5 Comments

1. Matthew Pulido— August 5, 1996 at 6:54 am

   I am an artist by trade. I grew up wanting to draw comics. Since getting an art (illustration)degree I have used my talent mainly on local adds and a few small book projects. But I still read comics, and draw them when I can.

   I stumbled on this book in Barnes & Noble’s one day, and flipped through it and it’s counter part on Cutting Edge Comics. Both impressed me, so I picked this one up and put the other on my short list.

   Anatomy is a tricky subject. I studied it in college, and a have a decent understanding. I own several other anatomy books, and even the art ones seem more for doctors than artists. And lets face it, comic book characters arn’t built like normal people. All that said, I think this book does a wonderful job of laying out the muscle groups, explaining how they work, and exagerating them for comic book use. Both scientific and common terms are used, everything is in plain english, and there are plenty of examples. While at times it seems more like a referance guide than a how to book, that isn’t really a problem. Every great artist knows the value of good referances. Over all the art is of an above average quality, with a few gems here and there. While it may not be as flashy as some of the best art currently being published in comics, it’s still clear, well done, and easily gets it’s point accross.

   I don’t think an young artist can go wrong giving this book a look.
   Rating: 4 / 5
2. sarah palaszynski— August 5, 1996 at 9:23 am

   i am an illustrator and a recent art college graduate and i actually found this book very informative and helpful.

   i was surprised by the negative reviews of the book because i saw it as a very adequete refresher course of the lessons and ideas i learned in my classes while majoring in Illustration.

   it covers 7 (and sometimes 9 and 12) head anatomy, muscles and how they react while in action, facial muscles, veins, and skeletal structure.

   it also covers important details like body language, eye structure, LIGHT SOURCES, and surface mapping (to get an impression of the form and dimension s of the body).

   i’m actually using a few sections of this book in a con-ed cartooning class for children i’m teaching at the moment.

   i’d recommend the book if you want a quick run through of the differnt ideas for constructing the comicbook ideal of anatomy. from these ideals you can branch out into your own style and make it your own.
   Rating: 4 / 5
3. S. Ventimiglia— August 5, 1996 at 9:36 am

   …but I’ve been drawing ever since this book arrived!

   “Drawing Cutting Edge Anatomy” is: 1/3 “Gray’s Anatomy”, 1/3 “Dynamic Figure Drawing”, and 1/3 “How To Draw Comics The Marvel Way” – three essential reference books for the serious illustrator.

   This has to be the most complete book for those who want to dive right in and start drawing proper anatomy. For me, I’ve always understood the principle anatomical structure of the human body – but there would be some improvising when it came to certain areas of the legs, back, shoulders, or forearms. Hart lays it all out and makes sense of some of the areas of the body you may not be completely familiar with. He also shows you how every muscle bends, stretches and works in conjunction with the other muscles around it (very important if you plan to draw a lot of poses and sequential art, like you would see throughout a 32 page comic book.)

   Whether you simply want to learn how to draw comic book type figures, or you’re a professional lookng to refine their skills, there’s a surprising amount of depth within this book and even seasoned artists may be reminded of a thing or two they may have forgotten over the years.
   Rating: 5 / 5
4. Young Artist— August 5, 1996 at 11:39 am

   I am a 15-year-old and have been interested in drawing comic book art for a few years now. I started out buying How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way. It was really good, yes because well-established comic book artist wrote it, but it didn’t really grab my attention. Then, I saw How to Draw Cutting Edge Comics. This book really got me into drawing comic book characters. Then, I saw that he had a new book, How to Draw Cutting Edge Anatomy. I was especially excited because drawing the actual people interested me more than drawing anything else in comics. I quickly looked through it and bought it. I have never looked back.
   
   It honestly taught me so much. It starts with skeletal structure which, I believe, has to be the first thing an artist needs to learn before learning the rest of the anatomy. Then, it goes on to basic muscles. After this, it has many sections focusing on different muscle groups and parts of the body. While the pictures do help, it was what he wrote that helped. They way he explains what the muscles look like and how they move is very understandable. I loved it.
   
   I have been looking for an anatomy book that’s at least moderately clean – I’m just not comfortable with drawing nude figures; I just want to draw comics. There are not very many comic book drawing books out there that focus on anatomy and are still modest. This one does a great job of it and it is one of the cleanest ones I have found. Some of the pictures of the girls are seductive and immodest, but I try to not focus on that. There’s so much more to learn in this book!
   
   The styles of other how-to-draw-comics just didn’t catch my attention like this one did. You see, I don’t want to develop a Stan Lee or George Perez style, I want my own. Learning from an author that isn’t an established artist in the comic book world seemed to ease the pressure of making my style like his. All I can say is that I love this book. It has its flaws, yes, but every how-to-draw book has its flaws. I read this drawing book, and others, but especially this one, to help me draw better. What can I say? I love it!
   Rating: 4 / 5
5. D. Flaws— August 5, 1996 at 2:34 pm

   Once again Christopher Hart cashes in. Look at how many how to books he’s done. And none of them as good as the people he’s trying to emulate. His drawings are flawed and do not demonstrate the concepts the text is trying to get across. To be a good artist you need to hear the right things but you need much more to SEE the right things. Mr. Hart just doesn’t draw that well and he doesn’t understand the concepts himself.

   To learn anatomy I’d recommend Strength Training Anatomy by Frederic Delavier, any George Bridgman anatomy books, Artistic Anatomy by Richer and Hale, Human Anatomy for Artists by Goldfinger(pricy and advanced)and of course How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way for aspiring comic artists. Also a new book by the comic magazine Wizard: Wizard: How to Draw looks good but I haven’t picked it up myself yet. Perhaps this book will inspire a young artist who won’t notice the poor quality for many years but even for the very young there are better books out there. As an art teacher and always a student, Hart’s books offend me. He owes it to the profession to improve himself before putting out another volume of trash but unfortunately he’s likely got another 4 or 5 books already done for the year. On such a tight schedule anyone would be hard-pressed to put out a quality book. Consumers need to vote with their purchase, don’t encourage trash like this.
   Rating: 1 / 5