 | | |
| Life Drawing in Charcoal | 
 enlarge | Author: Douglas R. Graves
Publisher: Dover Publications
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
Buy New: $8.45
You Save: $6.50 (43%)
Buy New/Used from $8.45
Avg. Customer Rating:  (11 reviews)
Sales Rank: 97154
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 176
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 10.8 x 8.2 x 0.5
ISBN: 0486282686
Dewey Decimal Number: 743.4
EAN: 9780486282688
ASIN: 0486282686
Publication Date: November 4, 1994
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Innovative method of drawing by tonal masses. Step-by-step demonstrations, with over 200 illustrations, cover foreshortening, drawing the face, and other aspects.
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 6 more reviews...
 A Different Approach February 28, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This book's main strength is that Graves teaches how to draw the figure using tonal masses instead of a more linear approach .This book teaches the student to draw using vine charcoal with a few exceptions in the gallery at the end. The theory and methods presented do work and are an interesting and useful way of drawing .The author explains his method of drawing is more amenable to those who wish to paint , as painting is less concerned with lines and more with masses of color and or value.A valid point in my opinion. Most of the drawings are nice but a few are iffy and some are crude .The chapter on "keeping the figure from looking stiff" may be correct from what he writes but it is laughable from the standpoint that some of the drawings in this book are exactly that: STIFF LOOKING . How one can contradict oneself like this and not notice is strange. Also sometimes the limbs look pasted on the figures instead of looking like they belong there .Then there is the drawing of the guy pulling on a rope; it suffers from the look of someone that has been in the same pose for hours and winds up looking like he is tired of holding the rope. It really lacks the action and movement that is really required for such a drawing. Now despite my complaints of a few cruddy drawings I think you should look more to this book for the interesting method it presents and not just the quality of every single drawing . The author is capable and in more than one example it shows .
The ones I didn't like are maybe "hurry up" drawings he did to get the book finished quickly . If you want to draw figures in charcoal and want to use a tonal mass approach, then this is worth checking out .
 Pity the drawings are weak. March 29, 2006
4 out of 13 found this review helpful
Graves goes on about scaring the student with such phrases as "plunging immediatley into frantic production of your own thing." The entire book is a number tricks. I don't object to "tricks" if the ends result in a good drawing. The first rule of art is ; there no rules. I agree with many of Graves' didactic, time tested academic step by step progress. However what I see here is not unlike many of the popular TV how to draw/paint....Like ME. In fact Graves' drawings are rather poor. His concepts about tone and form are sound. My fear is that is that want of the student to advance in there truest of artforms; the charcoal drawing. It is the purest of all medium. The art of drawing is the most important vehicle to which the artist can move on to painting, printmaking etc.; not that that is even important. A good drawing can stand alone and equal to any painting. If you really wish to draw well I would suggest "The Natural way to Draw" which is also very exercize driven and only people who truly want to draw well will follow this regimine. Nicholides does not present his own work as an example of how to draw; but rather chooses to present and challenge the student to work and work hard. I believe this a better way in which to convey the principles of draughtsmanship.
 THE TWO WAYS December 25, 2004
21 out of 26 found this review helpful
I am a painter/illustrator and a professor of art and I knew Douglas when I was a student at The American Academy for 4 years, and later at Leo Burnett, he was a fine gentleman and a superior artist. I own a copy of Douglas Graves book and several others of his and treasure them along with Vandepool's book and George Bridgman's. In Doug's book, there is a consistent and exhaustively comprehensive approach to drawing and rendering the figure concentrating on drafting and rendering in tone with strong light and shade and shadow. The drawings are excellent. I would recommend it without reserve for anyone wishing to become a painter or an illustrator-I would also recommend several years of figure and anatomy study at a good art school. I consult all three books and many others in my own painting and illustrating, and teaching regularly. Doug's method is similar to that of the artists/Teachers, Mosby, and Vandenbrock, and theirs is one very good way to approach rendering the human figure and especially good training for painting in oil. You will not regret buying and using Douglas Graves book, and I would buy a copy of Bridgman as well as Vanderpool's along with it and then get thee to an art school if you want to make a living at painting and drawing.
 Good but..... September 12, 2003
6 out of 10 found this review helpful
I really liked the book as others share in their review. But, I guess I really need some basics in regards to a break down. This book covers how to just get in and do the whole body, slowly laryering with charcoal. I like working in the charcoal, it is fast and easy to work with in regards to fixing mistakes. Once charcoal is in place, other mediums can be used over it if you are wanting to make your drawing into a painting. It is a good book though. The fours stars is only because I was expecting some breakdown of the figures.
Lovely! February 23, 2003
0 out of 10 found this review helpful
You can learn a lot abt the human anatomy and charcoal techiques. Good buy!
|
|
|
| | |
