How to Draw What You See Paperback – Deluxe Edition, September 1, 1996

This is the second time I've bought this book. Its a great book to learn from. Usually I end up meeting an aspiring artist who is fascinated with it and I pass it along to help bring one more artist into the world. If you want to learn to draw, this is a great place to start.

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This is "old school" information, which I appreciate. In fact, there is a drawing of a doll called "Poor Pitiful Pearl" who was popular about 60 years ago. This is a good general book for beginners/intermediate. There are lessons in perspective, landscapes, figures and more. The only part of the book I thought was lacking was figure drawing. Overall, the information is helpful.

Although it's a big price markup from the original list price, it's not a recent or easy to find book, so I understand, and was willing to pay. The book was packaged well and appears to be in near perfect condition. The only blemish is a few pencil mark checks on the table of contents which doesn't bother me but really surprised me because it appears brand new in every other way.

First published in 1970, this book has become a classic! A book like this will not remain in print for 46 years unless it has extreme value.As the title suggests, it teaches everything an artist needs to know to learn to draw accurately and realistically. The author's premise is that no matter what style or medium is used by the artist, it is first necessary to learn to draw realistically and accurately. He then does an excellent job of teaching the artist to do just that!He begins simply. The first lesson is how to draw a straight line freehand. Then he teaches how to draw the basic forms that all objects are based on and later shows how to utilize those forms to draw anything you can see.Perspective, light and shade, values, perspective, composition are all essential topics that are clearly taught with assigned exercises to practice on. Any subject, from landscapes to still lifes, portraits and figurative studies is taught. The best thing about this method is that all you really need to start with is a #2 pencil and a sheet of paper.All the drawings in the book are in black and white as well as the values in between. He starts with the #2 pencil but than proceeds to cover charcoal,mwatercolor washes, opaque (gouache) washes, acrylic, and ink. Thenaddition of liquid mediums is a feature that I have notmseen in other books on drawing but it makes for a very helpful transition to painting in color.Most art books seem to contain very few essential concepts or techniques and then simply use a lot of space explaining and expanding on them. In other words, most other art books have a lot of "filler". This book is different in that it covers each concept clearly and concisely so that more comcepts and techniques can be covered. A lot of concentrated teaching that the student soends time practicing. This make the book a great value! It truly covers everything needed to learn to draw what you see.This is appropriate for beginners as well as experienced artists. An outstanding art book!

Great for beginners, very simple instructions easy to understand

I have to admit that I haven't read everything in this book, so if there's something negative, I haven't come across it. I will of course update my review if that happens! However, I have been using it, and I have found it to be a great resource that I'm happy to have added to my art book collection. I feel it's a great book for beginners as well as more advanced artists. Something I have noticed in many books is that they are filled with colorful pages; the best thing to do when drawing is to start by focusing on certain things that have nothing to do with color. I love that this book is mostly black and white, which allows for the focus to remain on these elements! It's a great book to add to your collection or with which to begin it!

I'm in the process of teaching myself to draw/paint and striving for more creativity and find this book helpful in that it has instructions for drawing what you see. Even though it is helping me with drawing basics, its presentation is flat and sort of uninspiring, perhaps because there is no color in it and the pictures tend to be somewhat traditional and staid. I find myself wanting to say to the author, "Thanks; I'll try that; it should help me draw...but could you break out, dance around a bit or something?"