hal hefner's sketch collection

I get asked tons and tons of times about what books I use as reference to draw from–and what books I have learned from.

Whether it’s learning to draw the figure, studying anatomy or working in a comic book style format, I use books A LOT. Every day.

Below I have created my list of books that if I were stranded on a desert Island, at least 4 of the books would come with me. These are a small list of my all time favorite figure, anatomy and drawing books. I have every one of them and have used every one of them and can personally recommend them to the most professional artist to enhance their skills or the most untrained artist as great starting points to learn how to draw.

Please e-mail me if you have any questions about these books in general. Their titles are pretty self explanatory though I will break down my top 4 MUST BUY BOOKS in more detail. I hope you enjoy these books like I have.

1) How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way: How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way

THE BIBLE of all comic book how to draw books. It’s still the best and one of my most favorite books. My copy si falling apart, the pages are yellow and I’ve had it since I was 12!

2) An Atlas of Anatomy for Artists:An Atlas of Anatomy for Artists
This is my favorite book on human anatomy. It’s loaded with great muscular and skeletal images for instruction and most importantly, understanding human anatomy.

3) Drawing the Head and Figure by Jack Ham. Great book that is still relevant and loaded with tips on how to draw fast and accurate figures.
Drawing the Head and Figure (Perigee)

4) The Human Figure: A Photographic Reference for Artists is a great book of poses of the male and female figure. I use this all the time!
The Human Figure: A Photographic Reference for Artists

Hey everyone. Happy Hump Day to you and yours!

If you haven’t noticed, I’ve been on a bit of a sketch/trading card kick recently.

The small format is fun and really easy to work in. I’ve done a bunch of cards over the past month–And because of this, I will actually be participating in my first official trading/sketch card set. This set  is for the Pediatric Oncology Treasure Chest Foundation. The Treasure Chest Foundation is dedicated to helping out kids with cancer and I’m honored to be a part of that. My father passed away from cancer and one of my childhood friends battled it when I was in high school. Needless to say I’m all about finding a cure and helping to prevent this disease from taking more lives. It’s an awful thing to see a child suffering from cancer, so let’s help them!

I’ll be doing 50 original art sketch cards for the set, which is due out later on this year and takes place at the Chicagoland Entertainment Collectors Expo.
So if you are looking to see some cool Star Wars art, keep on eye on my website as well as deviatart for more info!

May the force be with you–

Hal

I just gave my girl, Hawkgirl a whole batch of new sketch cards I cranked out. So…item #1 on Ebay is Aayla Secura. I’m in love with this sexy blue-skinned babe. She’s sleek, sexy and a Jedi. Grrrrr….She’s my new favorite Star Wars chick…

This is a funny card I cranked out of a Nagel style Robert Smith sketch card from the cure. I had my art dealer throw it up on ebay…Love the Cure. Check it out

Nigel’s art cracked me up…so I figured why not create a version of the God of the new wave era in the style of the art god of the new wave era.

Hal

YO! YO! MO MO!

I’m so bummed about what’s going on in Haiti. It’s awful and scary. Hopefully the survivors get the help they need. I’m sending good vibes their way.

But on a lighter note, I uploaded 2 new sketch cards today…One Star Wars sketch card and one DC sketch Card….

My first is of Dengar, the evil and nasty looking Bounty Hunter who is in the Empire Strikes Back for all of 2 seconds…But I’ve always been a fan of him and Bossk and 4-Lom and Zuckass etc…I love me some bounty hunters!

I’ve also posted the Joker…whose villainy needs no introduction. I’m loving this picture so much. I love the Joker…period.

Check them out in the sketch card gallery! And yes they are all for sale.