Following up on my post from several months ago on Fun with a Pencil, I’d like to present the quintessential Andrew Loomis book, Figure Drawing for All It’s Worth. It’s hard to describe how good this book really is. I went to art school, and studied design drawing, fashion drawing, and fine art figure drawing, and I don’t think any instructor taught me as much as I learned from this book. (True, I still have a lot of room for improvement, but that’s another post someday.)

It’s a near-perfect explanation of all the key concepts you need to master to illustrate the human form. He starts with the basics of proportion, then he provides a great explanation of anatomy as it relates to art. Later in the book, he shows you how to light the figure, how to construct poses, and how to deal with balance and movement.

He also provides a great selection of samples of finished drawings, many in the pinup style.

If you only read one figure drawing book, this is the one to read.

• Download Figure Drawing for All It’s Worth