Force byMattesi

Force Drawing Series #3

by Michael D. Mattesi

Excellent Book

Genres: Art, Drawing, Nonfiction, Design, Reference

Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Lucija]

This book has some great tips and tricks for gesture / figure drawing in the starting chapters - for those alone, I think it's very worth it. The final chapter on animal design was also very inspirational for me and helped me reconsider my process on drawing animals.

However, the actual "character design" part does not feel super instructional, more inspirational. I didn't mind it too much, but I thought it would be good to clarify in this review for people that are maybe looking for an instructional approach to character design itself. I also wonder if the starting sections in this book are covered even better in Mattesi's Force: Dynamic Life Drawing for Animators, since he seemed to refer to that book a lot - if yes, then I think that book would be a better pick overall.

[Parka · Rating 5 out of 5]

(More pictures at parkablogs.com)

Force: Character Design from Life Drawing is the second book that deals with life drawing by Mike Mattesi, the first being Force: Dynamic Life Drawing for Animators. This book also talks about character design.

The first part builds on the concepts he has taught in the previous book, which are the handling of force, space and shapes of characters. It's presented in the similar style, sketches with tips. For those who like the first book, you would probably like this one too.

The second part on character design. In addition to the sketches provided by Mike Mattesi, he has invited other character designers to contribute their work and thoughts. Photos of models are provided to them who then create their own style of work. Each artist then describes their characters in terms of acting and emotions, showing how they try to get ideas across to readers.

The guest artists are Rik Maki, Stephen Silver, Dean Yeagle, Jake Kazdal, Griselda Sastrawinata, Patrick Morgan, Ragnar, Erin Leong, Marc Perry, Teddy Newton, Steph Laberis, John Nenarez, Mike Daley, Phil Rynda and Deanna Marsigliese. They provide plenty of insights into their personal style, be it the cutout collages of Pixar artist Teddy Newton or the simple cartoon caricatures of Marc Perry.

At the end, there are also sections that talk about giving characters to architecture and animals. They are rather brief, but interesting nevertheless. For animal character designs, you can check out The Art of Animal Character Design for even more tips.

There's no one way to how character designs are done. The approach of this book is to give plenty of ideas to get you started. This book is for anyone who's looking to put more edge and style into their own characters.

[Gillyz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm an aspiring artist and by now I've done dozens of art courses and read dozens of books about art. Few of them really add something that changes my perception of the world and really helps me to improve my (still immature) art.

Chapter 2: Space with Character is something that has changed me and broke several blocks I had in designing new characters. For me if the book had only chapter 2, it'd still be worth it.

[Henrique Vogado · Rating 4 out of 5]

Um bom livro com técnicas dinâmicas para desenho de personagens e modelos vivos.
Com muitos exemplos e alguns exercícios, o livro apresenta o conteúdo de forma simples e sem grandes floreados.
O livro assenta na técnica das linhas de forças das poses do corpo humano e na criação de histórias a partir da observação directa de pessoas no seu ambiente.
Utilizando técnicas como as formas, os espaços e tamanhos se criam a profundidade do desenho e o interesse no objecto. Um bom livro para nos motivar a desenhar muito e experimentar soluções por mais estranhas que sejam.

[Vyonna Maldonado · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not worth the price tbh

Didn’t think the book and it’s content was worth the price of the book, I’d recommend one of his other books not this one.

[I Read · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book's merit is the amount of useful techniques described in efficient ways rather than slick illustrations.

Full of tips from a man who knows his craft and many inputs from other professionals also.

You can learn a lot from reading this.

[Anderson Cubillos · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you to start drawing characters this book is a great choice. Beautiful images that inspire you, and great exercises. If you know about basics like anatomy or perspective it would be better.