By: Jack Hamm Publisher: Perigee Trade Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: Perigee Trade Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 128 Publication Date: January 15, 1982
Excellent This is an excellent book, written by a man who was an absolute master of drawing. His depth of knowledge is extraordinary, as is the clarity, simplicity, and comprehensiveness of his approach. As an artist and illustrator I own many books on painting and drawing, and this is one of the best.
All of Jack Hamm's drawing how-to books are excellent I grew up reading and using Jack Hamm's "How to Draw Animals", like it was a bible. As a professional illustrator, relying heavily on realism for all my work, his books are a great introduction in learning to see correctly, to gain insight into proportion and drawing skill. Anyone who doesn't get anything out of it isn't putting the time and effort into studying the material. It will help you if you take the time to read it. I just bought this book, as a refresher, as he always has something to teach, no matter what stage of art skill you have. I recommend his books to my students all the time. Art school basics in a book.
Overrated This book is absolutely overrated. Im not very good at drawing people, and thats why I bought this of course. But it simply doesnt help. The things you learn from this book are widely spread on various free internet sites already. Really useful anatomy guides provide various angles and muscular structure of body parts, not just a childlike how-to-draw a head in front perspective from an ellipse. It doesnt help you a tiny bit on how to draw the exact same head if you want to draw it from a slightly different angle. I recommend Gottfried Brammes books, they are expensive, and they are sophisticated, but hell: they are good.
good reference There is a reason this book is still in print. Never mind that the drawings are a bit outdated. Never mind that his drawing style might not be yours; everyone needs to find their own. What matters is the instruction. His style is easy to read with just enough text to get his point across. The sections on proportion alone are worth buying this book. If you are able to "draw what you see" with the right brain, this book will help with the details of hair, musculature, clothing, facial expression, etc. This book would be a bargain at twice the price.
Draw for 15 minutes a day. Everyday. You can't beat these Jack Hamm books for learning the fundamentals of drawing. copy the drawings in these books and you'll be a master in no time.
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