Pencil Drawing

by Gene Franks

Pencil Drawing  includes comprehensive instructions for drawing a variety of subjects in pencil. A renowned master in the field, Gene Franks explains how to develop your drawings from start to finish , teaching specific techniques for shading, contrast, texture, detail, and more . You will learn all aspects of pencil drawing as you follow the easy-to-follow instructions for drawing everything from animals and people to household items in no time at all. All you need is this book, a pencil, and a little perseverance!

Genres: Art, Drawing, Nonfiction, Reference

64 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

Reviews

[Leah Markum · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good selection of tutorials for graphite sketching from Gene Franks. My library has several of his books, the larger collections and the oversized but thin subject-based books. I intend to progress through all of them.

This particular one--a decent number of pages of smaller sheets--I would classify as a broader collection. It has still life, animals, landscapes, vehicles, and a person. However, what I didn't expect when I started is that it's Western themed. Wooden barrels, turn of the century car, a mountain man's portrait, horses, log cabin, a mesa landscape with sage brush--I love it. Gene Franks style isn't the most compatible to me, and I think the "sketches" are fully-fledged enough to require higher quality paper and pencils. So it's not the most incredible art tutorial book, but it's high in my ranking.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pencils are so cool because of texture. When I look at amazing pencil art, I'm pulled in by a palette of patterns. In the absence of color, the artist has to do things to convince that something looks real. Thankfully, life is so full of texture that various techniques could almost convince a viewer that a pencil drawing is a black and white photo.

Gene Franks has mastered many of these textures and can create illustrations that are captivating. I learned a lot from this book and read it over and over again to try to see the nuance of what he did.

[Marwah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I fell in love with Gene Franks drawing style. The details, the textures, and the shading are all reasons why I think this small book is amazing .
Very inspiring book, I enjoyed doing some of projects and I intend to do more.

[Felix · Rating 2 out of 5]

Naff, not that helpful. Definitely could have explained techniques in more detail. It had some useful parts, e.g. different ways to hold the pencil for different techniques, but overall it didn't give much guidance.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been thoroughly enjoying attempting these drawings and have been pleased with the results.

[Nisah Haron · Rating 5 out of 5]

A simple step-by-step on mastering your drawing with pencils. I have been looking for this kind of basic drawing book. This is one of the most practical I have ever come across!

[Peggy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book to earn graphite drawing. Good exercises. Nice drawings to copy. Took me a while to work thru this book, but I learned a lot doing it. Recommend highly for a beginner.

[Jesse Engel · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Basics need to draw and they showed the tools need in this book.

[Edie Walls · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fairly basic intro to pencil drawing. This copy used to belong to my grandma.