Editorial Review
This invaluable anatomical reference shows important parts of the human body, both in motion and in repose: hand, wrist, fingers, forearm, neck, thigh, leg, and more. Drawings of bone and muscle structure are also covered in detail. Over 500 illustrations. "Best book on artist's anatomy." — Art Students League News.
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Customer Reviews
A Great Book for Artist 
2008-02-09
If your a Bridgeman fan or just want to learn how to draw anatomy this book is worth the price. I have been drawing longer than I can remeber but just recently decided I wanted to improve my art skills mainly my ability to draw the human body. So I started buying art books on human anatomy and this by far is my favorite one and heres why, its at a comfortable size so you can easily take it with you, it has close to 500 illustrations, and his style is helpful to me most when I'm drawing from memory. For its price I highly recommend it.
Too little for too much 
2007-12-28
I'm a Bridgman fan, but his complete guide to drawing from life is available used for $7.50. and sells new for $12.21. This is less than an introduction to the genius that is Bridgman, get the big book.
One of my favorite anatomy books around 2007-02-10
This still remains as one of the top anatomy books I use the most. I actually like the fact the figures and illustrations are not super detailed and more loose sketches. A beginner might find this frustrating, but as a person that is trying to develop my own style I find it more important you get a loose interpretation and fill in your own details and personal touch. Otherwise you'll just have clone artists of these anatomy books.
The other reason I love this book is the price. It's small size makes it very easy to carry around too.
I feel I've improved tenfold since I've purchased this book on making my anatomy look more real.
QUICK AND EASY 
2007-02-07
This is a good quick reference guide and is easy to read as is all of Bridgman's books. The Complete Guide to Drawing From Life is more indepth and might be better if you want a little more explaination.
One of my Top 3 Bridgman books- great in drawing from memory... 2006-04-02
Mainly for intermediate-level artists- it's actually *GREAT* for enthusiastic beginners. It has a little bit of *everything* depicting anatomy construction from memory. It's also great for general improvement; a few tips & tricks- an *excellent* reference for all working artists.
This is the book that really turned me on to the genius that is Bridgman. At first glance it may not be immediately impressive, but flip to page 167 for a quick look at his cubed-construction of the head. It's Bridgman's brief but effective treatment of cube-construction in this book that really, really impresses me. Many books *mention* cube-construction for heads; many books show a brief picture or two. But not many show it with the precision & detail that Bridgman conveys in just a few short pages. It deals with figure construction mainly in its parts- for full-figure movement, check out Bridgman's Complete Guide, or his less overwhelming Bridgman's Life Drawing. Constructive Anatomy begins with hands, which in my opinion is the weakest part of the book. (Bridgman's 100 Hands is much, much better.) Arms are next and they're easily among Bridgman's best, although not all the drawings are crystal clear. Many of the BEST drawings in Bridgman's Complete Guide are taken from this book, and his depiction of arms here is definitely among them. The shoulder & neck briefly follow, and are above average in their depiction. Then it's time for that excellent section: the cubed-construction of the head. It's only a FEW pages- I don't want to oversell it. But in my opinion at least, it's worth the price of the book. Individual features follow: eyes, nose, ears and mouth are simply & accurately treated. This is a more *in-depth* book than Heads, Features and Faces- which is mainly a simple introduction to the basics. Maybe the BEST section in Constructive Anatomy involves the Torso. He describes more in a few pages than most books ever do- and with a precision & beauty that few seem to match. The pelvis, legs, knees, feet & toes finish this truly excellent work. If anyone's overwhelmed by Bridgman's Complete Guide, Constructive Anatomy is a simple & effective choice to make- Highly Recommended!
In short: Along with Book of a Hundred Hands & Bridgman's Complete Guide, Constructive Anatomy is currently in my Top 3 by Bridgman.
Kinda hard to understand 2004-02-10
This invaluable anatomical reference shows important parts of the human body, both in motion and in repose: hand, wrist, fingers, forearm, neck, thigh, leg, and more. Drawings of bone and muscle structure are also covered in detail. Over 500 illustrations. "Best book on artist's anatomy." — Art Students League News.
Not what I hoped for! 
2003-12-15
I expected more from this book based on the reviews that I read before buying it. Although it has some good information about what specific muscles jobs are, the illustrations are not clear enough for good understanding. As an artist specifically working with the human form I find this book very mickey mousey and incomplete. If you already have all the books ever created on human anatomy that are needed to put together the information that is required to have a comprehensive knowledge on how the human body is constructed and moves then get this to finish your collection, but if you are looking for a clear understanding and accurate information on human anatomy for the artist look elswhere.
Still the best anatomy book around 2003-07-31
I have nearly ten anatomy books and this is the one I grab for most when I need to solve an anatomy problem while drawing or sketching.
For the most part, Bridgman first simplifies complex anatomy problems into simple structures before exploring the muscle patterns into more complex detail. This allows the artist to see the particular anatomy problem as a proportional mass rather than a complex network of muscle fibers. For me, this makes the human anatomy much more accessible.
For instance, he will take the torso and break it down into simple objects like cubes, triangles, and planes, illustrate them in their proper proportions, and then move forward into to more precise detail.
I find this book not just educational but as a great reference as well.
best value of any book i've ever purchased! 2003-07-05
this book is by far the best on figure drawing that i've seen. bridgman is an absolute master of the human form, and he breaks everything down into simple shapes to help even the novice. his realistic and beautiful drawings are anatomically accurate, and quite nice to look at! buy any of bridgman's books, including the brilliant "book of 100 hands", and you'll be treating yourself to an extremely inexpensive lesson from a true master.
Wow! 2003-03-19
Lemme tell you something right now. This is one sweet little book! It gets two stars right off the bat because it's really cheap(unlike Hogarth). For a student who doesn't have an income, this really helps out. When I bought this this book, I thought I knew a little about human anatomy. Well, put it this way, I was wrong! This book is PACKED with anatomy! Thanks to it, I've been getting alot better. Now I'm starting to do a real study of this book, and I don't think I'll be disappointed.
