Basic Human Anatomy: An Essential Visual Guide for Artists

Roberto Osti's Basic Human Anatomy has been an invaluable addition to my library of texts devoted to the study of the human form. As an artist and student, I have poured over countless texts throughout the years with the goal of better understanding the human form. As an educator (I teach figure painting, drawing, and anatomy at Laguna College of Art and Design) I have sought out the most useful methods for teaching artistic anatomy. In my search, I have found few books that exhibit the level of quality exhibited in Osti's Basic Human Anatomy. I believe that Osti has a place among the great names in anatomy education: Robert Beverly Hale, Gottfried Bammes, George Bridgman, Dr. Paul Richer, Elliot Goldfinger, to name a few. As a student at the New York Academy of Art I had the good fortune to attend Osti's anatomy lectures and drawing class. To watch Osti make life-size drawings of the human anatomy while simultaneously delivering his lecture was an incredible experience. All artists should have the opportunity to witness this master in action. Thankfully, he has given us this wonderful text. It has already proved an invaluable addition to my classes. The book is full of Osti's beautiful depictions of the human form. These masterful drawings alone are worth the price of the book. However, what I find even more valuable is the way that the book is organized. It takes a dense, often daunting subject and leads you through it in a series of easily understood steps. Beginning with the stereometric conception of the body and the structural conception of the skeleton, to the origins and insertions of the muscles, all the way to a discussion of the drawing techniques necessary to implement this knowledge, Osti's book is truly comprehensive. Two of my favorite aspects of this book are 1. his diagrams on transforming the schematic volumes of the figure into organic forms and 2. his anatomical drawings indicating the muscles on one side and their specific points of origin and insertion on the other. This book will not only be useful to the novice looking to begin their journey toward understanding the human form, but also to the advanced draftsman looking to augment his or her skill set.

I'm a studio art major and this is the first anatomy book I've ever bought. I'm in my third year and the closest we got to learning anatomy in classes was a few days of drawing a skeleton. This book is AMAZING and I really feel like my figure drawings and paintings will benefit from understanding the underlying structures better. I looked at many different book options and this seemed to have the best reviews for being overall comprehensive. There are so many beautiful and informative drawings and examples of different mediums. It says that some of them were amassed from Osti's own sketchbooks over the years and I thoroughly believe it. It seems like it must have taken years to generate them all at such a high level of quality. There are full people, skeletons, and muscles posed in many interesting ways that you can copy or take inspiration from. I think the exercises would be particularly great for digital art-- which I recently did for the first time-- given that you can practice layering with ease. The sections on the head/ skull seem very helpful for portraiture, but I don't think I'll much use the hands/ feet section, since I feel confident in my education in that realm. Also, I appreciate the exercises a lot as I've been taught the basics of the stereometric method (boxy people, identifying simple plane changes). After the stereometric method, it covers all the bones in the body from many different angles for XX and XY skeletons, the muscles shown in different layers and together, and also has a separate section of color-coded muscles to help differentiate. It individually shows angles of the pelvis, the spine, etc. There are incredibly detailed labeled diagrams giving the names of all the bones and muscles, and explanations of their "origins and insertion." A few pages seem like a little much for my purposes, since I'm not sure that I want to learn the names and functions of every single bone and muscle in the human body, as I'm not an anatomy student, but I'm glad I have the option! The book has some helpful tips for quickly working out proportions and drawing in general, and I'm sure much more than I've mentioned since I haven't read it all, just skimmed its 300 pages! I really recommend this book. It also isn't too pricy compared to others. I wasn't asked to review or anything, I'm just IN LOVE with the book lol. It's also really great during social distancing since the only models I have access to are my immediate family. There's a section on lighting that's useful for details if you don't have a real person or a photograph in the right pose. I hope I helped you decide if this is what you're looking for!

Starting by stating the obvious, you can't have only a single anatomy for artists book. However, this one is great for beginners and intermediate levels. With all the great anatomy books out there, either classical or contemporary, if I were to be asked to choose only a single anatomy book to keep, this would be it. Hands down! This is one of the most valuable drawing books among my collection. Roberto Osti takes on a very complicated topic in figure drawing, which is anatomy, a topic that is so important, yet dreaded by novice and experienced artists alike, and explains it in a very clear and artistic way, which makes it an enjoyable read. The size of the book (8.5x10.5 inches), the clarity and quality of the diagrams, the logical progression of adding in complexity and details, makes this a great study companion and reference. You are really in good hands with an elegant artist who started by being a professional medical illustrator. He clearly understands what is sufficient for artists to know for a successful figurative drawing. Finally, the last chapter of this book, Osti dedicates it to sharing important drawing techniques on light and form, tonal drawing and foreshortening, among other important aspects of figure drawing. This is one among the most valuable drawing books in my library, period. Finally, if there's one important improvement for this book it would be to enhance the Index. It is quite laking, you can't even search for a term such as "Deltoid" using the index!

This book was recommended by a professional comic artist when someone asked for good anatomy references. This book is utterly wonderful. It starts with the basics (stereometric human forms) and gives several ways to conceptualize the form, from broad shapes and planes to relational measurements. It then gets more complex, and goes over bones, then muscles, then breaks into individual body sections. Each section has multiple exercises, and the center of the book is a series of beautifully rendered anatomy drawings. They're exceptionally well done, impressing both the art teacher I showed the book to and my doctor friend, who was very pleased at how the radius is shown repeated in "twist," which is how it sits most often. The poses often look more natural than you'd see in a basic anatomy chart. It's worth every penny, even for a hobbiest like myself. It really helps me when I'm looking at a reference but want to change something, making the body larger or smaller, changing an angle, etc. It also helps me conceptualize why a body part might not look right in a sketch. Absolutely adore this book.

This book is amazing, probably the easiest to understand and best organized anatomy book for artists that I've used, and I've used more than a few. I personally like the textbook style arrangement because it allows me to mark several chapters and bounce back and forth which is helpful. Plus its well illustrated and accommodating for different skill levels. All in all an excellent resource for artists of all degrees.

This book has everything the student artist of the body needs to know: its bones, muscles, and the unseen structures beneath the skin. The book clears up the confusion of an apparent appearance that we already think we know, but in truth, do not. Roberto takes you under the skin, gives you medically accurate images with easy-to-understand instructions so you see more clearly what is actually under the form. This way, you begin to understand what you cannot see. You begin to actually see deeply as you draw the human body. His book -- and if you're lucky enough to study with him, his classes -- are a window that opens into a bright new world of clarity in what you are seeing, drawing and painting. My Art has improved 100% by applying Roberto's aware-nesses in his book. If you want to be a better artist, this is the book for you.

This is a book I needed for analytical drawing class. While it is very pricey, it’s a great reference book. Super durable as well. Arrived two weeks sooner than expected :)

Finally, a human anatomy book for artists that informs but does not overwhelm, teaches without over-simplifying. This superb book by Roberto Osti is the kind you wish you had when you first started out learning to draw the human figure. While there are many good books on the subject, they are either too basic or too advanced. None that I've found seems to get it "just right." This one does. It has stuff for beginner and experienced students alike. If you are trying to decide between this and Valerie Winslow's books, let me tell you they are both great. But Osti guides you more step by step, so it is less intimidating. Winslow also writes denser text than he does. Osti has a book on the human figure in motion coming out next spring. If you can't wait, Winslow's books are highly recommended because she focuses on movement and action. But for the student just struggling to draw the human figure, and feeling the likes of Andrew Loomis and Jack Hamm don't teach enough, this book will inspire and guide you! Thank you, Mr. Osti!