Monday, September 29, 2008
The Big Draw: Book recommendations
If you are one of those people who feel that you really can’t draw or maybe you’ve only recently started to draw or indeed come back to drawing after a long break and feel stuck at a certain level then I would heartily recommend the above books.
Betty Edwards’ Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain is a book that every aspiring artist should have as it completely demystifies the process. Drawing is not a God-given talent gifted to a lucky few but a skill that anyone can acquire provided they take the appropriate steps and then, as they say, practice makes perfect!
Another drawing book that I’ve found very useful is Drawing Masterclass by Ron Bowen. It features a mixture of very useful exercises, where, rather like Betty Edwards’ book, the emphasis is on learning to see as opposed to mere mark making on paper. It is also packed full of drawings of all sorts of styles and eras, from comic books to architectural plans, cave paintings to 19th century masters. As far as I know this one isn’t currently in print so it’s one to look out for in second hand bookshops.
What I like about these books in particular is that they teach you not only to look at the world but explain how it is that we see the world, our primal need to conceptualize our environment and how this in turn affects how we then render that world on paper. So while there are many books that can tell you how to cross hatch, or stipple or use the box model, and so and so on, it’s the seeing business we need to understand first which is why I think that these books are good beginning points.
And when those books get you drawing then the next step is to start challenging your creativity a little more which is where the third book comes in, another Betty Edwards’ title called Drawing on the Artist Within. The focus here is on drawing too but there is plenty of useful advice that will help you with creative thinking and problem solving in many areas of life.
Music: ‘Free Until They Cut Me Down’, Iron and Wine
Posted in: Books • Drawing and Illustration • The Big Draw •
Comments:
These books look fine, but I want to draw like Amanda in the video...I want to draw FAST and Furiously and if it looks amateurist so be it, I am an amateur!
Posted by Lynn on 09/30 at 04:46 AM
Good books! I have these from many years ago and they’re both excellent. I’m about to write about our ‘Big Draw’ on my blog - I’m getting ready for tomorrow!
Posted by jess on 09/30 at 02:28 PM
I’d like to second the Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain book. I read it when I was a teenager going to school for art, after years of being lauded for my drawing and I said, “So THIS is how I do it.”
Posted by rowena on 09/30 at 06:02 PM
keep meaning to read the Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain book, as EVERYONE mentions it. Will put it on my wish list, and maybe the others too. Thanks for the recommendation!
See you tomorrow......
Posted by Elizabeth on 09/30 at 08:19 PM
Hello Bad Faery, it has been a long time, but I’ll be glad to join the Big Draw again:)
andrea
Posted by Andrea on 10/01 at 08:46 AM
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