Drawing the Head and Hands by Andrew Loomis

Drawing the Head and Hands Reviews

• 
  Darjeeling

  Grab it here bois:
  
  https://archive.org/details/andrew-lo...
  
  Nice introduction to the method here from a solid YouTube artist:
  
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EPNY...
  
  This book is all over YouTube rn, and for good reason.
  Still working my way through it, so this review is a work in progress.
  
  I'm an idiot for not having read this sooner.
  That's not the only thing that makes me an idiot, but it's one of the things.
  
  p19 - 'There must be a genuine basic motive behind any genuine effort ... Search quietly and thoroughly for this basic motive, because if it is powerful enough, it will give your efforts the strength to withstand discouragement, disappointment, disillusionment, or even seeming failure.'
  
  p103 - 'Let us say that art is truly a form of expression, and full expression cannot be limited by formula, but only guided toward greater meaning and truth.'
  
  I disagree very strongly with the authors closing recommendation that one attend an art school. In fairness, he recommends that one attend a 'good' art school, the problem being that there may not be any of these left if one wishes to actually learn how to draw, rather than throw poop at a canvas and call it 'art'.
• 
  Parka

  
  
  (More pictures of the book on my blog)
  
  This is the second Andrew Loomis book that publisher Titan Books has reprinted. Just like
  Figure Drawing for All It's Worth, this is a large format hardcover with a dust jacket. The production quality is excellent and it's a faithful reprint of the original content.
  
  There are 5 parts to the book. The first 4 parts covers the drawing of head for men, women, babies, kids and teenagers. The last part is on drawing hands. The instructions are insightful and simple to follow. Illustrated examples are beautiful.
  
  The section on drawing hands is not a lot but I guess still adequate enough. If you want a good book on drawing hands, check out
  Drawing Dynamic Hands by Burne Hogarth.
  
  It's great that this classic is reprinted because everyone can own one now. This is a great companion book to figure drawing books. Highly recommended.
• 
  Patrick

  There is a reason why Andrew Loomis is deemed one of the best artists on teaching the fundamentals of drawing. I've been exposed to his work for a while, but it was only until recently did I decide to read one of his books.
  
  Not only does Loomis break down the fundamentals of drawing, he explains WHY they are relevant and also adds great knowledge and experience on applying that knowledge to the working life of any artist. Given that a lot of his work has been built upon other artists after him, his advice might feel a bit outdated. But this is still a great book to keep around for anyone who is looking to improve their sensibilities and understanding of drawing.
• 
  Chicochan

  Absolutely the best resource for learning to draw the human figure.
• 
  Clayton

  This is the fourth Loomis book that I've read, and I'd have to admit it's the least essential one that I've read yet. That's not to say that there is nothing of value here (not to mention more beautiful art by Loomis), but in terms of nuts and bolts drawing instruction on the subject of hands and heads, there isn't as much information to learn as you might get from "Creative Illustration" or "Figure Drawing."
  
  I'd recommend this book, but only if you've already started an Andrew Loomis section in your library first.
• 
  Josi

  This art reference book definitely helps get the fundamentals of mapping out the face using the structure of the bones as well as using muscles for different facial expressions. It gives you examples for men, women, children and hands. I’ll definitely flip through this every once in a while for practice but skip the long chapters of non useful paragraphs.
  
  If you’re looking to draw more realistic portraits and hands, this book will for sure help you. If you want a more simplified look, then it will at least give you the fundamentals of mapping out the face and hands.
• 
  Helsean K.

  I love Loomis' books! They always offer in-depth understanding of every drawing subject! Portraits in this book are fascinating and I've not seen a book so detailed as this one on drawing different age groups. Highly recommended for portrait artists who don't want their works to look photographic, but at the same time beautiful in an artistic sense.
• 
  jesse

  back to the basics.
• 
  Fafiliebe ♥ Warner ♥ Raffe ♥

  andrew is amazing,, he helped me alot
• 
  Aja

  Pretty good overview of how to draw the face and hands from basic shapes and perspectives as well as looking at said parts in different stages of life. Great for beginners and those who want to go back into art in drawing portraits and hands, if they're into that.
  
  However, one drawback was that some of the writing may be a bit dated, though it is in the context of drawing people, it seems, with commercial art in mind. Another was in the lack of diversity of features with muscle or fat on the hands (though fortunately not on the face for at least elderly people but it could have been shown for younger people) as well as good depictions of non-European descended people. Much of the rules for various heads and facial features would still apply that area, and it could have been applied well by Loomis, a professional artist. I can't judge Loomis' beliefs just by his books 100%, but it's not that he couldn't be able to pull it off, either.
  
  On that note, I'll at least refer to this book to get refreshed again on drawing faces with more confidence on that note.
• 
  Michaela Vondráčková

  I think it's a basic must-read for all artists that start with "Loomis method", but at the same time... I have more questions about this method and I didn't find answers in this book. I understood some things by practice and now I can say I can use it well, but this is definitely NOT the only one book you should read and go through if you wanna draw well, head, hands, whatever. I think the more you practice, the more you will understand and it's good to have a starting point like this book at hand.
• 
  Mario

  un libro bastante util como introduccion al dibujo de la cabeza, loomins logra ilustrar muy bien como diseccionar el rostro a la hora de dibujarlo y entenderlo.
  
  Aunque al hablar de ilustraciones explicativas podemos quedarnos cortos si buscamos entender la anatomia de la cabeza por capas, osamenta, musculatura y piel, debido a que loomins hace uso de bloques para figurar el rostro, algo muy practico pero que puede quedarse corto.
• 
  Anna Morgenstern

  4.5\5
  I love this one, it's very detailed and explains matters very efficiently albeit not hard to understand.
  The only critique that I have for this book is that you can definitely tell it's an old one, given how only the men have facial expressions whilst the women tend to stay still, smiling, and docile. That being said, if you were to make a "must-have" art book list, this one hits one of the top spots.
  Would highly, highly recommend!
• 
  Rachel King

  The most comprehensive guide to drawing the head. I have not read the "hands" part yet as this is an area I feel more competent in. The only drawback is that the general guidelines provided are for white Americans, as Andrew Loomis was a draftsman that worked primarily in advertising in the 1950s when this was written. He does however make suggestions for adjustments that are useful for drawing faces from a wide berth of backgrounds. I refer to this book often when out of practice.
• 
  Lorena Da Silva

  This book helped me in my animation classes, understanding the hands and the proportion of the head in general. I always struggle with hands, but this book was very useful to practice in my sketchbook. Always practice drawing your own hand.
  
  I still struggle with perspective drawings of humans, but I can always open the book and look for references of the perspective of the head and face
• 
  Reeda Booke

  I love to draw, but always had a problem with hands (and feet, to be honest). This book is a fantastic resource and a big help in helping me practice and refining my drawings as a whole.
  Definitely recommended for all artists out there!
• 
  the bard

  an excellent guide that does exactly what's described. i greatly appreciated the figures and essays and think that they've all helped improve my art. would definitely recommend for all artists who draw people and characters often.
• 
  clari

  As a beginner, this book helped me visualise things better and improve my drawing abilities.
  Pages 74-129 were outdated and to be honest a bit useless, but I guess that's normal considering I'm reading this in 2022.
• 
  Joellen

  Andrew Loomis is one of my favorite illustrators. His teaching methods are some of the best in his class.
• 
  وديعه عبدالله

  كتاب رائع جدًا ومرجع جيد للرسامين يحتوي على تبسيط رسم الوجوه لمختلف الاعمار ورسم الوجوه من زاويا مختلفه وايضاً لمحة بسيطه عن رسم اليد
• 
  David Braly

  A great start in drawing the portraits.
• 
  kel

  A must-read for those hoping to improve their art skill. Great tips and methods inside.
• 
  emma wk

  received a couple of loomis books as a birthday gift, & i practically inhaled this one. what a timeless style with timeless advice.
• 
  Carolina

  Um curso completo e detalhado sobre o desenho de cabeça e mãos. Ótimo material de referência para todo estudante de arte.
• 
  Donna

  I will definitely read more of his books. So helpful and genius in his concept.
• 
  RJ

  difficult subject