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Drawing Cutting Edge Anatomy: The Ultimate Reference for Comic Book Artistsx$11.33
  (32 reviews)
Best Price: $19.95 $11.33
The follow-up title to the hit title, Drawing Cutting Edge Comics which has been translated into 7 languages, this drawing tutorial shows artists how to draw the exaggerated musculature of super-sized figures in action poses. The guesswork is taken out of figuring out which muscles show through to the surface and how muscles appear through clothing. This instructional manual even gives both the Latin and the common term for particular body parts such as scapula/shoulder blade. Hart covers all aspects of extreme anatomy. The book opens by providing detailed diagrams of all of the various muscle groups, including chest, back, shoulder, arm, and leg muscles. Then he covers many of the various extreme comic book types including good guy, bad guy, insane guy, punk, genius, and brute for men; and the heroine, bad gal, trashy gal, seductress, fighter babe, and cyber chick for women. As an added bonus, this book closes with two invaluable sections to all aspiring comic book artists. One provides a roadmap of all the steps an artist must take if he or she is going to get started in the comic book business, and advice on how the comic book business works. The second section features interviews with people from two of the most significant companies in the world of comics, Marvel Comics and Dark Horse!
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Customer Reviews
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A Pleasent Surprise
By A1UOWONWCUMQTO on 2006-08-01
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.
I would have written this review earlier...
By A3L6FDWMH7VA4T on 2005-08-03
...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.
Can't go lower than one star, I guess
By A919HDEMTUAX4 on 2006-01-27
The "ultimate Reference"??? This man's hubris knows no bounds.
I got my 1st Hart book when I was a budding cartoonist at the age of 12. I could wax eloquent about Mr. Hart's lack of artistic prowess and limited style, I will simply point out that aside from publishing these How To Draw books, he has done virtually nothing in the mainstream or independant comic/ art industry. That in itself should be the biggest warning to all of you out there.
As far as strict anatomy for goes, few people have done better than Jack Hamm and Bruce Hogarth, with Hogarth being my current favorite. For you aspiring comic artists out there, "How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way" may be a bit older, but still worlds better than anything Hart has produced.
For those of you just looking for one book that covers everything about drawing comics, I must reccommend WIZARD's "How to Draw" Book 1. This, as opposed to Hart's books, are written by a collabaration of successful and undisputed masters of the industry, and is so superior to Hart's that there's practically no comparison. So for pete's sake, don't waste your money on this book, or any other book written by Hart.
another opinion . . .
By A2X60GAUSSN0II on 2006-03-09
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.
There's much better out there
By A2KT05SP1SU3QX on 2005-10-18
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.
- It's official. Christopher Hart...has gone bad
By A3JCE3QI6JQT5H on 2006-01-05
I got this book for a Christmas present, and what I thought was a good anatomy book in the beginning, became worse and worse the more I read it. I liked it when I first recieved it, because I had already recieved a C.H. book in the past and was impressed with it, but after getting this book I have second thoughts about him.
Firstly, if what Carlo R. Montoya said is true about Chris's art's absence in the book, then you get jipped in the first place. Think about it. Taking "How to Draw" lessons from a guy who's not drawing. Pretty pathetic.
Secondly, half of it wasn't really anatomy. He was trying to fit in a thousand drawing guides into one book. I just wanted a well done anatomy book, showing where the muscles were on the body (I have hard times drawing buff people) but this clearly is not the book you need if you want the same as I.
Thirdly, I am not an extreme feminist, but when it came to drawing women in his book, he lost the "Anatomy" thing all together and focused on sex-appeal. What-The-Heck?? I wan't to find out about people's anatomy and I get something not even relevant to muscles! Once again I'm not a feminist, I just want equality. I didn't see any scantilly clad guys in there, I just saw scantilly cald and robust women. When he talked about men's muscles he gave you reasons why they did what they did. When it came to women's it was "...the badder she is, the sexier she must look." So guys can bust heads and look cool, but women bust heads and look sexy? Gimme a break!
Point is, don't buy it. It was really crummy and not worth the time or money.
- It made me a better artist!
By A304NU9CS1Y796 on 2006-06-09
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!
- Not that bad but not that good either
By A1NP6B0ZWI4GD1 on 2005-10-24
This is my first Christopher Hart book and while I agree that
most of his books aren't that good*, this one doesn't deserve
a 1-star rating. Why? He probably wrote most of the texts but
most of the art work isn't his. They're from contributing
artists. Whether that is a good thing or a bad thing is up to
you. I do agree that some of his texts do not match the
art work. Without another book about anatomy, you could get
lost real fast.
If you're a professional comic book artist or taking art in
college, then do not buy this book. You're not its intended
target. While I agree that kids should learn art the right way,
the question is, "Is there really an author out there who can
teach the intricacies of surface anatomy and figure drawing to
kids without boring them?"
Am I disappointed with my purchase? No, I wasn't. But I'm no
pro.
* I did scan some of his books where I bought this book and
I have to agree though that his work isn't really awe-inspiring.
- Excellent Comic Book Anatomy
By A1EKBOXRJDJ2YP on 2004-10-24
I just purchased this book and have had some time to read through it and try some of the lessons they give. This is an excellent book for anyone who is wanting to learn how to draw comic book super heroes and villians. This book gives great detail and explanation of the human muscle structure and how they move and look from different positions. Skeletal framing and showing where the human skeleton supports the muscles is a good reference most people forget, thankfully it is explained here. The only reason I did not give this book 5 stars was because I was hoping for a longer tutorial on drawing hands and feet. I admit this is my weakness, especially the hands, but the book seemed to almost gloss over the hands and feet. It gives great drawings of the hand from different angles and positions but I was hoping for a little more depth on advice on how to draw the hands and feet. I still recommend this book highly for people who want to learn how to draw the current style of american "cutting edge" gritty looking comics or for people want to take their drawing of their anatomy to another level.
- A MUST for Any Confused Comic Artist
By A2HKURPBUJQF6G on 2005-04-01
I must say, when I first saw this book on Amazon, I was skeptical. I've seen (and own) other books of Hart's and have come to know his products can be hit or miss. THIS book however, is everything the fabulous reviews claim it to be. It is neatly organized into chapters going fully in depth in specific parts of the body, giving various examples in a wide range of poses. He goes through a break down of anatomy very well, and clearly displays the working of all the muscles. For an overall guide to comic anatomy, you can't find a better book.
The only weak area is in specific facial details (i.e. expression of the eyes, the mouth, forming the nose). However, it is an overview of anatomy, so I see no reason to let this affect a 5 star rating. If you are looking to brush up on faces, I suggest his "How to Draw Cutting Edge Comics" book as a suppliment. Though a bit shallow on its own, it fills in the "lacking" areas of this anatomy book wonderfully. The two books combined give you a wonderful foundation for comic drawing.
- Christopher Hart books, poor in general
By A2YIUX9GW65PTX on 2005-10-05
For an aspiring comic artist, or any artist in general, this is not the book to get to reference anatomy. All of Christopher Hart's how to draw books feature poor amateur art work, and thusly make poor reference and guides. The key to a good how to draw book is good art, no matter how well it is written, an artist needs a point of reference. If you want a good book for a beginner, and even advanced comic book artist. Spend the 30 bucks and get Wizard How to Draw. It is written and illustrated by actual artists in the field! Guys like Jim Lee and Michael Turner. Additionally check out the three DC comics guides to inking, penciling, and coloring.
- Great!!
By A18BHFNVPUDWBF on 2007-01-16
This is a great item to get into my collection. Definately a buy that is well worth it.
- Excellent Instruction
By A2H6BK2GPJ7YW7 on 2004-10-23
This book helped me a great deal. I had never tackled the anatomy in this level of detail. I took lots of things for granted that I now feel more comfortable with. This is a highly recommended book for artists of all levels.
- Great anatomy Instruction
By A3DH0TORBJ9EMA on 2004-11-09
This book is the most readable anatomy book I've come across. the book gives detailed examples of a huge variety of body types & characteristics. It also taps into how the body changes with age which I found extremely helpful.
A great instruction book for any comic artist at any level.
- Drawing anatomy used to be tough...
By A1BV3YWOARNEG6 on 2004-11-30
From day one in elementary school art class the toughest thing to get a handle on was anatomy...do I wish I had Chris Hart's latest book on the subject back then! This is far and away the best book ever done on this subject for comic book artists. I highly recommend it.
- Great Reference Book
By AHCGJUDL33FF on 2005-01-22
This is the best book I have seen on the subject. Christopher Hart's books have always inspired me as an artist and this is no exception! Drawing anatomy can be hard work and difficult but it has to be learned. This book will teach you all you need to know to be an expert.
- Awesome guidebook!
By A1IYXR02MTN3E3 on 2005-08-21
This is by far the best how-to book and series I've ever seen.
I HIGHLY and STRONGLY recommend this, it IS a must-have in your library collection.
This book contains pretty much all you need to know, works great as a master-basics book and is a great complement to any other books or training you might have or aspire to get.
- i love it
By A28GVV5BN630JZ on 2005-12-06
it've had a hard time finding a really good anatomy book, and while the drawings kind of suck, the book is great for the style it is trying to teach. it's a great book to look at especially if you are taking an anatomy drawing class, but are more interested in cartoons like i am.
- Excellent 'how-to-book' for the child with artistic ability
By A21SX0ORGB483T on 2007-07-23
I would stongly recommend for this 'how-to' book for any young junior-age artist. My 11-12 year grandson eagerly follows the drawing guides for each body part. Is good for self-starter children.
- What ever!
By A71BR2DMQD281 on 2006-02-03
High class porn!! No, really has he every seen a woman that you can use as a floatation device??
- Extremely useful!
By AHVSYRYPMD2YT on 2006-03-19
This book is devided specifically into sections of the body and gives terrific examples! The section of the human anatomy models as a whole gives some movement to the characters (they pose for the artist); they're not just cadavers.... It's even got sections on hands and feet (and who doesn't have trouble with those). I was going to go for one of the other anatomy books out there exclusively on hands, but this matches more of the style I want to draw - comic book style. Of the reference books I've bought, this has by far been the most useful to me. I recommend it to amateurs and long-time comic book artists alike I wouldn't part with it for all my drawings....
- Drawing Cutting Edge Anatomy: The Ultimate Reference for Comic Book Artists
By A3TRQV9EEBNI47 on 2007-07-24
Great book for muscles... I had problem drawing muscles and this book helped great book
- Amazing book - totally recommended for any and all artists
By AKK59SM5VSS75 on 2007-08-24
For starters, this is written by Christopher Hart, so it's probably one of your best options if you are interested in the subject of the book...
This is great for learning how muscle groups work, since it focuses on different parts of the body for both men and women, and how the skeleton structure is set up, not only in general, but in different positions, explaining how muscles move with the different poses, and which ones 'pop' depending on the pose. It's a great book for any beginning artist to start getting a sense of how the body is put together, and great for more advanced artists to make their pictures more and more realistic. Also gives great ideas for characters.
A great buy even if you are not overly enthusiastic about the graphic novel; if you love drawing, you'll love this book!
- Great buy, Well worth the Money
By A2I7L724XU7PJM on 2007-09-18
I'm a beginner to drawing in general but the descriptions and pictures presented make reproducing presented information/techniques easy
- Great Book
By A218DOI6LXUN0E on 2007-09-28
This is a great reference book. I really like it, BUT for any really REALLY serious people who wish to really improve their drawings, Riven Pheonix "Drawing the Human Figure From Your Mind" lessons are key (google it). It shows you how to draw the whole skeleton - from your mind. Then the muscles - from your mind. The fruits are astounding. I completed all 227 lessons and must admit that reference books are much more helpful when you actually LEARN how EXACTLY mucles and bones look the way they look on people.
- Really and Truly a Must-Have for the Aspiring Artist
By A3K1JFYC9KOVV5 on 2007-10-14
This is probably among the top five of Christopher Hart's "How to Draw" books I own. If you're looking for a way to render anatomy in a good style - after having learned the basics, of course - then this is certainly the book for you.
"Drawing Cutting Edge Anatomy" offers a number of exceptionally helpful sections for the artist; be warned however - as is the nature of books of this type, some sections will be wildly helpful, while others you'll just pass by. The most helpful:
1) Early on, some helpful full-body schematics are rovided for both heroic male and female figures' musculature.
2) There is a helpful page on vein placement
3) The chapter on the Head and Neck (especially regarding the rendering of female characters' faces)
4) The chapter on the Chest adn Abs
5) The chapter on The Pelvis, Legs and Feet (especially on the legs).
Unfortunately, the secions on the arms and hand are not especially helpful (owing mostly to the artist who provide the illustrations).
Overall, however, a great book and a worthy addition to any beginning artist's bookshelf. Enjoy!
- Ok for someone learning to draw....
By A1CA7DBEV5FBO3 on 2007-11-30
The good: For someone who is learning to draw (and can) this will be helpful.
The bad: observation of human and animal anatomy would be better for the student. Musculature can be picked up from health and body building magazines or online articles. there really isn't anything "cutting edge" about it for anyone who has picked up graphic novels or comics before.
Is it worth it? yeah I guess so... for the inexperienced artist (in ANY discipline, whether painter, sculptor, graphic artist, comic book artist, etc etc) and as a quick reference book. But once you get into high detail artwork, where perhaps you want to show the texture of the muscle tissue underneath the skin (lighting and shading) it won't help. Poses and muscle groups that's about it.
- good book
By A2GVP4TN07NZYD on 2008-02-21
this book has a lot of instruction and ideas for what to draw is has a lot of instruction for the serious sketch artists. if you are looking for a book on anatomy this is a great buy.
- Good as a reference book, bad as a step by step book
By A15BSL68DH9PB8 on 2008-07-17
Well for one I am a novice artist ... actually I am totally new to drawing anatomy and was expecting both a step by step book and a decent reference book.
Well the good side is I have a ton of reference out of this beauty ... the bad part is there is almost no step by step procedures. The drawings are nice but the very few step by steps are really accelerated ...
All in all this is a nice book to have around for reference and might do wonderfully well for an experienced artist ... but this really isn't the best choice for starters.
- Very good book.
By A3CR9JCJM6MK4F on 2008-07-30
This was a very good book on the body. The step by step process was what I was looking for. This is the book for any body that wants to learn how to draw the human body in many ways and it was easy to understand. I have recommended this book to all my drawing students.
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