For the full site and artist gallery go to www.mastersofanatomy.com
Andrew Loomis created the Ideal Male and Female references over 70 years ago and since then generations of artists have used them to understand the complex proportions of human anatomy. But while the art world has evolved dramatically, these classic references have remained unchanged. We believe it's time for a refresh.
Master of Anatomy: The Ideal Male and Female, is a one-of-a-kind collection of artistic anatomy bringing together the work of 64 artists from different industries. Each artist recreates the Ideal Male and Female illustrated in their own signature style and without the aid of external reference. Each angle is neutral, symetrical and unposed showing the front, side and 3/4 front angles in a classic animation turn-around. The goal: to translate a decades-old sketch into something more relevant to a modern aesthetic. The result is a volume unlike anything that exists today. A must have for any aspiring artist; digital or traditional.
* NOTE: The 3 angles presented will be Front, Side and 3/4 front - not the back angle. Each Artist will draw the figures in their own signature style to best of their ability in a completely finished, detailed Black & White render. The above picture will not influence the final concept.
We solicited work from artists all over the world working in very different industries - comic books, video games, animation, illustration and even children's books . Each artist was carefully chosen for their style, appeal and underlying knowledge of anatomy. Together they have produced 126 unique male and female anatomies with 378 angles all beautifully drawn for you to examine and explore. Check out our ARTISTS GALLERY in the navigation menu.
The idea for this book took root years ago in Paris while filming a sculpting tutorial for our parent company Miniature Mentor. There we met a young concept artist named Edouard Guitton who was working as a lead designer for the famous Rackham Studios. It's was his designs that made Rackham miniatures an international sensation. Watching him sketch in the studio below was like magic! He explained to us why the sculpts based on his drawings were so appealing. "sculpting and drawing is the same - it's all about the silhouette. Details and realism are secondary, they only get in the way; the silhouette is what really matters." It was a revelation!
Those words floated around in our minds for the next few years until we began working on a video tutorial about anatomy (yet to be released). We wanted to provide our sculptors with an in-depth level of instruction but we felt the video by itself was too much of an instructional tool; too rigid. We needed something to stoke the creative fires, something that could embody Edouard's ideas about the silhouette. Thus, was Masters of Anatomy born.
It became evident in the early stages of research that well-drawn examples of neutral anatomy turnarounds like Loomis's were rare and difficult to find. What we did manage to scrape together was of generally poor quality. What we became aware of instead, browsing hundreds of art blogs, was the huge number of brilliant artists out there. But even among their work there were few examples of neutral anatomy turnarounds. We then understood why so many amateur sculptors and 3D artists were having a difficult time making unique figures - a lack of well-drawn reference art.
This book is for any artist interested in human anatomy and proportions. By examining the subtle differences between similar drawings you will strengthen your knowledge of the human anatomy and begin to recognize which areas contain the majority of deviations. Though Loomis's sketches are a fantastic tool, we believe that a single reference is limiting and counter-intuitive to creative minds. It makes the learning curve rigid and inflexible. We believe multiple references are needed to examine the true definition of an "ideal". And since the drawings appear in the same place on each page it makes side-by-side comparison much easier and more fun. The end goal is to help artists develop their own unique style and voice.
The Problem with Anatomy Books
The biggest problem with current anatomy books is the creative disadvantage of having only one contributing artist who is trying to appeal to the broadest market possible. Popular or experimental anatomy is too risky to publish using this model. This system dilutes the concept of inventive design. In the end your left with a heavy volume where only a handful of pages are of any use. What we've done is illustrate 128 unique characters in the three most helpful angles. Nothing less nothing more.
Why Kickstarter? (Lauching Friday October 11th, 2013)
Because hiring 63 well-known artists costs money: A LOT OF MONEY! But we think our book has a place in this world as a source of inspiration. If we can make it easier for artists to achieve their goals then it's cause worth doing. That's why we need Kickstarter - it's one of the only places where you, the customer, can help bring out-of-the-box ideas to life.
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If you're reading this far down into the page, chances are you're intrigued by our project, which is good. So here's the bottom line - We need you. Plain and simple. If we fail to raise our funding goal we lose the enormous investment we have sunk into this project. So, if you like what you see and you have faith we can deliver then on Friday, October 11th, hit the Kickstarter link and pledge away. Or help us by spreading the word, telling your friends, Facebook liking us, retweeting this or giving us a shout-out on national TV. You'll give us a tremendous shot of confidence at this critical point and hopefully fund a whole wave of similar books from us down the road.
* Please note these are sample book dimensions only - final dimensions may change.
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