Aspiring artists received step-by-step instructions for drawing people and animals using a minimum of line and circle combinations.

    More than 350 illustrations and comprehensive instructions teach all the basic techniques. Other lessons focus on still life, plants, landscapes, animals, figure drawing and portraiture, and composition. From capturing perspective and motion to adding details, you’ll be able to create beautiful, realistic drawings.

    You'll learn how to explore the use of color theory in abstraction and to use underpainting to bring structure and depth to your art. In addition you'll begin to understand how to work in a series and how this can help you develop your own personal style. A sampling of what you'll add to your creative toolbox: Pastel and acrylic techniques to use to complete your own paintings The benefits of expressing your ideas abstractly How to loosen up by using your nondominant hand and drawing to music Ways to express emotions through mark-making Using color and symbolism for expression Working with photos for inspiration Tips for using color studies Step into your own abstract frame of mind today!

    How to Draw and Paint Fairies confronts the fairy labor shortage directly, explaining all the techniques needed to bring fairy art to life. For beginners, explanations of basic techniques and easy-to-follow constructional drawings, plus information on materials, sketching, forms, and color make starting out easy and pleasant. As artists progress, the book offers detailed descriptions and beautiful illustrations of little people--from flower, water, and moon fairies, to nymphs and sprites, to sirens. Basic to advanced techniques on watercolor and mixed media are covered step-by-step, and finished images from leading fairy artists provide inspiration. This beautiful book will make every artist believe in fairies.

    Anyone who can hold a pencil can learn to draw.In this book, Bert Dodson shares his complete drawing system--fifty-five "keys" that you can use to render any subject with confidence, even if you're a beginner.These keys, along with dozens of practice exercises, will help you draw like an artist in no time.You'll learn how to:Restore, focus, map, and intensifyFree your hand action, then learn to control itConvey the illusions of light, depth, and textureStimulate your imagination through "creative play"

    That is, until the grandmother he never met dies in Greece and he receives an odd letter at her funeral. An invitation to a dusty old barbershop in Washington, DC.Accompanied by his new friend Victoria, Tom finds himself in wild pursuit of clues to solve the Cicada riddle. They believe it’s their only chance of reaching the old barber who turned their lives upside down and mysteriously disappeared.But what they discover is an ancient scheme to open human consciousness. A scheme that is finally coming to fruition thanks to modern technology. And unless the two most unlikely people uncover the elusive truth—visible for all to see but neglected for generations—humanity will face a prospect too sweet to resist.Fans of Dan Brown will be delighted by this raw and provocative spiritual mystery. Get ready for a thrill ride that may leave you enlightened and shaken.The Divine Joke is raw and provocative spiritual mystery. Get ready for a thrill ride that may leave you enlightened and shaken.

    A complicated web of clues leaves Sasha and his team with more questions than answers: What's the killer's motive? And how are the victims connected to one another? As the story begins to unravel, the ordinarily calm and collected Sasha begins to feel the immense pressure of the case. Will he be able to solve the mystery before time runs out and bring justice to all who were affected?

    It is organized as a series of exercises, all of which will provide you with essential practice for your brain, eye, and hand. The result is a powerful drawing course that does not feel like a course.

    Austentatious Crochet presents Austen fans with a unique opportunity to step into the scarf, skirt, or chemise of Elizabeth Bennett, Emma Woodhouse, and a host of other favorite Austen characters.The book features thirty-two original crochet projects inspired by Austen novels but fabulously brought up to date and wearable today. The designs focus on women's wear, such as dresses, sweaters, cardigans, and capelets, but also encompass accessories such as handbags, scarfs, and pillowcases and clothing for children.Introductions to each project include favorite bits of dialogue from the original novels. Fully illustrated with evocative photos, Regency-style illustrations, and step-by-step schematics, Austentatious Crochet is certain to please the devoted Austen lover as well as craft enthusiasts.

    When used effectively, line and mark-making convey texture, tone, form, movement, and mood. With Drawn to Stitch by your side, learn creative uses of line in embroidery and textile art.Artist and teacher Gwen Hedley shares a series of exercises designed to explore line’s potential as well as develop your creativity. Drawn to Stitch also covers line and mark-making tools, materials, and processes, including printing and mixed-media techniques. Gwen explores stitch, explaining how to interpret different line qualities from crisp and sharp to soft and diffused and from raised and overlaid to recessed and inlaid.Full of inspiring ideas, Drawn to Stitch is illustrated with stunning examples of stitched-textile work from leading artists.

    Color the things you can't say.•Twenty-one single sided adult coloring pages•Two color test pages.•Illustrations range from moderate to complex detail.•Images include: Beautiful abstract doodles, animals, people and fairies. Each has its own sassy quip like "Home is where the vodka is," "Suck it up buttercup," and "Dance like no one attractive is watching," and other humorous and subversive sayings.

    The stylish design of this book, along with the interior photographs, illustrations and diagrams, make the learning process simple and fun for beginning painters and provides useful tips for more advanced artists.This book is divided into three sections. In the first section, you will find practical advice on choosing the necessary tools and equiopment as well as hints on mixing colorsâ?¬â?one of the trickier skills to master until you have learned some of the basic properties of color. Next, the techniques used in watercolor painting are explained in detail, from the most basic like laying washes and reserving highlights to some of the more unusual and exciting methods like wax-resist or spattering paint.Tutorials and more than 100 step-by-step sequences demonstrate how to paint a wide range of subjects, including landscapes, buildings, people and still life. Over 180,000 copies sold worldwide.

    'Visual Chronicles' provides a no-fear guide to expressing one's deepest self with art & words.

    Rather than focus on art techniques that build skills or overcome creative blocks through playful activities or writing, this guide walks the artist through exercises designed to develop the personal qualities critical to being an artist in the world, such as courage, the ability to look and see, and connection to the true creative self. This is a hands-on, experiential action book designed to get the reader creating art and exploring a variety of possibilities for being an artist. According to the teachings of this handbook, engagement with art is less about end results or products and more about the self-awareness and competence that frees the artist to seek out and create work that is vital. This is a rigorous programme that allows artists of any skill level to deepen their creative habits and be the best artists possible.

    (It's not as scary as it sounds…not with Mark and Mary as your guide!) At the heart of this book, a series of fun, hands-on exercises help you practice and perfect your strokes—24 mini-demos lead up to 9 full step-by-step demos. Each exercise builds on the previous one as you develop your skills, build your confidence, and enjoy yourself along the way. The lessons you learn by drawing simple subjects such as coffee mugs, clouds and trees will help you take on progressively more challenging matter like animals, still lifes, landscapes and portraits…the kinds of subjects and scenes you've always dreamt of drawing. This book is just the ticket for budding artists of any age. It's never too early and never too late to discover the pure joy of drawing!