Drawing the Head and Hands

by Andrew Loomis

The illustrator Andrew Loomis (1892-1959) is revered amongst artists - including the great American painter Norman Rockwell and comics superstar Alex Ross - for his mastery of figure drawing and clean, Realist style.

His hugely influential series of art instruction books have never been bettered.

Drawing the Head and Hands is the second in Titan's programme of facsimile editions, returning these classic titles to print for the first time in decades.

Genres: Art, Drawing, Nonfiction, Reference, Art Design, Design, Classics

154 pages, Hardcover

First published January 18, 1956

About the author

William Andrew Loomis was an American illustrator, author, and art instructor.

Reviews

[Darjeeling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grab it here bois:
https://archive.org/details/andrew-lo...

Nice introduction to the method here from a solid YouTube artist:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EPNY...

This book is all over YouTube, and for good reason.

I'm an idiot for not having read this sooner.
That's not the only thing that makes me an idiot, but it's one of the things.

p19 - 'There must be a genuine basic motive behind any genuine effort ... Search quietly and thoroughly for this basic motive, because if it is powerful enough, it will give your efforts the strength to withstand discouragement, disappointment, disillusionment, or even seeming failure.'

p103 - 'Let us say that art is truly a form of expression, and full expression cannot be limited by formula, but only guided toward greater meaning and truth.'

I disagree very strongly with the authors closing recommendation that one attend an art school. In fairness, he recommends that one attend a 'good' art school, the problem being that there may not be any of these left if one wishes to actually learn how to draw, rather than throw poop at a canvas and call it 'art'.

[Parka · Rating 5 out of 5]

(More pictures of the book on my blog)

This is the second Andrew Loomis book that publisher Titan Books has reprinted. Just like Figure Drawing for All It's Worth, this is a large format hardcover with a dust jacket. The production quality is excellent and it's a faithful reprint of the original content.

There are 5 parts to the book. The first 4 parts covers the drawing of head for men, women, babies, kids and teenagers. The last part is on drawing hands. The instructions are insightful and simple to follow. Illustrated examples are beautiful.

The section on drawing hands is not a lot but I guess still adequate enough. If you want a good book on drawing hands, check out Drawing Dynamic Hands by Burne Hogarth.

It's great that this classic is reprinted because everyone can own one now. This is a great companion book to figure drawing books. Highly recommended.

[Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is a reason why Andrew Loomis is deemed one of the best artists on teaching the fundamentals of drawing. I've been exposed to his work for a while, but it was only until recently did I decide to read one of his books.

Not only does Loomis break down the fundamentals of drawing, he explains WHY they are relevant and also adds great knowledge and experience on applying that knowledge to the working life of any artist. Given that a lot of his work has been built upon other artists after him, his advice might feel a bit outdated. But this is still a great book to keep around for anyone who is looking to improve their sensibilities and understanding of drawing.

[Chicochan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely the best resource for learning to draw the human figure.

[Clayton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the fourth Loomis book that I've read, and I'd have to admit it's the least essential one that I've read yet. That's not to say that there is nothing of value here (not to mention more beautiful art by Loomis), but in terms of nuts and bolts drawing instruction on the subject of hands and heads, there isn't as much information to learn as you might get from "Creative Illustration" or "Figure Drawing."

I'd recommend this book, but only if you've already started an Andrew Loomis section in your library first.

[Juliette · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is proving quite helpful.

I say this as someone who cannot draw heads or hands. I also cannot draw feet. In fact, I say this as someone who has zero skill or talent for drawing, and whose attempts at drawing are, as you might correctly conjecture, fuelled by varying proportions of stubbornness and delusion.

[Андріан · Rating 5 out of 5]

«Конструкція голови й обличчя залежить від того, як розставити точки вимірювання, інакше це перетворюється на ризиковану гру - поки ви вгадаєте правильно, скоїте безліч неминучих помилок»

Ця книга — мастхев для всіх, хто хоче навчитися малювати портрети. Луміс показує, що голову можна побудувати зі сфери й кількох ліній — і вона оживає в будь-якому ракурсі. А з руками він творить справжнє диво: розкладає їх на прості форми й пояснює рух так, що складна тема стає зрозумілою.

[Josi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This art reference book definitely helps get the fundamentals of mapping out the face using the structure of the bones as well as using muscles for different facial expressions. It gives you examples for men, women, children and hands. I’ll definitely flip through this every once in a while for practice but skip the long chapters of non useful paragraphs.

If you’re looking to draw more realistic portraits and hands, this book will for sure help you. If you want a more simplified look, then it will at least give you the fundamentals of mapping out the face and hands.

[JordanDunn · Rating 1 out of 5]

I think this book is a really good book for people who want to learn how to draw hands and heads and I like this book because it helps me get ideas of drawing and I really like the person who explains this.
I chose this book because I'm interested in art and drawing.
I learned how to draw head and hands from this book.

[Helsean K. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Loomis' books! They always offer in-depth understanding of every drawing subject! Portraits in this book are fascinating and I've not seen a book so detailed as this one on drawing different age groups. Highly recommended for portrait artists who don't want their works to look photographic, but at the same time beautiful in an artistic sense.

[Leftoverteeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Buna pentru intelegerea formelor exterioare ale capului si a mainilor, iti ofera un punct solid de plecare indiferent in ce stadiu te aflii.
E de apreciat faptul ca a abordat fizionomia umana precum si extremitatile superioare din mai multe etape ale vietii, te poate ajuta sa intelegi felul in care functioneaza ridurile (si felul in care pielea incepe sa atarne si sa curga de la o anumita varsta) dar si diferentele mai evidente, dintre fizionomia unui copil si cea a unui adult, dar si mai subtile dintre chipurile de adult si om varstnic. Felul in care Loomis ilustreaza adolescentii si adultii tineri duce spre idealizare, si urmeaza un anumit arhetip de frumusete al vremii. De asemenea, modul in care deseneaza mainile este superb, si ai ce invata totusi de la el.
Ce voi critica, bineinteles, este lipsa diversitatii (din foarte multe p.d.v) de care dau dovada studiile sale, dar asta are de-aface cu perioada in care acesta s-a afirmat ca artist si a publicat aceste carti. Have fun, axati-va pe capitole care va intereseaza in momentul actual.

[jessie · Rating 4 out of 5]

the ending message is actually so sweet

[Bilal Saleem · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extremely useful but no one is reading that long pages lol. The methods are amazing

[Mitch B · Rating 3 out of 5]

The one that everyone knows, but few have read in full. The hands are featured but you didn't come for Loomis hands (There alright but their lacking in detail), you came for his heads. "The Loomis Method" very popular, a must know. My main complaint is that it's too basic in it's explanations and barely covers anything, Barely has anything on the features (Ear's, Nose, Eye's, Hair, etc) and lacks "Teacher Correction" to help developing artists with common issues.

[Lorena Da Silva · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book helped me in my animation classes, understanding the hands and the proportion of the head in general. I always struggle with hands, but this book was very useful to practice in my sketchbook. Always practice drawing your own hand.

I still struggle with perspective drawings of humans, but I can always open the book and look for references of the perspective of the head and face

[jesse]

back to the basics.

[Fafiliebe ♥ Warner ♥ Raffe ♥ · Rating 5 out of 5]

andrew is amazing,, he helped me alot

[مرتضى قاسم · Rating 5 out of 5]

naise

[Fonsu · Rating 1 out of 5]

Useless, not intuitive, constructing approach is too vague. Hampton's 'Figure drawing design and invention' is much better at it.

[Pranabesh Mondal · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pages Are Devastatingly de-arranged

The book is no doubt best,but kindle version is just waste of money, Pages Are Devastatingly de-arranged.
I want to refund it and buy hard copy.

[JW7 · Rating 5 out of 5]

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[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read (study) for anyone interested in learoro draw the head and it's features!
Though not going into deep detail about the anatomical components which make up the head, the book gives an excellent foundation in drawing heads from all angles, placing its major features, and developing a proportionately pleasing one--a great beginning for those who are beginners, and a good support for those who are more advanced. And for those who are more advanced, likely having drawn heads and faces on other methods before, Loomis still manages to give good advice and a streamlined process which would benefit anyone in either introducing a new way of thinking of the skull, muscles, and facial features, or merely something useful to add to one's repertoire.
Absolutely recommended!

[Gerardo Calizaya · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have had this book on my shelve for close to two years now. Just like with many other reference books I own, I would only read specific parts.

This year I decided to read it from first page to last. It took only one day as the version that I own has a lot of the original illustrations (referred in the book as plates) counting for more than a third of the 150 pages.

I believe this book is brilliant, it has a nice flow and the illustrations are easy to follow. The language shows the age of the book. I would strongly recommend it. A very good book for everyone wishing to put together a reference library on drawing.

[Michaela Vondráčková · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think it's a basic must-read for all artists that start with "Loomis method", but at the same time... I have more questions about this method and I didn't find answers in this book. I understood some things by practice and now I can say I can use it well, but this is definitely NOT the only one book you should read and go through if you wanna draw well, head, hands, whatever. I think the more you practice, the more you will understand and it's good to have a starting point like this book at hand.

[Sera · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Loomis method is brilliant and it truly helps a lot. The first half of this book is pretty decent and worth it. But the second half, not so much. The part about women, children and hands is pretty lacking.

Also, I know this book is a product of its time, the major sexism throughout this book when talking about drawing women and the assumption that all artists are men still annoyed the hell out of me. In all honesty, proko's videos about the Loomis method helped me more than this book did.

[Suphatra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel so lucky that Andrew Loomis’ books have been reprinted recently, otherwise I would have never gotten his instruction except for maybe in a college art class. Known since the 1950s as America’s greatest illustrator, Loomis’ genius definitely shines in this book. You can actually sit and read the text without doing the exercises and get a lot just from the text, because Loomis writes beautifully about the the human form, the nature of light, and the spirit of the artist. If you are able to grab this reprint, do it! A great rare find for every artist’s book collection.

[Liliana Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

*Drawing the Head and Hands* by Andrew Loomis is a classic art instruction book that has guided generations of artists in mastering portrait and figure drawing. First published in the mid-20th century, this essential guide delves into the intricacies of head and hand anatomy, proportion, and expression. Loomis’s clear, realist style and step-by-step approach make this book a timeless resource for aspiring and professional artists alike. This facsimile edition brings back a treasured classic, ensuring its valuable lessons continue to inspire.

[Julie R]

Organized oddly, and openly targeted toward men aspiring to be commercial advertising artists. All the pertinent information was with “drawing men’s heads” and then each section following (drawing women’s heads, children’s, etc) we’re just how to modify your method for drawing men’s heads. That along with the overall tone gave the book a persistent misogynistic feel.

The main reason I picked this up was to learn Loomis Method from the source. He refers to this as Ball and Plane and only briefly touches on it.

[Mario · Rating 3 out of 5]

un libro bastante util como introduccion al dibujo de la cabeza, loomins logra ilustrar muy bien como diseccionar el rostro a la hora de dibujarlo y entenderlo.

Aunque al hablar de ilustraciones explicativas podemos quedarnos cortos si buscamos entender la anatomia de la cabeza por capas, osamenta, musculatura y piel, debido a que loomins hace uso de bloques para figurar el rostro, algo muy practico pero que puede quedarse corto.

[Anna Morgenstern · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5\5
I love this one, it's very detailed and explains matters very efficiently albeit not hard to understand.
The only critique that I have for this book is that you can definitely tell it's an old one, given how only the men have facial expressions whilst the women tend to stay still, smiling, and docile. That being said, if you were to make a "must-have" art book list, this one hits one of the top spots.
Would highly, highly recommend!