The Drawing Lesson: A Graphic Novel That Teaches You How to Draw - Softcover

Crilley, Mark

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0385346336 ISBN 13: 9780385346337

Publisher: Ten Speed Graphic, 2016

Synopsis

Read This Comic and Start Drawing Today! Nominated for a 2017 Eisner Award

For the first time ever, drawing instructor and graphic novelist Mark Crilley brings his easy-to-follow artistic instruction to aspiring artists in the form of a comic book, providing you with a one-of-a-kind how-to experience. In The Drawing Lesson, you’ll meet David—a young boy who wants nothing more than to learn how to draw. Luckily for David, he’s just met Becky—his helpful drawing mentor. Page by page, Becky teaches David (and you!) about the essential fundamentals that artists need in order to master drawing, all in a unique visual format. In panel after panel, Crilley provides lessons on shading, negative space, creating compositions, and more, with accompanying exercises that you can try for yourself. Are you ready to start your drawing lesson today?

About this title

About the Author

Mark Crilley is the author of nearly twenty books, including The Realism Challenge, Mastering Manga, and Mastering Manga 2, as well as several series of books and graphic novels, including Akiko, Miki Falls, Billy Clikk, and Brody’s Ghost. Since being selected for Entertainment Weekly’s “It List” in 1998, Crilley has developed a massive Internet following for his drawing demonstration videos, which have received well over two hundred million views on YouTube. His books have been featured in USA Today, the New York Daily News, and Disney Adventures magazine, as well as on CNN Headline News. He resides in Novi, Michigan.

Reviews

Gr 4 Up—David is awed by an older student who can draw cars, and he wants to be able to do the same. When he asks Becky, an artist drawing in the park, for a quick lesson, the small request turns into an entire summer of progressive tutorials that readers are encouraged to emulate and practice. What could have been a series of instructions enhanced with dialogue and humor instead features a full story that's heartfelt and quite moving. The book contains illustrations rendered in shaded, sepia-tone pencil overlaid with crisp, computer-created dialogue balloons, and as Becky talks about framing and realism, negative space, and lighting, readers start to notice the intriguing choices Crilley has made in his storytelling. The focus is on drawing, not graphic narrative, but as readers see and analyze the way Becky—and, by extension, Crilley—is encouraging them, the balance between cartooning and realism begins to leap out. The dynamic between David's impetuous enthusiasm and Becky's caustic reserve pays off in a way that might be surprising, considering Crilley's frequent use of caricature. This title supports rereading and careful examination of the author's impeccable technique and the implied storytelling lessons he doesn't make explicit. VERDICT An artful balance of character and technique, of observed human moments and carefully pitched instruction, that will appeal to students with artistic aspirations.—Benjamin Russell, Belmont High School, NH

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Chapter One: The Meeting   2

Chapter Two: Drawing What You See   11

Chapter Three: Shading   27

Chapter Four: Beginning With A Loose Sketch   40

Chapter Five: Understanding Light and Shadow   54

Chapter Six: Using Negative Space   68

Chapter Seven: Checking Proportions   78

Chapter Eight: Simplifying Things   87

Chapter Nine: Creating A Composition   98

Chapter Ten: Bringing It All Together   110

Chapter Eleven: Moving On   126

Epilogue   134


My goal with this book is to give you the next best thing: some sense of what it’s like to meet a drawing expert and to have a series of lessons at his or her side. There’s no shortage of instructional art books in the world; I’ve made a few of them myself. But I wanted to see if crucial lessons about drawing could be woven into an actual narrative. So, I set out to create a story that would give you vicariously the experience of having a mentor—one that can make you feel as if you are the one having your mistakes corrected, as if you are being told what to do and how to do it.

So, please turn the page, meet young David, and follow him on his drawing journey. I hope his story gives you some sense of what it’s like to have a drawing mentor. Mentors are not always gentle, and they certainly aren’t there just to be your personal cheerleader. But a mentor can truly change the way you see the world, and in so doing change your life altogether.

Edition details

• Publisher: Ten Speed Graphic
• Publication date: 2016
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0385346336
• ISBN 13: 9780385346337
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 144