Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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165 of 165 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This Book Really Deserves To Be Better Known, January 8, 2002
If I had to pick only 5 books from my art instruction shelf to keep and had to sell all the rest this would head the list as Keeper Book 1. Many people are familiar with Betty Edward's Drawing on the Right-Side of the Brain and I agree it is a good book. But Mona Brooke's book is every bit as good and I really feel it is unknown and under-appreciated compared to Ms. Edwards book - especially considering the excellent instruction and lessons each chapter gives. These 2 books are excellent complements to each other. And don't let the title throw you. This book is worthy of every adult wanna-be-artist's bookshelf. There are just as many examples of adult beginner artwork as there are examples from children and teenagers. Like the Betty Edwards book it teaches beginners progressively how to see and draw things and people. But this book puts a much larger focus on creativity - take what you learn and unleash it creatively as well as realistically (or even un-realistically if that's what you prefer as the author says).Everything is here - proportion, perspective, contrast, shading, scale, etc. and the tons of "projects" help reinforce the lessons. But a big chunk of the book give projects stressing creativity as well. That is what I love about this book so much. Not only do these people go from childlike drawings and progress to increasingly amazing results -they throw in big doses of creative inspiration as well. So, for example, some of the students (after learning and proving to themselves they can finally draw realistic portraits) forsake strict realism for more creative interpretive portraits. In short, the author never loses sight of the fact that drawing, any artistic endeavor in fact, should be fun. All kinds of materials are suggested for the various projects. And the student artwork in this book is very inspiring. Everything from strict realism to whimsical to experimental is shown. Once you learn how to draw realistically you can then break those rules if it suits your creativity better. This book is just plain FUN. FUN! FUN! FUN! Get it along with the Betty Edwards book. They really make a great art-instruction duo.
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127 of 132 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The place start!, January 6, 2000
This is a wonderful book for the beginner. I was not only a beginner, but I was a beginner who didn't believe that I had any artistic talent whatsoever. TalentSchmalent! I finished this book and realized I could draw and am now part-way through a more intesive drawing study book she recommends. I could never have gotten anywhere if I hadn't started with Mona Brookes' book. Many thanks to the author!
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46 of 47 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Realistic expectations, February 2, 2006
The book's title is what the book actually provides. Drawing for OLDER CHILDREN AND TEENS. People who give this book to a six year old shouldn't be surprised that some of the exercises or explanations are too hard. Likewise, people who want to draw like Rembrandt should realize that a book titled 'drawing for older children and teens' might not be the best resource. Do people even think any more?
Anyway, now that that's out of my system: I adore this book. There are three drawing books I will never give away: this one, Edwards's _drawing on the right side of the brain_ (psychobabble or not aside, the fact is, it works!) and Dodson's book on drawing. Each has strengths and weaknesses. The absolute strength of Brookes's book is sheer enthusiasm. One reviewer is scandalized by the testimonials of success cases Brookes includes: I found them the most inspiring. But what can I say, I need all the encouragement I can get. Even if you skip all that and jump to the exercises, you will get your money's worth out of this book.
What it has that is unique: a day one invitation to play with different drawing media. Edwards's book is perhaps a little too pencil-sketch focussed--this book encourages you to play with colored pencils, art pens, and pastel crayons. I reiterate the word 'play'. For those of us who want to learn to draw as a hobby, not as professional artists, the notion of art as play rather than work is very important. (Again, professional artists, the title alone might tell you this book is not for you?) It also encourages you to learn different STYLES. Edwards's book has sometimes been criticized for being too focused on realistic drawing. Brookes encourages you to try abstraction and flat drawing as well as a more realistic style. Overall, it encourages you more than any other book I've encountered thus far, to develop your own style.
Even the limitations of the book are not limitations, if you take into account the audience. Her list of subjects to draw doesn't necessarily work for me, but I remember as a teenager drawing a lot of the items on her list over and over again. (I must have drawn about a million horses). A student today just handed in an in-class writing assignment with the bottom half covered with a drawing of a car. She knows, in other words, what young people like to draw, and presents the information in manageable and attractive pieces. If you're an older reader, like me, who picked this book up because I suck way too much at drawing for books like _the Natural Way to Draw_ and many other upper level learn to draw books, some of the exercises seem silly. Skip 'em! Do another one you like better, again. I've had a lot of fun, for example drawing my cats in not only a variety of media (pastel, colored pencil, conte, pencil) but also in many more styles (primitive, cartoonish, realistic, abstract). A lot of the technical exercises (copying drawings upside down, using a viewfinder) are in many other drawing books, but are again presented in a young adult friendly manner.
It's a book about ENJOYING drawing. Anything you like, you're bound to become better at, because you enjoy it, so you keep doing it. Especially if you get results you like. This really is worth a look, but only if you either fit into the categories of the title, or still draw like you do!
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