Jake Spicer

This is a very good book for beginners. It has a lot of exercises and an introduction of basic art terms for observational drawing. I just wanted more information about the concepts and a little about creativity and how to use shapes for that, but I also understand that this was foccused on realism and that it is said that one should learn how to draw that before creating their own style.
This book is mostly blank pages for practice. However, it has basic information and tips on where and how to start the art journey by observing the world.… (mehr)

I love it! Not only shows different inking techniques, but it also has a pretty good introduction to colour. For learning how to draw, the blue one is probably better. I would say this one is better for colouring or filling in the initial drawings. Knowing how to sketch and do lineart beforehand might be better. This book was more of what I was looking for.
As it happened with the other book of the same name (but without the ink) this has a lot of blank pages for practice and a bit of technical information and tips to help along the way.… (mehr)

The title to this is perhaps a bit misleading. You're not going to be able to draw portraits in 15 minutes after reading it. What it does show is how to get the basics right, and some common beginner mistakes to avoid. So, in time, you might be able to achieve a quick basic portrait, but it will take a lot of practice. I read this to get some tips on how to improve, and there were a couple of things I can now keep in mind.
It won't give you instant artistic ability, but it will show you what you need to pay attention to, which will help you to create better work.… (mehr)

I use various makes of paper and card to draw on. Some of the cheap ones can be higher quality than known brand names. People go for high gsm but forget about the HP (hot pressed) and NOT (not hot pressed = cold pressed) quality. For instance, the 120gsm photocopier paper they sell at Dolce Vita's Auchan Supermarket has a good HP smooth surface, and excellent for detail drawing, and I get more from an A4 pack because I cut the sheets down to size.

It's worth knowing the HP and NOT differences if you draw yourself :)

NB:Go to https://manuelaantao.blogspot.com/2020/01/sketching-people-on-go-draw-people-in.... if you want to see some of the sketches I did.… (mehr)