Keys to Drawing Paperback – August 15, 1990

Highly recommend this book for learning the basics of drawing. I just started a class and my instructor loves this book, and it is really helpful!

The IntroductionThis book, is probably the best drawing book i've ever read. Not only does he cover so much, but Bert Dodson also goes into detail with out boring the reader to sleep (unlike drawing on the right side of the brain)If you used amazon.com's online reader and see some drawings that look childish inside, don't let those discourage you. I was discouraged by those and immediately saw a new light when I actually READ the book. Many books that have fanciful pictures haven't covered NEARLY as much as Bert Dodson's book. I am ordering his other book, Keys to Drawing with Imagination: Strategies and Exercises for Gaining Confidence and Enhancing Your CreativityThe MeatKeys To drawing covers things like, "Drawing what you See NOT WHAT YOU KNOW". Drawing from our minds or knowledge tends to be the problem with us. Humans have perspective filters that cause us to assume that we already KNOW how an object looks. So, as a result, when drawing, we tend to mix these "perception images" in with what we're actually seeing. Our minds dont take in as much information and detail about the subject as we think it does.This area of drawing from one's mind is a huge setback with many people, who eventually feel sure that they absolutely can't draw.This Book also covers topics like restating (a form of not erasing, but simply drawing a new line over the mistake), self critiquing (not having a negative dialogue with yourself, saying things such as, " That foot doesn't look right!" or " I never draw eyes good!"), the light source (learning how to tell where a shadow will form, how light affects and object, and "mapping" to assist in capturing light easier), the power of squinting (to flatten objects around you, and make them more manageable),negative space, merging shapes together, proportion (how to make something look exactly like you see it, extremely helpful techniques to make an accurate drawing and to make sure your subject will fit on the page, all done with tools you already have) and so on... really, there is lots more! (all of which I thought weren't going to help me the least bit in improving my drawings, but actually improved me and gave me as much insight as if I went to college and took a whole art class!)Still Unsure? Read on!Has anyone ever read those get rich quick books that always promise they know ways to make you rich, but always disappoint anyway? Well, keys to drawing is definitely the opposite. He, Bert Dodson, breaks these steps down clearly, with no shilly-shallying, no over stressing of a point. Some artists or authors have a hard time explaining themselves and can run on and on but him, oh he definitely knows what he's talking about.More BooksI'm only thirteen so please excuse the lame review and just hold my word to it. I drew little people who were far from realistic, but with this book, along with Carrie Stuart Parks book ([Secrets to Drawing Realistic Faces) I can already see drastic differences in my sketches!. I would also recommend Lifelike Drawing with Lee Hammond. But lifelike drawings with lee hammond or secrets to drawing realistic faces probably do not break the steps down as easy or have as much detail as Bert Dodson because the authors tried to squeeze so much things into the book without putting much detail for each subject.Purchasing this BookThe book is about the size of a textbook with less pages. (REALLY BIG) and I got my own (new book btw) for a really low price because I don't buy from amazon, i buy from the sellers within the amazon website.

I've always thought that there were two kinds of people in the world: those that can draw, and those that can't. I got this book in hopes of bridging the gap a little, as I have always been a "stick figure" type of person. I am discovering though, that I have just been looking at things all wrong...literally! This is one of the best TEACHING books I have ever read, because it actually speaks to you and gives you instructions and assignments in a stage-by-stage manner that makes me feel like I have a professional art instructor in the room with me. Now, I keep the "assignments" he has given me because I am actually proud of my artwork! If you want to improve and enrich yourself, this book will really help open your mind to how to look at things and help you realize that old dogs really CAN learn new tricks (or, at least break some old bad habits...) --Thank you, Bert Dodson, for sharing your knowledge with us "common folk"! It makes me feel very special.

Having recently rediscovered a love for watercolor and colored pencil, I decided that my drawing skills needed improvement if I were ever to achieve my dream of going to places and painting what I saw. At home, there are many substitutes for drawing talent. For instance, it is a simple matter to trace the lines of a photograph displayed on a laptop and then transfer the tracing to good paper. This is not possible in the field: hence the need to learn to sketch.Like many drawing books, Dodson is about getting past formulae for drawing certain objects to developing a general set of principles for drawing anything. By formulae, I mean the tendency to reduce drawing certain objects down to simple patterns. For instance a triangle on top of a square is a house, a circle on top of a rectangle is a tree, and so on. Dodson's strategy, like most other drawing books, involves reducing objects to constituent shapes, and then drawing them. In this fashion, you can, in principle, draw anything, and represent what you actually see rather than an archetype. This is all good stuff and very helpful.The difficulty comes in some of the crazy exercises Dodson suggests to get there. While many are on the mark, some seem to be of little help. For instance, there is a chapter on the "handwriting" of the artist. By handwriting, Dodson means the particular style each artist employs in drawing. He presents a number of different styles and then challenges the reader to copy one of the pictures in the artist's style and then to independently execute your own piece in that same style. Copying can be a fine tool for learning, but, coming as it does in chapter 2, it makes little sense for a beginning artist to try to mimic the style of, say, Matisse, when he or she has not yet developed her own style in any respect. This rather scattered approach mars what is otherwise a solid introduction to drawing.