text: As I sat here writting this review my rating dropped from a three star rating to a two star rating, and I now realize that all of my malice and discontent could have easily been diverted if the book were titled "Drawing People: A Technical Guide for Beginners" and mentioned nary a word about the clothed figure. Then if I had of stumbled upon this book it would have been an added bonus that the author took the time to outline some basics on clothing and drappery, instead of a full out disappointment. Not that I blame the author solely, most of the blame lies at my door. I was so overjoyed in finding a book that proclaimed it was specifically about drawing the clothed figure, Brune Hogath's book aside (another devastating disappointment), and that it was written by a professor from the Academy of Art, a school that I am still deciding on attending, that instead of going my normal route (ordering the book through the store, checking it out in person, and then ordering it online so I could get a fatty discount) I impulsively bought the book, only reading the book synopsis and barely glancing over the customer reviews (which all looked favorable). Now I realise my folly, and am yet determining whether I'll pay for it (i.e. keep the book).
  
  I guess what all of my harping boils down to is the lack of content instead of the quality, for I can easily discern Bradley is an excellent artist with years of knowledge garnered from experience, and I'd say that experience shows equally in all areas, not just clothing but in setting up a composition and following through. The problem is, at least in my opinion, that this book is supposed to specifically address clothing, and it doesn't for the most part. Roughly one fourth of the book pertains to clothing, the other three fourths talk about: 
  
              how to properly hold your drawing implement, how to properly position yourself if you are drawing                                 from a live modle, maintaing a daily sketchbook, researching your subject matter, the relationships between       the head neck and shoulders, drawing hands, drawing feet, drawing eyes, and a whole slew of other. . .I wouldn't say irrelavent, because they are relavent, but not neccessarily the most important topics pertaining to drawing the clothed figure.
  
  A refernce guide on clothing should discuss a plethora of clothing materials, and Bradley does on one page with chicken scratch detailing. It should outline some of the rules when dealing with how clothes tend to fit people of varying body tips, again something Bradley discusses on one single page. The differnce between water logged clothing and dry clothing, she didn't bother mentioning that. How pants typically bunch up while you're walking seen from the head on, profile, three quaters, and back view, another topic she failed to mention. Some examples of evening/ formal attire vs. day clothes, how clothing reacts when the subject is in motion, how jackets restrain your actions and bunch up, the effect of wearing multiple layers at once, achieving that perfect windswept look, and all manner of other topics that should appear in an artistic clothing refernce guide.
  
  Maybe I'm being too harsh on Bradley, after all she does mention in her preface that there aren't a whole lot of books pertain to drawing the clothed figure, and compared to the standard "how to. . ." books she's leaps and bounds ahead of the rest. Oh yeah, that's another thing, she doesn't outline any steps on how to achieve a realistic rendering like- first start out with a cone pointing upward then draw a sphere at the bottom/base. The sphere represents the weight of the gathered cloth so the stress lines originate from the tip of the cone and travel down the length eventually enveloping the sphere. Note the ripples. -or some junk like that. Back to me not being to harsh on Bradley, I guess in reading she is/was a professor in the arts I thought she would have some understanding of the common impediments modern day artist face when depicting clothing.
  
  For all who have read this drawn out rant, two maybe three people, and think I'm all talk, trust me if I had the skills I'd come up with my own series of "How to draw. . ." books and address all of my issues. As is I'm pretty good at drawing dynamic figures, but the second I add clothing they become flat, lifeless caricatures and I don't see this book as alleviating my shortcomings much. As is my own artistic habits (drawing from magazines, online pics, and occasionally stepping outside of my cave to draw people in motion) are a match for the few helpful hints in this book. You're better off doing what you've always done plus artistically drapping to a wall or over a piece of furniture from time to time then buying this book.
  
  If you do know of a book that addresses even half of the afore mentioned topics, if you could write a review mentioning them, somehow recommend them to me or whatever I'd be eternally in your debt
  