- Paperback: 176 pages
- Publisher: Watson-Guptill; New edition edition (Mar 1 1984)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0823013588
- ISBN-13: 978-0823013586
- Product Dimensions: 21 x 1.1 x 27.7 cm
- Shipping Weight: 567 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #410,487 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
Product Details |
Product Description
Product Description
Everyone who paints or draws portraits worries most about one thing: getting an accurate likeness. But getting a likeness doesn't take genius and isn't based on a bag of tricks. It's really a matter of learning to use a logical procedure, based on careful observation of the subject, and then lots of practice.
Drawing a Likeness is divided into three parts. In the first part you learn how to analyze a head—how to recognize the basic shapes and their variations, and place the features within the larger form of the head. Drawings of many different subjects serve as examples. In the second part, the actual drawing procedure is analyzed in minute detail as three different-shaped heads—oval, rectangular, and round—are drawn. Each of these three demonstrations contains a photograph of the subject and develops the portrait in great detail (45 actual steps) right down to the finished drawing. In the third part of the book, you learn how to use different combinations of drawing materials to create a wide range of effects: charcoal, Conté, and carbon pencils on both gray and white charcoal paper, graphite pencils on illustration board, soft and hard charcoal sticks and pencils on smooth board, charcoal and carbon pencil worked over acrylic-gessoed chipboard. There are six demonstrations in this section showing how to draw men and women of different ages. Each demonstration has ten steps, one per page, and includes a photograph of the subject.
Drawing a Likeness is a basic, practical book for anyone who has ever tried to draw or paint a portrait—students, amateurs, professionals, and teachers.
Drawing a Likeness is divided into three parts. In the first part you learn how to analyze a head—how to recognize the basic shapes and their variations, and place the features within the larger form of the head. Drawings of many different subjects serve as examples. In the second part, the actual drawing procedure is analyzed in minute detail as three different-shaped heads—oval, rectangular, and round—are drawn. Each of these three demonstrations contains a photograph of the subject and develops the portrait in great detail (45 actual steps) right down to the finished drawing. In the third part of the book, you learn how to use different combinations of drawing materials to create a wide range of effects: charcoal, Conté, and carbon pencils on both gray and white charcoal paper, graphite pencils on illustration board, soft and hard charcoal sticks and pencils on smooth board, charcoal and carbon pencil worked over acrylic-gessoed chipboard. There are six demonstrations in this section showing how to draw men and women of different ages. Each demonstration has ten steps, one per page, and includes a photograph of the subject.
Drawing a Likeness is a basic, practical book for anyone who has ever tried to draw or paint a portrait—students, amateurs, professionals, and teachers.
About the Author
Douglas R. Graves was born in Denver, Colorado. After a year at Los Angeles Co College in California, he continued his studies at the American Academy of Art in Chicago, where he later returned to teach illustration and figure drawing. He also taught anatomy and figure drawing at the College of DuPage in Illinois. In 1966 he won a Prix de Paris award. Formerly active in commercial art, Graves served as art director at Clinton E. Frank, Inc., Chicago, and at Foote, Cone & Belding. He has also worked as a book and editorial illustrator. However, the majority of his fine art works consist of commissioned portraits and drawings (including several for Portraits, Inc., in New York) for private collections in the United States and abroad. Graves is also the author of Drawing Portraits and Figure Painting in Oil, both published by Watson-Guptill. He resides in Burr Ridge, Illinois.
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most helpful customer reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very good,
By skunktrain (So. California, USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Drawing a Likeness (Paperback)
I've been drawing (and selling) portrait art for many years, so I confess, I can be a bit picky about portrait drawings. But this book did not disappoint. It is a very nice book.The artist indeed has a true grasp on how to draw the portrait. He gives several very detailed step-by-step lessons, which are very helpful. He also illustrates and explains to the reader things like: the different shapes of the head, feature placement, and more. He makes a sincere attempt to educate to the artist on what the face is about. One of the most important things to note is the excellence of the artwork. All the likenesses are spot-on. It is a delight to see a book full of very nice artwork! This is an essential element as far as I am concerned. If the author is a poor artist, why should I believe anything they are trying to teach me? I do have a problem with some of the smaller sketches. They were fine, but lacked a little detail. Also, a few of the features on these small sketches got a little "wonky" (crooked eyes, etc.) But these were minor things. Obviously this artist is very capable, and really understands how to get a likeness. It is also important to note that this book will actually help an artist *enhance* their drawing and observation skills. It illustrates and explains the true fundimentals of looking for a likeness, how to "plot out" the placement of the features, how to *understand* the face. This is the most important key to getting a good likeness. This is a far more preferable way of learning portraits than just mindlessly copying by using mechanical aids like tracing, or the "grid". Those methods may be preferred by some because they are "simpler", but they will not assist the artist in developing their drawing skills, or in truly understanding what makes a likeness. They will also not assist an artist in learning how to draw from life. The only way to truly get an evocative and convincing likeness is to *understand* the face, not just copy shadows and shapes. This is a medium-sized book, and cannot be expected to cover all the details of drawing the portrait. But it is quite delightful, in its own way.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Steps in great detail in drawing a portrait.,
By
This review is from: Drawing a Likeness (Paperback)
Graves breaks down the process to 45 steps in some examples. He goes into graet detail. For instance 24 pages in drawing one picture. Only book like this that I know of. He really teaches rather than showing off his drawing ability.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Drawing A Likeness,
By A Customer
This review is from: Drawing a Likeness (Paperback)
This book is for those who are serious about learning to draw accurately. The author breaks the process into several easy-to-follow steps. It is one of my favorite art books. I recommend it highly.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Want to see more reviews on this item?
|
Most recent customer reviews |
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
