If you follow James Gurney, like I do, you will understand why I like this book. As a young adult, James and the late Thomas Kinkaid, were ahead of their time in promoting outdoor and urban sketching. One reviewer said this is not a 'how to' book. It is not intended to teach you the basics of drawing only but to acquaint you with how to see your environment and select a composition to draw and then paint if you so choose. Some fundamentals are addressed inside, such as sight sizing, perspective, atmospheric perspective, but these portions are the minor part of the book. I wanted to own this just because I am a fan of Gurney.

“The Artists’ Guide to Sketching, a Handbood for Drawing on the Spot” by James Gurney and Thomas Kinkade. Highly recommended for beginners and old-faurts alike. I’ve been stalking the authors, trying to get them to re-publish it (it’s out of print, but available on ebay, etc.) but so far I’ve been unsuccessful. Artist's Guide to Sketching by James Gurney, 327, available at Book Depository with free delivery worldwide.

Bob Dylan Greatest Hits Torrent Pirate Bay. Someday I'll have him autograph it. I have read quite a few books on sketching; this one is unique in a couple of aspects, particularly the breadth of subjects covered. Longman Interactive English Program here.

First, while it covers the important subjects that most do, materials, general technique, how to get good scale and measuring on the spot, etc. It also includes things like exaggeration and imagination, which is fun and enlightening. There are interesting examples of stretching and recombining what you see into new and creative compositions.

Second, this book is surprisingly replete with text (although you will encounter most of the details twice, worded differently in body text and captions), and well balanced between text and pictures. Other books I have are either very light on instructive text or in at least one case heavy on text and light on pictures (and a bit dull to read). There are sketches on just about every page, and each sketch or photo has a caption explaining the materials and processes use to make it, with other tidbits as to what was going on at the time, what was interesting about the subject, what was the weather like, who was this person they sketched, etc. Which enliven the narrative. Some of the important points covered include environmental and social distractions from sketching, and overcoming those; materials (perhaps surprisingly almost identical 35 years later), getting accurate scale and angles, simple ways to get perfect vertical and horizontal lines without tools, and easily approximating an accurate perspective grid. There is a 6 step process for getting a good underdrawing and how and why this will save you time in the long run, how much time to put into it, how to know if you need to develop in further or if you've taken it too far, how to use it to get a more interesting composition, and when any given step would be necessary (since they aren't each necessary in all cases).

There are specific sections on sketching architecture, people and animals, and on the use of imagination. I would recommend this book for serious sketching enthusiasts. I paid nearly $60 for it and that feels like a bargain. I read on Gurney's blog that there aren't currently plans on getting it back into print, but also heard in a podcast interview he was on that they probably would at some point. Rpg Maker Xp Fr Vista. Another book that I would recommend, which is a little easier to come by and can be gotten for about 1/3 the cost is which in my opinion is as good or better in instructing the fundamental techniques, although more geared toward technical accuracy and lacking in the imaginative aspects of this book.