A different kind of sketching
Artist Uma Kelkar presents "The Urban Sketching Handbook Drawing With A Tablet. Easy Techniques for Mastering Digital Drawing on Location", published bx Quarto Publishing Group - Quarry. This book is the sixth book in the Urban Sketching Handbook series (This series touches various topics such as Sketching Tips, Working with Color, Understanding Perspective, ...). After the introduction the book is divided into two main parts: 1) Keys (e.g., Equipment Basics", "Get Started with Digital Drawing") and 2) Gallery (Cityscapes and Landscapes). The first part includes also a few exercises, but there are no sample graphics that show how they would look when they are accomplished..
The book is presented with great graphics and pictures by different artists as well as Kelkar herself, and an attractive design. It includes also tips that are helpful for artist who are using or plan to use a tablet for sketching. Furthermore, it includes a list of iOS and Android Apps, apps which are free and others that need to be bought. Some of those apps work on different platforms, but the focus on the book is on the ProCreate tool which only works on iPads. It is good to note that the examples in the book are too difficult and challenging for beginning artist, but it is the advanced artists who are Kelkar's target group since she wants to show sketchers how to take their digital drawing to the next level, so previous experience is required. The book is interesting, there is no doubt, but buyers need to be aware that it is only useful for those artists who own a tablet, a stylus, a sketching app, and have experience in sketching this way. Kelkar clearly states: "this book neither teaches you how to draw nor is it a manual. Instead, it is your cheat sheet of ideas and inspiration rolled into one." (p. 7).
The complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley free of charge. I was under no obligation to offer a positive review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
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For artists who have been turning more to their tablets or phones to create when time is limited and there isn't a margin for paint to dry, this book can serve as an inspiration and guide. 

The Procreate application is the primary focus in the book, but the author does introduce names of similar features in other programs to make the book accessible with whatever program you' have available. I do have a tablet with a stylus, but I am very much a beginner, only dabbling in doodles now and again and have not explored applications to facilitate art yet (and, honestly, I don't know that such a step is in my future, as my creativity tends towards other avenues). This book is geared towards individuals who have experimented with the programs already and are looking to take their skills to the next level.

I found my favorite part of the book was all the examples included by different artists. They were used as inspiration for the various techniques, but I found myself drawn more to them than the text (again, this is because I'm more of a beginner, so I'm not the target audience). The layers of the various examples and the evolution of the drawings were impressive.

(I received a digital ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.)

A great informative guide to drawing with tablets such as ipads and more. It is ideal for beginners to those with a bit of experience, working out how to produce different realistic effects using technology. If you're a 'traditional' artist using paper, pens, pencils and would like to take those first steps and dip your toes into the digital world, this book will be your companion!!

Good introduction to the tools and techniques of drawing on a tablet and the layers involved, along with some really nice examples of the work that can be created in the process! Thank you to NetGalley for a free copy of this book.

The Urban Sketching Handbook: Drawing with a Tablet is a tutorial and technique guide for digital art, specifically field drawing techniques. Due out 11th Feb 2020 from Quarto on their Quarry imprint, it's 112 pages and will be available in flexibound and ebook formats.

This is an accessible, well written guide which shows a variety of work in a number of styles from different artists. I really liked the wide variety of looks which can be achieved from similar tools and techniques. This book is one of a series of books aimed at sketching in the field and on the go, with a limited number of portable tools (this volume concentrates on electronic formats).

The layout is logical; the first section introduces the tools, supplies and techniques, the second section contains three galleries with widely different styles and many artists' work arranged into cityscapes - indoors and outdoors, and landscapes. One thing that the book possibly could have spent more time on was actual soft-and hardware selection. The author clearly wanted to avoid a command prompt 'buy this product'; there's a table full of comparisons for programs which run the gamut from nothing to quite expensive. I found the array of products quite bewildering and will do more research later to find what fits my needs (total newbie, amateur electronic artist here). The learning curve for the software is a significant hurdle for electronic drawing and that is more or less not within the scope of this volume at all.

The overall feel of the book is technically rich, useful, and varied and I saw so many things which got my fingers itching to jump in and start drawing. I think most (non)artists are a lot more shy about drawing on paper/media than drawing on an electronic device which 99% of us have in our hands a majority of the time. Seeing 'real' working artists using these techniques and devices to produce art was inspiring for me.

Four stars. I really liked this book and will definitely use it going forward for my own drawing sessions.

The writer begins by taking a note of the various hurdles in an artist’s life and work, and tells how tablets can help in overcoming them. She also takes note of the several other advantages of using a tablet for art work which expands your field beyond what traditional media could offer. Throughout the book she keeps on highlighting the various features which demonstrate the (superior) application of tablets.

The main text of the book begins with very basic details and instructions about tablets — importance of charging, carrying, how and where to place or position it, correct posture and so on. A brief overview of the various software and corresponding operating system is given in table form for easy reference. The discussion in the book is throughout based on Procreate, and occasionally reference to ArtRage is also made. Focus of discussion in this book is on the application of digital media and to demonstrate the different ways in which this medium could be employed, instead of giving specific details of the software. By this I mean, though the meaning and application of various menu items in Procreate software is given, the approach is more general rather than specific to this software. Thus, the users who prefer to use some other software would still be able to make use of the lessons learnt from this book. Note that it is not at all possible to explain the details of every software in a single book. Plenty of examples are given throughout the book from work by different artists using digital media. While giving these figures, in addition to the title of the work and the software which was used for making it, the writer draws your attention to the various features of the composition. At the end of the book you will find galleries of artworks by different artists which would give you an idea of what can be accomplished using this medium and at the same time serve as a source of inspiration.

The language of text — the instructions as well as description — is very simple and conversational. Overall, text is less as compared to figures, which helps maintain the focus of the reader on learning the skill.

If you are an artist, or aspire to be an artist, or simply want to draw beautiful pictures, or simply do casual funny art, this book is certainly for you. Even those who have not yet tried the art world can find an easy entry with the help of this guide.

What a great book! Drawing on a tablet is very new to me so most of this was very good instructions and tips I didn’t know of. There are also lots of great examples for inspiration. The tables is also informative on different software you can use.

This was only a taster sample from the publisher but, it was enough for me to pre order the full book. I do a lot of drawing on my ipad and thought hard grasped the basics of drawing and painting on a tablet. How wrong I was there was so much in this sample that was new to me.
and my paintings have improved significantly. I have to say that my painting style is completely different to thoae examples shown in this book. However that is not the point. The point is knowing what is possible and where to find it. ArtRage and Procreate are the software applications used. I had already bought these on the ipad app store. They were not expensive and with this book they are all you need.
I subscribe to an Art Magazine and in this months issue they were recommending Corel Painter 2020. This is a ‘drawing tablet’ and costs the vast sum of over £300 pounds. As long as you have a touch screen tablet, ipad, Kindle or phone you can create beautiful art work with just the apps mentioned, your finger tip and this book.
Enjoy

I received an advanced reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

This is a quick read that gives basic information on starting out using a tablet for drawing.
This is a good book for beginners who wantto give this a go for fun as it gives basic information, but if you want something more in depth this is not the book for you.

I found this book informative and inspiring. I’ve attempted to use tablets and touchscreens for sketching and artwork in the past and have often felt limited by the hardware but the helpful tips and examples in this book are practical and I think would lead the reader to more successful digital art.

I was especially impressed with the examples and range of techniques covered in a fairly short book. I found the focus on Procreate to be a bit limiting and complex, however I think that the major functions of sketch and art apps as a whole are explored during the course of the book.

I think this book would be most useful for a reader with both intermediate sketching / painting skills and some technical background with drawing apps. This would probably be too challenging for an absolute beginner.

This is a refreshing change to the usual sketching books using paper, and a great way to encourage artists to try out a newer and very different medium. The instructions are at a basic high level but are enough to get you started. Even though it is based around the ProCreate program the skills can be transferred to other software platforms. You will learn a variety of basic skills including selecting a palette, choosing your resolution, layering and selecting different brushes and tools. It demonstrates how to create a complete sketch, and is illustrated throughout.

Overall I enjoyed this book it is brief concise and has a few handy tips. It's very short and non specif to any particular brand. This is both good and bad.

This wont teach you any particular program nor does it go into very deep detail it quickly moves thru several important techniques skimming over the most basic tips to try then moves on to the next skillset.

I believe its perfect for a beginner that wants to draw for fun. It does not have so much technical information that it makes it seem to hard or scary. Just enough to get you going and have some fun with it. If your looking for a serious technical book on drawing this won't be for you as your skills probably already surpass what's covered. But this is great for a beginner at drawing with a tablet so I rate it highly in that regard. I wish it was longer with a bit more instructions but overall in some cases simple can be better. I received this book from NetGalley for an honest review.