We artists do dearest to buy books.

Especially books that promise to teach us how to draw or paint better.

In fact, we spend so much time ownership books information technology's a wonder we have whatever time for drawing.

I'll come make clean. I accept a special weakness for fine art didactics books. In that location'due south something nigh the possibility of learning new drawing and painting skills that has a special pull for me. I have more than art instruction books than I care to call back about, and certainly more than I demand.

From all my book ownership and reading, one thing stands out in a higher place all else.

Nigh of them were useless!

Sad but true. And in a few cases, they were worse than useless, either because the information in them was just plain wrong, or because they directed me down unproductive paths and wasted my fourth dimension with fripperies instead of concentrating on drawing fundamentals.

Nonetheless, in all the books I've come beyond there is a very short listing of existent gems that I've found have really helped me in my bid to grow artistically and develop my drawing skills.

The books on this listing are outrageously useful, in my opinion. I recommend them without reserve. They business relationship for a very small pct of all the art books I have, but they're the but ones I really needed to buy.

If you're education yourself to depict, I recommend you lot get these three books and work with them constantly and consistently for 2 years. If you put the endeavor in, I retrieve yous'll be amazed at how far you can develop your cartoon skills.

How these books were called

For a book to brand it onto this listing, it has to be one that I've come up back to once again again. It has to have been of practical apply, and so information technology will accept included applied exercises, not only theory or glossy pictures.

It will take proved itself so useful to me, that I doubt I could accept got every bit far equally I've got without information technology.

And it will be evergreen: Still as useful to me now as information technology was when I first started working with it. And worth working through in its entirety multiple times. In many ways, that's the true examination of the usefulness of an fine art volume.

So here'south a list of the books that I've personally found the nearly useful.

My 3 Best Art Instruction Books

i. The Practice and Science of Drawing – Harold Speed

This is hands-down the best art educational activity book I've ever read, e'er worked with.

I suspect that many of the people who ain this book have read it without actually doing the cartoon exercises it describes. That'southward a mistake, because the exercises are extremely practical and informative, and will teach you timeless fundamentals of drawing.

The language might be difficult for some people. Speed was English, and wrote this book at the turn of the last century. All work is a product of its time to an extent, and at that place are some passages that are a trivial embarrassing to read, and some ideas that no longer carry much weight.

But if you're serious about developing your drawing skills, in that location'south no better volume in my humble stance, both from a practical and philosophical point of view.

Best of all, y'all can download it for free.

James Gurney recently published some good blog posts virtually this book, if you want to see some more of the particular. They start here.

two. The Bargue book

Although this book has a lengthier and weightier championship, everyone I know only calls information technology the Bargue Book.

This book will teach you lot a method that will help you larn to see. It will teach you focus, and patience. It will bloody well teach y'all to depict, if you follow the method to the letter, strive for accented accuracy and don't stint on your practice.

Look closely at the fashion the hatching has been done, how the values are created, the subtlety of the marks, and try to match all of those equally closely equally you can.

It will be very hard. It volition teach you an incredible amount well-nigh drawing.

At present, you don't accept to re-create every plate. To go a huge amount of benefit from this book, you merely accept to copy a few of them. But re-create them really intensively, till y'all can't tell any difference betwixt your own drawing and the original.

Then watch what happens the next time you try to describe something from life.

Unfortunately, this book is expensive, so if you're greenbacks-strapped y'all can skip it 🙂

3. Composition – Arthur Wesley Dow

Of the iii, this is probably my favourite, for 2 reasons: It has taught meso much, and it covers an expanse of drawing in applied item that most books either brim effectually or approach vaguely and more philosophically.

If you want to improve your composition skills, this volume is the one.

Limerick encapsulates everything I remember an art book should exist. It is filled with practical exercises. It is very short on theory and justification. There is zero writer ego. After the short introduction, Dow gets right out of the manner and just presents you with a load of practical stuff to exercise.

Just information technology doesn't requite you everything, this book, and like the Speed book, it was written some time ago and will require some interpretation on your part. You'll have to think, and unfortunately I have a feeling that we're less and less used to doing that for ourselves these days.

Simply more than any of the other books here, it allows you to grow as an creative person and as an individual. I believe that if you have the staying power to stick with it over the long term (I've been working with it for about 3 years and so far) volition teach you to make art and help you to detect your voice.

This book can also be downloaded for free.

Honourable Mention

Drawing on the right side of the brain – Betty Edwards

I've included this 1 as a runner upward. It'due south frequently seen as a beginner'due south book, and sometimes gets a difficult time from people who take advanced beyond the offset stages of drawing. But at that place's much really useful stuff in the approach and the sheer practicality of the exercises.

Artists who think they don't demand to piece of work on the fundamentals any more are not advanced enough yet to realise that they demand to work on the fundamentals all the fourth dimension. That's how progress is made. If you want to make consistent progress, y'all must adopt an attitude of Shoshin (beginner's heed).

Whilst all of the cartoon exercises in the book are available elsewhere, and the idea of right brain drawing is oversimplified and slightly gimmicky, this is still a great book. It is, quite simply, a series of very simple exercises that will assistance you develop spatial awareness and get over your encephalon's tendency to rely on its symbol organisation when drawing.

If y'all're ever stuck for something to draw, option up this book and run through i of the exercises. It volition never be a waste of time. At that place are few books that yous tin can say that about.

What'southward on your list?

I realise that this list is highly personal, and at that place are inevitably many, many fine art instruction books out there that I haven't read. Many of them volition be excellent, I'm certain (although even more of them will be useless, I'm equally certain!)

These three books represent a collection of (I believe) balanced and practical approaches to learning to draw that will benefit anyone. I remember they're that skillful. Just it'due south just my opinion.

Is there a book you love that you think I should have included? 1 that holds a special place in your heart, and helped you make real progress that you can see in your work?

If at that place is, please let me know in the comments.

Best wishes, and thanks for reading,

Paul

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Best Drawing Books Pdf for Download