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| The Art of Portrait Drawing: Learn the Essential Techniques of the Masters | 
 enlarge | Author: Joy Thomas
Publisher: North Light Books
Category: Book
List Price: $26.99
Buy New: $5.99
You Save: $21.00 (78%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  (5 reviews)
Sales Rank: 142856
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 144
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.9
Dimensions (in): 11.1 x 8.8 x 0.7
ISBN: 1581807120
Dewey Decimal Number: 743.42
EAN: 9781581807127
ASIN: 1581807120
Publication Date: June 12, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Learn how to turn what you see into masterful, expressive art. With the practical instruction and advice in these pages, you can develop the skills necessary to draw fine portraits in the realist tradition. In The Art of Portrait Drawing, skilled artist Joy Thomas passes on to you the lessons she has gathered from generations of the worlds greatest artists. Learn about the golden mean, the traditional three-color portrait, the secrets of proportion and more methods used by the Old Masters and todays best artists alike! Inside youll find: An introduction to every commonly used drawing medium, including charcoal, Conte and graphite An illustrated overview of the history of portrait drawing Time-honored methods for drawing accurately Insights on how to capture not only the likeness, but also the mood and essence of your subject Advice on posing a subject, setting up lighting, choosing the right tools and composing effectively 9 in-depth, step-by-step drawing demonstrations to develop your skills and your confidence Portraying the human face is the ultimate expression of art. Use The Art of Portrait Drawing as the road map for your artistic quest.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Nothing more than a showcase for the artist January 6, 2009
I was hoping this book would give new insight into drawing portraits but it has no additional info comparing to other books of the subject. This is almost nothing more than a picture gallery for step by step process. I was very dissappointed for the lack of intormation - not the talents of the author. The measuring was covered very lightly considering it's the most importrant aspect of getting the features right. Posing-chapter gave no other info except how to get the model turn their head to the direction the artists wants. No advice on light or composition other than the golden ratio.
The book is not entirely useless but I'd say this book is ok for a beginner. It doesn't go into depths of the subject so there's little to learn for someone who already possesses some knowledge of the matter. This book is not worth the money - go to a portrait course if you really want to learn of the subject.
 Fabulous! December 1, 2008
This is a great book for the newbie and intermediate. Those that have not found there style or zone yet. I notice that as you become better you adopt your own style. But it's still always good to get tips from a true pro like Joy Thomas. The DVD that is sold separately, is a great resource because what she describes in the book is not always easy to visualize. This book reads like you are sitting down in a classroom with her. This book is well worth the buy.
A "Must Have" book January 3, 2007
14 out of 15 found this review helpful
The "Art of Portrait Drawing", a hard cover beautifully printed book, is a fine addition to any beginning or intermediate artists library. Joy Thomas is a highly skilled artist and the book is filled with "hands on" demonstrations and practical tips on approaching this subject. Personally
I find portrait drawing/painting to be an extremely challenging and intimidating task. Indeed there are many "celebrity" artists in the top galleries who couldn't paint a good portrait if their life depended on it.
While this book may not be the definative work on Portrait Drawing, it is very well done and well worth the investment.
Sound Advise for the Intermediate September 20, 2006
21 out of 23 found this review helpful
The author works from life and covers most the kinds of things you'd want to know about successful portraiture. The step-by-step was most interesting to read as she takes you through a process and how to resolve some issues you may run into. It doesn't offer a lot to beginners because she assumes you know how to see and do basic drawing and toning. I'd say this is a book for the intermediate artist who needs to reenforce existing knowledge with some very useful tips you probably never thought of, particularly for drawing from life.
I only have a few small critical things to say here. Although she reviews some basics on composition such as the golden ratio, she doesn't actually seem to practice them much in her examples. For example, she shows you how to "center" the head and says the "full face" portrait is the most common. Well I've heard alot of arguments against centering and full face views so it seems a contradiction to talk composition then not practice it in reality. I believe the 3 quarter view is most common, and you do not want to center the head for reasons I can't give here because it is too detailed. But perhaps she didn't want to overload the reader with composition theory since that's a much more complex issue.
But this is very worthwhile to read and she seems to have done a great job with the structure and language of the book.
Thomas' Portrait Drawiang June 28, 2006
18 out of 22 found this review helpful
I just watched the video that comes with this book. I would higly recommended both. As a beginner it was inspiring to watch an artist actually doing the technique described in the book. I can only imagine that if someone has more experience, it would be very usefull to see someone highly skilled perform their technique. I have read many books on this subject and find this to be the best.
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