Anatomy of Facial Expressions

Purchased this book to help me with my facial aesthetics training.Excellent pictures and very informative, would definitely recommend

Anatomy of Facial Expression by Uldis Zarins“Anatomy of Facial Expression” is possibly the most important book on this subject to have been published in recent years. It is a work of extraordinary depth and quality that has relevance not only for artists but for medical students, social scientists, and, indeed, anyone with an interest in human facial expression.Facial expression is a complex subject, but the author has succeeded in making the book user-friendly by the heavy emphasis on images rather than text. The images are of exceptional clarity and quality. Artists of all levels can get something out of this book.For the artist whose interest in facial expression is mainly in possessing visual references, the book contains a comprehensive chapter showing facial expressions. The artist can simply ignore the preceding chapters and head straight there. The chapter “Facial Expressions” contains a full set of excellent colour photographs and 3D models of the fundamental facial expressions using both male and female models of different ages and ethnicity. The expressions are shown in full face, three-quarter profile and profile. This chapter alone makes the book worth having.If you are an artist interested in learning about facial expression this is an excellent textbook. There is a detailed and comprehensive examination of the skull. I found the pages illustrating the main differences between the male and female skulls especially helpful. Following that is a thorough investigation of the facial muscles. The origins, insertions and functions of the facial muscles are both explained and copiously illustrated. Again, the photos, 3D models and drawings are really first class.Even for the artist who already has a deep knowledge of facial expression, this volume may well still add something to his or her knowledge. At the least, it will be an excellent volume to have on the shelf as a reference book. Further, for the true aficionado of facial expression who is familiar with “FACS”, the “Facial Action Coding System” by Paul Ekman, Walter V. Friesen and Joseph C. Hager, there is a chapter on “FACS” which is an excellent supplement to that system.A very worthy Five Stars.Alan Friend.

Someone has gone to a lot of trouble to make this book, hence the high price I assume. However, as a would be portrait artist I found the expressions forced and unrealistic so it wasn’t a lot of use to me, apart from the anatomical facial illustrations. Much more designed for sculptors in my opinion.

Very disappointed to receive a used book for over $120.

Llegó incluso un día antes, llegó con un ligero dobles en la esquina pero me imagino que es por el viaje dentro del paquete.En sí, es un excelente libro, con muy buena información y demasiado detallada, cada centavo vale la pena.

I set out on a mission to get really good at drawing the female form, and began with just the face/head. I’ve acquired a stack of anatomy books and even went so far as to buy a rather pricey online course that was so boring I couldn’t get through it. The problem I have with most anatomy books is that the authors drawings are sloppy, inaccurate, confusing or don’t translate the scientific information well to completing a drawing. Or they only focus on males with a short insert on female anatomy. THIS BOOK is the book I’ve been searching for. It has so many detailed graphics and overlays using real people (both male and female) you’re able to fully understand why shapes, lines, and forms are the way they are on the face. With that understanding it becomes much easier to draw an accurate face in less time (with practice) and when something does look “off” I’m able to identity the problem and correct it instead of drawing, erasing, redrawing, erasing again.... there is plenty of text explanations that understand your end goal and why you’re using the book, they don’t make assumptions about how much you may already know or want to know, it teaches you many muscles and features that maybe you’ll never need to know but I like that it’s so thorough. Once you learn all of this info you can rely a little more on your imagination to render drawings and portraits accurately and beautifully. Totally worth every penny, I’ll be buying the companion book on the rest of the body soon!

This book is AWESOME for sculptors! I am not an artist but even I was extremely impressed with this book’s illustrations and examples of the myriad subtle variations among body types, facial features, ages, and etc. From what I could see, this book is an absolute goldmine for accurately capturing the expression and angle of a face an artist is “going for.” I wish I could afford to purchase all the books in this series for the sculptor in my family.

Truly the most thorough book on the market. As a physician assistant working in cosmetic injections, knowing and mastering anatomy is vital. As you can see the book breaks musculature down beautifully, as well as other areas of facial expression such as bone, ligaments, and fat. The artwork is also incredible and super detailed. Really a high quality book that is a must have for all working in facial aesthetics!