Customer Reviews

How to Draw Lifelike Portraits from Photographs

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Lee Hammond's book was the only book of several I purchased on drawing portraits that got me off to an immediate and credible start. The technique of gridding a photograph is a wonderful way to begin creating accutrate line drawings. Despite what many may say, there need be no apology for using this method. Many, many professionals use grid drawing as did the Great Masters. Beware the critic who says there is only one way or that certain techniques are "cheating". It is the result that truly counts. Nonetheless, every aspiring figure artist should make learning to draw from life their goal. Before then, however, build confidence with the method Lee describes.

I would like to say thank you to this vendor for been prompt at shipping my book. I was a bit leary on ordering from amazon but turned out to be a good transaction. Thank you again

I bought this book after I was visiting my sister. She had drawn a picture from the book and it looked pretty amazing. I never thougt I'd want to try doing portraits but I thought I'd give it a try. So far I've done a picture of my father which turned out to look pretty realistic. Not bad for a beginner!

This is one of the best books on drawing portraits I have seen. There are several other fine books that go into more detail about the basics of drawing faces, proportion, etc., but most don't go into detail about shading and technique to make the portrait truly come alive. There are tons of illustrations. Ms. Hammond's own artwork is awesome! They are an inspiration in and of themselves even without the instructional steps. (I was surprised that a couple of other reviewers didn't find her artwork to be very good. We must be talking about two different books!). The illustrations and examples are very clearly presented, and the photos are of excellent quality. She goes into detail about making eyes, lips, noses, hair, and even eyeglasses and clothing! Ms Hammond's instructional style is warm and encouraging. I have several other books by Lee Hammond, and I've found all of them enjoyable and informative. Whether you are looking for a book just to do family and friends portraits or to do professional portraits, I would recommend this book. The hardbound cover and glossy-like feel to the pages are pleasing as well.

Great book! If you have even mediocre talent as an artist GET THIS BOOK, too.

In one week of using this particular book, my skills as an artist have greatly improved. You'll be seeing my art for sale on Ebay soon all because of the lessons learned from this book. Thank you, J.D., for a really great selection of books.

this book is really good for any one who wants to learn how 2 draw- it will improve anybody and everybody's drawings. i'm a beginner and after i went through the book, i was alot better. my friend, an aazing artist, borrowed the book. amazingly enuff, she became even better!! i got 2 more of Lee Hammond's books, and this one is still my fave! applauds to u, lee!

I first stumbled on a guy's website whose tips were generally taken from Lee Hammond's book. While waiting for the book to arrive (which surprisingly took a while from Amazon) I had already developed my style from the guy's tips so Lee Hammond's book didn't help me improve. The technique works. I have had countless oohs and aaahs from friends and family to prove it. However, I had to make adjustments for the suggestions I didn't like, for eg, she suggests using a tortillion, I used cotton wool and cotton-buds, she suggests 2B graphite lead, I ended up prefering 4B or charcoal because 2B isn't dark enough and graphite reflects light.

A big caveat, if you don't like the idea of using grids to replicate from photographs, then this book is not for you. I wasn't particularly impressed with the artwork shown in the book either. But I will say that it's an idiot proof technique. If you've always wanted to draw and never thought you could, this technique just goes to show that talent isn't required to produce lifelike sketches. As a starter guide, it's not bad.

The portraits in this book are awesome but the technique used is not really what I was looking for. The tips for blending and tools to use are great. I would rather sharpen my skills than use a graphing method used in the book. It's a great learning excercise for beginners because it allows you to see shadows and lines instead of what you think something should look like. If you are just starting out this would be a good book for you.

hiþ,þ
I am pencil drawing for a long time since I was 15ýþ.þ
In the last few years I have felt my drawing level had come to a stopþ.þ
it made me stop drawing because I felt I didn't get the results I wanted from my ýýdrawingþ.þ
I could not find a simple how-to-draw book with step bt step examples as i wantedþ.þ
I wasn't expecting much when I purchased Hammonds' bookýþ.þ
I have the book for 2 months and my drawing has changed extremely.ý
I think it's the best way to improve my technique and to draw exactly what I see in my ýýimagination.ýþ.þ
that is my main goal and i think I could achieve it with hammonds' helpþ.þ
buy it if you want to improve your technique. this book won't change your talent as an ýartist but would change your technique extremelyýþ.þ
Guy

I must say I was very skeptical on how real I could make a drawing look. I had never seriously drawn a peron before. After reading this book people assumed I had been drawing for years and said that my drawings were some of the best they had ever seen. Even if you're a beginner this book will make you look like a pro.