Drawing a Likeness (Practical Art Books)

I love drawing people (I wish I was better!) I can draw a face. This is a great next step. This book has been helpful for me in pointing out specific facial landmarks and steps to make the face look like someone not just a face....

I'm a teenager, and I hate art books. I taught myself to draw and I have never found any art books helpful, except this one. It completely changed how I do things and my style and art has developed significantly as a consequence. The progression of how to draw a face that is included in detail is incredibly helpful, and has seriously improved my work. Wonderful, lovable book.

I've been drawing (and selling) portrait art for many years, so I confess, I can be a bit picky about portrait drawings. But this book did not disappoint. It is a very nice book.The artist indeed has a true grasp on how to draw the portrait. He gives several very detailed step-by-step lessons, which are very helpful. He also illustrates and explains to the reader things like: the different shapes of the head, feature placement, and more. He makes a sincere attempt to educate to the artist on what the face is about.One of the most important things to note is the excellence of the artwork. All the likenesses are spot-on. It is a delight to see a book full of very nice artwork! This is an essential element as far as I am concerned. If the author is a poor artist, why should I believe anything they are trying to teach me?I do have a problem with some of the smaller sketches. They were fine, but lacked a little detail. Also, a few of the features on these small sketches got a little "wonky" (crooked eyes, etc.) But these were minor things. Obviously this artist is very capable, and really understands how to get a likeness.It is also important to note that this book will actually help an artist *enhance* their drawing and observation skills. It illustrates and explains the true fundimentals of looking for a likeness, how to "plot out" the placement of the features, how to *understand* the face. This is the most important key to getting a good likeness. This is a far more preferable way of learning portraits than just mindlessly copying by using mechanical aids like tracing, or the "grid". Those methods may be preferred by some because they are "simpler", but they will not assist the artist in developing their drawing skills, or in truly understanding what makes a likeness. They will also not assist an artist in learning how to draw from life. The only way to truly get an evocative and convincing likeness is to *understand* the face, not just copy shadows and shapes.This is a medium-sized book, and cannot be expected to cover all the details of drawing the portrait. But it is quite delightful, in its own way.

This book is for those who are serious about learning to draw accurately. The author breaks the process into several easy-to-follow steps. It is one of my favorite art books. I recommend it highly.

Graves breaks down the process to 45 steps in some examples. He goes into graet detail. For instance 24 pages in drawing one picture. Only book like this that I know of. He really teaches rather than showing off his drawing ability.