Drawing Is for Everyone

I am not an artist and I find that many sketching books may have beautiful covers and art throughout, but the execution of merging the gap of skills from the author to a beginner, through text, drastically falls short. I was pleasantly surprised on how well the author simplifies the process for beginners. I'm sure the activities seem quite juvenile for the experienced artist, but going to the basics is necessary for beginners to learn. The author provides a nice variety of sequential activities that gradually moves the reader from point A onward. The book does not teach the reader to become an amazing artist, that requires much more practice than the scope of this book, however, this book has the capacity to greatly, and quite noticeably, improve the reader's art skills, even if they are not an artist by nature.

Drawing Is for Everyone is an accessible all-levels tutorial and prompt guide for creative exploration and skill building by Kateri Ewing. Due out 20th July 2021 by Quarto on their Quarry imprint, it's 128 pages and will be available in paperback format. I love drawing and calligraphy. I am at what I refer to as the 'keen amateur' level. This book has inspired me to try to be more diligent in my practice and journaling.

This is an upbeat, accessible, and pleasantly encouraging book. The author has an appealing manner of teaching; always building up and reinforcing the idea that drawing really -is- for everyone. The book is laid out logically and progresses from mindfulness and drawing philosophy (*lots* of joy and positivity here), through guided tutorials and lessons for 7 full tutorial projects for each of 3 different media (graphite, colored pencil, and ink).

The really valuable takeaway for me was the author's gifted observational talent for building up facility and confidence in the student, training my ability to see what I am trying to represent and how to separate it from what my brain is interpreting and presenting to me as "reality".

This is a worthy addition to the artist's library and both beginners and more advanced students will find useful material here. I especially benefited from the up-building positivity and encouragement - I think she would be a wonderful teacher in a studio setting and a worthwhile workshop instructor.

Five stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

This is a great book for a beginner artist with 21 lessons beginning with the basics of holding and shading with different pencils to more complex pen and ink compositions.

The lessons are well described and presented in simple steps and the covering pictures are mostly very clear.

Free Netgalley book for review! ~

This is a beautiful book and I think a worthwhile purchase for an aspiring beginning artist. The author walks the reader through each of the steps, holding their hand, so if this is a completely new hobby this is definitely one place to start. It's like attending a workshop in a book, but cheaper, because you don't have to buy meals and pay for boarding!

Anyway, I would recommend this for beginners especially. I think there could be some fun elements for seasoned artists too. I'm considering trying out several of the prompts and combining them for different effects. Full disclosure, I have a college painting degree. I read art books because I find them inspiring and I like seeing what other artists have to say.

Additional notes: I think some of the pencil is really too light, but I probably work too dark, myself, considering my preferred pencil is a 6B, if that tells you anything. The artwork represented here is probably best suited to the artist who prefers meditative and slow type drawing.

This is a helpful, fun book that walks you through 21 lessons to hone your drawing skills. Drawings are made with graphite pencils, colored pencils, and pens. Beginning lessons show you how to shade, make hatches, etc. and they build on that. Examples are shown of the author's own work but also the many interpretations that her students did with the same assignment. Recommended.

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book via NetGalley.

I started this summer with the goal of doing "something" productive everyday. The options were drawing and learning guitar, but since I can draw while my kids are napping without waking them, I started drawing.

I found this book later in the summer, and I love it. Its simple, you can start with it wherever you are and move forward.

This drawing book treats the beginning artist with respect and encouragement. The exercises are simple, the language accessible and positive. As an adult who has only dabbled in drawing and been frustrated by drawing books that leaped from simple to complex exercises without the important intermediate steps, I am eager to spend time working through this book. Ewing urges patience and consistency, and the exercises progress clearly as skills build upon each other.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy for review.

This is a great book for beginners and goes through 21 technical with you. The front cover is beautiful and I was drawn to this book because of the front cover. This would be great for someone who just starting out to draw and you can keep coming back to it.
Thank you NetGalley for letting me read this book.

I really enjoyed reading through this book and getting ideas for future drawings and techniques. In some ways it's a simple book, but I think it's also pretty profound and the seemingly-simple exercises could lead to some very beautiful things. I am especially eager to try out the Pocket Treasure Collage with its intriguing mix of realistic renderings of objects and abstract designs, and also the Word Play exercise. I also found the lessons on creating value with pencils and a light touch especially enlightening. I am definitely guilty of pressing too hard with my pencil and creating shiny areas. I can see these exercises (and the others) transforming my artistic process and the resulting art will certainly be better for it.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Quarry Books for providing an e-arc for review.

Drawing Is for Everyone is a great book for those who want the basics for drawing landscapes, birds, and some decorative touches. The illustrations are very helpful and the technique is described well. It includes plenty of tips to practice and how to be creative with your drawings.

Drawing Is For Everyone is a beautiful visual reference for learning to draw, especially things/creatures from the natural world. I loved the delicate style of drawing featured in this stunning and understated book. Drawing tips are provided and delineated by drawing tool, e.g. graphite, colored pencil, and pen. This book would be great for teens and adults wanting to enhance their skills.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC.

Drawing Is for Everyone is a joyful art instruction book that encourages artists of all levels to make art a daily habit. It is encourages the fun, holistic, meditative benefits of creating a piece of art rather than the development of a masterpiece. There are guided tutorials and lessons for 7 projects using different media and the author helps you to build your skills progressively. It doesn't matter if you are not a talented artist as the idea that art is inclusive and is for everyone is strongly encouraged. This is a joyful book, full of fun and creativity and would make a great gift.

What a brilliant book! I’ve never been any good at drawing but this is very easy to follow, and the lessons are set out in a really accessible way, starting small and working up to more complicated sketches. There are also very useful tips about what tools to use to prepare. I learnt a lot from this book and now enjoy drawing much more!

With thanks to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group - Quarry for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I love to draw, but I'm not very good at it. My drawings remain very much on the childish end of the spectrum, but that's ok. I have fun doing it. Drawing is for Everyone is for those of us out there wanting to take our drawing to the next level.

This book breaks down the drawing process into manageable steps, explaining which tools to use and when - and WHY. There is a whole lesson on how to draw lightly; how things flow, and direction; how to work light. Colour blends, how to manage movement, depth, shade. This is a truly comprehensive art book, but it's not overwhelming.

The lessons themselves are easy to follow. They allow scope for the artists' own interpretation, of course, but they do provide guidance, very much like a physical art class would. From the basics of pattern-making and shading to creating detailed landscapes, Drawing is for Everyone will guide you through, and allow you to improve both your skill and confidence in your work.

Drawing is for Everyone was published on 20 Jul 2021.

*Many thanks to NetGalley and Quarry Books for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

5 stars, Creative helper

DRAWING IS FOR EVERYONE
by Kateri Ewing

I like to think of myself as a creative person. This how-to book shows you how to draw if you are just starting or if you have more skills, how to hone those skills to what you are aiming for. I find the creative helpers in this book quite handy for drawing in my journal. I write a lot of paper letters to friends and like to dress up the letters with drawings around the edges and in between the paragraphs.

Highly recommend. The author shows you how to shade, which is an important skill for artists.

Thank you to #netgalley #quarrybooks for the complimentary copy of #drawingisforeveryone I was under no obligation to post a review.

It’s been years since I picked up a pencil to sketch. I thought this book could help recover those old, forgotten skills and tune up my ability. It fulfilled that wish and more.

Ewing has produced a chatty, easy-to-follow guide to help you get in touch with your inner artist. The instructions and activities are clearly presented and delivered in a comforting, supportive style.

I enjoyed using the book enough that I will buy my own copy.

Recommended.

4.5 Stars! Great book for wannabe artists that could use some help with sketching/drawing. This book teaches amateur artists drawing techniques in 21 different lessons. Learn to draw in graphite pencil, colored pencil and ink. I’ve always wanted to be an artist but that’s not in the cards for me, mostly because I can’t draw to save my life. I did get some tips from this book so I’m better at drawing than I was before reading it. The book has plenty of the authors example sketches which I loved and she also has example sketches from her students too, which I really loved! Sometimes it’s helpful to see other amateurs sketches and not always an artists sketches to compare your work to. The author gave clear instructions in the lessons and I definitely saw my sketches improve with practice.
*I received this book at no charge & I voluntarily left this review.*

𝙍𝙀𝙑𝙄𝙀𝙒
DRAWING IS FOR EVERYONE: Simple Lessons to Make Your Creative Practice a Daily Habit

Author: Kateri Ewing

⭐⭐⭐

#gifted by @netgalley in exchange for an honest review
pub date was 20 July 2021

𝙎𝙔𝙉𝙊𝙋𝙎𝙄𝙎:
This book contains 21 intuitive, process-based lessons, divided in three sections - graphite pencil, colored pencil, and ink - and aims to motivate people to insert daily creative practice into their routine even if you're short on time or don't have a lot of art supplies at your disposal

𝙈𝙔 𝙊𝙋𝙄𝙉𝙄𝙊𝙉:
As someone who was never any good at drawing but decided to give it a try (and other artsy stuff) during the pandemic, when I saw this book on NetGalley I decided to request a copy of this book and, if approved, read it and see for myself if drawing is, in fact, "for everyone".

It is divided into sections, as previously mentioned, and in the beginning there is an introduction where the author tells us the four guiding principles of a creative drawing practice. The lessons themselves contain a list of the necessary tools and step-by-step instructions, and at the end readers are also motivated to use their creativity, as in if you don't have a certain tool or have a different thing in mind than what is included in the book, all of these are fine.

Something I really liked is that in the book we can also see works by Ewing's students. As someone who always ends up thinking of what others will think and if my own art works are good enough it was good to see different people's takes on the lessons and how each of their drawings were beautiful, even though they were all different from one another.

Since this is a drawing book it didn't feel right to review it without trying the lessons so in the next slides you can see some of my very early attempts. I don't have the necessary tools or a lot of time, and it's been a few weeks since I last sat down and dedicated some time to practicing drawing or painting (I was in a little bit of a slump) but I enjoyed doing this for some of the lessons. If I was able to focus I think I would've gotten better results so I'm curious to see my improvements when I'm in a better state of mind and can dedicate more time into practicing drawing.

This is a lovely book that advocates the practice of drawing for a few minutes a day. The lessons themselves are split into three sections; using graphite pencils, coloured pencils, and ink and each section talks about the materials needed. There are seven lessons for each medium; a total of 21 lessons over all.

The lessons themselves are really helpful, with step by step guides and example pictures, including some from the author's students which demonstrate what can be done by ordinary people using the lessons that Ewing has set out.

A really good book to use as an introduction to drawing and introducing a bit of creativity into your day.

A great book on introduction to drawing and building confidence for beginners. The author explores mediums such as colored pencil and graphite, shows simple to follow exercises and activities for building skills and confidence.

An accessible starting point for those interested in starting art. This book gives clear instructions for some lovely works, with examples of how others have approached the lesson. A great spring board for all ages.