Drawing People

by Barbara Bradley

Draw Natural and Believable Clothed Figures

In Drawing People , award-winning illustrator and instructor Barbara Bradley provides all the information you need to render clothed human figures with energy, detail and control.

Bradley begins by teaching the basics of any drawing, including proportion, perspective and value. Next, you'll learn how to overcome the special challenges posed by clothing, including fabric folds and draping effects. Bradley illustrates how they're constructed and how to draw them in different situations—on male and female figures that are active or at rest.

These reliable, proven drawing techniques will add a natural feel to your art, resulting in figures that look as if they could walk, run or dance right off the page.

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

176 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2003

Reviews

[Lily · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pretty good book for learning the basics of how to draw people. It starts with some fundamentals of anatomy, progresses through how to capture different postures and viewing angles, and concludes with a lot of advice on how to draw different types of clothing. I appreciated the emphasis on how to convey emotion/expression through gesture, and how to select the most important details to get the job done. I would've liked a bit more about anatomy, but I can't complain too much since there are other books entirely focused on that. I do think I've improved a lot thanks to this book.

[Parka · Rating 4 out of 5]

(More pictures at parkablogs.com)

While the title gives the idea that the main topic would be on drawing clothes and drapery, only 2 chapters out of the 6 are actually on that, which is about 60 pages out of 176 pages. It should have be simply titled "Drawing People" without that subhead.

Having said that, this is actually quite a good book on figure drawing for beginners.

You won't learn stuff like anatomy drawing, not the technical stuff anyway, but you get plenty of tips on drawing and creating good figure drawings. There are topics on proportion, perspective, value, rhythm and a bit on drawing head and hands.

The chapters on drawing clothes and drapery while short are still pretty good. They cover the different type of folds and how they are created. There are also fabric, hats and shoes.

Explanations in the book are helpful but stop short of giving a step-by-step tutorial on how you can actually draw them yourself. It's more of an idea book, one that would make a good complementary to an anatomy book.

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent addition to my figure drawing library. Bradley offers a wealth of well illustrated techniques and ideas. Although similar in content to many of Hogarth's figure drawing books, the information is presented in a slightly different manner. This presentation is probably more helpful for a learner who requires a less analytical approach to figure drawing.

[Erika Hayes · Rating 3 out of 5]

NOthing special. Same five pages of supplies and paper review. Then some things about how this artist draws. For me.. NOt so much beginner beginner sure they will love it.

[Shawna · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book for learning (or remembering) how folds work in clothing- all the different types of folds and how folds work when clothes are draped on a human. An excellent book for illustrators.

[Elise · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic book for anyone trying to improve their drawing skills. I have had it for years and I still always pull it out whenever I have a project involving portraying people.

[Donyae Coles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good techniques and examples for drawing bodies that have clothing on them.

[Cerozart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fatto molto bene e con un sacco di consigli utili su come disegnare le persone.

[Sadie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fairly good book for people looking to improve their drawing skills. It's definitely better suited for a beginner or intermediate; I think advanced artists would have difficulty finding something they hadn't seen before in here.

It does waste a lot of pages on that annoying intro portion that tells you what tools you need and how to hold a pencil and blah blah blah. Trust me, if you've read one of those intros then you've basically read them all.

I received this as a gift from a family member so it's not something I would purchase for myself. It's a little too specific for my taste and some of the instruction focuses on teaching how to draw one particular drawing rather than skills that you could use to make your own art. However, I think it's best to just learn figure drawing from unclothed figures and then develop a feel for fabrics and textures once you have your anatomy down.

[Natasha]

I didn't read this whole book or anything, so I just marked it as "to-read".
I got it for Christmas once, and while I like it, I'll just warn other people who are interested in reading it, that it has some... strange drawings in it. There are immodestly clothed people, and a few unclothed figures as well. Uh, so I wouldn't recommend it too guys, because the inappropriate things are of women.

Otherwise it seems to be a good book! :)

[Carolina]

You wanna learn how to draw? You wanna learn how to look at stuff and then draw it? Even if it's not that great? Then this book will be good enough. Barbara shows you how to use a sketchbook, how to hold a pencil or pen or whatever you use to draw, and how to just appreciate life around you by doodling a couple folks. The book itself is art because the artwork inside is fantastic. This is a 10/10 coffee table book. Make this your next Book of the Month if you have one of those in your clubs.

[Leonard Pierce · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this when I was making an utterly misguided attempt to learn to draw. It seems fine.

[Ted]

art instruction,drawing people,drawing clothing,how to

[Chris Male · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not the best choice for beginners. But it can be with continual practice. I keep it near my workspace as a reminder or quick reference.

[Nikki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Still mulling over its usefulness.

[Heidi Melby Lyseggen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book

Many good tips on drawing
I only miss a few concrete assignments to practice
I can recommend this book
.

[Patsy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has helped me with how to see things and with technique.