Appendix B. Reference and Further Reading
Contained in this section are a number of books and Web sites that are valuable sources of reference. I have included a description for many of them; they are all worth your time to explore.
This is a magnificent book, featuring more than 250 photographs and 100 drawings depicting the human body in various poses, while focusing in on various parts in detail.
How to Draw Manga: Bodies & Anatomy, Society for the Study of Manga Techniques (Graphic-sha Publishing, 2002)
This book teaches you how to draw characters in the manga style, but it does so using some of the best and most useful illustrations I have found. Not only are these images clean and well drawn, they also examine parts of the body from different angles and poses.
Dynamic Anatomy, Burne Hogarth (Watson-Guptill Publications, 2003)
Hogarth has a unique style of drawing, one that demonstrates particularly well the surface features of musculature for figures in motion.
Human Anatomy for Artists: The Elements of Form, Eliot Goldfinger (Oxford University Press USA, 1991)
If you’re looking for an anatomical reference with a medical emphasis, this is it. Goldfinger’s book examines every muscle in the body individually, covering structure, function, and relation to the body as a whole.
Strength Training Anatomy, Frederic Delavier (Human Kinetics Publishers, 2001)
Strength Training Anatomy was created as a guide for weight lifters to show exactly how certain exercises were affecting muscle shapes and structures. For artists, the book is an excellent visual cue for how muscles work in relation to each other and how their shapes change in different circumstances.
Bridgman’s Complete Guide to Drawing from Life, George Bridgman (Sterling Publishing, 2003)
Bridgman’s approach to drawing focuses on structure, body mechanics, and rhythm lines.
Cyclopedia Anatomicae, Gyorgy Feher and Andras Szunyoghy (Black Dog and Leventhal Publishers, 1999)
Containing pencil drawings of human and animal bones and muscles, this is one of the reference books of choice for creature TDs.
Veteran animator Richard Williams has written a veritable bible for the aspiring animator. It covers every aspect of animation and is useful for both traditional and computer animators.
Teach Yourself Body Language, Gordon R. Wainwright (Hodder & Stoughton Educational Division, 1999)
Not exactly an animation book, but having knowledge on why we do what we do is essential to any animator.
The Artists Complete Guide to Facial Expressions, Gary Faigin (Watson-Guptill Publications, 1990)
This is an exhaustive reference guide to facial expressions and the psychology behind them.
Cartoon Animation, Preston Blair (Walter Foster Publishing, 1995)
Good supplemental animation book from one of the traditional masters, this book is chock full of animation breakdowns, both human and animal.
How to Draw Animation, Christopher Hart (Watson-Guptill Publications, 1997)
The Human Figure in Motion, Eadweard Muybridge (Dover Publications, 1989)
Web Sites
For those on a budget, the Internet is a rich source of reference material, home to hundreds of Web sites dedicated to various techniques and applications.
Anatomy Reference
There are hundreds of anatomy-related Web sites. Following is a selection of some of the best and most useful. (Be warned, though, most of these do contain nudes.)
Human Anatomy www.3d.sk
(Subscription required) A fantastic site developed specifically for 3D artists and game developers. This houses lots of very useful images of people in various poses and states of dress. Even better: the photographs are specifically taken with the 3D artist in mind.
Human Anatomy Pictures for Artists www.fineart.sk
The sister site of 3d.sk offers free images as well as a selection of online Andrew Loomis books to help the budding artist on a budget.
Met Art www.met-art.com
Met Art offers the largest, freshest, classiest collection of nude art and fine photography in the world.
Simple Nudes www.simplenudes.com
Online Medical Anatomy Atlas www.rad.washington.edu/atlas
Henry Gray’s Anatomy of the Human Body www.bartleby.com/107
The Bartleby.com edition of Gray’s Anatomy of the Human Body features 1,247 vibrant engravings—many in color—from the classic 1918 publication. There’s also a subject index with 13,000 entries ranging from the Antrum of Highmore to the Zonule of Zinn.
Miscellaneous References
Here are various sites that have other uses, including references for poses and general information on traditional artists and beauty analysis.
Posing Guide www.photographytips.com/page.cfm/375
(Subscription required) Although this site is aimed at photographers, it offers good advice on creating poses, as well as images ideal for posing your 3D character.
Skulls Unlimited www.skullsunlimited.com
Marquardt Beauty Analysis www.beautyanalysis.com
Art Renewal Center www.artrenewal.com
High-resolution images of classic figurative painting through the ages.
Web Gallery of Art http://gallery.euroweb.hu
The Web Gallery of Art contains over 11,600 digital reproductions of European paintings and sculptures created from 1150 to 1800. A considerable number of the pictures are commented, and there are biographies of the significant artists.
Google www.google.com
The best reference of all: Click on the Images tab, and the entire world’s collection of reference imagery is at your fingertips.
Computer Graphics
If you are interested in creating artwork for games, it’s likely that you have at least a small interest in the world of computer graphics. Here are a few Web sites I visit quite often.
CG Networks www.cgnetworks.com
CG Channel www.cgchannel.com
Polycount www.polycount.com
The original and currently best site for all things real-time. Forums, utilities, tutorials, industry news, and mod assets are just a small part of what this site has to offer.
The 10 Second Club www.10secondclub.net
Monthly animation contest, forums, and advice for aspiring animators.
Real Time CG www.realtimecg.com
Home to a very popular monthly competition sponsored by Peachpit Press and New Riders. Entrants are given a game-art-related brief each month that they must complete and submit to a panel of industry professionals. The site hopes to one day be a complete resource for the professional and aspiring game artist; this is one to watch.
Forums. The following sites are home to some of the most popular CG-related forums on the Net. Discussions span everything related to computer art and animation, so sign yourself up and post your work to get constructive feedback and help.
http://cgchar.toonstruck.com/forum/index.php is a character animation forum that evolved from the original CGCHAR mailing list.
Maya Sites
There is an enormous Maya community available online, where you’ll find excellent tutorials, scripts, and plug-ins available for free. Here are just a few sites I find useful.
Graphics Tablets
As mentioned in Chapter 9, graphics tablets are the only way to create professional 2D artwork on your home PC (along with a decent 2D graphics application, of course).
Wacom (www.wacom.com) does a nice range of graphics tablets that offer high-quality results, although they can be expensive.
Nisis (www.nisis.com) has a more affordable range of products for those on a strict budget.