14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Crayons Aren't Just for Kids, March 31, 2011
This review is from: Amazing Crayon Drawing With Lee Hammond: Create Lifelike Portraits, Pets, Landscapes and More (Paperback)
When I was a child my very favorite gift was a big box of Crayola Crayons (back then the big box had only 64 colors) and a package of paper. Crayons make me happy to this day. The first thing I do after I get myself a new box of crayons (the big big box of 120) is take a big whiff of the waxy smell (love it) and then I organize the colors. Amberly asked me why Crayola didn't just organize the colors for me. Personally, I'm glad they don't. It would take so much of the fun out of a new box.
When FSBMedia contacted me and asked if I would read and review Amazing Crayon Drawings with Lee Hammond, I was thrilled and of course I agreed. I figured that my seven year old daughter would love it. She's our resident artist. And crayons, as we all know, are for kids. Right?
Wrong.
When the book arrived last week I was AMAZED. Hammond's use of crayons is truly amazing (thus the title of the book). Her work is stunning and realistic and it is really hard to believe that her only tools were crayons. I was totally inspired by her creations. I ran to the store and bought a new box of crayons and some good sketch paper and have been "coloring" ever since.
I'm not really an artist but I've been following Hammond's tutorials on shading. I've created A LOT of spheres this week. Before I got the good paper, I copied Hammond's beach sunset. Fun! Fun! Fun! Plus, since my girls are always begging me to color with them, we shared some good quality mother/daughter time too.
While they're not generally considered a serious art medium, one really can create stunning and professional looking art with crayons. Crayons, as far as art supplies go, are fairly inexpensive. And with a crayon sharpener (a good one, not the one that comes with the crayons) even the "throw-away, only good for the kids" crayons can be salvaged. In fact, I haven't even used my new crayons yet. Honestly, they're too pretty in their fresh state. And every color I used in the above sunset picture comes in the small 24 crayon box that kids get at school.
I was coloring this morning with my little girl. I decided to try creating my own picture instead of just copying images from Hammond's book. I started a landscape of the view from my bedroom windows. It's coming along. It in no way compares with the beautiful images by Hammond, but I'm pleased. And it's just so much fun.
I am absolutely delighted with Amazing Crayons Drawing with Lee Hammond. This book will make you look at a box of crayons in a whole new light.
While I received a complimentary copy of this book from FSBMedia, this review is my honest opinion and no additional compensation was received.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing is the right word to start off this book title., March 4, 2011
This review is from: Amazing Crayon Drawing With Lee Hammond: Create Lifelike Portraits, Pets, Landscapes and More (Paperback)
Okay, so I had a dream one night that a friend and I had gone to Target and I said "oh wait one minute, I'm doing a portrait, I need some crayons" and I grab a box of Crayola. This really cracked me up and I woke up giggling. Hardly a few days later, I get an email from Amazon about this book and I think of the dream and go "yeah right, like THAT'S happening!" I figured it was about a great way to embrace pricey wax pastels that can make you feel young again cause it might feel like a crayon in your hand. It's okay, Caran D'ache already has a piece of my soul (oil pencils). I even email about what type of wax pastel but don't get a reply. Finally, a preview became available and I searched it for which type of brand to get and on the last page found the Crayola part. Yep, I was shocked too but delighted and immediately got the book and the Crayola crayon telescoping tower that Amazon recommended with the book. My portraits are anywhere from 30-120 hours each and I will still use my Pablos but I am having a LOT of fun with this book and the drawing and I plan to fill endless sketchbooks with these and possibly branch out into my professional work. Just don't tell my clients. ;)
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
BookHounds, April 8, 2011
This review is from: Amazing Crayon Drawing With Lee Hammond: Create Lifelike Portraits, Pets, Landscapes and More (Paperback)
Amazing is an understatement of what this book can teach you. I had serious doubts that anyone could reproduce the art work that this book contains and especially with plain old crayons! The book guides you through color, paper selection and ideas. I think the most important thing I learned from this is that you have to choose the correct paper. Don't skimp when it comes to paper since that made all of the difference in the world.
There is an easy to follow step by step guide to grid your paper to make the drawing easier. Another important step is a sharpener. I never thought that something so simple can turn a simple crayon into a means of actually creating something! I bought my crayons and paper at a discount store so that cost was under $10 and I even found the metal sharpener that made the huge difference. This is the most fun I have had in a long time and my son is even interested in trying it! Bonus!
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