[kaiserb]

What is on my bookshelf???


A lot of books ... see picture


In order of usefulness:

Atlas of Human Anatomy for the Artist (Stephen Rogers Peck)

Atlas of Facial Expression (Stephen Rogers Peck)

Carving the Human Face (Jeff Phares), with great photography by Marc Featherly

Carving Facial Expressions (Ian Norbury)

Drawing the Head and Figure (Jack Hamm)

How to Draw The Figure (James Horton)

[decoycarve]

I like Jack Lamms books on drawing. I also keep one of those wooden maniguins they sell in art supply stores. Mr Bones is helpful a lot of times when I am trying to get a santa proportioned right. And yes I have cut paper robes and held them up to him to get things right. The things us carvers will do to get it right.

Squbrigg,
What no "Jackstay"

Goody

[Mitchell]

I have lots of books on carving and on art (general stuff). I also have a couple of books on on cartooning, but rarely use them much anymore. I actually use my own imagination and "try" to make an idea fit into a carving. I like to doodle with the wood to make something instead of trying to turn the wood into a prearranged idea.

If some of these turn out half way decent, then I'll try to make something bigger and more detailed. I do sometimes refer back to the books when I want to go "bigger and more detailed" as needed. Many of the books are listed above by others.

[Anthony Filetti]

...got that one right away, great for expressions and head positioning!!

[Anthony Filetti]

I am pretty much like you Mitchell in that I have outgrown some of my reference material. I have carved for years but mostly from someone else's work. I am in the process of expanding my own creativity and being able to express my twisted sense of humor. Like the others mentioned "people watching" is a great reference, since no two of us are alike. I wonder how many of you have noticed that as humans age the more there character comes out. In caricature it's the exageration of the human features but I heard somewhere that our ears and nose keep growing as we age all the while we get shorter after reaching our mid-30's.

I am now focusing on the artistic aspect of my carvings as well in that I am working on composition. By this I mean how I create a scene and place the figures within. I agree the "net" is a great place to learn some of this but I also believe that my art is the sum of all my learning and each of the posts herein contribute towards that end.

I should have clarified earlier that the reason for the post is not that i am looking for one particular item, it was to see how other skilled artists achieve their success. I also love to read and wish I had more time. But I also find that ideas for carvings can come with the twist of a phrase...

...thanks for everyone's input and for those who haven't responded chime in, I can only benefit from your input! Thanks.

[Anthony Filetti]

Liferescue (Bob),

Just purchased a copy of "Fun with a Pencil", thanks for the heads up I think this will work well in my reference libraray! Still waiting for a deal on heads and hands though as some of the folks get carried away with their pricing...

[Just Carving]

Glad to help. Loomis' books are very helpful. And of course, it 's always good to get another perspective on drawing.