Yes; you can! Known for their friendly; focused; you-can-do-it approach to teaching art; Mark and Mary Willenbrink show beginning artists how to draw people in a realistic style. Inside youll find everything you need to succeed; from how to select and hold your pencils to expert instruction on drawing hands; clothing and figures in motion. This book steers you clear of common mistakes and brings clarity to even notoriously tricky concepts like perspective and values. While the human subject is wonderfully diverse; this book teaches an easy-to-learn approach that can be used to achieve accurate drawings every time. Thirteen complete figure drawing demonstrations show how. Start with a few lines to establish basic proportions; sketch in placement lines; then gradually develop details. Before you know it; youll be drawing people of all ages; body types and personalities! This book makes it easy to get started. The quality of your results will encourage you to keep at it; building your skills and your confidence with every stroke. Whats Inside: Tricks for ensuring accurate body proportions and feature placement in your drawings. Expert advice on drawing heads; hands; legs; clothes and more. 13 step-by-step demonstrations featuring a diversity of model types; lighting and poses.
#2744446 in eBooks 2001-02-27 2001-02-27File Name: B00MHAUZWE
Review
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. I was delighted to hear the review on NPR radio when the ...By Anne H. MooreI started ballet late in life; in my sophomore year of high school. I had 4 left feet; was fat; and uncoordinated; so I had no aspirations to become a ballerina. I am currently 61 and still taking classes regularly. In my fortys I began to wonder and ask questions how ballet evolved. I asked my ballet teacher who was elderly and she said she didnt know of any books on the subject. I was delighted to hear the review on NPR radio when the book was first published. It was a tedious read for me because of all the detail but it was necessary to tell the story. As the book progressed into the 1900s it became more fascinating and relatable to me as I had witnessed Nureyev; Fontayne and others. It was fascinating to see where dance had come from; where it is now and maybe where it is progressing. Even my own preferences of dance are evolving. Thank you Ms Homans for all of your hard work and skill to create this work of art in itself.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Apollos Angels is the definitive cultural/historical history of the fragile art of ballet through the centuriesBy C. M MillsDr. Jennifer Homans is a former ballerina and is a distinguished scholar in residence at New York University. Homans writes a dance column for t he "New Republic" magazine. Her expertise and love of ballet are manifest in this long tome on the lengthy history of ballet. The art form became special during the long reign of King Louis XIV (reigned from 1648-1715) the Sun King of la belle France. Louis was a dancer who made ballet important at his splendid court. Ballet was both an entertainment; exercise and visible embodiment of the aristocratic milieu of European court life. Ballet steps bore a distinct affinity with those of fencing. Though it was given birth in France the art soon spread to all the courts of Europe. Homans takes the time and detail necessary to explore the growth and style of ballet practiced in France; Denmark; Great Britain; Italy and most notably in Russia. It is clear that ballets development was impacted by social issues and war. Homans book is more than just a book for ballet fans but a social and cultural history of Europe. The book is most interesting in its discussion of the state of ballet in the twenty-first century. Homans believes ballet is in a sharp decline as aristocratic culture and disciplined dance have been superseded by our technocrat society. I also found of great interest her discussion of some of the men and women who made ballet a great arm form. These luminaries include people such as Serge Diaghilev who created the famous Ballet Ruses which turned the dance world upside down with such ballets as Stravinksys"The Firebird"; "The Rites of Spring" and Petrushka". The star of the book is George Balachine raised in St Petersburg who choreographed over four hundred ballets and made American ballet the best in the world. Homans book is written in a scholarly style which demands concentration and focus. It is a fine book. The book is recommended for all persons wishing to deepen their knowledge of ballet.4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. Fantastic cultural history of classical ballet!!!By Lone LarsenApollorsquo;s Angels by Jennifer Homans is a major one-volume cultural history of classical ballet. Homans takes the reader from balletrsquo;s origin in the French Renaissance through to our own time; covering in detail the development of the art form and its evolution as it passed through 16th century France and Italy; to Denmark; Britain; Russia; and eventually to contemporary America. The book focuses specifically on how ballet came to embody ideas; or a people; or a time. Homans shows how and why lsquo;the stepsrsquo; were never just the steps but rather were a set of beliefs and a way of life. She explains the ideas; idealism; and politics behind the development of ballet; and she explains very well how the art form was shaped by the Renaissance and French Classicism; by revolutions and Romanticism; by Expressionism and Bolshevism; and by Modernism and the Cold War.The chapter on France and the classical origins of ballet are the most interesting. Homans explains that balletrsquo;s roots can be traced to Charles IXrsquo;s time; when he established the Academie de Poesie et de Musique all the way back in 1570. The purpose of the Academie was to bring spirituality to theatre and art. Homans writes; ldquo;hellip;these poets believed that hidden beneath the shattered and chaotic surface of political life lay a divine harmony and order ndash; a web of rational and mathematical relations that demonstrated the natural laws of the universe and the mystical power of God.rdquo; This is where we see the theoretical foundations of ballet; which just needed to be codified into a technique; which would then lsquo;elevate manhellip;and bring him closer to the angels and Godrsquo; (Homans 2010). Very entertaining in particular is the authorrsquo;s description of court etiquette and the vanity of kings. Also interesting is her explanation of state strategy; the difference between courtiers and trained dancers; and the eventual move from court to theater in the late 17th century.The connection between dance and politics is emphasized throughout the book; and the reader will understand how ballet ndash; although wordless ndash; is an art form that carries both meanings and subtexts. The reader learns; for example; that the ballerina Marie Antoinette established a trend dressed as a shepherdess; whereafter women in white tunics ldquo;became powerful symbols of a nation cleansed of corruption and greed.rdquo; (Homans 2010). The women in white became what we know today as the corps de ballet; which took its cue from the Revolution. ldquo;They represented the claims of the community over those of the individualrdquo; (Homans 2010).The chapters on ballet in the New World focus mostly on the influential Russian choreographer George Balanchine; who founded New York City Ballet in the 20th century to rival the European ballet companies. But; despite Balanchinersquo;s innovative creations of neoclassical ballets that paved the way for a tradition of classical ballet in America; Homans sees no future for ballet. She ends her book with an Epilogue called ldquo;The Masters Are Dead and Gonerdquo; in which she laments what she perceives as a decline of the classical ballet during the past 20 plus years. Her feeling is that we no longer admire ballet; and that without new genius creators the art form will not survive. That is a perplexing view; given the fact that dance always has been a fluctuating art form.Despite the bookrsquo;s massive volume of 650 pages; it is rarely boring. Homansrsquo; descriptions of important artists and the works they created or danced are vivid and expressive; - possibly due to the fact that Homans herself was a professional ballerina who danced many of the works she writes about. While her writing is packed with meaning it is never dense or convoluted. A fluid writing style makes it easy for any reader to follow and understand the scenarios surrounding the evolution of ballet for hundreds of years. Apollorsquo;s Angels is scholarly and entertaining at the same time; and beautifully told. I recommend it to anyone who is interested in history; dance; and body politics.
