The Art of Drawing by Willy Pogany (1946)
You can't go wrong with this foundational book on drawing
This book maybe singlehandedly, more than any other book, taught me how to draw some 10+ years ago. Back then I had been a fan of Willy Pogany’s illustrations before I did a bit more digging and found out he had published his own books on drawing! Naturally I had to get my hands on it and fortunately it’s even still in print today through Dover Publications (I found mine at my local bookstore or scroll to the bottom to find where you can view it online).
Willy Pogany (1882-1955) was a Hungarian illustrator who illustrated over 150 books with his signature fairytale and art nouveau flair. One of his best known works is for the Lohengrin where he also did the calligraphy.
Selected Pages
If you’re after a book to learn the basics of portraiture and figure drawing I would highly recommend this one- the pictures are really clear and there isn’t an overwhelming amount of text to read through.
In terms of other drawing instruction books out there, I find Pogany’s style a bit more romantic/soft/palatable than say George Bridgeman’s books (which are rather muscular) or Andrew Loomis (whose models feel too beautiful in a 1950s retro way, which isn’t really my style).
The book starts off with a dot exercise. Can you draw some dots and then replicate the exact same position of each on a separate piece of paper? It sounds ludicrously simple but is pretty essential in being able to judge distance and proportion in drawing.
It dedicates a few pages to perspective concepts which I found more helpful than other dedicated perspective books I have.
You might find some people’s figures and anatomy can be a bit soft/jelly looking. A big part in rectifying that is knowing where the bones are a little more prominent on the skin — I’ve always found this spread to be hugely useful.
Like Andrew Loomis, the crux of the book is being able to construct your figures with harmony and balance as core principles.
Really love how he simplifies the figure too, and makes you aware of negative space.
Download the book
Click here to see the book in full. Internet archive may require you to sign up for a free account in order to ‘borrow’ the book.
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The Illustrations of Willy Pogany - by Pete Beard