Andrew Loomis was a highly regarded commercial illustrator who was prominent in the 40’s and 50’s. He was a superb draughtsman and the author of several how-to books on drawing that are classics in their genre, particularly Figure Drawing for All it’s Worth and Drawing the Head and Hands. Anyone interested in drawing people can benefit from studying Loomis, particularly illustrators and comic book artists.
The bad news is that his books are out of print and collectors want upwards of $70 for them. There are a couple of recent books that are extracted from the originals, Drawing: Figures in Action and Drawing the Head. They’re worthwhile (and inexpensive), but incomplete compared to the originals.
The good news is that there are archives of the original books online. The link below is to a terrific site at saveloomis.org that has an archive of most of his books. There is also a less-well organized archive at fineart.sk. Bud Plant Illustrated Books has a Loomis bio and is a place other than eBay to buy Loomis books. There is an archive of some of his finished illustration here.
