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· 234 ratings · 17 reviews

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Feb 06, 2016 Sean rated it it was amazing

I haven't drawn since I was in elementary school but now I can actually draw things. This is a great book if you're an absolute beginner and are motivated to learn how to draw (ie you're willing to put in some time and effort). If you read a chapter or 2 and put it down for a month and don't draw anything over that time, nope you're not gonna get any better at drawing. But if you keep at it and go at a comfortable pace that's good for you, you'll get better.

I read the first 4 chapters, which giv

I read the first 4 chapters, which give you an good base of skills, and you can start picking and choosing where you want to go from there. You don't want to learn how to do portraits right now? Not a problem, skip that chapter.

The downside it that, as with all endeavors of this sort, you're doing it on your own so you don't have an instructor to give you personalized feedback. The upside is that instead of following an art course's syllabus or agenda, you're going at your own pace so it's entirely up to you what areas you want to work on and what areas you want to skip.

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Oct 22, 2016 Camilasc rated it it was amazing

The *perfect* book for the grown up who wants to learn how to draw, or for the pro who's been in a rut and needs to refresh the basics (exhibit A, represent!).

From a more meta level, the use of other student drawings is a novel touch for a how-to book, and does help in bring out the specific benefits of the workshop model of learning.

Best quote:

"Approach drawing as a magical activity to do, to learn, and to see- profound, mysterious, and gratifying".

The *perfect* book for the grown up who wants to learn how to draw, or for the pro who's been in a rut and needs to refresh the basics (exhibit A, represent!).

From a more meta level, the use of other student drawings is a novel touch for a how-to book, and does help in bring out the specific benefits of the workshop model of learning.

Best quote:

"Approach drawing as a magical activity to do, to learn, and to see- profound, mysterious, and gratifying".

...more

I am not even a complete beginner, but this still was difficult for me to follow. It was an interesting read, I learned a bit more about different mediums of drawing. Not as much about drawing itself, even if it does give some tips. This is more of a book of "seeing" and recording what you see. There were also few images of the process itself, and more text and finished student drawings instead. Being a visual person, it was difficult for me to follow the instructions at some points in the book. I am not even a complete beginner, but this still was difficult for me to follow. It was an interesting read, I learned a bit more about different mediums of drawing. Not as much about drawing itself, even if it does give some tips. This is more of a book of "seeing" and recording what you see. There were also few images of the process itself, and more text and finished student drawings instead. Being a visual person, it was difficult for me to follow the instructions at some points in the book. This is not a favorite instructional work on drawing. ...more

Jan 03, 2021 Alison rated it really liked it

I thought this was an excellent book on how to draw. I did a lot of drawing in my childhood, but I really enjoyed this from someone re-learning how to draw as an adult.

Jan 16, 2021 Sarah rated it really liked it

My favorite I've seen for teaching technical side of drawing. Good for use with ~8yo through adult. My favorite I've seen for teaching technical side of drawing. Good for use with ~8yo through adult. ...more

When I first began reading Drawing for the Absolute and Utter Beginner, Revised I found myself frustrated because the author kept saying "Draw what you see" and I thought, "but I can't draw what I see, that's why I'm reading this book!" Once I read further, I understood that the point is, you have to start somewhere, and drawing what you see is that point.

The book then goes on to explain how to improve on your drawing, and make it more realistic. I came to realize that a lot of learning to draw

The book then goes on to explain how to improve on your drawing, and make it more realistic. I came to realize that a lot of learning to draw is to tune your vision into the things that our eyes and mind take care of automatically for us. You must see the different types of shadows, and tones (light to dark), the angle at which the object is placed etc. and learn how to duplicate them. Another large part is just to keep practicing by drawing anything and everything, and not to be ashamed of any attempt. It's all part of the pathway to growth.

This book does a very good job of explaining concepts, giving practice exercises and showing examples of other students' exercise attempts. It also covers a wide range of topics and techniques.

I had a lot of fun working my way through many of the exercises, and consider it a good learning and reference tool. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to learn how to draw.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Ten Speed Press for allowing me to read an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed here are my own.

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A big thank you to NetGalley and Ten Speed Press for the ARC. I am voluntarily reviewing this book. First time reading this author. I am by no means an artist, and I have the utmost respect for artists. It is not easy. I thought it would be fun to try. Wow am I terrible. I apparently have no artistic skill. This book explains things relatively well and I was still lost! I need Drawing for dummies with many more examples. I think that I needed more not complete examples. This book showed complete A big thank you to NetGalley and Ten Speed Press for the ARC. I am voluntarily reviewing this book. First time reading this author. I am by no means an artist, and I have the utmost respect for artists. It is not easy. I thought it would be fun to try. Wow am I terrible. I apparently have no artistic skill. This book explains things relatively well and I was still lost! I need Drawing for dummies with many more examples. I think that I needed more not complete examples. This book showed complete examples. I need step by step examples with photos all the way. The other thing was it expected you to have some knowledge. I have none. I didn't even know there were different kinds of erasers. See total novice!! I think others can benefit from this but I am a lost cause. I rated this a 3 due to my frustration. ...more

Nov 18, 2020 Teri-K rated it really liked it

This is a great beginning drawing book. You do have to take your time, and I'll probably never be good at drawing faces, but that's not really my interest. Take your time and work through at a pace you can enjoy. Also, it's perfectly fine to skip learning to draw things you're not interested in. (I say this because some reviews have complaind that the book goes too fast, or it includes items they aren't interested in drawing.) When I started I could only draw very basic figures and shapes, like This is a great beginning drawing book. You do have to take your time, and I'll probably never be good at drawing faces, but that's not really my interest. Take your time and work through at a pace you can enjoy. Also, it's perfectly fine to skip learning to draw things you're not interested in. (I say this because some reviews have complaind that the book goes too fast, or it includes items they aren't interested in drawing.) When I started I could only draw very basic figures and shapes, like a child would draw. Now I'm better and having more fun, too. ...more

This book is an excellent resource for anyone who wants to improve their drawing skills, especially beginners. It goes through a variety of drawing mediums and techniques. I love that it starts with just trying to capture a wire, and goes from there. The tips throughout the book on how to correct common problems was super helpful, too.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Apr 30, 2015 Sean rated it it was amazing

I can actually draw now--a little bit--thanks to this book. I know I would be able to draw much better if I gave it some time and effort. I would have thought such a thing impossible before I opened this book. The author taught me how to stop and look at what is really there in front of me, not simply to rely on my ingrained symbolic representations of things.

Apr 19, 2013 Ami rated it it was ok

Starts off strong, and then I always get overwhelmed at some point. This time around (my third or so with this book), it was later than others, but still in chapter 3 or so. I don't know what it is, but I guess this just isn't the book for me. Starts off strong, and then I always get overwhelmed at some point. This time around (my third or so with this book), it was later than others, but still in chapter 3 or so. I don't know what it is, but I guess this just isn't the book for me. ...more

This is a 15th anniversary of this classic reference book. The book helps to start from scratch drawing with useful suggestions and tutorials.

Для совсем начинающих. Но и продолжающим тоже будет интересно. Самая интересная глава про поиск авторского стиля. И про исправление ошибок. Все чётко и по делу.