How to Draw Portraits in Colored Pencil from Photographs [Paperback]

Lee Hammond (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2000 | Series: How to Draw

Step by step, Lee Hammond shows artists how to create colored pencil portraits that only look as though they were difficult to draw. With Hammond's simple colored pencil techniques, artists can translate photos of their favorite people into colorful, lifelike portraits. She covers every aspect of drawing portraits - from creating a 3-dimensional look to rendering every facial feature so that it looks "right." step-by-step instruction makes learning easy; instruction is based on simple, easy-to master techniques, such as layering and burnishing; standard color recipes help artists achieve realistic skin tones; inspiring before and after examples demonstrate the dramatic difference; Hammond's instruction makes

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Hammond picks up where basic texts leave off and provides an excellent volume on the daunting genre of portraiture. After concentrating on the mouth, nose, eyes, hair, and other details, she covers burnishing and layering techniques, then pulls it all together with complete compositions. The "Before and After" sections (Robert Redford drawn before and after the instruction) are particularly encouraging for beginners.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Lee Hammond is a professional portraitist who is well known for her highly polished, realistic style. She is the owner of Hammond Illustration and Art Instruction and the author of several basic drawing books including Draw Fashion Models! and Draw Sports Figures!

Product Details

• Paperback: 127 pages
• Publisher: North Light Books (October 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1581800991
• ISBN-13: 978-1581800999
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #958,462 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #79 in Books > Arts & Photography > Drawing > Colored Pencil

More About the Author

A professional artist and art instructor for more than twenty years, Lee has authored seventeen North Light books. She owned and operated the Midwest School of Art in Lenexa, Kansas for six years and now has a studio in Overland Park, Kansas where she teaches. She conducts drawing seminars, gives school lectures and mentors nationwide. Also a certified police composite artist in the Kansas City metro area, she has worked with “America’s Most Wanted.” A contributing writer for The Artist’s Magazine, she is also licensed with many of NASCAR’s racing teams to produce art. Her work is seen online at www.leehammond.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must-read for any serious artist., June 17, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: How to Draw Portraits in Colored Pencil from Photographs (Hardcover)

I sat down with the book and did the excersises and I was totally shocked that the portrait that I had tried to draw many times before had actually worked once I had read the book!! A day before, I could never have been able to produce a piece with such a likeness to what I was trying to draw..

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding, September 7, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: How to Draw Portraits in Colored Pencil from Photographs (Hardcover)

An absolute must read for the frustrated portrait artist or anyone who wants to have a little fun creating lifelike portraiture. The tips, techniques and encouragement are worth well over the cover price on your first drawing attempt. Thanks, Lee, for sharing your trade secrets. I just got my first commission.

17 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars It would help if the author was a good artist., March 6, 2002

By 

skunktrain (So. California, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Draw Portraits in Colored Pencil from Photographs (Paperback)

I've created (and sold) countless portrait drawings and paintings through the years, and I love drawing portraits. I was expecting that with all this good feedback, this book would be something special. I was appalled.

I'm sorry, but the drawings just weren't very good. There was one portrait in particular (of a young African American boy) that was truly warped. The features mishapen, the rendering, shading and color were all off. Actually, all the artwork in this book is rather amateurish. Some of the artwork was a little better, but generally, it was decidedly mediocre. The colored pencil techniqe isn't good either. I confess that I lose respect for an art instruction book when the art examples in the book are rather bad.

And then there's the "grid" thing, which is the *only* drawing method taught in this book. Sure, it is a good learning aid, and is useful in many ways. But other drawing techniques (like freehand drawing) should be learned, so that the artist can have some measure of freedom and flexibility. The grid method is way too limiting to be used exclusively. It can almost be something like a "crutch", if an artist never moves past it. (Always having to draw those squares, squares, squares on everything! Yikes!)

That's why it's too bad that this book only covers the grid method. Most artists will discover that as their skills develop, they will eventually want to start drawing from life, (or eventually even draw things from their imagination). They'll never learn any of that from this book. Get Betty Edwards' drawing book, if you want to learn more about how to *really* draw. This book doesn't cover a fraction of it. And for colored pencil techniques, get Bet Borgeson's fabulous colored pencil books. She's absolutely marvelous.

I'm glad that this book helped other people, and I'm sure there must be something good in it (though I couldn't see where. I guess I was too blinded by the mediocre artwork). But there are FAR better drawing and colored pencil books out there.