The Figurative Artist's Handbook: A Contemporary Guide to Figure Drawing, Painting, and Composition

I just love this book. The quality is superb! It’s large and has a strong binding that has held up beautifully through the many times I’ve read or just flipped through it to enjoy the artwork. It opens perfectly flat, so you can easily go back and forth between the book and your sketchbook.I would enjoy this book even if I didn’t want to improve my drawing skills. There’s a wonderful opening section that takes the reader through a brief but highly informative and thoughtful history of figurative art. All of the numerous examples are a nice size and take up most, if not an entire, page. Other art books are often lacking in this regard which I find incredibly frustrating. In this book, the sizes are large enough that one can truly understand how the figure has been portrayed in various time periods.He also provides numerous examples of his and others’ artwork throughout the book, and the final chapter discusses various contemporary artists and, through many large examples of their work, tells us about their own creative processes. It’s a wonderful fusion of art appreciation and practical applications which enables the reader to think about what they might want to apply in their own practice. It’s apparent how artists can make the techniques their own without having to worry about sacrificing their own voices. Zeller argues that through knowledge artists can augment their creativity by giving it a vehicle rather than detract from it.As far as the instruction goes, his technique is an insightful combination of various methods. It synthesizes classical and modern approaches which result in renderings that have life, breath, and movement. He provides numerous diagrams and walks the reader through his process step by step which makes the material much easier for one to grasp and apply.This book is appropriate for enthusiastic beginners and working artists who want to improve their technique or who are getting back into the game. As a beginner, I glean something new from each read-through. Somehow he manages to write the instructional portion of the book with lots of density and “meat” while still making it engaging and an extremely enjoyable read. As my skills are improving, I’m grasping nuances that I wasn’t yet ready for but that are speaking to me now, so it’s a source that I continually come back to.The book teaches figurative realism, but it’s much more inclusive than that. There’s a respect for modern approaches and abstraction, so one could use this book (or just enjoy it) no matter what his or her personal style or tastes are.I especially enjoyed the chapter on keeping a sketchbook. In it, he shows examples from numerous working artists. It once again highlights beautiful art with practical, user-friendly applications.It’s a wonderful book that teaches one about fine art through practical techniques, beautiful examples, and a spirit of inclusiveness that makes this book academic and yet approachable at the same time.Very well done!

The Figurative Artist Handbook by Rob Zeller is fantastic and should be part of any art library. If you are a figurative artist, thinking about it, or just enjoy figurative work I highly recommend this book. There are a few reasons why I recommend this book: the inclusion of art history, an holistic approach to the figure, and a number of fabulous drawings from other figurative artists.I have a large number of figurative art books and most don’t include the history behind figurative art. If it is included, at most are a few pages with a brief description that does not provide much context. The first 80 pages of The Figurative Artist Handbook is all history, it’s brief (for art history) but full. Why is this important? Art history puts the rest of the instruction and analysis contained in the book into context. By having a basic understanding the what artist did in the past, what influenced them, and the current periods, we can get a sense of the aesthetic and influences of contemporary figurative drawing and how it may impact your own work.What you find in almost all of the “classic” figurative books (Loomis, Bridgman, Bammes, Vanderpoel, etc.) is a specific structure system that gives the student a method of construction and structure. The academic approach of the Atelier systems focus on rendering of light and shadow, surface textures, and the subtleties of form. In figure drawings where gesture is the rule, I tend to see a lot of rhythm and movement but a lack of solid construction or surface. Rob Zeller takes an holistic approach to the figure combining the different methods and giving them equal weight all while explaining and showing his working process.Lastly, the inclusion of a number of magnificent drawings from other contemporary figurative artists is the icing on the cake for me. In every other instructional figurative book you will only see the instructor/author’s work. Sure, you get a few master drawings thrown in to help illustrate a point but it’s mostly the same style throughout. Rob Zeller includes a lot of work from contemporary artists and provides a brief analysis of the work (this is where having the art history section was nice). This was one of my favorite parts of the book and many of these artists I follow on Instagram so it was a major factor in me getting the book.Highly recommended and The Figurative Artist Handbook has become a go to for reference and inspiration.

This is a really well rounded book. It's beautifully illustrated and physically it's really pleasing too. After going over the most representative painting styles and biggest names in history, the author offers really useful techniques and an interesting approach to a rather daunting world for the painter. Great pictures and comments about today's contemporary masters become the cherry on the cake for this must have. I really like this. Thanks!

Well I am impressed! If I could rate more stars I would. What I like about this presentation of the figure is that it does not discriminate image representation. Meaning that it shows everything from very traditional new painting all the way to contemporary approaches to the figure. Reproductions are excellent, writing is good, but overall package is really really excellent and a very enjoyable experience. If you at all like painting the figure I would seriously consider buying and having for your library and for reference. While I find the book well made, of a good price, with excellent content, I feel that this is one of those books that will sell out quickly...and once that does...the price will go up as demand goes up. This is the kind of book that could be a great inspiration for art students to those who are exploring the figure. It does not diminish the effort required to make a really good painting but it also is not preachy or corny or roll your eyes kitschy...Respectfully it is a valuable addition to my library. Five stars is all I can award this book...but it exceeds this. I look forward to the next volume two of this book as it is a subject matter that has a lot of interest with lots of really good paintings and artists out there. (And please do not get silly and offended by the cover, it is just a picture, and a good one at that. It is what inside that really counts, really. Please do yourself a big favour and go buy the book...and maybe give to your friend or young or old aspiring artist of the figure. Lovely).

This book is well written and beautifully illustrated. It covers standing, reclining positions and portraiture. This seems very limited. I would have liked to have seen seated, crouching, kneeling, figures in motion and a section on foreshortening. There is not enough variation in the positions to make it a true handbook in my opinion. If you want a nice coffee table book or you collect art books, this is a must have.

古典から現代美術まで解き明かしながら素描のステップを勉強できます。また、アートとしての素描の在り方も作家の作品を紹介しながら説いています技法書というよりも、素描を深く捉えるのに役立つテキストです。掲載作品が、どれをとっても素晴らしいです。英語も比較的平易で読みやすいと思いますが、読まなくても、おおよそ察しが付くほど、絵の段階的な選択がなされています。このレベルのテキストは、日本には、無いのではないかと思います。鑑賞用としてもかなりハイレベルです。おすすめです。

Esta increíble este libro. Definitivamente no para un principiante en el dibujo.