Fast Sketching Techniques - Capture the Fundamental Essence of Elusive Subjects

Anyone who can hold a pencil can learn to draw.

In this book, Bert Dodson shares his complete drawing system-fifty-five "keys" that you can use to render any subject with confidence, even if you're a beginner.

These keys, along with dozens of practice exercises, will help you draw like an artist in no time.

You'll learn how to:

• Restore, focus, map, and intensify
• Free your hand action, then learn to control it
• Convey the illusions of light, depth, and texture
• Stimulate your imagination through "creative play"

A complete course for the can't-wait-to-get-started beginner!

Got the urge to draw? What are you waiting for?! Getting started is as easy as 1-2-3 with Grant Fuller's Start Sketching & Drawing Now! Packed full of easy and fun techniques, readers will learn to create accurate and expressive likenesses of people, animals, landscapes, and objects. Suddenly rendering even something as mundane as an electrical plug will become an adventure in seeing-and as you'll discover, learning how to really see your subject is half the battle.

• A progressive series of lessons range from proven exercises for developing hand-eye coordination, expressive line work and keen powers of observation, to creating the illusion of depth and dimension, realistic textures, reflections and more
• 30 step-by-step demonstrations cover an exciting range of subjects, including still lifes, landscapes, architecture, animals and people
• Graphite pencil is the featured medium, but charcoal, pen & ink, colored pencils and pastels are also explored

Practice is important, of course, but this expert instruction will fast forward you past many hours of trial, error and frustration. With every lesson you'll develop skills and confidence. Get started today with simple materials you may already have or can easily pick up at any major retailer. Before you know it, you'll be able to capture a wide range of subjects with artistic style and vision.

Overcome the obstacles to your artistic expression

Improving your artwork can be as simple as learning how to trust your eyes. Your Artist's Brain shows you how to portray even the most complex subjects by focusing on what you really see - not what you think you see.

Expert art instructor Carl Purcell shows you how to overcome dependency on the "intellectual brain" and listen carefully to the more observant "artist's brain."

With Your Artist's Brain, you'll learn visual skills and artistic techniques that will instantly make you a better artist, no matter what your medium.

• 22 step-by-step demonstrations on key relationships between shapes, spaces, subjects, backgrounds, angles, sizes, values and more
• Easy examples and fun exercises teaching you how to "see" and design great compositions
• "Points to Remember" sidebars that allow you to quickly grasp each concept

Drawing can enrich your life in extraordinary and unexpected ways. Drawing your everyday experiences can change how you and others see the world, while drawing from your imagination can give rise to fantastic new worlds. And, despite what you may believe, it's something just about anyone can learn to do.

Drawing For Dummies offers you a fun, easy way to learn the drawing basics. Holding fast to the simple philosophy that only you can teach yourself to draw, it gives you the tools you need to explore the basics and move on to more advanced techniques. This revised edition of one of the most successful For Dummies guides includes

• Additional step-by-step instructions for drawing people, animals, still life, and more
• Coverage of effects, composition, and perspective
• How-to art projects that show you how to create your drawings from simple geometric shapes to finished artwork