Freehand Figure Drawing for Illustrators: Mastering the Art of Drawing from Memory

All I can say is give it a try. Very good book.

Dave Ross did some great comic work in the 80s and 90s--- this guy can draw his tail off! His system demonstrates dealing with figures in perspective. For a comic artist, this is ESSENTIAL. You can draw characters in 'cool poses' all you want, if you can't make them fit into the perspective of the room around them.... well, lets just say if you blow it and someone who knows how to do it sees it, there's no hiding it. This is a really concise book that really takes you through all the skills you'll need to develop to draw comics or manga well. There are other books that cover some of this material, but most of them don't do it as well.

I love this book because it is a kind of anti-high-faloot'n sort of primer on how to draw people without models. The little section on perspective is well-thought-out in chapter one , even if it is review for most artists who like to draw in a traditional way. However, when Mr. Ross introduces his idea of a "glass mannequin" -- it is here that the book is by far at its best. I cannot think of a better place to learn how to draw forshortened views and action poses. These lessons, which include simplified versions of heads, torsos, and limbs, should become standardized information for anyone even casually interested in drawing people.After this section, one can easily learn the next step, which is the "anatomization" of the simplified figures with more realistic musculature.There are plenty of clear examples that show the logical progression from the simplified Mannequin figures to the more finished figures.Now here's why I am unable to give the book five stars -- for all of its unpretentious tone, it does lean a bit too hard towards a not-always-satsifying comic book aesthetic. This is also the best thing about the book, as it does such a fine job cutting through whatever is unneeded in favor of the essence of things. But here and there, the stylization of the more finished figures -- in particular the heads -- is, for some, a tad kitschy. The usual overly-muscled dudes and busty girls could have been tempered with a few more normal figures and perhaps even some classical types.All said, though, this is really an outstanding reference book. Mr. Ross even had the good sense to include blank " practice areas" next to his examples, so you can try out some of the ideas in the book alongside his fine drawings. He seems to be saying, "just practice this and eventually you'll get it!" We need more books like this one.

David Ross does a compelling job in relating his methodology in rendering the human figure for comic books and graphic novels. He has a style that melds well with these storytelling mediums and puts forth the necessary components for any serious artist to establish a skillful foundation from which to grow and develop. His figures are accurate and portrayed in a manner that demonstrates the how and why of human anatomy and positioning. I highly recommend this book for its intended purpose.

The simple style of mannequinization used is helpful when I draw an actual real life model. I use the technique and it usually always ends up accurately proportional. However I'm more of a Loomis kind of guy when drawing heads, but that's just my preference.

So, seriously, if you a) struggle with posing characters directly from imagination and basic prior knowledge of anatomy, without any aid of photo references or physical mannequins, b) struggle to give those poses dimension and solidity in convincing perspective, and c) have spent money on books about drawing the figure from basic shapes only to find that there's something missing in the presentation that "ties it all together", such that the theory sort of breaks down on you when you sit down to draw a dynamic pose......then, dude, get this book.I have multiple books on drawing the figure, some of which employ the same simple shape building blocks of a mental mannequin. But there are these little details included here that have given way to "Eureka!" moments in a way that my other books don't.

The book is basically a how to on the mannequinization of the human body. This is an essential step in drawing action figures, especially from imagination. The book is full of a variety of poses including action, reclining, sitting, etc., and in that way should be helpful to illustrators. However, my pet peeve with this book is the absolute failure to show dimensions or construction details for a single figure or part. For example, nowhere are we told that the mannequin head may be approximated by a sphere for the cranial mass, nor how to divide that mass to locate the hairline or brow ridge. Neither are we shown how to construct the jaw approximation that attaches to it or how to locate the nose or mouth. Neither do the torso, pelvis, or limbs have any associated dimensions or construction details. Yes, we do see plenty of examples of each of these elements drawn from a variety of angles, twists and rotations. The author's intent seems to be to provide a large variety of examples which he expects everyone to practice over and over. I understand this. There is no substitute in drawing for rehearsal ad nauseam. But construction details/methods are also enormously important and would be very much appreciated.If you would like to draw figures from imagination and are interested in the mannequinazation of the human body, I think that the best book for this is Andrew Loomis' "Figure Drawing for All Its Worth." This is the volume that Normal Rockwell often praised and I find the treatment much more satisfying than Ross' book. At the time of this writing, it is still in print and available new or used from Amazon. It is an established classic and still used in figure drawing curricula the world over.