Anatomy for Fantasy Artists
Glenn Fabry
Barron's
Nonfiction, Art
Themes: Faeries and Kin, Fantasy Races, Werebeasts
****
Description
Any artist should learn human anatomy, but fantasy art often requires anatomy rules to be stretched, even broken, to produce hulking ogres or reed-thin fairies. Abandoning the rules altogether makes for unconvincing pictures, but adhering strictly to them doesn't work, either. This book focuses on the demands of fantasy art, starting with basic human anatomy and showing how it can be modified to suit many fantasy archetypes, from barbarian heroes to inhuman werewolves and more.
Review
Some of the information here seems very similar to that found in The Encyclopedia of Fantasy and Science Fiction Art Techniques and Ron Tiner's Figure Drawing Without a Model; indeed, some of the images are straight from the former book, by the latter artist. Still, the information bears repeating. Fabry provides several new angles on fantasy figure anatomy, with a focus toward more adult (as in complex, darker, occasionally disturbing, and minimally clothed) fantasy figures rather than kiddie comic-book creations. There is, as usual, a distinct trend toward portraying females as erotic objects rather than characters in their own right (not always, but often), but that's a bone I have to pick with the field of fantasy art in general, so I can hardly hold it against Fabry in particular. Some of the facial expressions seemed off to me, but that's probably just his style. I prefer artists whose expressions don't need to be as grotesque or exaggerated to get their point across. On the whole, I liked most of what I found in this book. As I've mentioned previously, I don't have the space or time to do as much art as I'd like to, but I still find inspiration in books like this.