Drawing for the Absolute and Utter Beginner

Approach this book like a college class in drawing, and you will probably learn a lot from it. I bought this book to go through with my 11 year old daughter, and neither of us could stick with it. I wanted to, but it just wasn't engaging. If you buy this, I would suggest setting goals for yourself, like completing one chapter every 3 days. I wanted to learn to draw, but I didn't feel compelled to continue after the first couple of chapters.

If you have a burning desire to draw, or feel like you have some natural drawing ability, give this a try. If you are like me, and want to be pulled into a skill, look elsewhere.

To be fair, I've tried several other books on learning to draw, and I haven't found anything that has led to any success.

I've read several books on drawing aimed at beginners recently (Drawing on the right side of the brain, Keys to Drawing, Drawing for Dummies), and this is the one I would recommend to beginners looking for a step-by-step introduction for true beginners. It is concise, contains numerous illustrations, has a wealth of worthwhile exercises, and minimizes tangents and philosophical rambling. If you want to learn to draw, this book will help you make a good start toward that goal.

I chose this book because it had a powerful premise and differentiated itself from other drawing books that promise to be for beginners but are, in reality, summaries of the drawing process. I noted that many of these books jumped from holding a pencil on the first page to drawing a detailed scene on the second page. With "Drawing for the Absolute and Utter Beginner", I had the feeling that I would start at the most elementary level and learn in a detailed and sequential process. I had the feeling that the author would become a silent teacher and would stay with me as I grew in skill.

In short, many books promise to be for the beginner. I learned that this book truly is for the beginner.

It is clear that much thought went into the production of the book: attractive print, a conversational style, detailed illustrations and text that effectively teach these detailed techniques. The author even shows drawings of what a student did wrong, and how they corrected them to ge the drawing just right.

It is obious that the author is a master teacher who thought about the student's perspective and translated it into "doable" activities that help the student advance easily. I felt like I was practically in her class.

What a find.

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.

Purchased as a gift. Recieved on time.

I flipped through it quickly before gifting it & wasn't instantly impressed. Would have needed to read it to see how easily it's instructions were understood.

I bought this book hoping it would give me techniques and the concepts of those techniques,etc. I was extremely disappointed when i bought the book. This book is for someone who has 0 EXPERIENCE and has 0 FAITH in his/her drawing ability. The book is full of examples, too many in my opinion. If you buy this book, you will not become an artist, but merely an automatic iterator of the examples of these drawings.

Recently I decided to get back into drawing. I purchased this book after reading some good reviews about it on a number of art sites. It tackles not only the technical aspect of drawing, but the mental process behind it as well. I found this important as I was having trouble coming to the realisation of how your mind can hinder you greatly. All in all, the layout of the book is great, the comments and diagrams by students is encouraging and I have certainly found more success in my drawing and sketching results.

An easy to follow, step-by-step instruction on realistic drawing that includes a variety of mediums. As the title states this book is a intended for the raw beginner. Other books such as Betty Edwards "Drawing on the Right Side of Brain" contain similar lessons, but this one "clicked" with me. No drawing book will be all things to all people, but this volume is certainly a good place to start. I can also recommend "Drawing for Older Children & Teens" by Mona Brooks, these titles compliment each other nicely.

When I read Mr. Bains earlier review, I was somewhat taken back by his English lesson and focus on wording of the title over content of the text. We are all smart enough to know that titles are a marketing tool. I received the impression that he might feel one should learn to draw simply by reading a book, which of course made me even more curious to read it. What I found is a very straight forward and encouraging approach to drawing that was much easier to follow than another highly esteemed book. In fact, I felt the text matched the title quite closely having read several drawing books and taken more than one day long workshop. I have continued to struggle because it takes practice drawing to learn to draw - time, discipline, desire. Discpline is perhaps the key ingredient over talent. You have to show up at the page. Ms. Garcia's words and assignments build one on the other. They are supportive both of the student (reader) and the subject matter. I teach in another field and find this method highly productive with my own students. The quotes from and examples of student's work make drawing something - anything - very approachable. So approachable I picked up a pencil and started practicing. Writing that motivates action is good writing.

This book is very similar to Betty Edwards "Drawing on the right side of the brain". It starts off nicely with contour drawing, and provided that you do all the excercises, you should vastly improve your drawing skills after completing this book.

I would recommend it to people who can't stand the psychobable of Dr B.Edwards.

I would recommend this book to everyone. I have always wanted to draw, and the first few exercises of this book showed me conclusively that I will never be able to do that. If you can't handle a book for absolute and utter beginners, it's time to accept you don't have talent and you'll never have talent. Presumably this is a great book if you DO have talent too, but as I said I mostly appreciate it for showing me that I was wasting my time.

One thing I will say: The first part of the book will tell you to go to the art supply store and spend $100.00 or so. The first few exercises are on drawing lines, contour lines, and 3D object drawings. ALL you need to complete those exercises is a pen and paper... Total cost $5.00 or so. I recommend a good pen. If you do those three exercises without convincing yourself you might as well try building your own nuclear reactor, THEN go out and spend more money. I'm not sure if I can return all this artist stuff I bought, but I know one thing for sure: I'll never use it for anything, because I don't have the competence to do the most basic exercises in book TARGETTED at people who don't know what the're doing.

I like this book because it is very friendly, images are very good and I've noticed it has helped me a LOT in my drawing skills. Quality of the paper is excellent and I think it will help a lot of people like me.

I bought this book after I started painting with acrylics and my art could be compared with kid's finger painting and stick figures. After using some of the exercises in this book and applying it to my painting I'm actually able to paint recognizable objects that don't look like something hanging in a modern art gallery. People have gone from saying "Oh, that's interesting" when seeing something I painted to "Wow, that's actually pretty good" and asking me if I actually painted it. This has definitely improved my skills within my new hobby. I recommend it to anyone beginning to get into art who doesn't know where to start.

This book has decent illustrations and explanations. The suggestions and teaching is pertinent and easy to understand. Now, it says the absolute beginner, but I think if that is the case it may be a bit frustrating if you want to rush through it. It's important to take your time and practice, practice, practice what you are learning or the next steps will be difficult. The progression it gives you seems logical and doable.
No book can replace practice, but this one is a good guide for a person wanting to draw for the first time.