Translated from the Italian.

Includes bibliographical references.

Written with clarity and enthusiasm, and using numerous examples of his own work as teaching aids, Civardi provides the reader with a firm grounding in observation, anatomy, proportion, body structure, perspective and composition. The exploration of static versus dynamic poses provides the artist with an invaluable source of ideas and inspiration, and towards the end of the book is a series of exercises designed to stimulate the reader, and reinforce and consolidate his or her understanding of the text.