nimishg's review against another edition
5.0
I can't write anything about this book that doesn't sound like an exaggeration. It literally changed my life and the way I think.
Like many others, I thought 'being artistic' was a personality trait. Either you had it, or you didn't. 'Artistic' people could quickly draw some lines on a paper and make it into something beautiful. Or they could take a few objects and arrange them in a way that would make you say 'yes, this is really nice'. Or do a slew of other amazing things that I couldn't. Clearly I wasn't artsy and I understood that from early childhood and accepted it.
The author noticed many people feel the same way and she was able to (accurately) trace it back to some time around the age of 10. Prior to that, everyone basically draws the same way: stick figures and circles etc. Everyone also loves art. But then, suddenly, some children are able to accurately draw what their eyes see, and some aren't. That is, if asked to draw an apple, some 10-year-olds will draw a circle with a line sticking out, and others will draw a complex object that anyone would recognize as an apple. Those of us who weren't able to draw the complex object deemed ourselves to be un-artistic and still draw a circle with a line in it, assuming that is as far as that skill will ever grow.
Simply, this book gives you that missing art lesson you should have gotten right when you felt that way. How do you go from the circle with a line in it to an actual apple? As an analytical-minded person, what should you do? She teaches you that specific skill in a really straightforward way.
Now, the part that changed my life: after this book, I started drawing and kept it up for several months. I drew some amazing things that I was actually really proud of (still am). I didn't go on to become a professional artist or anything, but I understood that the art world isn't something inaccessible to me. It turns out you can have an analytical mind and use it for art. You can learn art. You can improve on it. You can understand it. You can explore it. This book took art from "something I can never do, and, at best, admire from afar" to "something I absolutely can do, and something I can be really good at if I want to put in the practice"
5 stars :)
Like many others, I thought 'being artistic' was a personality trait. Either you had it, or you didn't. 'Artistic' people could quickly draw some lines on a paper and make it into something beautiful. Or they could take a few objects and arrange them in a way that would make you say 'yes, this is really nice'. Or do a slew of other amazing things that I couldn't. Clearly I wasn't artsy and I understood that from early childhood and accepted it.
The author noticed many people feel the same way and she was able to (accurately) trace it back to some time around the age of 10. Prior to that, everyone basically draws the same way: stick figures and circles etc. Everyone also loves art. But then, suddenly, some children are able to accurately draw what their eyes see, and some aren't. That is, if asked to draw an apple, some 10-year-olds will draw a circle with a line sticking out, and others will draw a complex object that anyone would recognize as an apple. Those of us who weren't able to draw the complex object deemed ourselves to be un-artistic and still draw a circle with a line in it, assuming that is as far as that skill will ever grow.
Simply, this book gives you that missing art lesson you should have gotten right when you felt that way. How do you go from the circle with a line in it to an actual apple? As an analytical-minded person, what should you do? She teaches you that specific skill in a really straightforward way.
Now, the part that changed my life: after this book, I started drawing and kept it up for several months. I drew some amazing things that I was actually really proud of (still am). I didn't go on to become a professional artist or anything, but I understood that the art world isn't something inaccessible to me. It turns out you can have an analytical mind and use it for art. You can learn art. You can improve on it. You can understand it. You can explore it. This book took art from "something I can never do, and, at best, admire from afar" to "something I absolutely can do, and something I can be really good at if I want to put in the practice"
5 stars :)
charisw's review against another edition
5.0
Wow this has helped me so much like my drawing is getting so much better like wow I totally recommend it I think this book might be made of magic
miq33l's review against another edition
5.0
I could not draw. I still cant, but at least now I know what to do to practice to get better.
If you are like me and you dont know how to draw, but want to learn, this is the book for you. Recommended.
If you are like me and you dont know how to draw, but want to learn, this is the book for you. Recommended.
mangofandango's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
2.75
The science in this book is obviously no longer exactly new and groundbreaking, and presumably it's wellllll out of date. But the theory is mostly something you can casually consider in broad terms while still trying to change the way you approach and think about drawing, and I think that's a fairly useful framework for trying things a different way. It was helpful to a point for me, and included some exercises I had done before in art classes but that are perennially useful to play with, like blind contour drawing and drawing what you literally see instead of what you imagine a thing to look like. It didn't unlock the secrets of drawing for me, but it did lead to some helpful experiments and a few things I will take with me as I try to not be tragically terrible at drawing.
brittbitter's review against another edition
Recommended by a friend who is taking drawing classes and was assigned this as a required reading.
I think it has a lot of good tips and is very helpful in explaining how you can improve proportions and scaling. I’ve always enjoyed drawing and look forward to *hopefully* having more time soon for it.
I think it has a lot of good tips and is very helpful in explaining how you can improve proportions and scaling. I’ve always enjoyed drawing and look forward to *hopefully* having more time soon for it.
themoonkestrel's review against another edition
4.0
Wonderful book that makes you feel like you can go kill the dragon with just a pencil but at the same time it makes you work and do stuff, so you do go kill said dragon. The best part is that if you keep at it, you will slay that dragon and even be able to draw it.
ohnoitscoco's review against another edition
4.0
Great for people who never thought they could draw, and especially for them. (Saying you don't take a drawing class because you can't draw is like not taking driver's ed because you can't drive!) The exercises seem pretty strange at first--like drawing a figure upside-down--but if you follow the directions and take it seriously, you do develop the spatial skills involved and see results.
stoicloofah's review against another edition
4.0
I read and worked through this book in roughly 3 spurts. This most recent one took me about 2 weeks where I re-read all of it but only picked up the exercises for the second half.
Edwards isn’t just teaching how to draw: she really does believe in using the right side of the brain and integrates a lot of psychology into the book as well. In the exercises, I have experienced her R-mode from time to time. However, it is hard to find and fleeting like being jacked in while writing code.
But in the end, drawing is all about practice, and this book gave me a solid start. Her techniques are really about perceiving differently, and hopefully that’s the beginning of more regular drawing.
Edwards isn’t just teaching how to draw: she really does believe in using the right side of the brain and integrates a lot of psychology into the book as well. In the exercises, I have experienced her R-mode from time to time. However, it is hard to find and fleeting like being jacked in while writing code.
But in the end, drawing is all about practice, and this book gave me a solid start. Her techniques are really about perceiving differently, and hopefully that’s the beginning of more regular drawing.