All About Techniques in Drawing (All about Techniques: Art) Review

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(More customer reviews)I purchased this book because it provides a quick and dirty run down of the different forms of media one can use to draw a picture. In the first section of the book, it talks about the tools you can use: graphite, colored pencils, pastels, ink, markers, charcoal and sanguine-just to name a few. It also tells you what type of paper goes best with each drawing material as well as the type of eraser is best to use. There is a section value and modeling, as well. The next couple of the sections deal with techiques that are specific to each medium. For example, coloring by strokes and blending charcoal and pastels with fingers and stumping pencils. In the sections on techniques, step-by-step exercises are provided to demonstrate how the author got from a blank sheet of paper to a replication of a famous work of art done in that same medium. However, during the demonstrations (I assume in the interests of brevity and page space)he may skip a little too much. This may not bother some people, but I'm a "I follow the recipie to the letter" type of person when it comes to something I don't know how to do. In spite of that I still rate this book 5 stars for several reasons: I like they way they show you pictures of the tools and tell you what they are and how to use them (for example, my high school art teacher said under no circumstances to smudge with my fingers for shading--he mainly said to crosshatch. As a result, I had no idea what a stumping pencil was and that my fingers were capable of such nice smudging.) Secondly, I like the way the book mentions some of the top brands for different media and shows what some of these sets look like. And thirdly, despite the flaw in the exercises, it was still fascinating to see the transformation. (I haven't done one to completion as I've only had the book for two weeks and I wanted to read through it first.) After reading the book, I know what materials I need to get started and I have a manual to help me practice.
I've always been pretty good at basic to intermediate graphite sketches and I wanted to take my drawings to the next level. If you're a beginner or an advanced beginner, then this book will probably help you. If everything I have written here is old hat to you, then you should probably look for something more advanced. As I said this book is a quick and dirty break-down of different drawing media and their techinques. It does not attempt to give in depth information on all media and the techniques associated with them.

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As part of the All About Techniques series, this book is among Barron's more advanced art instruction manuals. As the newest in this color-illustrated series, All About Techniques in Drawing will instruct you on how to achieve highly finished illustrations in a variety of media, including pencil, charcoal, chalk, and ink. You will also be advised on the uses of various grades of paper and the many different drawing tools and their uses.

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"How to Draw Knights, Kings, Queens and Dragons" (How to Draw (Watson Guptill)) Review

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(More customer reviews)I am not probably the most better drawer you`ve seen but this book surely improved my drawing technics. It is not matter if you are an artist or a total beginner this hints from the real guru will certainly be a big help. A+ and a five star recommendation from me.

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King Arthur, Merlin, and all of Camelot's dashing, regal and romantic figures spring to life under the gifted hand of a master illustrator/cartoonist and inspiring teacher. Hart provides lucid instruction and rich examples for students to follow as they learn to draw the handsome men of medieval legend in shining armor, beautiful maidens in gorgeous gowns, funny and fierce dragons, and backgrounds of imposing castle settings. Step-by-step exercises present many versions of characters in a variety of poses. 170 illustrations.

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All About Techniques in Drawing for Animation Production Review

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(More customer reviews)As an animation artist, I am familiar with the author's work and eagerly awaited the arrival of this book. It did not disappoint!
It is good for beginners and seasoned veterans alike. The sequential animation drawings - along with their respective numberings and spacing charts - are worth more than the price of the book. They are an excellent way for the student of animation to see how the drawings are spaced to provide the true 'spark of life' so necessary in the success of the animated image 'coming alive'. The book ranks up there with the Preston Blair books, Thomas and Johnston's ILLUSION OF LIFE, and Richard William's THE
ANIMATOR'S SURVIVAL KIT. The chapters on Storyboarding, Layout and Background, along with many other animation gems, are there as well. A true tour de force!

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Titles in Barron's popular and growing "All About Techniques" series are written especially for advanced art students and experienced amateurs. They explain aspects of art theory, then provide step-by-step advice on methods for creating professional-looking art. This title covers every aspect of cartoon animation art in traditional media, starting with descriptions of tools and materials. Following chapters instruct in the creation of storyboards, then show how to render facial expressions, clothing, props, and body posturesto give characters individuality and help tell their stories. Concluding chapters show how to create action animation for films. Students will also find instruction in rendering background landscapes, as well as a brief history of modern cartoon animation.

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The Oil Painting Book: Materials and Techniques for Today's Artist (Watson-Guptill Materials and Techniques) Review

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(More customer reviews)OK, so the format of this page only allows you to give one rating, indiscriminating of what kind of readers the book is aiming towards. I'd like more details, as the following:
1) 5-star for self-taught and beginning oil painters.
2) About 3.5 -> 4-star for intermediate oil painters.
3) Nice to own as a reference book for advanced and accomplished. No rating necessary.
So, there you had it. If you are new to oil painting, this book is a nice and PRACTICAL guideline on presently commercially available materials (including oil paints of different brands, oil sticks, oil mediums, solvents, varnishes, supports, brushes, tools, etc.. - you know, "oil materials").
This book is also a good coverage of "basic" oil techniques. These include the process of going from drawing to painting using charcoal, pastel, conte' crayon; as well as "basic" oil painting techniques such as sketching, alla prima, wet-on-wet, etc... Perhaps the most talked-about feature of the book is the chapter about glazing and scumbling. Yep, those "Old Master's techniques". To be fair, this is not the only book that covers the Old Master's techniques. However, it does provide the readers with detailed demonstrations on creating paintings using glazing techniques. In addition, a discussion on presently available TRANSPARENT oil paints (necessary for glazing) is about the most charming thing in the book.
Finally, a chapter about alkyds, oil sticks, and water-miscible oils sums up this book for readers who enjoy alternative media; along with a list of suppliers for practical purposes.
For advanced painters who enjoy more thorough discussions on oil materials and painting techniques, I suggest that they go for a more thorough (and less pictorial) title, such as "The Artist's Handbook of Materials and Techniques" by Ralph Mayer, from which some information in this book is derived.
As for the comments about "poor" drawings and paintings in the book, I hate to admit that there is some truth to them. In my opinion, the author mainly focussed on the technique (rather than presentation) side of the issue. As a result, some of the final paintings look like "child's play". Ironically, readers sometimes see "how great the book is" just by "how great the paintings in the book are".
In terms of "the bottom line", you may "go no wrong" owning this book. If this is the first oil technique book you consider owning, then go for it. For others, it serves well as an additional title to your art library, although some may live just fine without it.

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Without equal anywhere in print today, this is the most complete guide to oil painting materials, and how to use them to derive best results from the medium.

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Oil Painting Techniques and Materials Review

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(More customer reviews)The Speed's book was originally published in 1924. There is another excellent and modern book basically covering same topics: "Alla Prima, Everything I Know about Painting" by Schmid. In comparison, Speed's book is physically much smaller, (less than 2/3 of Schmid's), but it is distilled and very rich. It gives a concise yet in-depth discussion of the most fundamental things about painting: wholeness, unity & variety, and rhythm etc., under topics of tone value, color, edge, and design, while form and drawing are mainly discussed in his another book. While the Schmid's book is easier to understand for beginner, the two books target the same levels of readers.
When reading Speed's book, it's better to read carefully between the words. You can read Schmid's book faster, because Schmid's book uses more sentences or paragraphs to explain an idea. For example, on make decision about which edges you should paint or to blur, Schmid gives you several paragraphs of useful advice, while Speed has one-sentence summarization: "It is not the edges of the object but the edges of the tone masses that make up the visual impression, that you are painting". The sentence may be easily neglected and skipped by someone with first time reading, but if he carefully reads the context and understands the meaning, it becomes useful not only in edges selection, but also in picture design.
The book's analysis of paintings by old masters is practical and insightful. One example is its comment on an early portrait (plate 32) by Velasquez, that the edge going from the wing of the nostril to the outside of the mouth weaken the wholeness of the pictorial design. By this way, it helps you understand deeper not only the concept of wholeness and the function of edges, but also good design.

The book's most significant concentration is on the mental part of the painting process, mainly about what & how to see and to design, rather than on learning particular painting techniques and materials, therefore, I believe that the author's original title "The Science & Practice of Oil Painting" is a better one in telling you what is in the book.
The book used one chapter, 10% of the whole book, discussing `modern art', which I think is a bit too much. (Both Speed and Schmid basically hold same opinion on `modern art'. Schmid has the mentioning that what we called `Modern Art' is a different human activity from `Classical Art' except that `Modern' artists use, some times, the same tools as `Classical' artists.)
I highly recommend this book to everyone. For beginner, if you do not read carefully, you will only read the surface, so that you think the book is statically for beginner. But when you grow and you carefully read it again, you will find it is rich and it grows with you. For the very advanced, you can review its points for successful painting, which is concisely presented in the book.

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Stimulating, informative guide by noted teacher covers painting technique, painting from life, materials - paints, varnishes, oils and mediums, grounds, etc. - a painter's training, more. Speed also provides expert analysis of works by Velasquez, Reynolds, Gainsborough, Hals, Rembrandt, and others. 64 photos. 5 line drawings.

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Pencil Drawing Techniques Review

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(More customer reviews)Hi all. I draw as a hobby and have been drawing since I was a about 10. I took drawing classes before, but when I look at my previous artwork, they really don't have the "realism" that I wanted, i.e. they look too much like cartoons. I wandered around and tried looking for some books to teach me how to obtained that photo-realistic quality with a pencil.
Flipping through this book, my jaw dropped in amazement at the examples in this book. Near the end, the illustrations of zoo animals (tigers, horses, etc) were so life-like! The artist really know how to shade. I instantly brought the book.
Let me tell you, this book is very complex and loaded with information. There are lots of text for an art book. First, the book goes over the basics of shapes and different shades of pencil lead (from hard 6H to very soft 8B, the "#2 pencil" is near the middle). Then we go over shading. The book is primarily focusing on different shading and strokes techniques in order to get that "life-like" realism in your drawing. In my personal experience, trying to obtain that level takes many hours and many practice. If you are the type who gives up easily, then this book isn't for you. Nobody said drawing is easy. Or, if you are only interested in drawing nice line-arts (and letting a computer do the rest), then this book is NOT for you as well. However, if you want to draw to the highest realism with just a pencil, then this book is worth considering.
I should also mention that a small chapter is devoted to color pencils (whereas the rest, or 90% of the book, is on graphite pencil), but I haven't bother with color yet.

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Here is a really good book for the artist who wants to develop his or her pencil drawing abilities, whether it's to improve your preliminary sketch work, or to create beautiful pencil drawings complete in their own right. Pencil Drawing Techniques brings together six of today's best artists, all of whom are incredibly fine instructors as well.The artists show you how to develop your skill and ability in handling pencil technique. Ferdinand Petrie shows you how to handle pencils and produce a controlled variety of lines, values, and textures. Then he shows you exactly how to use these techniques to draw landscapes in a range of styles and compositions.Rudy De Reyna explains pencil basics, and explores perspective, size relationships, form, and structure. Douglas grave teaches you how to begin drawing portraits by building a drawing step-by-step. Norman Dams and Joe Singer demonstrate how you can use the pencil to produce spectacular drawings of animals. John Blockley and Richard Bolton show you how pencil drawings can capture the essence of a subject and help you work out a plan for painting it. Finally, Bet Borgeson teaches you all the secrets of colored pencil work and demonstrates a whole new dimension. The book is divided into seven sections: how to handle a pencil, fundamentals of drawing, drawing landscapes, drawing portraits, drawing animals, drawing for watercolors, and handling color pencils. The copious illustrations show in detail how the artists use their techniques. For the artist who uses the pencil, Pencil Drawing Techniques is an an excellent instructional book of ideas for using the pencil creatively.

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