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Morpho: Anatomy for Artists #2

Morpho Formes synthétiques

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The must-have guide for all artists who draw the human figure! This small, portable book presents a unique perspective on the human body for artists to study and implement in their drawing work. In this book, artist and teacher Michel Lauricella simplifies the human body into basic shapes and forms, offering profound insight for artists of all kinds, sparking the imagination and improving one’s observational abilities. Rather than going the traditional route of memorizing a repertoire of poses, Lauricella instead stresses learning this small collection of forms, which can then be combined and shaped into the more complex and varied forms and postures we see in the living body. Geared toward artists of all levels—from beginners through professionals—this handy, pocket-sized book will help spark your imagination and creativity. Whether your interest is in figure drawing, fine arts, fashion design, game design, or creating comic book or manga art, you will find this helpful book filled with actionable insights. (Publisher's Note: This book features an “exposed” binding style. This is intentional, as it is designed to help the book lay flat as you draw.)
TABLE OF CONTENTS Foreword Introduction Head and Neck Torso Upper Limbs Lower Limbs Resources

96 pages, Paperback

First published April 12, 2019

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1182 people want to read

About the author

Michel Lauricella

46 books43 followers
Michel Lauricella is a French artist who has worked at various fine arts studios in Paris and at Gobelins. He currently teaches at Lisaa and Fabrica 114 and is the author of various drawing manuals.

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5 stars
231 (63%)
4 stars
89 (24%)
3 stars
33 (9%)
2 stars
5 (1%)
1 star
6 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
Profile Image for Eblan.
4 reviews12 followers
November 21, 2019
Fantastic book. It's difficult to find art instruction books that go beyond a beginner level, but this one has that greater level of detail and complexity I've been seeking without being an overly dry anatomical book. It doesn't waste any time regurgitating the same charts and tips seen in every drawing book, but gets right to the content as advertised-- it's all meat and no fluff. The written bits are also something that tend to be very hit and miss with this genre, ranging from too clinical and complicated to a simple labeling that does little to help the reader understand what they're seeing. However, in this book, the written parts are the best of both worlds: short and to the point while still providing enlightening information. Still, while this book is great for advanced artists, I think a beginner would also find it quite accessible, given that the anatomical forms are simplified a great deal in parts-- while reading it, I wished I'd had a book like this when I was starting out. Lauricella's drawings are gorgeous and lively as always; I have one other book by him and will definitely be buying the rest in his series soon, ones which I know I will be revisiting many times in the future. My only small complaint is the physical size of the book, which is on the small side, but the images and their finer details are still entirely visible so it isn't that big of a deal.
Profile Image for Casi Baker.
2 reviews
February 24, 2023
Better books out there

What a disappointing book. I grabbed a digital copy because the reviews were good, but it’s literally just a mess of sketches, like the guy scanned pages from an old sketchbook. Speaking of which; the digital copy was in such poor quality I’m 99% certain it was scanned.
There is little in the way of explanation and all the sketches were so bunched on each page it was just distracting.
If you’re looking to just copy the guys sketches, instead of learning how to actually form your own bodies, this is for you, but I wouldn’t recommend it for anyone trying to learn anatomy properly.
Profile Image for Ali Ives.
Author 3 books10 followers
September 11, 2024
I love the Morpho books so much. As an artist who loves to draw people, understanding anatomy is a fundamental part of making my drawings work, and Michel Lauricella is fantastic at presenting tips and explanations in bite-sized, comprehensible ways. All the while accompanied by really lovely sketches.
This particular volume covers the whole body, but through the lens of simplifying the various shapes and forms of it. It's an ideal tool for helping with sketching and just generally understanding the shapes of the human body, how they all interconnect and interact. A splendid little book!
1 review
November 29, 2020
I love this book but how I tead
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Belekoroz Pestilence.
16 reviews1 follower
February 26, 2025
If you're going into art and someone recommends you this book? Don't expect it to take you far.
This is what I would deem a 'companion book', great to have for a quick reference guide in a variant of simplifying forms HOWEVER, if you are aiming for a book which goes into proper details of learning the fundamentals and what to look out for to teach the mind - you will need another book.
I want to pull a face when people suggest this to beginners because it is more suited to an intermediate level where the reader can roughly understand concepts but may be lacking in some areas than a total beginner who is looking for a book that holds the readers hand through every stage. Make sure you check through online videos/samples to see if this appeals to you, if you are tight on money and need to pick between two. Despite that I can appreciate that there is LOTS of samples, I foresee that this may come beneficial to me in the future and I too would sing high praise, but at the stage I am with realism and anatomy... not yet.
Profile Image for William.
388 reviews6 followers
March 19, 2024
This is a fine art reference book. My main gripe is the sketchiness of the example drawings. I would prefer they have a cleaner line quality for reference purposes.
My second gripe is the second paragraph in the forward:
"The proportions used in this book are that of an adult...with no distinction based on sex or age. The resulting figures are, of course, neutered and asexual..." Literally one page before (and in several examples afterward) there is a roughly sketched but clearly visible rendering of a figure with male genitalia, while there are also forms that strongly suggest a female model. I don't object to their inclusion in an art book in themselves, but I do object to the author claiming to have rendered the drawings otherwise than he has. His example suggestions make no allowance for sex or gender, but the drawings are not as neutral as he represents.
Profile Image for CMYKari.
33 reviews
July 13, 2020
Phenomenal anatomy book.

Morpho: Simplified Forms is less a "How to Draw" book, and more of a visual reference... of simplified forms, of course. It's broken down into the different parts of the body, the head, the limbs, the torso, and a little bit into the hands and feet. Michel Lauricella has other books in the Morpho series that go into more specifics that I'd also like to get my hands on eventually.

This is a wonderful book that details how different muscle groups affect one another.

5 stars, highly recommend for someone who is looking to learn past the beginner how-to, and get into the why it works.
"Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.", after all.
3 reviews
January 4, 2024
My favorite series of art instructional books I've ever found. Excellent for the amateur that wants to refine their ability, maybe not enough foundation for the beginner artist and certainly not enough anatomical depth for the scientific illustrator, but an excellent middle ground. I especially appreciate the sheer number of sketches after the preliminary run through of major elements of form. An underrated aspect is the form factor of this series, small volumes densely packed with examples and information, easy to store or carry and easy to draw from (as opposed to more detailed, but unwieldy tomes like Goldfinger's Human Anatomy for Artists).
Profile Image for Alice Schulz.
4 reviews1 follower
August 17, 2025
I wish the part about the torso was more clear when it comes to the proportions. I’m still not sure how far away I should sketch the ribcage and the box for the hips without making it either too short or too long. Also how big both of these are supposed to be compared to eachother. I also find it annoying that you have to skip to the end part to see the other sketches and notes. I think it should’ve been sorted by body parts from beginning to end. Otherwise it’s a good book to figure out the basic rules of the body.
Profile Image for Veroni.
238 reviews
March 29, 2025
Listen… Was it mostly pictures? Yes. Did I draw and redraw every page to the point where they’re burned into my brain? Well… almost. I think I will forever hate drawing hands. ⚰️

Overall, this book is a great exercise if you want to refresh your knowledge and escape the “but I need more details in my drawing” doom - something my life drawing session sketches have definitely been suffering from lately.
Profile Image for Anna.
34 reviews3 followers
January 18, 2023
This book is immensely helpful. Not only that but it’s so concise and easy to understand. It’s definitely not an overhaul education on anatomy but it’s a very good starting point, and a good return to the basics. Either way! I’ll be keeping it on hand, that is for sure! And given how helpful I found it I will absolutely be purchasing the other books in the series.
Profile Image for Hazel Nieves.
7 reviews
August 19, 2025
I have brought this with me everywhere for the past few years to study off of cuz im too broke to buy a new $11 one of this series (yet I spent $8 on boba everytime I go out, make it make sense dumbass) and it looks like its been through WW3 atp, 10/10

but also,,, “Michel Lauricella is a good guide for everything on the body except the head and face” couldn’t agree more.
Profile Image for Max Barajas .
2 reviews
February 25, 2024
Extremely helpful and accurate to portraying how muscle groups and skeletal systems move relative to each other, perfect for intermediate artists looking to grow their anatomy skill and for general reference/practice
1 review
June 16, 2024
Great book for learning the simplify forms of figure drawings.

Great book for learning to draw basic forms figure drawings. The easy steps are informative, also the parts of the human body is clearly mentioned.
Profile Image for Natalee Ryan.
17 reviews1 follower
December 22, 2021
great entry into my more formal study of anatomy. helped me gain confidence in my body proportions in a looser context.
Profile Image for Haley.
8 reviews1 follower
January 19, 2023
Really really helpful! I've been struggling to learn anatomy for a few years now, but this book definitely helped break it down for me.
Profile Image for Erik.
17 reviews
January 7, 2025
Good for breaking down the body, but reaching adequate skill still requires studying from life.
Profile Image for Leonel.
129 reviews3 followers
March 6, 2022
Excelente edição. A não perder os outros volumes.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews

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