Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful figure drawing reference
Review: It looks like it has every pose imaginable in it. But it doesn't. But that's ok, it shouldn't be used as an excuse not to observe from other sources. Over 300 beautifully and clearly drawn poses to copy and study.
Wonderful for understanding how proportions change with foreshortening and perspective, as the body moves. Advisable for students on any level to both copy from and use as a reference.
I feel the same about all his books. I would get them all.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful figure drawing reference
Review: It looks like it has every pose imaginable in it. But it doesn't. But that's ok, it shouldn't be used as an excuse not to observe from other sources. Over 300 beautifully and clearly drawn poses to copy and study.
Wonderful for understanding how proportions change with foreshortening and perspective, as the body moves. Advisable for students on any level to both copy from and use as a reference.
I feel the same about all his books. I would get them all.
Rating:
Summary: core of drawing to professionals and amateurs
Review: Mr. Hogarth's book is clearly targeted at raising consciousness on human movement and visual perception and that is the most impressive, why not to say 'effective' point of his writing style. He describes what one should see in a drawing from varied points-of-view. That surely helps in identifying the most commom flaws most people starting at human body drawing have ever come to in the attempt. He points directly to the most disappointing in learning drawing: gaining the perception of space, proportion and movement and distributing the visual or imaginative input on paper. Concerning the practical aspects of learning through Mr. Hogarth's book, the author does not include exercises for practicing but that does not count as a weak point at all. The sketches in the book are more than helpful in showing how an oval shape becomes a head, all the initial strokes and lines are visible so that one can see through the sketch how it began to be created. As said before, through this book one will be able to understand the dinamics of human body movement and the sketches that come with these theoretical descriptions will help you redraw your own heads, torsos, legs and arms in the movement you may be able to imagine. That is not a tutorial or a how-to manual, it is a book that teaches you to think and see the human body with keen mind and eyes. A book based on understading not copying.
Rating: 
Summary: Yech!
Review: Since when does Dynamic = Preposterous, Awkward and Just Plain Silly? I would not recommend this to anyone who is serious about improving their drawing abilities...Maybe to the animators of Dragonball Z, though.
Rating:
Summary: Not an anatomy book for everyone
Review: Subtlety is certainly not the strong point of this book. If you want realistic figures, look elsewhere like the Barcsay anatomy book. DYNAMIC FIGURE DRAWING doesn't explore the nuances of quiet poses or the beauty in overweight, underweight, or aged figures.But if you aspire to draw or paint powerful, idealistic, and expressionistic figures, combine the lessons of this book with drawing from athletic models. If you're into Michelangelo with his use of larger-than-life figures that use exaggerated poses and anatomy to convey strong emotion, you'll like this book. After practicing the lessons inside the book, you'll be able to spot and draw them better when you draw from a model. Your powerful figures will have more authority to them. And with enough figure drawing under your belt, plus what you've learned from this book, you'll be able to draw figures out of your head in any position you want them in. The Disney animated feature "Tarzan" was obviously inspired by Burne Hogarth's version of the comic strip "Tarzan." The animators learned many lessons from Hogarth, including foreshortening and dynamic poses and anatomy. I'll bet this book was an important reference to whoever worked on that film.
Rating:
Summary: Great great stuff, but definately NOT a medical anatomy book
Review: Superior to almost any human anatomy art book you care to name. Hogarth shows us that there are no shortcuts to any place worth going --the nuances of human musculature, skeletal structure, and basic laws of movement MUST be studied before anything approaching saleable results appear on paper. That said, this book is an immensely rewarding journey --it helped tremendously in getting my illustrative career off the ground and there frankly isn't enough praise I can heap upon Mr. Hogarth without sounding ridiculous. Forget "tips and tricks" from comic book artists --this book will propel your work to an entirely new level of kinetic realism. FOR SERIOUS ILLUSTRATORS ONLY.
Rating:
Summary: Gotta watch that foreshortening!
Review: Superior to almost any human anatomy art book you care to name. Hogarth shows us that there are no shortcuts to any place worth going --the nuances of human musculature, skeletal structure, and basic laws of movement MUST be studied before anything approaching saleable results appear on paper. That said, this book is an immensely rewarding journey --it helped tremendously in getting my illustrative career off the ground and there frankly isn't enough praise I can heap upon Mr. Hogarth without sounding ridiculous. Forget "tips and tricks" from comic book artists --this book will propel your work to an entirely new level of kinetic realism. FOR SERIOUS ILLUSTRATORS ONLY.
Rating:
Summary: Great book to advance your drawing skills
Review: The book is actually the only reason I became interested in figure drawing. It's not really an intro to learning how to draw but rather helps advance your basic skills and understanding at figure drawing. Keep in mind, the book is actually about dynamic figures, not just a pretty adjective for the title. As long as you have basic knowledge of art/english vocabulary and are actually interested in better figure drawing, not just the simple basics, then this book is a great resource.
Rating:
Summary: Buy it! Worth looking at even if you have no talent!
Review: The only problem I have with this book is that I feel intimidated by Mr. Hogarth's incredible talent. After using up one newsprint pad and a box of charcoal, I find my results to be nowhere close to his, but I have learned several useful technics.
Rating:
Summary: Systematically Render Any Imaginable Human Form
Review: There is an undeniable rapport which every one of us has with the human form. It has been shown that even newborn infants almost immediately recognize and differentiate between faces and expressions. The human face and body remain amongst the most complex physical instruments known, and the scientific and artistic expression of them has remained a priority throughout past and present civilizations. This work is a classic in the field, and for perhaps the first time introduced the general public with a methodology of constructing any human figure, in any posture, purely from imagination, without the need for a posing model. The basis of this system is the concept that any part of the human body can be simplified into a handful of fundamental geometric shapes, which can then be connected in space, and then interact with one another. This approach culminates in the astonishingly realistic construction of the human form in action, of which numerous examples are provided. The emphasis is always upon the spontaneous creation of human characters, projected from three dimensions upon a two dimensional surface. Most disciplines and endeavors, and consequently the practitioners within it, tend to become complacent, increasingly relying upon a fixed set of tools and habits. This system, in contrast, is sufficiently general that any posture of any form, at any angle of view, can be drawn with equal facility. Just as there is a standard for cursive handwriting, yet eventually each individual projects their own unique personality and style into their writing, this system begins with a standard of figures, yet allows and actually encourages justifiable stylistic changes. Furthermore, the actual form itself need not be limited to any particular type. One need merely alter the proportions and distances of the geometric archetypal shapes, and the new character, with its unique and symbolic composition, will be well on its way to creation. The figures in this work were wisely kept in an ideal stage, for it is from that form that any other can be created, as deviations from that standard. In this way differences in height, weight, and age, for example, can be readily projected upon the character, and their own personal story will be indelibly and visually told. Hogarth instructed for years at the world-renown Pasadena Art School, and has also written numerous books supporting this one, including one focusing upon anatomy, as well as detailed books on rendering the hands and feet, not to mention an incredible work on drawing the human face. Remarkably inexpensive when the information provided is considered, the entire collection serves as a foundation for the spontaneous creation of characters whose physical form is symbolic of their capabilities and attitude, always completely independent of the artist having ever viewed a similar living representative. Do not hold the mistaken belief that examples are limited to the pages of this work. Throughout movie storyboarding, comics, fashion design, medical illustrations, Japanese Anime, and commercial art, you will discover this system being put into practice, through some of the most respected artists of their fields. This is a system which ultimately facilitates artistic creativity, and deservedly receives the highest possible ratings for its pedagogic contribution.
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