Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 211
 Fabulous Resource September 1, 2010
Reed S.
Because our local elementary school didn't have the funds to hire art teachers, I volunteered to teach drawing, something I, with very little art training, could not have done before discovering this book. One of the ideas I gleaned from it was to hand each student a photo of something (a chair, a car, a face), tell them to rotate the image 180 degrees so that the image was inverted, and then have them keep it turned that way until they were done drawing. Many students, even in classes of five-year-olds, "got it" on the first try and were impressed by their results (and so was I!); and within the next few lessons, every student had learned to draw what they saw and not what they thought they knew something looked like. Years later, many of these students have come up to me to thank me for teaching them how to draw. So this book has made an impact on people who haven't even read it!
 interesting and fun August 30, 2010
Alice Harlow (Los Angeles, CA)
I haven't completed the book yet. Just read the first 4 chapters and completed a few exercises. It's a very interesting book and the exercises are fun and enlightening. I do find some parts quite dry, especially in the beginning when she writes about the left and right hemispheres in a lot of detail.
Over all so far I would recommend this book!
 not much drawing instruction July 29, 2010
D. Gardner (United States)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
The first thing Betty Edwards tells us (in the preface): she was not trained as an educator. Consequently, she met with great frustration trying to teach her high school students to draw. What did she do? Write a long-winded, theoretical book about why it is so hard to teach people to draw.
You are, perhaps, a person who has tried to draw but felt frustrated because you have not gotten good training or instruction.
Option 1: use this book = spend a lot of time reading, not much time drawing, end up with lots of excuses why drawing is so hard.
Option 2: use Keys to Drawing by Bert Dodson (a skilled instructor) = read a little, draw a lot, watch your skills grow, feel happy doing what you love to do, forget drawing was once difficult and frightening.
Teaches you how to think when drawing July 29, 2010
Abby Thinker
This book not only teaches you how to think (and not think) when drawing, but also teaches you the techniques to draw. In short, it teaches the approach and the techniques. Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain works on the premise that the right side of the brain is more suited for drawing, and teaches you how to engage it for drawing purposes. The different chapters are on contour drawings, negative space, sighting, portrait drawings, colors, light and shadow. At the end is an additional chapter on handwriting art. There are easy step-by-step exercises to follow along. Results will be visible but all the exercises must be done. Perfection requires more practice, of course. The techniques can be easily applied to challenging tasks like drawing foreshortening or a realistic portrait. This is the book my art teacher used to teach us when I was in my early teens. It's actually got some good ideas in there, with a lot of jargon that I didn't understand (and didn't really care to, you don't miss much). Looking back, I appreciate some of the lessons I learned from it. Even if you think you can't draw, give this a chance! Forget that you think all your drawings look like a kid's, and try it, it really was good for me.
Playing with your Right Brain July 17, 2010
Ann E. Tate (Dahlgren, VA USA)
Wonderful book for novices picking up a pencil and drawing paper the first time ever. The book is very easy to understand and the instructions are very clear. I was totally blown away by what I could draw after the first few chapters. This text is especially helpful for any analysts, scientists, or engineers who want to engage thier more creative right brain. The book helps you break free from your left brain and enjoy the playful creative right hemisphere. I am 1/2 way through the book and totally enjoying it. I intend to follow up with an art class.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 211
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