Drawing Concepts: A complete guide to essential drawing techniques and fundamentals (Step-by-Step Studio)

by Diane Cardaci, Ken Goldman, William F Powell, and Carol Rosinski

Cassandra Radcliff-Mendoza (Editor)

Step-by-Step Studio: Drawing Concepts offers the fundamental information beginning artists need to kick off their creative pursuits in graphite pencil.

Featuring in-depth instruction on composition, value, creating textures, using and manipulating photo references, and more, Step-by-Step Studio: Drawing Concepts is the perfect guide for you as a beginning or intermediate artist. After an introduction to art tools and materials and very basic techniques, four accomplished artists offer insight, tips, and helpful demonstrations that illustrate important art concepts and techniques. You will also find an impressive and varied selection of step-by-step projects to re-create, including still lifes, flowers, animals, landscapes, and portraits in the four sections.

• Values: Covers shapes, form, the light source, how to create depth, and the elements of design.
• Dynamic Compositions: Discusses viewpoint, the golden mean, symmetry and asymmetry, focal points, landscapes, and negative space.
• Realistic Textures: Focuses on rendering the many different textures found in traditional still lifes, animals, people, plants and flowers, and landscapes.
• Step-by-Step Exercises: Includes additional drawing projects, such as a teddy bear, landscape, horse, floral still life, portrait of a girl, and fruit and wine.

Throughout the book, artists Ken Goldman, William F. Powell, Diane Cardaci, and Carol Rosinski offer practical and easy-to-understand drawing techniques and art principles. The journey through Step-by-Step Studio: Drawing Concepts is not about making perfect drawings; it’s about making each drawing better than the one before it, while having a great time.

The books in the Step-by-Step Studio series are project driven and introduce beginning artists to the fundamental tools and techniques of their chosen medium. Easy-to-follow step-by-step projects help beginners hone their skills while creating artwork across a variety of subjects, from still life and landscapes to animal portraits and botanicals.

• ISBN13: 9781600588983
• Publish Date: 30 March 2021 (first published 1 July 2009)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 23 June 2023
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Walter Foster Publishing
• Edition: New Edition with new cover & price
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 144
• Language: English

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Step-by-Step Studio: Drawing Concepts is is a tutorial and technique guide for drawing and rendering subjects aimed beginning to intermediate artists. Previously published in 2009, this reformat and re-release is due out 16th March 2021 from Quarry on their Walter Foster imprint. It's 144 pages and will be available in paperback format.

This volume has a similar format to the other familiar (and beloved) volumes in the series. The introduction covers tools, materials, some texture techniques, and some general drawing info (very basic). The following chapters contain the tutorials, arranged thematically: tonal studies and shading, composition, textures, and individual skill building exercises. Each of the tutorials contains step by step line drawing from basic outline to finished drawing. I felt some of the steps hopped over a lot of intermediate refinement, but all-in-all they're followable and clearly illustrated.

I could see this booklet, bundled with a good graphite drawing set making a superlative gift for a young artist up to adult age. The drawings are detailed enough to look quite professional, but not so extremely advanced that they would frustrate a keen beginner.

Four stars. I love that there are high quality tutorial books available from this classic art-publishing imprint and that reprints are readily available to a new generation of students.

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