Bridgman's Complete Guide to Drawing from Life Paperback – 7 Jun. 2009

OK, there's a lot of great stuff in here, and I've learned a lot by studying it. But it's a little light on concrete advice, and hard to navigate. Chapter 1, how to draw the figure: a sequence of steps which rather assumes you know how to proportion and pose the figure to start with. Not much use for the beginner. Chapter 2, proportions of the human figure: little actual advice, just some drawings next to rulers dividing them into 8. And so on. However, I've gleaned some great stuff (treat the ears as being fixed to an axis about which the head rotates, draw the lower eyelid roughly level with this axis if the head is straight), and my figure drawing has improved from basically nonexistent to merely poor.So overall, don't make this your first book on figure drawing, and don't rely on it for self-study. If you already know what you're doing, it's got lots of great content to refer to which will improve your drawing no end. If you're using it alongside another course, I'm sure it'll be useful, too. But, as a beginner, I found it frustrating and patchy.

I just received the Bridgman's Guide in the post and I'm delighted with it! As a self-taught newbie entering the world of human form sketching, this book is perfect for giving me just the right amount of push for added inspiration and guidance.I am surprised at the size and weight of the volume ... I actually expected a thin little manual but it is actually quite a comprehensive book about sketching the human form and certainly belongs in every aspiring artist's literary collection.A word of complimentary advice for other self-taught doodlers out there: this book focuses on drawing the HUMAN FORM as a whole. If you are looking for details of a specific field like portraiture, do purchase an added and relatively contemporary book that focuses solely on, say, portraits, to give you that added detailed advice in modern language. For instance I am learning tremendously by combining information from Bridgman's Guide along with Lance Richlin's "Lifelike Heads." It's an endless joyride. Enjoy! :)

The drawings in this book leave something to be desired - much of the finer line is lost in the scanning of the drawings which is a shame. The text in the book is informative and I look forward to reading more. I just wish the quality of the scanning had been better.

It's ok - once you remember that a some of the drawings and text is a bit dated. There's lots of detail in the book although I thought that the chapters didn't seem to flow as well as they might but as a reference book its quite satisfactory. The balance between drawings and text was about right. One of problems I find with books on constructive anatomy is that they (the books) can fall between two extremes - highly detailed drawings or good outline sketches / drawings which this book falls into the latter category. The section on drawing draped figures and folds was quite useful. Not a bad buy for the money. A useful reference book.

Excellent book in pristine condition which arrived within the anticipated delivery dates. Will be a constant source of useful information for me.

Great anatomy book, good way to learn the human structure from the renown Bridgman (taught Loomis).

I have found drawing hands really hard and thats why I got it. I have brought a few books on drawing hands and this one has it all. He makes it look so simple and enjoyable unlike other books. It is worth buying you wont regret it.

This is a compendious volume which contains masses of examples to inspire life drawing practice, with detail for different parts of the body. Thoroughly recommended.