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Drawing Books
I love drawing. And while I love painting, color, perspective, and lots of other things about making art, I think at the end of the day I'm happiest when I'm just pushing around a pen or pencil. Drawing is a huge subject though, so this list of books roams a bit---through figure drawing, animal drawing, tonal drawing and more. All of these books though are either classics, or they should be.
Oh, and a note for beginners: start with Betty Edwards and go from there to whatever catches your interest. Enjoy!
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The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain
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Betty Edwards
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The best introductory book on drawing ever written.
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The Sketch Book for the Artist
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Sarah Simblet
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Ms. Simblet really knows her stuff. She has a lot of academic knowledge, but she balances that with a very open-minded approach to art and learning to draw. I really like this book!
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George Bridgman's Complete Guide to Drawing from Life
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George Bridgman
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Classic books on drawing the figure, compiled into one volume. FINALLY.
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Atlas of Human Anatomy for the Artist
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Stephen Rogers Peck
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An unbelievably thorough book. IT gets better as I get older! The definitive text on artistic anatomy.
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Rendering in Pen and Ink
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Arthur Guptill
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I love this book. Really solid, classic instruction in the medium, written when the medium was still practiced at a superbly high level. Beautiful illustrations too.
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Drawing the Head and Figure
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Jack Hamm
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Goofy appearance and design disguise a really solid book packed with lots of good information.
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Drawing Animals
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Jack Hamm
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As with the others, goofy appearance and design disguise a really solid book packed with lots of good information.
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Drawing Landscapes and Scenery
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Jack Hamm
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As with the others, goofy appearance and design disguise a really solid book packed with lots of good information.
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Life Drawing inCharcoal
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Douglas Graves
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A good book for a student to have as it covers tonal drawing better than most books. (Who barely cover it at all!)
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Drawing Animals
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Victor Ambrus
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Not really very instructional, but I think Ambrus is one of the best draftsmen I've ever seen.
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How to Draw the Human Figure
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Victor Ambrus
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Again, not very instructional, but some beautiful drawings.
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The Human Figure
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John Vanderpoel
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When I first read it, I liked it, but preferred others. This book though has aged well. Not as readable as some, but a good book nonetheless.
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The Natural Way to Draw
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Kimon Nicolaides
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Not my favorite book, but solid, and cover gesture and contour drawing extremely well. Requires a motivated reader.
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Master Class in Figure Drawing
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Robert Beverly Hale
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Not my favorite text, it's rather dry, but it is solid information.
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Drawing Lessons from the Great Masters
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Robert Beverly Hale
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Again, as with others, a bit dry, not my personal favorite, but very solid and informative.
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Anatomy Lessons from the Great Masters
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Robert Beverly Hale
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Again, as with others, a bit dry, not my personal favorite, but very solid and informative.
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