How to Draw People by Jeff Mellem

How to Draw People by Jeff Mellem ISBN-13: 9781440353161 Paperback: 128 pages Publisher: North Light Books Released: April 24, 2018

Source: Review copy from the publisher.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
In How to Draw People, author Jeff Mellem teaches beginning artists how to draw the human figure, from stick figure to anatomically accurate person, in clear, easy-to-follow lessons. More than just a reference, this book provides the step-by-step instruction to teach you to draw the human figure and the anatomical knowledge to draw it realistically.

In each chapter, called "levels," you'll learn core concepts for drawing the human figure. Each new chapter builds on the previous one to give you the skills you need to add complexity to your drawing. By the end of each chapter, you will be able to draw the figure with greater detail. By the end of Level 5, you will be able to draw an expressive figure with defined muscle groups in a variety of poses both real and imagined. With clear step-by-step demonstrations and check-ins along the way, How to Draw People is the beginner's guide to drawing realistic figures.


My Review:
How to Draw People is an art book on how to draw human figures. The author teaches this by using a 5 level method that introduces figure drawing in a simple way and builds up to a fully realistic figure. The first level involves learning to draw an advanced stick figure--first just getting all the parts down, then trying to get the parts in proportion--and also learning to do gesture drawing. The second level involves drawing a simplified skeleton. The third level is a more refined figure using merged boxes and cylinders to create the volume of the figure. The fourth level adds on the largest, outer muscle structures. The fifth level is drawing a fully realistic human figure.

The last two levels took up much of the book as they illustrated the outer anatomy of the body and how to draw it. Each chapter had exercises for you to practice until you master that level of drawing. There were step-by-step demonstrations for each new skill or body part. I have read the whole book but am currently working on level four. I feel like the book has helped boost my confidence and my drawing skill in figure drawing. Overall, I'd recommend this book to beginners in figure drawing.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


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