Basic Drawing Made Amazingly Easy

by Christopher Hart

The third title in a bestselling series, Basic Drawing Made Amazingly Easy is a complete drawing book for the beginning artist. Based on a series of lessons that begin with the five basic shapes (circle, oval, square, cylinder, and rectangle) combined with the five basic components of drawing (line, mass, perspective, light, and shading), the book progresses from the simplest forms to more complex inanimate objects and organic animate subjects.

Genres: Art, Drawing, Nonfiction, Crafts, Reference

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

I started drawing character designs and storyboards for a small animation studio in while in High School. Cartooning and animation was a magical experience to me. I try to bring that experience, as well as art tips, to my readers. Their enthusiasm also motivates me.

Early in my career, my cartoon work got noticed by Watson-Guptill, a premier publisher of art books. They asked me to do a book for them on drawing cartoons. It sold 200,000 copies, which is a healthy number. So we kept going. I discovered that I enjoyed the art of creating books, which has its own special requirements. I also worked as an author for Random House, Quarto and Soho Publishing. In total, I have had 8 million books sold, and have been translated into 20 languages.

My book, "The Master Guide to Drawing Anime: How to Draw Original Characters from Simple Templates" has sold over half a million copies to date and is still very actively in print. An earlier book of mine, "Manga Mania: How to Draw Japanese Comics:" reached the number one art book in the country, according to Bookscan.

I've also been a cover story on the industry trade magazine, "Publisher's Weekly." And if you've read this far into my Bio, then I'm more impressed with you than you are with me!

Thank you so very much for letting me offer some inspiration to you in your art adventures.

Christopher Hart

Reviews

[Noor · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really had so much fun learning to draw from it. I always wanted to be taught how to draw, and I'm glad I came across this book.
It was over 500 pages. I don't know why it's less than 200 here.
I drew everything in this book in one sitting. I discovered that I really dislike drawing vases.
Gonna search for more books.

[Nouraldeen Aladhamy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is for basic guide to learn how to sketch. It is made for beginners and those who need to learn how to draw as a hobby.

[Amogh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nicebook

[Constance · Rating 5 out of 5]

did the exercises, hoping the lessons stick. proportions are the hardest to master.

[Aditi · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was randomly downloading references for art-studies when came across this book. And well, I was left between "okay..." and "Good Lord! This is dangerous!"

Okay. It's a good book. But. There will always be a but. I realized that in some of the illustrations, the shadows has been done incorrectly. And somewhere the volumes of the things, distorted and so on. it was appalling. I mean, please while using this as a reference material for your practice make sure you are not completely "mugging up" what's been done here. Figure out the light source and likewise start shading the casted shadows.

There are other things which I'd positively take from the book are the line weights since traditionally, it's important. Digitally it can easily be manipulated but it's the traditional skills & knowledge to be mastered first.

Edit. Amazingly easy? Naw. You oughta not teach incorrect information in name of making "art" look easy. I'd say, one can skim through this book. Take whatever you find fit and move on to a better reference book.

[Tena · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the better basic skills instructional books I've picked up in a long time. A lot of drawing books show you some nice finished drawings, but are lacking in instruction. I'm an elementary school art teacher and this book has helped me with my teaching. It can help adults and children alike.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good explanation of basic techniques. Instructions are easy to follow. I would recommend this book to anyone wanting to learn the basics of drawing.

Background: I enjoy writing stories and want to learn how to illustrate those stories; How to draw the worlds, the people and places I see in my mind. This book helped me (re)learn some basic techniques to do just that.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

An informative, easy to understand guide to drawing. Hart explains the techniques clearly and includes helpful illustrations of each concept. It is always best to have a teacher when learning a topic from scratch, but in lieu of the classroom, Hart's book will serve the beginning student well.

[Emily Benoit · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great basic starting guide to learning to draw. Reccommended.