Tom Richardson
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figure-drawings.com
Tom Richardson
@figure-drawings.com
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I had a website with PDFs of public domain drawing books. I’ll share those and other things
An old blog is at https://figure-drawings.blogspot.com/ Books at Lulu https://www.lulu.com/spotlight/figuredrawing
https://bsky.app/profile/figuredrawings.com
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figure-drawings.com
We also painted a still life
A painting of an Apple, plum, grapes, orange, watermelon, banana, and a mug
August 28, 2025 at 12:04 AM
figure-drawings.com
I did a painting class today we looked at some experiments in interaction of color
Orange and blue next to neutral grey. They grey looks lighter next to blue Red and green next to neutral grey. The grey looks lighter next to green. Violet and yellow next to neutral grey. They grey looks lighter next to violet
August 28, 2025 at 12:03 AM
figure-drawings.com
Another page from Horse Anatomy
RELATIVE PROPORTIONS A COMPARISON OF MAN AND HORSE A THOROBRED AND A BELGIAN A man and a woman stand next to a Belgian horse, the man is about the height of the horse’s neck. The Belgian stands about a head taller than the thorobred. The woman is about the same height as the thorobred’s neck.
July 18, 2025 at 8:58 PM
figure-drawings.com
I came across this book, Horse Anatomy by Lewis S. Brown, published in 1948. He put a huge amount of work into drawing the individual pages showing the anatomy of the horse compared to the size of the human.
Drawings of horses and men and women showing the relative proportions of each. Text reads, “THIS IS A STANDARO-BRED RACE HORSE OF 1050 L8S. HIS LENGTH OF 64* IS SLIGHTLY OVER 2 1/2 HORSE HEADS. HIS HEIGHT IS 63” OR JUST IVER 2 1/2 HORSE HEADS ST WITHERS AND GROUP” “THERE ATE 3 WOMEN HEADS IN THR HORSE HEAD(24 1/2”) THE WOMAN IS 5’-4” TALL” “THIS MAN IS 6’ TALL. HIS HEAD IS 1/8 HIS TOTAL HEIGHT OR 9”.”
July 16, 2025 at 11:51 PM
figure-drawings.com
#figurepainting #nudeart
The cover of WILLY POCANY'S Oil Painting Lessons showing a female figure with a drapery
July 11, 2025 at 4:22 AM
figure-drawings.com
Comparative proportions from Anthropometry and Anatomy by JohnS. Barrington
#figuredrawing #proportions
Drawing of comparative proportions of a man and a woman shown as the number of heads to make up the full body
July 11, 2025 at 3:06 AM
figure-drawings.com
Willie Pogany’s Drawing Lessons, the 1946 cover #figuredrawing #nudeart
July 10, 2025 at 3:10 PM
figure-drawings.com
Willie Pogany published a book called Drawing Lessons in 1946, it is still available as a reprint titled The Art of Drawing #figuredrawing
Drawings of heads and ovals showing the placement of eyes, nose, and mouth Drawings of heads and the underlying bones and muscles Drawings of slightly tilted heads and ovals showing the placement of eyes, nose, and mouth Drawings of slightly tilted heads and ovals showing the placement of eyes, nose, and mouth
July 10, 2025 at 3:06 PM
figure-drawings.com
A book of drawing the figure from 1937. The photographs from nature was a big feature. #figuredrawing
Cover of a book, photo of a model and line drawings of similar poses 34 PHOTOGRAPHS FROM NATURE How to DRAW from the NUDE Charles Hope Provost BASIC LINES OF THE FIGURE PLANS ANATOMY ACTION EXPLANATORY TEXT AND DIAGRAMS FOR THE STUDENT Photo of a nude model and a line drawing of the model and lines showing the orientation of the limbs. Text reads: TWO OPPOSING SETS OF SLIGHTLY VARIED LINES Here, as in music, a continued slightly varied theme of the same general effect is restful and' novel. Note the left arm and upper left leg, at almost the same angle, balanced by the lower left leg, folded right leg and right arm, at a pleasing opposed angle. Dramatic black and white rendering of the shadows shown in the next photo. Text reads, THE FIRST STEP A well posed model sustains the student's interest, and makes for a better finished result. Note the well arranged opposing lines of the legs, arms and torso. Photo of a model kneeling
July 9, 2025 at 3:14 PM
figure-drawings.com
“Loose leaf portfolio” anyway here’s another page from the book #figuredrawing #recliningnude #figuresketch
Sketches of women reclining
July 8, 2025 at 3:59 AM
figure-drawings.com
Drawings by the French artist La Lire from Figure Techniques by Ben Duggar and Guy Lockwood. Lockwood originally published a loose Leah set of these drawings in portfolio form.

www.artnet.com/artists/adol...

#figuredrawing #anatomy
Rendered illustrations of standing female figures in a variety of poses
July 7, 2025 at 7:14 PM
figure-drawings.com
Action sketches from How to Draw by Alexander Murray 1932
Sketches of figures in action, the text reads, “Here are some more ways of getting action with your figure drawings. Study people wherever you see them. Try to make memory sketches after you get home from the ball game or the theatre. The bathing resorts offer wonderful opportunities to make figure sketches. The rough notes or sketches that you make will often prove to be your most interesting work because of the action they hold.”
July 6, 2025 at 3:47 PM
figure-drawings.com
Happy Fourth of July from Clare Briggs
A cartoon of 6 boys comparing their injuries. The title reads DAYS OF REAL SPORT A sign says, FOURTH OF JULY VETS A boy with his arm in a sling says to a boy with both thumbs and his eye bandaged, AH- H-SHUCKS - I BETCHA I GOT BURNT WORSERN YOU DID - Another boy with only one finger bandaged say to two others, JIMINY CRICKITS THAT HURTS LIKE THUH DICKENS -
July 4, 2025 at 2:46 AM
figure-drawings.com
Old Mutt and Jeff strip from “How to Draw Cartoons” by Briggs

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bud_Fis...

panelsandprose.com/2025/01/12/t...
1st panel- Rich guy says:CHEERIO, OLD DEARS! YOU MUST CALL AGAIN. Mutt:THANKS, SIR SID,-WE SURE WILL Jeff: CHEERIO, OLD THING! 2nd panel - Jeff: MUTT, DID YOU MAKE ANY BREAKS AT THE DINNER TONIGHT? Mutt: DID I? SIR SID'S SISTER ASKED ME How I LIKED BACON - 3rd panel- Mutt: AND SAID "WELL DONE". I DIDN'T KNoW SHE WAS SPEAKING ABOUT AN ENGLISH WRITER! Jeff: OOWAH: 4th panel - Jeff; I MADE TERRIBLE FAUX PAS MYSELF Mutt: YOU DID! How? 5th panel- Jeff: SID'S SISTER ASKED ME IF HAVE I WOULD SOME RYE - MEANING BREAD- AND I SAID YES" AND PASSED My GLASS!, Mutt: I PULLED THAT BONER, тоо:
July 3, 2025 at 3:04 PM
figure-drawings.com
Four samples of the drawings in the book
Several of the heads from the book, line drawing of a man looking to his right with surprise Several of the heads from the book, shaded drawing of a man looking to his right with surprise Line drawing of a bearded man looking left Shaded drawing of a bearded man looking left
July 3, 2025 at 5:44 AM
figure-drawings.com
I came across a copy of this book and purchased it for the most I ever spent for one of these drawing books. It has 200 Illustrations. Originally Published in 1759. The original owner of this book took the portfolio of prints and had them bound.
Back cover, the text reads, "The School of Raphael or the Student's Guide to Expression in Historical Painting With 200 Illustrations Originally Published in 1759 These prints of the human head, showing the range of emotions and expressions, were engraved by the most skilled artists of the day from tracings and drawings made by Nicholas Dorigny from the famous cartoons that Raphael designed in the eatly 1500s to be made into tapestries for the Sistine Chapel. The tapestries are still exhibited on occasion, the cartoons were stored away in the Netherlands and only acquired by Chates I of England after Peter Paul Rubens informed the King of their existence. The cartoons themselves were admired because they were from the hand of Raphael and his studio and they were considered the artistic equivalent of Michelangelo's ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Dorigny was commissioned to make prints of the cartoons because his of his fame as an engraver of the work of Raphael. He spent eight years on the project. The prints were widely circulated and the fame of the cartoons spread. The engravings of the heads were finally compiled into this book in 1759 when the art world was eager for new books of art instruction showing how to depict the range of human expression. Designed and edited by Tom Richardson."
July 3, 2025 at 5:32 AM
figure-drawings.com
Saint Paul Preaching at Athens from the Royal Collection Trust www.rct.uk/collection/s...
you can see the woman on the right in the Royal Collection color image is the one reproduced in the book.
Head of a woman Head of a woman
July 3, 2025 at 12:06 AM
figure-drawings.com
The School of Raphael
or The Student's Guide to
Expression in Historical Painting
by Nicholas Dorigny
with commentary by Benjamin Ralph

One of the books I made into both a pdf and a print on demand edition. You can request the pdf from me for $5 or order a book at www.amazon.com/gp/product/0...
Cover of the book showing rendering of one of the heads. This book was the published to demonstrate the range of human expression. This was a popular study in the eighteenth century. In the seventeenth century Charles LeBrun published his Methode pour apprendre a dessiner les passions. This was becoming outdated because of the new interest in classicism. Benjamin Ralph published this book which was based on tracings, and drawings of Nicholas Dorigny and the engravings made of them by a number of accomplished French engravers working under his direction of the famous cartons that Raphael made to be manufactured into tapestries for the Sistine Chapel. Dorigny was chosen to produce engravings of the cartoons which were in the possession of the King of England because of his fame in reproducing the works of Raphael in Rome. The original book is an oversized book with a total of 90 large prints. half of them are fully rendered, shaded engravings, the other half are engravings of the original tracings and drawings showing where shadows and high lights will be placed. For this edition I have divided the prints in half when scanning them and placed them on opposite pages so they can be reproduced full size and as closely as possible to their original appearance.
July 2, 2025 at 11:44 PM
figure-drawings.com
Here are some hands from the Alexander Dobkin book
Drawings of hands, the text reads, “The striking thing about the drawings on this page is the difference in approach to the same problem. Hands fascinated both artist Hokusai in the East and Leonardo in the West. But while the Italian was the product and a leader of Renaissance classicism, the Japanese artist knew lite and cared less for the Greek ideal of beauty. Keen observation of split-second movements of the fingers and their expressiveness dominates Holasai's art, while grace, placidity, formality, and an objective attitude motivate da Vinci's drawings.”
July 2, 2025 at 11:03 PM
figure-drawings.com
Jan Steven Van Calvary from “De Humanity Corporis Fabrica” from The principals of Figure Drawing by Alexander Dobkin
Illustration of the muscles of the body both front and back views. JAN STEPHAN VAN CALCAR. Illustrations from "De Humani Corporis Fabrica" by Andrea Vesalius, a sixteenth-century treatise on anatomy by the most distinguished anatomist of his day. These remarkable illustrations were cut in wood by an artist who had a gift for representing factual elements with rare skill and imagination. Today this book is cherished not only for its anatomical text but also for its creative figure drawings.
July 2, 2025 at 10:34 PM