Keys to Drawing

I just got this book today, and am only writing a review because already my drawings are seeing improvement. This book gets to the point that it's all about seeing, and then drawing.
I'm excited to continue using this book and see what I'll be doing in even a week.
Just a little background on me, and where this may be similar to you. I am a person who used to draw a lot when I was younger, I showed talent at an early age, but around the age of 11 or 12 music took over, and I never drew again, (except for scribbling in my notebooks). It pretty much stopped at that point and never went the next step into formal training.
Now I've decided to go back to school for Architecture, and even though drawing great isn't a necessity, I want to do it, and now I've given myself a reason. This is a book I found recommended on this site, and I'm glad to have found it.
I look forward now (with no worries) to drawing landscapes and people on the spot anytime. (with practice of course) but this book is a good starting point. Thanks.

Keys to drawing is similar to Betty Edward's books. That is, it makes drawing a question of drawing what you see through what John Ruskin would call "the innocent eye". What sets this book apart is the long series of exercises, all pertinent and simple, informative and useful. The reader is neither shown loads of useless colorful pictures of materials (like in most drawing books)or lengthy sermons on what drawing is and isn't.
On the other hand, nobody can manage to become highly proficient just by following this book. What this sort of drawing technique lacks is accuracy. If you want to sharpen your skills to a greater extent, I suggest "priming" yourself with the "blind contour drawing" method shown in various other books and follow with the "tracing paper correction" method mentionned in John Ruskin's book "The Elements of Drawing". Ruskin suggests using plant drawings as models. It is almost impossible without practicing "blind contour drawing" first.
There's a similar method mentionned in The Art of Drawing by Willy Pogany (the first few pages are sampled on amazon.com). Also, if you wish to develop your perception of proportions, check out Harold Speed's book "The Practice and Science of Drawing" (very tiring). While using tracing paper, it is a good idea to use a stand to get as correct an angle of vision as possible. Even then the difference in angle between your copy and model tends to be a bit confusing. Apart from plants and dots, visual illusion/mandala coloring books from Dover Publications make great models. I hope these tips help.

In high school, my best friends were the Artist and the Musician (I was the Writer), and while I learned to produce something approaching music, I was never able to draw anything recognizable. I never wanted to paint in oils or acrylics, or anything that advanced; I just wanted to be able to create good representational drawings and sketches. This apparent artistic inability has been a deep annoyance to me for more than thirty years -- aggravated by all the people who insisted that "anyone can learn to draw." Unable to find a class for adult beginners anywhere, and being the autodidact type, I've tried to teach myself from how-to books. I've read through dozens of them and have spent serious time trying to learn from at least five or six, but none of them turned out to be very useful, at least not to me.

Then I happened across Dodson's book and everything changed. He doesn't spend the whole first chapter describing the tools you need. He doesn't launch into a zen discussion of the "is-ness" of art or play amateur psychologist. He just tells you to sit down, cross your legs, and draw your feet -- and he explains, in very simple terms, just how to go through the process. Look, hold, draw. Look, hold, draw. And it works, it really does. I'm sure all this is old hat to you artists out there, but Dodson is exactly the sort of teacher I've been looking for all these years! There are about fifty exercises on methods and techniques throughout the book and I'm taking my time with them. After three months, I'm about a quarter of way through the book, and my sketch book is looking pretty good. I've learned to restate rather than erase, and I'm getting along just fine with two pencils (HB and 4B) and a Micron pen. I cannot recommend Dodson's methods too highly to anyone who, like me, just wants to learn to draw!

anyone who would say that the drawings in this book are "sloppy" is CLEARLY MISSING THE POINT. Dodson teaches you to "loosen up" and stop the overly critical attitude that holds people back from learning to draw. There are PLENTY of examples of well detailed, carefully rendered drawings alongside the loose ones, showing that Dodson CAN draw skillfully and accurately. The loose drawings are just one style he adopts to show you the attitude of freedom and play that is KEY to tapping into your powers of creativity and observation.

I am a professional artist. I began art teaching 6 years ago. My students have progressively gotten older so the challenges of teaching drawing increase. When I first began teachin, I found the Kaupelis book which has been a bible for me. It was also obvious to me that my teachers used the Kaupelis book back in the early 80's.

But back to the "Keys" book, there was one bad review of this book and I want to address that one first. It went on and on about how bad the drawing examples were in the book. If you are anything like me, by the time I get the book I forget what the reviewers wrote specifically. My first reaction to some the drawings was that they were pretty bad, but this book is excellent despite this.

What the first high school teacher writes is right on the money. This book is thorough and I find myself referring to it more than all of my 25 drawing books (smile) I have in this house... and am most enthused with my lessons that are inspired my the "keys", which improves my teaching even more.

He includes words on thought process while drawing. He breaks down drawing to these small, bite size ideas that are very easy to understand and translatable. Of course, as you teach, you learn. This is a book for reading, then application. If you want a book to look at filled with beautiful drawings, I suggest, John Biggers, Charles White and Pontormo.