Figure It Out!: The Beginner's Guide to Drawing People

I bought this so that I could learn to draw, from scratch. There are no clear lessons in the book, just lots of things to copy, despite the author stating in the forward that he believes it’s virtually impossible to copy a drawing simply by looking at it. The chapter (2 pages) on the shape of the head tells us nothing about how to draw features yet, there it is, on the second page, a drawing of the head complete with all the features. This is a very lazy book which achieves its objective of simplifying figure drawing by leaving out many of the key elements. It’s very well named because the reader is left to “figure it out”. I’ll be returning this

This is the second book by Christopher Hart that I’ve bought. The book is roughly A4 size and contains 140 pages. Christopher Hart has a series of books on human proportions and templates for drawing the human figure, male and female, clothed and nude in all sorts of poses. I think they’re great and really useful. This book is divided into sections – Drawing the head, the body, body dynamics, drawing women and drawing men. He looks at all sorts of poses, both static and dynamic, and shows easy ways to sketch out the human figure. There’s a certain amount of overlap with each book and I think if I bought any more I’d feel the same, but I like it and I’ll use it. Like his other book, he takes the reader through a logical process, his drawings are great and the narrative easy to follow with loads of examples.

This book is simply amazing and is in the style of comics and alike, the book is for beginners or someone who finds it hard to draw people. I have only done a few of the tutorials but the author, Chris Hart, makes it so simple and easy. He doesn't spend ages teaching you the anatomy of the body, or writes paragraphs for each step. He simply gives you the steps, a summary of what you are drawing, annotations on each step and a hint box per tutorial. Even the introduction section isn't paragraphed heavily. Short, sweet summaries with pictures to demostrate. Having spent money on several figure drawing books, this is by far the best. It even tops the Figure Drawing for Dummies. His other book, Figure It Out! Human Proportions is in similar style.

Chris Hart has managed to break down the body into small easily digestible components for drawing. He begins with the head showing basic and detailed proportions. Indicating the differences between males and females. Showing the difference between a realistic set of proportions and an idealised view. He then goes on to show you about poses and posture. How to draw them simply before going more detailed and accurate.Overall an excellent book for one who does not know how to draw and a decent one for those who wish to perfect their own drawings. It has helped me greatly with mine. I hope you enjoy the book too.

Present so not sure