Making and Using Working Drawings for Realistic Model Animals
Basil F. Fordham
Guild of Master Craftsmen Publications Ltd.
Nonfiction, Sculpting
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DESCRIPTION: There's more to making a realistic model than eyeballing an armature and throwing on more clay or papier mache until it "looks right." To do it properly, one must understand an animal inside and out, learn its proportions and muscles, understand its habits and character. It sounds impossible, but it can be done. This book demonstrates how to gather measurements, compose working drawings, build armatures, and finish pieces. It includes instructions and working drawings for several demonstration projects.
REVIEW: I don't have another book quite like this in my collection, so it's a bit difficult to rate it. It's very thorough, and the information is quite useful to 2D artists as well as 3D sculptors and model makers. I didn't give it top marks because the presentation seems a bit dry and wordy, though I might revise that if/when I put these techniques into practice; I admit I'm more of an eyeball-it-as-I-go kind of artist, especially when it comes to model making.
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