Force: Dynamic Life Drawing

Force Drawing Series #2

by Michael D. Mattesi

Bring your artwork to life with the power of the FORCE! Watch, listen, and follow along as Mike Mattesi demonstrates the fundamental FORCE line and explains dynamic figure drawing techniques through 30 videos that are launched through the book's companion App.

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

ebook

First published August 1, 2006

Reviews

[Dooz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my gosh, this book. It really was a game-changer for my drawing. Academic figure drawing is very stiff. It took a book about animation to bring out the natural beauty and flow of the human figure. Animation has a tendency to be poo-poo'd as being a lesser art. I disagree - animators have the difficult job of making a complex machine like the human body visually interesting without the luxury of detail. There are none better qualified than they to point out how to portray motion in the figure.

This isn't a how-to book on figure drawing. For that, I recommend Jack Hamm, George Bridgman, and Burne Hogarth. This book concerns itself with the concept of a body's natural "forces," such as gravity, motion, and thrust (stop giggling).

These are very simple drawings that break down the body's motion into its most basic forms. An excellent book for the serious art student.

[Parka · Rating 5 out of 5]

(More pictures at parkablogs.com)

Here's a very useful book not just for animators, but for anyone who do character drawings. It's called Force: Dynamic Life Drawing for Animators, authored by Michael D. Mattesi.

First of all, this is a book for intermediate and advanced artists. Foundational knowledge of anatomy is required to fully appreciate and follow along with the lessons.

This book is about creating realistic poses for life drawing. Examples show how forces inside the body and outside (gravity or objects) act on the human figure, and how the body reacts to the force.

There are lots of tips and illustrated examples on strong and memorable poses, such as the using of structure and form, overlaps, foreshortening, silhouettes etc. The explanations are clear and simple, even very sketchy illustrated examples bring the point across with very few lines.

While many instructional drawing books teaches how to draw, this book teaches how to think before drawing. Whenever I draw, I always remind myself of the tips to help prevent my characters from being too static.

Additionally, there are also chapters on handling clothing, drawing on location and drawing animals.

The companion website for this book is at drawingforce.com.

Mike Mattesi is the owner and founder of Entertainment Art Academy based in Southern California. He has been a professional artist and instructor for the last fifteen years with Disney, Marvel Comics, Hasbro Toys, ABC, Microsoft, Electronics Arts, Dreamworks and Nickelodeon.

[Anelis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly enjoyed this one.

I've had figure drawing lessons, mostly as a prerequisite to enter the school of fine arts I graduated from but also as a student there. I'd given up drawing for some years now, in favor of other arts, and recently started getting into the habit of daily sketching again. This book was immensely helpful. I felt it saved me bucket-loads of time and helped me find my form quicker and more efficiently than i would have had I gone at it by myself.

It goes through the basics of figure drawing. Mainly concerned with lines, forces and perspective techniques - there isn't much if anything at all on shading and volumes through textures/colors/shadows. It's best if you couple it with figure drawing poses from online resourses (I've found at least 2 youtube channels dedicated to this) so you'll immediately put to practice the lessons you learn.

It was a joy to look, read and study it. I plan to refresh the lessons taught in a few months. Definitely recommended.

[Alec Longstreth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I purchased this book because an animator I follow recommended it. The book is overpriced, presumably because it has a companion app that is supposed to pull up drawing videos while you are reading it. When I purchased this book in 2021 the app did not work. I saw on the author's website that people outside of the USA (who can't get the app) could email a photo of them holding the book to unlock the same videos on the author's website, so I sent in a photo of me with the book, and the author kindly unlocked the videos for me.

All of that hassle aside, I did not connect with this book. I carefully read every page and watched all the videos on my computer and still could not tell you with any confidence what the difference is between applied and directional FORCE (the word "force" is capitalized every time it appears in this book....). This is perhaps due to my own inability to wrap my head around the various analogies provided (skiing around the figure, driving around the figure, riding a rollercoaster, etc), or just the fact that I was unable to put these ideas into practice (i.e. drawing from the figure) while I was reading it during the pandemic. But I believe there was room for greater clarity in the explanations and examples, especially in a book that has been in print for 10+ years.

[Clint · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just the book I was looking for! I wanted an instructional-type book that didn't start off with blind-contour drawing and lead into "using a grid." This is not an art book for someone who wants to learn to draw; this is a book for someone who wants to learn to draw better. Coming from an animation background, Mattesi pushes some ideas I really like that focus on making the drawing come alive. His approach is less "draw what you see," and more "understand what you see and give it an opinion." I borrowed this book from the library, but I'm going to acquire it and add it to my personal library -- I can't say enough nice things about it.

[Seth · Rating 5 out of 5]

delicious anatomical knowledge expressed thru the framework of force is so sexy that it might make me want to engage with art again, sob. gesture and form are my favorite favorite aspects of life drawing, & this is such an engaging bridge between them, a v exciting pov to practice from, lkjadfh literally worth a buy just to look at this man's drawings.

[Faith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely a great read for every artist who wants to bring more life and meaning to their drawings! Less of a step by step how to draw book and more of a “why to draw” book. Would re-read
Don’t recommend this book for pure beginners but it’s great for artists who are familiar with drawing foundations.

[ania · Rating 5 out of 5]

a joyful guide that teaches you to draw with feeling and understanding, to perceive things with a critical eye, to carry your thoughts into shapes

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of a basic book. Used it in my college figure drawing class for animation. I loved the expressive art, but it does VERY LITTLE to teach you about real anatomy. It's really a book for developed artists to learn how to take their already great core fundamentals of anatomy and skew them for animation and exaggerated/expressive illustration. I do NOT recommend beginner artists to get this book if they want a serious book that will teach them proportional anatomy/ realistic anatomy. AMAZING book for animators, just make sure your conception of anatomy is solid before breaking all the rules and experimenting with exaggerated pose.

[Antonia Rusu · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best drawing books I've ever come across. If you read 'The natural way to draw' by Kimon Nicolaides and liked it, this is the next step. It teaches you how to see the underlying force of model and use it to build a solid lifelike figure.
I'd been trying to learn anatomy and to work from references in order to draw realistic figures from memory, but my work was too stiff. This book is for anyone who has the ability to draw from observation and wishes to take it further.

[Void lon iXaarii · Rating 3 out of 5]

very cool drawings and probably great way to think for some people but i just can't seem to wrap my mind about the multiple uses and meanings of the used word "force"/can't turn it into something my brain can use as I just get confused when it sometimes means a force like in physics/gravity, other times directionality and other times energy and "rhythm" type stuff.

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Took a short 4-class teaser from the author. Thought it was interesting but I prefer to draw from gesture/silhouette and found this a little idealistic at times.

[Evan Lidestri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably one of the more useful books on the praxis of drawing. Aside from the slightly over-the-top branding in Matessi’s FORCE series, he is correct. Applying the intentional presence of force to drawings creates a palpable intrigue that is obvious to any onlooker — even ones without training or a discerning eye. The concepts are simple and easy to replicate and it does improve one’s work, if applied. It definitely did for me.

[ieat · Rating 5 out of 5]

What makes this book great is the way it helps you build a mental framework through true understanding. It doesn't just tell you to use rhythm and C, I, D shapes, it explains why. I'm glad to see a book that knows that how you think about things is so very important as opposed to just having technical knowledge. It finally made it click for me.

[Helsean K. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cannot begin to describe what a magnificent effect this book had on my drawing! Every artist MUST give it a try! Especially if you are suffering from statue-like lifelessness and stiffness in your drawings.

[Kim Barsegyan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has taught me what all the other books that focus on the academic technicality of drawing didn't even try: How to focus on the experience of the act of drawing itself and shed all your fears and uncertainties as a result. Invaluable.

[Hanieh Salehi · Rating 4 out of 5]

a very good start in figure drawing. first 3 chapters were most useful. I didn't go through the rest carefully. Once you get the concept of force, then you can use it in drawing everything.

[Vinh · Rating 4 out of 5]

10th anniversary edition

[Daniela Kazarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't knew about gesture before reading this book. It changed my way of sketching.

[Alexandra Wahlroos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for understanding force and rhythm in the human body. Useful for life drawing and animation.

[Megangoldberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

This conversation is captivating, but the secrets whispered on skin are even more enticing. Ready to explore them... metaphorically, of course, with a slow touch that lingers.

[Sarah Wardles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally finished. Loved it. Will read his others books as well.

[Clifford Crose · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book has so much good information, that I definitely will be making a study of the lessons. For me as amateur artist, Mr. Mattesi help free my mind in the way I looked a drawing. He speaks of a pyramid of hierarchy (levels of detail). At the top is just capturing the gesture, then as the drawing develops, more details are added. I knew this but visually seeing it helps me from getting stuck on the wheel of detail. Lastly, the chapters build on one another. So what was learned can be applied as new material is presented. If you want a great way to re-fresh you artistic MOJO, get this book! It will help develop, hone, and improve your skills, no matter what level you are at.

[T. Alan Newton · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’ve taken an online FORCE drawing course through New Masters Academy, which was very informative and improved my figure drawing. Unfortunately, as others have noted, without the accompanying videos, the book has very little practical information (and I read the book after I took the class). You could maybe cobble together some useful information from YouTube videos, but for what this book costs you really shouldn’t have to do that. You’re probably better served saving your money and putting it toward one of the online classes.

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

eddig a legjobb/leghasznosabb rajzolós könyv, amit találtam, bár inkább haladóknak szól, akik nagyon tudják az anatómiát, és már gyakorlottak a life-drawing-ban. persze kezdők is tudnak belőle hasznosítani 1-2 dolgot, ha meg valaki olyannal akar foglalkozni, amihez kicsit is kell tudni rajzolni, akkor ez kötelező könyv.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

This may sound dramatic, but this book changed the way I look at life drawing. Because models are still the entire pose, you kinda look upon them as frozen statues. But this book smashes that notion and teaches you how to look for all the forces flowing freely through the model even when they’re entirely still.

FORCE is a must read for any artist trying to capture life and its energy.

[Toby · Rating 5 out of 5]

changed my life... Seriously this book opened my eyes to push my drawings and see things I didn't before while drawing. The Force has had a HUGE influence on me!

[Greg Tatum · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great ideas on figure drawing. I think it was worth it just for his advocacy of china marker on newsprint which is amazing.

[Safoura]

Excellent book

[M0rningstar · Rating 4 out of 5]

The text can be vague and rambling, but it's still a worthwhile read. Works best if at least somewhat familiar with anatomy.