story_id=2638). We used it in our anatomy class and then it came into the student store a few months later. I can't even begin to explain these DVDs, they're just amazing. They have walk cycles, video footage of behavior, still frames and just... *drools on herself*

I honestly am not sure how any animator lives without these things. =D

I have the last two on your list. Eadweard Muybridge's Animals in Motion is incredibly good reference for animating cycles. I love how, for a lot of the animals, there are sequences from different angles. But yes I agree, it would be nice if someone released something similar done with modern technology because some of the frames are a little dark and unclear.

Eliot Goldfinger's Animal Anatomy for Artists is my prized possession as far as educational books go. I've learned so much from it and I have yet to finish reading it through properly. And it covers so many animals.

Goldfinger also put out a book called Human Anatomy for Artists which I also find invaluable. It goes as in-depth as I'll ever need and the photographs provided for comparison make things so much easier to understand.

I used to be a big fan of An Atlas of Animal Anatomy for Artists by W. Ellenberger and Frances A. Davis, but, as far as I'm concerned, it pales in comparison to Goldfinger's. It is, however, a lot cheaper and an alright substitute if you can't afford the other one.

I have three of Claire Wendling's books, specifically 2 of her sketchbooks, and then her full color artbook, "Drawers". They can be a tad pricey, as they are imports, but they are beyond fantastic. I recommend anything of hers very highly. There's no step by step, as they are just meant to showcase her art rather than be instructional, but she's an incredible illustrator.

Ken Hultgren and Joe Weatherly's books on drawing animals are also really great, there's as much emphasis on manner and gesture as there is on anatomy.

For humans, I like Bridgman's books a lot, and Heinrich Kley is also pretty awesome for reference, though like Wendling, his stuff isn't step by step. Andrew Loomis is also fantastic for reference. As far as I know, his books are still out of print, but a few of them can be found here...

http://fineart.sk/index.php?cat=1

Sidney Eileen said: We each have our own libraries of books we find particularly useful for learning art and anatomy. I found a real gem today, and have been buying a lot of animal anatomy books of late, so I thought I would share the titles of a few of mine that I would feel comfortable recommending. I did manage to purchase a couple that I will probably never use.

------------------------------------------------------------
Anatomy Drawing School
Human - Animal - Comparative Anatomy
by Andras Szunyoghy and Gyorgy Feherf
ISBN: 3-8331-2528-4

I picked up this gem today in the bargain books section of Borders. It's a tomb (hardbound, 603 pages), including detailed drawings and description of human, horse, dog, cat, pig, ape, sheep, bear, deer, cow, camel, and lion. It also includes comparative drawings of different animals next to humans, with same muscles clearly labeled so you can see how they change on different animals.

------------------------------------------------------------
Animal Painting and Anatomy
by W. Frak Calderon
ISBN: 0-486-22523-2

I love this book, and consider it one of the better in my library, but it isn't the easiest read. The original publication was in 1936, so the book is very text-heavy. However, it does a wonderful job covering the dynamics of muscle movement, and applying anatomy into artistic composition. I have not finished reading it yet.

------------------------------------------------------------
Animal Anatomy for Artists
The Elements of Form
by Eliot Goldfinger
ISBN: 0-19-514214-4

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. It provides very clean anatomical diagrams, and comparative illustrations.

------------------------------------------------------------
Animals in Motion
by Eadweard Muybridge
ISBN: 0-486-20203-8

This book is entirely composed of photographic plates of animals in motion. It's not an anatomy book, but I consider it invaluable in my library. I just wish someone would create an equivalent book using modern photographic equipment. Some of the plates are difficult to see.

------------------------------------------------------------

So, what books do you guys have that you wouldn't want to live without?

Hi mate, You try this site Human Anatomy Online, i think it will help you very much...
I used this site for my research on anatomy...

It's already listed in the library section of this site but I'd like to second the recommendation for "Blue and Yellow don't make Green".
I've spent too many lessons in the past on colour theory that just made us construct a colour wheel and nothing more. I had no idea of the concept of cool and warm versions of colours and why if you mix the wrong types you end up with brown.

I guess our teachers thought it was something we'd just figure out eventually on our own. Well it has always caused me a lot of frustration but this book really helps you understand how colour mixing works.

The first section of the book goes into the science of how light and colour work. If you're not into science you might be tempted to skip over it but it's valuable knowledge that once it clicks in your head you feel like you have something to work with instead of wandering aimlessly around your paint pallette.

clarajones said:

Hi mate, You try this site Human Anatomy Online, i think it will help you very much...
I used this site for my research on anatomy...

Thanks for the link! I hadn't seen that site before, and it looks like a great resource. :)

For those interested in anatomy and understanding it, I also recommend you biology books of compared anatomy. It's not artistically friendly but it helps you understand the basics of anatomy and how it differs in different species, and specially how it works. It also (usually) reviews ALL the animal classes, not just mainly mammals (like the majority of the anatomical art books). Plus, it's fun to compare a fish's fin with a human hand. :D

Sidney Eileen said: We each have our own libraries of books we find particularly useful for learning art and anatomy. I found a real gem today, and have been buying a lot of animal anatomy books of late, so I thought I would share the titles of a few of mine that I would feel comfortable recommending. I did manage to purchase a couple that I will probably never use.

------------------------------------------------------------
Anatomy Drawing School
Human - Animal - Comparative Anatomy
by Andras Szunyoghy and Gyorgy Feherf
ISBN: 3-8331-2528-4

I picked up this gem today in the bargain books section of Borders. It's a tomb (hardbound, 603 pages), including detailed drawings and description of human, horse, dog, cat, pig, ape, sheep, bear, deer, cow, camel, and lion. It also includes comparative drawings of different animals next to humans, with same muscles clearly labeled so you can see how they change on different animals.

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Woot! I have that book. I agree.. it's one of the best anatomy books a furry artist can buy. I found it new in a second hand book store. My only qualm would be with the amount of detail in it.. for example the pages on individual segments of back bone was a little extreme, but that's a minor complaint. It's the best anatomy book I own. Amazon link.

I also have Anatomy for the Artist by Tom Flint and Peter Stanyer which I picked up because it was damn cheap. I knew someone who did the same thing but I think it's a waste of money since the drawings are unrealistic and way to stylized. The proportions are just plain inaccurate. Amazon link.

I have 3 more gems though. Painting Animals by C.Drochon & F.Coffrant is full of stunningly rendered realistic paintings of animals (just look at the cover) which provide me with a lot of inspiration. While you don't really learn much from the commentary (it's just a series of observations made by someone else) the paintings and animal studies are just so beautiful I like to have it close by to drool over and aspire to. Amazon link.

Painting Wildlife Textures by Rod Lawrence This is a great instructional book. It's out of print but you can get a good priced second hand one from amazon, as I did. It's written by the artist and gives detail on the techniques he uses achieve not just textures but also other things like accurate lighting and compositions in a variety of media. He's a great artist and the book is extremely helpful, I've seen changes in my technique for fur and feathers and now I know it's okay to use over 100 references for a painting ;). Amazon link.

My last recommendation might only be of interest to a few people. The Savvy Designer's Guide to Success" by Jeff Fisher Is all about freelancing; design and business (but most of the lessons can be applied to art as well). If you ever intend to spend some time making money from your art or designs this is worth reading as its full of words of wisdom about getting work, marketing yourself, dealing with clients (including difficult ones) and keeping them. It also has examples documents to such as design briefs, pricing sheets to justify your prices and contracts save your butt from disagreements and unessecary extra work. Amazon link.

these are the books i refer to on a regular basis for art needs:

colored pencil exploration by janie gildow, and colored pencil solution book by janie gildow and barbara newton are excellent books for understanding colored pencils and techniques. another good book is the encyclopedia od colored pencil technques by judy martin

the complete printmaker by john ross is probably the book i pull off the shelf the most of all my books. if your interested in printmaking techniques, it's a must have. other good printmaking books are handmade prints by anne desmet and jim anderson, and the instant printmaker by melvyn petterson and colin gale.

for drawing instruction, my most used books are anatomy for the artist by jeno barcsay, dynamic figure drawing by brune horgarth, animal drawing by charles knight, and animal anatomy by w. ellenberger et al.

other art related books which are helpful are quick and easy guide to photographing your artwork by roger saddington.

augh, this list could go on, but those are the most relevant.