Rating: 
Summary: anatomical and technical
Review: After studying the human figure for a number of years, I continue to be surprised at the persistence of this quite unhelpful anatomy book. Now, don't get me wrong... I think that Hogarth was a fine comic artist and a good draftsman. It's just that he simply has not written a good textbook on the subject of artistic anatomy.After an initial, fairly idiosyncratic screed, wherein Hogarth urges a return to a more "humanity-based art", the book moves into even more confusing territory: there is no coverage of the human skeleton to speak of; as for the muscular system, Hogarth's illustrations are so stylized as to defy even an intensive effort at comprehension. And the important subject of origins and insertions of muscles is given little mention here. In all fairness, the emphasis of this book seems to be on representing the body as a complex of constituent "great masses" in space, but any explanation of exactly how these masses come to be formed (whether through proximity of muscles or distortions as a result of mechanical forces) is lacking. Granted, the drawings are impressive. But in the final analysis there is not much here for the beginning artist, who is in need of a clear description of muscles and bones, and there is not much here, either, for the experienced artist, who will find little of sophistication beyond some fairly helpful instructions on drawing the large body masses in perspective.
Rating: 
Summary: anatomy with an attitude
Review: burne hogarth was not only a good draughtsman but also one of the most insightful with regard to the history and science of drawing. to appreciate this book one has to have an open mind(which for an artist is the only way to be)then you would see that he has learned human anatomy quite thouroughly then altered it to suit his line of work (drawing tarzan and the likes) and simultaneously he has also used this derivation of his to teach drawing to his students.this is not a realistic anatomy book which gives you a documentary reference for the human figure, but its a book which simplifies realistic anatomy for amatuers so that they get over their fear of anatomy drawing and later study anatomy just as the author did and make his or her own style.he has stylised and simplified all muscles and altered or even merged some.one of the attractions of this book is the section called the nine principles of foreshortening. this book as with hogarths other books are products of a lifetime of drawing comics and teaching,the author makes it very clear that the figures in the book are his ideal (which neednt be yours)he strongly recommends you to do your own research and not use this book as an encyclopaedia.i have heard a lot of criticism of hogarths style,that it is too strong and will influence other artists to become mere carbon copies,to refute this i must tell you that michelangelo copied and studied works of massacio, ghirlandiao,donatello,but ended up better than any of them.drawing is highly dependent on master pupil tradition, in this age where there are no great masters living in our neighbourhood(unlike michelangelo) we have to look up to the books by people like hogarth . as a teacher hogarth ranks as one of the best along with robert beverly hale,george bridgman and paul richer.
Rating: 
Summary: I'm not impressed
Review: Burne Hogarth's Dynamic Anatomy leads the reader through a series of demonstrations on how to draw the body's gross anatomical muscles. Hogarth's drawings are particularly baroque and certainly show every kind of muscle you could exaggerate in a muscularly beefed up male nude (for the record, I am convinced that Hogarth rarely drew women).
While Hogarth's demonstrations are informative, they hold little form in my opinion and convincing three dimensionality. I say "Convincing" because he has no poetry when it comes to his use of line. It is very straightforward, but at the same time, holds no kind of painterly edge to it. This is a book that would appeal more to sculptors, but even then, I would suggest building your own terracotta sculpture rather than read this book.
I'm not saying that Hogarth can't draw, what I'm saying is that he doesn't have a style that's worth becoming involved in. There are many MANY better anatomical demonstrations available in other books, one of which would be Elliot Goldenential's "Artist's Anatomy."
Hogarth passes off this book moreso as being a drawing manual. I heavily disagree. Drawing human figures is much more about abstraction than about information. The information needs to be clearly presented, but it must also be presented in a way that is artistic and/or poetic. In other words, the information of anatomy and the person up on the model stand should be presented in a way that shows a side of your personality and also shows a kind of universal beauty (if that exists). Figure drawing is about your experience with the model and expressing that as clearly as possible also.
Those of you interested in entertainment . . . well, that's a world I would not like to get into, save to say that this book might be more apealing if you're interested in drawing superheroes, big breasted women, and flashy cars and city-scapes.
Rating:
Summary: An all-around great book
Review: Dynamic Anatomy is an excellent book. It teaches all about human anantomy. I escpecially reccomend it if you have some trouble with hands. The book containes lots of detailed drawing primarily for the male figure. Though sometimes the angles of of his figures are a bit weird(sometimes you just can't see were all the muscles are)it still gives you a great visuall concept. I also highly recommend Dynamic Figure Drawing another one of his books.
Rating:
Summary: Good for sculpture
Review: Good for sculpture. Hogarth presents the planar aspects of his figures very well which is useful to me as a sculptor. This book combined with his Dynamic Figure Drawing are the two best Hogarth titles. If you are a beginner looking for drawing instruction I reccomend Bridgman over Hogarth. Just be aware both thend to render massive muscular bodies which borger on comic hero proportions.
Rating:
Summary: Lacking
Review: I bought Hogarth's "Dynamic Anatomy" because I was impressed with his drawing style. Unfortunately, there is too much flash and not enough in-depth exploration of the body. Muscles follow the bones so it is critical to know the bones. Hogarth gives no attention to this. This would be a decent supplement to learning new ways to draw the human form. I might recommend it to someone that had firm knowledge of the body already.
Rating:
Summary: From the illustrator of the Tarzan comic strip...
Review: I cut my teeth on drawing people with Burne Hogarth. He has analyzed the human figure in a brilliant manner. Despite this, I would recommend "Dynamic Figure Drawing" over this book. For starters, the first sixty pages are devoted to art history. Nothing wrong with this, but for people that want to get started on drawing the human figure, it's not necessary. Second, "Dynamic Figure Drawing" is more accessible for beginners. The forms of the body are broken down so the reader can see the shapes. I would buy this book after spending alot of time with "Dynamic Figure Drawing". There is relevant information in this book, but it's not for beginners.
Rating: 
Summary: Exceedingly specialist
Review: I was interested in buying a book called "Dynamic Anatomy" (who wouldn't be: surely something for everyone?) But this book deals with drawing knees and so on. Really, for artists only.
Rating:
Summary: Lacking
Review: I was interested in buying a book called "Dynamic Anatomy" (who wouldn't be: surely something for everyone?) But this book deals with drawing knees and so on. Really, for artists only.
Rating:
Summary: Perhaps the best ever "how to" book on creating action poses
Review: The inimitable Burne Hogarth breaks down, with startling simplicity, the secrets and tricks behind inventing YOUR OWN dynamic action poses! Once you've mastered his techniques, you REALLY WON'T ever need reference again! As an artist (15 years illustrating), I can whole-heartedly reccomend this book to any other artists (especially aspiring comic and sequential artists), struggling with the difficulties of posing the human figure in deep perspective (and making it look right). While I'm not a big fan of Hogarth's style (all the drawings... hundreds of them... are rendered in his style), I was nonetheless SO blown away by the techniques he revealed that I went and bought ALL the other Hogarth books. For the experienced artist... the benefit is this: Burne Hogarth doesn't try and teach you how to draw like HIM. He shows you how to use what he knows, to better serve your OWN art. And his tricks are time tested! Well worth the investment.
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