You Will Be Able to Draw Animals by the End of This Book

Great for beginners and those more adapt. Would recommend

Easy to read and explanatory pictures. Designed for beginners.Nice quality paperback.

So first, this book looks really nice, it has a simple look in a lovely colour. Their is a cut out on the right top and bottom with a band, you can use the band to hold the book shut, or as a bookmark to keep your place, great idea. Sadly for some reason they put a sticker on the band, sticking it to the book, and even being careful it tore some of the book cover and left a dark residue on the band - so feed back please the sticker is pointless and actually damages your product.The progression of the book, feels more catered to someone who has maybe been sketching / drawing a little before, a absolute beginner will get something out of the book, but it feels like a steepish curve. I bought some charcoal for one of the lessons, not really a medium I am interested in, and after the mess I made, pretty sure never will touch again. I can understand maybe wanting your readers to experiment, but that was not for me.The book is good, good points, observation, and lessons - just not for an novice.

Being late to drawing this book was a real find the exercises are all undertaken in the book itself which is a brilliant concept & less excuse for not learning to draw as all you need is the book a pencil & a rubber (occasionally charcoal if desired). The exercises step through in a sensible order often just letting one get used to the materials in easy exercises to show what effects can be achieved before building up into more complex exercises bringing the previous steps together. the teaching is so good I'm happy to show my drawings to friends & family even though I haven't yet reached the end of the book so looking forward to getting even better (perhaps it could be called you will be able to draw before the end of this book). I'm so pleased that I have now bought a copy for a friend who like me hasn't drawn since school in 1970s (the art teacher completely ignored me so bad she thought my work that I was left to read books). But thanks to this book I have a new hobby & therapy from the rush of the modern world drawing puts everything out of your mind). The book is not too demanding fun to work through & I guarantee by the end of the book you WILL be able to Draw thoroughly recommended purchase

Whilst it's true that you may be able to draw by the end of this book, the title neglects to point out that it will take you a lifetime to reach the end of this book!... The learning curve is practically perpendicular. Of course, nobody said it would be easy or quick. Well-written, with clear explanations. A book to grow with.

Nice book which is easy to follow. Blank pages for you to draw on and suggestions throughout. Still going through it but I can see improvements.

I have been sketching and scribbling for maybe a few years now. It's mostly for fun, yet it's a sort of obsession as I do it wherever I go. I am always trying to improve, learn new techniques and understand where I'm going wrong and that's why I decided to try this book. I like to travel a lot and often find that's the time when I draw the most. I have taken this book with me on all my trips this year and every time I opened the book, I felt like I was being given a one-on-one art class from the man himself... Jake doesn't fit in my suitcase but this book did, and I learnt something new at every turn of a page. I can genuinely feel an improvement in my sketching technique and understanding. Specifically, I now take more time to think about composition, proportion, not making such heavy marks on the paper, and using negative space.This book would suit you if you are an absolute beginner who perhaps doesn't know where to start, or if you're a fanatic sketcher like myself, who wants to improve yet hasn't properly studied drawing, except for the odd short course or class here or there. I like the range of subjects covered in this book, from landscape to hands to pots and pans, encouraging use of different techniques such as subtractive tone and hints on how to build your perceptual skills. Jake also talks you through trying out different materials, including charcoal and ink, I had only ever used pencil in my drawings up until then! That's why this book was perfect for me, and I strongly recommend it to anyone who loves to draw or who has always wanted to.

Good book that touches on all the basics for the beginner trying to learn basic technique and skill. Everything explained plainly and concisely so you understand what is expected of you.Doesn't go into a lot of detail in each lesson, but enough to get a broad idea. Focus is more on giving a small taste of a variety of subjects a beginner might need to know.I was, perhaps irrationally angry though about the blue elastic that is supposed to act as a marker for your page. The elastic is good and strong but it's only held onto the book by a small bit of tape, which of course came off on the first day or two! I mean the whole shape of the book is worked off the premise that you use this elastic to mark your page, so why go to all the bother only to stick it on with a small piece of tape?!As grievances go though, it's not the worst - It doesn't take away from the quality of the contents of the book at all.

You already know how to draw. You did it as a kid. You just want to up the game. This book can help.It shows you how to use concentration of line to get a darker tone if drawing with a ballpoint. It shows you how to get perspective (in drawing, not life -- I have never found a good guide to getting perspective in life). It shows you how to approach a host of different subjects, including an animal. Well, not how to approach the animal, just how to approach drawing it. I suggest a cat. Everything is better with a cat.I would follow this with the Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain set by Betty Edwards. They would work together to bring most folk to the intermediate level. This starts easier, that ends harder.What I like:1- This book starts at the absolute beginnng with mark making.Exercise 1: Grab a pencil. Draw lines all over the page. Done.The point is to then look and see what effects the variations of those lines has. What happens if you group them tight on one side and loose on the other? Is that different if they're parallel or not? Now you know something about shading, particularly with ink. It then moves to blind contour, and exercise by exercise, it grows more complex. You build on the skills that came before.2- The book lays absolutely flat, which is good for drawing.3- The paper in the book is actually good to draw on. It's not printer paper. It's a quality sketchbook paper. It can handle some wet applicaiton without buckling (not much).4- It exposes you to a variety of skills and techniques, and the strengths and weaknesses of each. Subractive drawing, for example, whiere you cover the page in graphite or charcoal, and then eraset the lights, where you normally start with white paper and add the darks.5- It builds a solid foundation for improving your drawing.What I don't like:1- The rubber band closure. Mine is starting to break. I tend to lose it. It's annoying. I wish I could find a good replacement before the current one breaks completely.2- Fairly early on you get something like a draw like a printer exercise. I think that was too hard for a beginner and totally unnecessary. It goes back to a better level after that.3- It never tells you to keep an index card or scrap paper under your hand to keep from smudging. This is a basic introductory book. Someone should mention that.What you need:This book introduces supplies gradually throughout, which is a pain if you want to just pick it all up at once. The partial list on page 12 will carry you only a few pages. Comprehensively it is:1- Pencils HB, 2B, 6B (Mitsubishi Uni are best of breed in my opinion) and a sharpener (I'll suggest electric if you want the best experience).2- Erasers: white (Pentel -- that damages the pages least) and kneeded3- Ballpoint pens (fineliners will also work)4- Viewfinder. I went with Color Wheel The Artist's View Catcher, available on Amazon, but you can make one in about half an hour with cardboard, a craft knife, a steel ruler, a cutting board, and the instructions in the book. It's cheaper, easier and more accurate to just buy the thing.5- Charcoal, a mix of vine and willow strips (Both Winsor and Newton and General's sell mixed sets, available on Amazon). A set of charcoal pencils (I'd recommend General's) is also good. These are what I suggested the electric sharpener for. Softer charcoal pencils tend to break in a manual sharpener.6- Fixitive for charcoal7- Cloth for smudging charcoal. I'm evil. I use paper towels. It's not like the cloth will be that reusable after you rub it in charcoal anyway.8- Brush pens (Tombow rules the roost for those, but not the alcohol based pro)9- Bottle of ink, ideally india ink.10- Dip pen and a twig11- Container for water. A plastic or paper cup is good for this or there are fancy ones for painting.12- Paint brushes for ink.13- An animal. Yes, that's in the supply list of the project on page 82. I don't suggest a fish (they don't stay still, where cats and dogs sometimes nap) although he says an aquarium is a fine place for this. I don't think he has fish. I have fish. Trust me. Don't use fish. If you don't have an animal, a squirrel in the park can often be bribed to pose, or try the zoo.14- A person to pose. You'll need a head in profile and a reclining person. For profile, you could draw someone at a cafe or on the bus if you can't get a volunteer. For reclining? I just drew my roommate while she was sleeping. Don't tell her.15- A scrap paper or index card to keep under your hand so you don't smudge the drawing. It never calls for that.Optional (sort of): A drawing board. A sketchbook for extra practice. I say sort of because if you stay with drawing after this book (and what's the point otherwise?) you will need these

I was lucky to receive the book undamaged and brand new. As mail order goes, this is not always guaranteed. If you like me are worried about the minute portion of negative reviews, I'll try and address some of those concerns. It is a guided sketchbook, so it will have blank pages meant for practice. Personally I find the explanations inspiring, but that's me, others may not click and will be bored, that's how it is sometimes. The main take away is that this book will help improve my drawing, but this may not be the case for everyone. Look the author up, he has some tedex presentations for example. If you find him inspiring, then it is likely that you will also enjoy reading what he wrote, otherwise try a different author.

Kurzer Hinweis zu Beginn:Diverse Rezensenten beklagen die angeblich "schlechte Qualität" des Buches, und dass der "Buchrücken sich schon auflösen würde" und man "selbst wieder anleimen muss".Das Buch ist in der so genannten 'Schweizer Bindung' gebunden. bei dem der Buchrücken NICHT festgeleimt wird.Dies führt dazu, dass sich die Seiten beinahe perfekt flach aufklappen lassen, was gerade für das Zeichnen sehr wichtig ist.Hier trifft ausnahmsweise wirklich zu "It's not a bug, it's a feature!".Nun zum Buch:Das Buch ist in einfachen Englisch gehalten, wirklich große Sprachkenntnisse sind kaum nötig.Wie der Autor auch selbst sagt, Bilder sind eine eigene Sprache und man versteht immer klar was nun von einem verlangt wird.Aufgebaut ist das Buch als ein "Sketchbook mit Stützrädern", ein interessanter Ansatz, welcher allerdings von einem Künstler wie Jake Spicer erwartet werden kann.Anders als andere Künstler hat Jake Spicer auch einen pädagogischen Hintergrund, Übungen und Worte der Ermunterung kommen großzügig vor, Steigerungen im Schwierigkeits- und Komplexitätsgrades finden stetig aber in einem angenehmen Maße statt.Besonders bei dem erschwinglichen Preis, bei dem man gerade so ein halbwegs qualitatives Sketchbook erhält kann der einfache Kunstanfänger hier kaum etwas falsch machen.Cons: Keine Sonnenseiten ohne (kleine) Schattenseiten:Das Buch (oder eher Büchlein) wird mittels eines mitgelieferten, nicht fest angebrachten Gummibandes zusammen gehalten. Dieses Gummiband wirkt okay, jahrelanger Benutzung traue ich diesem jedoch nicht zu. Alles in allem eine wirklich leicht zu verschmerzende Kleinigkeit.Alles

Tutto rispondente alle aspettative, consegna veloce ottimo confezionamento

Vraiment très pratique, bien fait, facile à suivre.Le livre n'est pas collé afin de permettre de dessiner facilement dans le cahier. Génial!