Sculpting the Figure in Clay: An Artistic and Technical Journey to Understanding the Creative and Dynamic Forces in Figurative Sculpture

I teach sculpting and have for a number of years. I had mentors when I started sculpting, but I also relied heavily on reference materials,from experts such as Rubino (the current author of this volume) and Bruno Lucchesi, among others. Though I put Bruno at the top of my list, a close second is Rubino. He is truly a gifted sculptor who is an expert teacher. This volume on Sculpting the Figure in Clay is his best and most comprehensive. It even includes black & white photos of models in various poses which are perfect for sculpting. I will certainly "steal" his suggestions. No other reference book of this type ventures into doing an "abstract" figure, after completing a realistic version. This section I found particularly instructive, as it makes it easier for me to relay this type of information to my current (and hopefully future) students.As a fellow artist, I commend and congratulate Rubino on an excellent and indispensable sculpture reference book.

Awesome reference!

If you are looking for how to sculpt a human body, this is the right book to purchase. Instructions are easy to read and understanding, even for a foreigner (English isn’t my native language) like me.

This book was suggested to me by a friend when I said I was interested in taking sculpting. While it had great info on how to build up the figure, I was rather disappointed on the lack of info on types of clay one could use. The author only mentioned plain old water based clay which dries. I wished he talked about oil based clays because they dont dry out.If you want more info on types of clay look elsewhere.

My community college studio had this book for students & at my new college the studio doesn’t have any reference material like this. If you are a sculptor this is a great book for your library.

This is a very good book for learning to sculpt the female figure. It gives instructions for each step and if you follow them, which it is easy to do, you will have a great sculpture. Furthermore, the instructions helps a beginning sculptor learn how to sculpt the female torso for any future venture. Good book, easy to follow.

Nice method for visualizing the process of sculpting the figure. The tutorial has a wealth of photos and guides the reader through the steps in making first sculptures.For a person somewhat new to clay sculpting it helps in developing the work process and will support planning and creating future projects.

I think on the whole it will be a good book. I haven't actually had more than a quick browse in it. However, I was disappointed that it included only female models; no male at all. I was really hoping for both.