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herbiehickmott's review against another edition
4.0
This was more of a skim with some deeper dives into some of the suggested exercises.
lipsandpalms's review against another edition
2.0
I tried approaching this one with an open mind but it seems I'm a bit late to the party. The ideas in this book are for absolute beginners who are still learning to draw what they see instead of symbols or idealized versions of their reference, if they use one at all. I didn't get much from it, and the psychology in it seems hokey.
kimberly_b's review against another edition
5.0
I took private art lessons for seven years and was largely taught based on the principles in this book. It is the best drawing book I have ever come across.
giselav's review against another edition
3.0
Has some interesting concepts on art and the essential skills to draw, but I think it focuses too much on drawing realistic portraits and not enough on, say, drawing perspective and anatomy.
Not a bad read or a place to start for beginners, but it's too long winded for the me to really recommend it.
Not a bad read or a place to start for beginners, but it's too long winded for the me to really recommend it.
llamasue's review against another edition
5.0
The goal of this book has more to do with you gaining confidence in your own ability than teaching you a drawing technique. It creates an almost magical improvement after going through all the exercises, but it does not teach you to draw it just gives you the confidence to not hold back.
vinton90's review against another edition
3.0
I was impressed at first by the book, and I certainly have seen some improvement in my drawing but I think that after I read some critical reviews of the author and how "it is just copying" I became discouraged and became to find fault with the book. I don't disregard it because I have seen myself draw a few things that I never thought I could manage. However, when I'm not doing the specific exercises my drawing is no where near the quality of what the book claimed I should see. I suppose though the idea is to take what I have managed to learn and add new skills from other artists. But, I still don't feel that I actually can draw.
aldoojeda's review against another edition
3.0
When I became an art teacher I knew this was the book I needed. I did myself the exercises developed by Betty Edwards when I was younger and knew they worked, even if the theory behind them is wrong. The book was written when the split brain experiments and the alien hand syndrome were in vogue. The thought back then (and that still persist as a popular belief today) was that the left side of the brain was the logic part and the right side was the creative part. Indeed, one hemisphere controls the opposite hand, but now we know things are much more complicated (for more on this, I recommend you to read The Master and His Emissary by Iain McGilchrist, just watch his RSA talk to convince yourself).
So, why the exercises on Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain work? Simply because they help you to really see what you have in front of you. It’s not that you enter into the R-mode. Yes, you may enter another state of mind while drawing, but it is more related with the flow experience described by Csikszentmihalyi than letting your brain lose its left-side-grip.
My recommendation is: skip all the mumbo jumbo from the beginning and jump right into the exercises, some of them (as it is addressed between this pages) developed hundreds of years ago by Albrecht Dürer. They are very effective and indeed will help you learn to draw.
So, why the exercises on Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain work? Simply because they help you to really see what you have in front of you. It’s not that you enter into the R-mode. Yes, you may enter another state of mind while drawing, but it is more related with the flow experience described by Csikszentmihalyi than letting your brain lose its left-side-grip.
My recommendation is: skip all the mumbo jumbo from the beginning and jump right into the exercises, some of them (as it is addressed between this pages) developed hundreds of years ago by Albrecht Dürer. They are very effective and indeed will help you learn to draw.
cassandrat's review against another edition
How to talk to yourself when drawing is very important, and more fundamental than the technoques. This book starts off with examples of before and after photos, but the author reinforces poor mindset by labeling each student's before photo woth an age range, 7 year old or 12 year old and so forth.
I already own Keys to Drawing and that book is much much better for getting started and improving the fundamental mindsets. I will use that to help me improve.
The techniques/exercises in here are fine. I recognize them from a drawing course that I did years ago.
I already own Keys to Drawing and that book is much much better for getting started and improving the fundamental mindsets. I will use that to help me improve.
The techniques/exercises in here are fine. I recognize them from a drawing course that I did years ago.