Wrong or bad book

“before” you’ve made personal drawings, your “inner vision”, the girls looks very “nice” ( too small to
really judge) and “after”, you’ve made uninteresting academical ones….

For a real Academic study “The Natural Way to draw” by Kimon Nicolaides is also a very good companion to drawing on the right side. Also for animation I’d like to reccomend “Timing for animation” by Harold Whitaker. Any other books? People might reccomend?

Hmmm, I will defitnely take a look at that book. Thanks for the heads up.
I’ve downloaded all the Andrew Loomis books. It is certainly a must have!!!
The strange thing is: I’ve done this test (link found at Blender artist forums) which is called: which side of you brain is dominant?
I’ve always had the talent do draw good. But the test shows that I’m 81% left and 18% right, which according to the test, that I’m a very analytic person, which is very true also. Maybe the 18% of my right brain happens to be my surviving artistic side lol.

You should take a look also at the CGTALK forums. There is some tutorials that is kick ass. Especialy that guy that is using open canvas. Of course twisted brush is a nice tool too (and that is an understatement)…. http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?p=3741804#post3741804

Can’t say enough about this book!! You to will find out that you can indeed draw!

Also the best thing when learning to draw is to contiunally practice, and adapt a carefree frame of mind. Reading these books are great but the best thing is to keep up the skill long after you’ve finished the book. Also I tend to agree with Oto, sometimes the most interesting drawings are the ones that don’t look like a Da Vinci.

“Facial Expression” by Gary Faigin. I keep it on my bedstand. As Mr. Spock would say, “Fascinating.” The primary, unmistakable, culturally immutable expressions are covered, as well as many of the ambiguous blends. The controlling muscle groups are well illustrated, which is a must for animations of the face. You will soon recognize why some expressions seem somehow off. Not only that;i it also makes a great coffee table book: nothing intrigues like the study of the face. We are hard-wired for it.

If you only ever buy two books, then Drawing on the Right Side and Facial Expression should be the two.

Childish drawing may have its own validity, but it’s uninformed. I would not have continued with drawing and with art were I locked into such a displeasing mode. However, being informed, we also don’t lose our individualistic styles, particularly in regards to imaginative drawing. My imaginative and photo-real styles wildly diverge. Have fun with both, but recognize that judgement has its place. Just not in the high seat. With that I agree.

I totally agree what Loken said. This book is one of the best if you just want to start drawing. It tells you how to “see” like an artist and keep attention on details. But it is important to know that there are different forms of drawing. This book tells you how to copy shapes form life. But if you want to go further you have to understand perspective and volumetric forms. Only then you are able to draw from imagination.
For drawing the human body I strongly recommend the Books of Burne Hogarth. They are all about understanding what you draw.
Betty Edwards’ Book is great. It’s a solid basis. But the journey begins from here on.

Excellent book. Read it a year ago for my drawing 101 class.

it’s THE NEW Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain :)

I support Kernons suggestion in creating a books category on how to teach yourself on drawing and arts.
For those who have problems with drawing from their imagination: It tends to make the brain switch to drawing in symbols as described in “Drawing on the right side of the brain”. I like this book a lot, although manufacturing the described utilities was a bit unnerving for me :(.
@oto: No this book does not teach you to draw boxes :). “Draw Squad” by Mark Kistlers does :D (I think its fun anyway). It starts with some techniques to trick the left side of your brain to stop working and let the right side take over, like “mirror drawing”.

For young ones and beginners:
“Mark Kistler’s Draw Squad”, by Mark Kistler
“Drawing with Children: A Creative Method for Adult Beginners, Too”, by Mona Brookes

Advanced:
“Drawing for Older Children & Teens”, by Mona Brookes

Professional:
“The Natural Way to Draw: A Working Plan for Art Study”, by Kimon Nicolaides (also recommended by Betty Edwards)

I came across these books, beause I read a comment from one blender community artist, who was determined to get you to learn the “traditional arts” first. Thats why I started to concentrate on my training on pencil drawing skill (and stopped using blender :D).

I am 25 years old and think of myself as an absolute beginner. I hate it that I am not able to draw the images I make up/see in my head >:[! At this time I try to work my way thorugh “Draw Squad” and “Drawing with Children”. Yep I think I have to cover the basics first :). Do not expect too much from yourself. If you can manage to do the simple tasks at first, that is great already (cool box drawing :D) – I tend to ignore this hint and get frustrated :).

One of the best arguments I found almost throughout the books is this one: We do not expect from children to write books from the beginning or do 3d mathematics, but we teach them first the alphabet followed by simple sentences or adding 2 apples to the 3 existing ones. But in arts we expect from them and from us to be able to draw immediently in a realistic way!??!?!? So the question is: Is art a teachable subject? And when everthing else is (is it not? :)), why should it be different with arts? Those of you who think of artistic skills of pure “natural talents” should think about this.

But drawing and the other forms of art are a SKILLS. And skills can just be improved by practicing, never stopping to use them … I say this probably more to myself than to you :). This is based upon the natural way the brain functions. (For german readers who are interested in this topic I would suggest reading “Stroh im Kopf: Vom Gehirn Besitzer zum Gehirn benutzer” by Vera F. Birkenbihl.)

Markovic,

Yes, I’m afraid it IS a law of nature. I guess it became (a little) less painful to listen to the haters when I finally accepted that fact. It became even less painful when I finally learned to feel sorry for them and what they are missing.

Kind Regards,

Joe

@ping?: Thanks very much for the links! Interesting stuff and at least a different point of view.
Actually … I also bought “Figure drawing for all its worth” by Loomis (got one second hand) but I have to say that I think it is already too sophisticated (at least for me). The other books by Loomis were not known to me, so I will check them out.
I also have to say that I do not think that Betty Edwards book aims too much for instant gratification. She just uses it to get you working :).

I read ‘Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain’ last year, having come from a non-artistic schooling background, and it definately increased my awareness of how to draw from life! But it wasn’t until this year, when I was in a consultation with my animation lecturer that I really understood what I had read. He mentioned that many people – for some reason – cherish their drawings (which lures them into tending to draw more towards perfection than perception). this resulted in an epiphany and ever since my drawings have loosened up and become a form of expression rather than perfect representation.

I still require a lot of practice, but the book acted as a catalyst that boosted my drawing skill. I couldn’t be more grateful for it!

Speaking of gratitude, Blender was my inspiration for studying animation… which lead me to a great book on animation “The Animator’s Survival Kit, by Richard Williams”. I’m sure many of you have heard of it. Its a wonderful text on the fundamentals of animation (I guess it’s most applicable to traditional 2d, but that sort of knowledge is invaluable for any type of animation)!
A gazillion cheers for Blender!

Ps. I think Betty Edwards has another, similar book titled ‘Drawing on the Artist Within’. I haven’t read it, but i’ve seen it. I’m not entirely sure what it entails, but if it’s anything like her one mentioned here, I reckon the two’d go hand in hand!

please drawing is not an artistic skill.

drawing is a technical skill. it relates to how you can observe.
the rest is training.

this book discusses that issue and major misconception.

what you draw, you concept, your idea can be rated as your artistic expression.

anyway i can only say as well this book rocks. i read it on my own and gave it to
few students to read.

Sounds great. I can’t even draw good stick figures and I have no desire to a true artist. I just want the technical ability to translate what I see into a decent sketch and it looks like this isn’t a bad ticket at all. For those wiling ot use the older edition, used copies are available for just $1.99 over at barnes and Noble with about $3 in shipping. Not a bad deal. My library has it, but this is the type of book I”d rather own than borrow.

i also bought this book and i think its fantastic because its a wonderful motivation!
Its not about become a pro, its about starting drawing and begin to see and a wonderful start position. It tries to be more like a mentor book that cheer you up, it tries to motivate you and that is something this book makes it so unique and i think in the end it can give you the joy of drawing if you have hated it.
if you see it as an book like an anatomy book or a technique book like the books of loomis, then you are wrong, its more like a prelure for this books, if you are already in the process of learning to draw anatomy and you are fighting with this f***ing perspectives like me then i think i have to say its a little bit to late to buy this book. its hard to say then or then not this book is technical a good purchase for you but its a very good purchase if you say: “i cant drawing and i will never learn drawing” then try it

@Ping!: well the review is some kind of true but i think the author of this review is missing two facts: first it doesn’t really matter if it is really your left or right brain and she also says that really early after the thesis, she might be wrong there but she says she uses the left and right brain as a symbol. (and i think its more a psychological part for the reader that tries to cover the fact that you have very unsharp senses in the beginning that need to be sharpened)
second this book is not a book about techniques at all, its about to start and finding joy in drawing, she also sayes something like “if you can draw a head with practice then you can draw everything with practice and i show you that you are can draw a head!”

oto:

Your thoughts about drawing are very touching. I don’t think such attitude has existed in world of art for hundreds of years. Naturally admirers of fine art have always thought that “it’s all talent” as it makes their own lack of skill and interest easier to cope with.
But drawing is very much a technique, what to draw is not. Nor are are style and taste. And those come both before and after learning drawing.

As drawing is most important tool for visual artist it is teached. How people then use this technique is up to them. Some use it to convey their idea to a group. Some only draw elves with boobs and swords. Some do illustrations. Some do fine art, but they all must handle the same basics.
Some very talented artists did learn those basics at very young age, and only their final style is remembered or referred to. Like Picasso who got his formal art teaching from his father – before he went modern he knew traditional drawing and painting inside-out.

I haven’t read the book, but the point “oto” had was quite true, the pictures are not great. In some cases the “before” images are better. Results are very stiff, disproportioned faces with strange anatomy and even stranger line (some of them are so distorted they’re interesting). Maybe it is useful, but:

If you want to learn drawing (pretty essential skill for artist), read Loomis. If Loomis is too complicated, draw little nested circles and straight lines. Try to do that with full hand motion and don’t squeeze that pen. Repeat until comfortable. Practise loose lines. Don’t dab with your line and quit being careful. NEVER USE ERASER! Draw whole subject with only one line. If the line goes wrong, draw another line upon it. Then do it under 1 minute, 30 seconds, 15 seconds and then in two seconds. Most of the stuff you do is born dead, learn from it and make a new one.
Then do all those by pinching the *END* of the pen between your thumb and forefinger and on bigger paper. This way you can’t control the tip and you should gain some understanding about loose lines. Then read Loomis again and follow his advice. Make sure that you can handle previous chapter before going to the next one. Handling those proper basics will improve your technique vastly.

But if possible, figure drawing lessons either in art school or in public courses are invaluable. As is other art education, if teacher is good.

The more you draw, the better it will be. That won’t happen if you give up.
btw, sculpting is very useful for 3d-modeling..

I have said :

- I know that there is still a long way before I’ll be able to draw from my imagination, but the book has already brought me the clue and the confidence for this work. -

Well, I wanted to say “the urge” instead of “the clue”, but it can make sense also (I hope!):o).

Philippe.