[Drawing for Beginners: Simple Techniques for Learning How to Draw] [By: Sanmiguel, David] [August, 2014]

by David Sanmiguel

Created specifically for the novice artist, this basic guide helps those who have never before dabbled in drawing to master the fundamental techniques. Readers will learn how to capture still lifes, human figures, animals, and landscapes, and create perfect lighting and shading. Beautifully illustrated in color, Drawing for Beginners covers tools, preparation, the creation of simple shapes, and 23 practical, step-by-step exercises.

Genres: Art

Paperback

First published August 5, 2014

About the author

David Sanmiguel Cuevas

Reviews

[Patrick Sherriff · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good book for beginners, which although I've been sketching off and on for a couple of years, I'd say I still was one, lacking in many basic skills. Each double page spread has examples of a drawing and the stages of how to sketch. There's a brief, simple-to-understand explanation of materials and basic techniques, then an exploration of subjects to sketch with chapters on drawing landscapes, objects and figures. What's really good is there are minimal words, in favour of photos of sketches. Which is just as well because the English (translated from the original Spanish) is a bit stilted and could have done with another read-through by the proofreader to catch a couple of typos. A couple of pointers I picked up were very good directions for getting the proportions right when sketching people, eg I didn't know that when sketching a head in profile, the basic oval of the head is usually tilted back 45 degrees to the neck. A little detail that will improve my sketching no end (also, I knew nothing about sanguine as an alternative to charcoal sticks, but do now). A great way to spend an afternoon.

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