About the Book Movement & Form
Movement & Form is the first volume of Samantha Youssef’s complete figure drawing program, focusing on techniques of gesture drawing, posing, movement, body mechanics, and form. It is the foundation course that I teach to professional artists in the animation industry.
The Youssef Drawing Syllabus stems from Samantha’s studies at art academies around the world, her experience as a hand drawn feature film animator, her experience as an Animation Director, and her training in classical ballet. It's a method that applies to a wide range of artists from different backgrounds, CG & hand drawn animators, visual development artists, comic book artists, story artists, illustrators, character designers, sculptors, fine artists, art students and anyone who is passionate in their pursuit of drawing.
This book will help you understand gesture, so that you can bring more life to your poses. It will break down the body mechanics of the figure, shedding light on the incredible range of motion capable in the body as well as the limitations and restraints. It addresses the form, structure, design, and aesthetic of the figure, and trains you to improve your ability to control proportion, without having to rely on measuring tools. Most importantly, it will address the disconnect between gesture and rendered images, and bridge the gap where other figure drawing methods have not been able to. These tools are valuable to all artists who work with the human figure, from academic drawing to stylized character illustrations.
About the Book Functional Anatomy
Functional Anatomy is a course in book form. It is a thorough analysis of anatomy for the artist.
It contains extensive breakdowns of the muscular and skeletal systems, however unlike conventional artistic anatomy approaches, this course offers an understanding of human anatomy in motion and how to properly understand it's form in diverse and complex poses. It will expand on the body mechanics of the figure, building off the progressive gesture system established in Volume 1.
The artist will learn what actions engage specific muscles, and when muscles are not engaged. This effects the shape and design of the muscle, and how it is handled on the form. While this book is best used following the gesture and posing techniques from Volume 1: Movement & Form, it is is a strong resource in anatomy as a course on its own.
The Story of How This Series of Books Came To Be
Several years ago I was approached by a major animation studio to train their artists. I developed an artistic training program to target the needs of professional artists based on my consulting experience. Soon after many other studios started contacting me to conduct workshops and sessions as well. Since then, I have since been invited to work with feature film, VFX and video game studios around the world.
I have been privileged to work with incredibly talented people, and see the results of this syllabus I have designed in their work. I hope this book will inspire other artists, help expand artistic awareness, and offer the language needed to have the words to express oneself through drawing.
I am honoured to have been able to collaborate with Live Model Books, the best photography of art models available, to provide a visual reference for the lessons in the book.