Anatomy for Artists: A visual guide to the human form

I'm constantly working to improve my knowledge of anatomy for comic/graphic novel drawing. This is a great book. It's really quite large, which is a plus. The pictures are all clear and high-quality. I especially like the way this book overlays illustrations over the body in many shots. This helps to understand how to draw and "see through" the shapes of the human figure.

I saw one reviewer upset that there was nudity in this book. I advise you all to disregard that review. This is an anatomy book for artists. You simply cannot learn how to draw the human body without seeing the human body. The reviewer in question complained about showing male genitalia, remarking that the male model should be covered up. I'd point out, however, that the reviewer did not say anything about the depictions of the female genitalia. That alone seems dubious.

The book uses the same two models and the photos are respectful and professional. Be aware that you do see fully nude images. However, serious artists need a serious book, and this is a good one.

My only concerns (and this is a concern mentioned by others) are that the binding, although perfectly fine, feels like it might need delicate care if it is to last a long time. The pages also feel a bit lightweight. That is the only reason why I gave it 4 stars. That said, I hope this lasts with care.

You can consider this book as a huge visual reference. However, even though it doesn't go into the depth of the human anatomy, as other artist anatomy books do, what it does cover, is excellent.
Don't get me wrong, it covers all the important basics of human anatomy & then some.
Even if you own 10 artist human anatomy books, you'll want this one also.

This is an extensive set of images of articulations of two models, one male and one female. I like the set of images with overlays of the surface muscle groups. I dislike that the overlays draw muscle where there is fat. They do not explain the shapes or shadows apparent on the skin. (They come from interior muscles which are not discussed.) The anatomy discussion is superficial. Even so, it is a good presentation with regard to joint articulation. I recommend the book highly as a visual guide. Not so much as an in-depth presentation of anatomy. I think the book is a valuable addition to an artist's library. There are other books with in-depth anatomy but few extensive articulation image resources.

The resources that this book has is absolutely of fantastic quality and has helped me out greatly in learning anatomy for sculpting in blender. The biggest issue I have is in terms of the physical quality of the book upon arrival.

For two books I've ordered thusfar, they have had the same issue: tears in the pages towards the spine of the book and light scuffing on the cover. The scuffing part isn't bad, but the tears for the pages is the real issue. What I'm afraid of is that over time the tears, or even possibly the spine, will get worse as I continue to manipulate the pages and I will inevitably have to buy the product again.

So, now, I have to order a THIRD book and hope that the next one will actually not have these issues. This third book will determine how this review will be updated.

If you decide to buy this book, be sure to ABSOLUTELY check every single page!

Update - 8/9/2021:
I finally got a book which was undamaged! It sucks that it took three books to get to this point, but I'm just glad it's in my hands now.

I had to laugh when someone had ranted about there being nudity. It's an artist's anatomy book, of course, there is going to be nudity, it even states it in the description. I have purchased a few different anatomy books on my journey to learning art. I don't have access to live models and this book helps close that gap. I absolutely love that it breaks the forms and poses down into planes, muscle groups, and shows various options for studies. Other books break down processes well enough, but it's this book that helps me as a visual learner. Seeing the various stages has helped tremendously! Love it! I would recommend some clips to help hold pages as it is a larger book than most. Definitely worth it!

This is a very thorough book that has extensive anatomical illustrations that overlap the human model that covers every aspect of anatomy that is pertinent to figure and face drawing to painting. The images are the best in clarity that I have ever seen from the many books on anatomy for the artist that I have. The best way to make convincing figure and face drawings is by understanding the underlying functions and anatomical structures of the human body. There is great detail on the face for the portrait artist. This is large (about 500 pages) all color publication done with the best high tech book printing means.

I was buying this book mostly because I wanted good anatomical reference pictures for the female form. The books is about 70% images and diagrams of a male model. For this, it is quite good and I would recommend it. If you are looking for female reference, this is not the book for you.

HUGE BOOK SO YOU CAN SEE DETAILS PERFECTLY.

First off the book came to me with the corners dented, but that's more on amazon's shipping so I'm not take off a star for that. The contents of this book are really good and helpful in understanding anatomy but... I just really wish it showed off different camera angles more. There is really only a front facing view for everything if that's all you need than great but I'd really like to add that little bit more to my art.

The book arrived in perfect condition, smelling and looking as if it just came off the bookshelf after being printed. Pages are in mint condition and display all the content as mentioned on the Amazon site, too. I am pleased with what I've purchased. And I highly recommend this for other artists trying to study anatomy for characters in their stories or just for general sketches.