“A head is not drawn until you can feel the unseen side.”
-Andrew Loomis
Illustrator Andrew Loomis is revered among artists for his mastery of figure drawing and a clean, realist style. Some say that his hugely influential art instruction books have never been bettered. Revered among artists – including the great Norman Rockwell and comics superstar Alex Ross. As the great American painter Norman Rockwell said, “All of Andrew Loomis’ books have been so simply and clearly written that their popularity is certainly deserved.”
During his career as one of America’s most sought-after illustrators, his commercial work was featured prominently in advertising and magazines, Andrew Loomis (1889-1959) taught at the American Academy of Art in Chicago. He produced commercial art his entire career, but it was as a teacher, more than as an illustrator, that he made a very lasting impression upon the artists that came after him. In 1939 he codified his lessons in his first manual, ‘Fun with a Pencil’. Four years later it had already been through six printings, and he followed up over the next two decades with a series of even more successful how-to books that remain the gold standard for artists to this day.
Titan books have published high-quality facsimile editions of the books for the current generation of artists and illustrators. They are all large format hardcover books with a dust jacket. They are full of beautiful, clear drawings and easy to follow instructions. These re-issues of his four classic books on drawing have received great reviews.
Successful Drawing
Successful Drawing
A superb resource, covering the fundamentals of proportion, perspective and pattern, through scale and light, to the mastery of construction, character and consistency. Successful Drawing is a masterclass for all. This book was intended for art students and practising artists, in which he clearly presents in pictures and text basic elements of good craftsmanship, without which no drawing can be really successful.
He clarifies the relationship of proportions and perspective to the study of light and shadow. There are, Mr Loomis says, “Five P’s of good drawing: proportion, placement, perspective, planes and pattern.” There are also the five C’s of “conception, construction, contour, character and consistency.” He step-by-step demonstrates 48 technical illustrations.
For over 60 years Successful Drawing has provided a superb resource covering all the techniques needed to master three-dimensional drawing. From the fundamentals of proportion, placement, perspective, planes and pattern, through a detailed examination of scale and the effects and capture of light, to the mastery of conception, construction, contour, character and consistency, Successful Drawing is filled with step-by-step instruction, professional tips and beautiful illustration. Engaging, witty, and wonderfully executed, this is a masterclass for amateur artists and professional illustrators alike.
Drawing the Head and Hands
Drawing the Head and Hands
The human head and hands are the most difficult elements in figure drawing, but world-class illustrator Andrew Loomis’ classic primer offers the solution.
From the original dust jacket: “With his usual thoroughness, Mr Loomis leads the student into the subject of drawing the head through the fundamentals of anatomical construction – as he emphasises, “A head is not drawn until you can feel the unseen side.” He then proceeds to the specifics of expression, gesture, light effects, angles and so on.
Figure Drawing For All Its Worth
Figure Drawing For All Its Worth
For nearly 70 years Figure Drawing For All It’s Worth has provided a seminal course covering all the techniques needed to master drawing the figure. Hailed by the American Academy of Art as “one of the most brilliant contributions that figure drawing has ever received” Loomis’s book is packed with beautiful examples to help you master anatomy and capture the human form at any age, in movement and at rest. Engaging, witty, and wonderfully executed, this is a masterclass for amateur artists and professional illustrators alike.
From the original 1946 dust jacket: “Salable drawing must be good drawing, convincing and appealing, and Mr Loomis drills his readers on the fundamentals that make artwork “right”. His chapters on anatomy, planes and lighting, drawing from live models, the figure in action, and costume, among others, give the artist a full understanding of the science of his trade. His discussion of idealisation and similar tricks of the trade enable the reader to produce work that will find a market.”
Creative Illustration
Creative Illustration
From the back cover: “Intended for the artist who wishes to make illustration a career, rather than the early efforts of the beginner or for those who draw for a hobby, Creative Illustration is a real professional course in the subject.” Creative Illustration is considered Loomis’s magnum opus, which was aimed primarily at the professional-level illustrator. Divided into seven sections: Line, Tone, Colour, Telling the Story, Creating Ideas, Fields of Illustration, and Experimenting and Studies, this book is filled with instructions, tips, insider experiences and incredible illustrations.
“Beginning logically with line, Andrew Loomis then takes up the interdependencies of tone and colour and then next how to use these three fundamentals to create good pictures. Next comes the idea, the emotion, the psychology of the pictures. Finally, her gives a practical analysis of the various fields open to the illustrator.”
Click on the underlined link to go to the current offers on Andrew Loomis books on the Jackson’s Art Supplies website.
Postage on orders shipped standard to mainland UK addresses is free for orders of £39.
