You Will be Able to Draw Faces by the End of This Book

Good, but... it would be nice to have more of a variety of people to draw. The same damn guy with a stupid bowl haircut is on no fewer than 24 pages! Eight billion people in the world and we're doing bowl cut man repeatedly. I want to learn to draw faces, plural, not the same awful haircut over and over.In spite of that annoyance, I think the book is generally pretty good, though I think the ordering of activities needs work. Task one, right off the bat: draw a self-portrait. Well, if I could do that already then I wouldn't need the book. The task is useful inasmuch as it gives the artist a snapshot of how awful they are at portraits, and they can compare their drawings to that monstrosity along the way to see improvement!I like drawing in the book, it feels less daunting than drawing in my own sketchbook. And my portrait drawings are now just about recognisable if I draw someone really famous!

I have dabbled in various types of art throughout my life and have achieved a few decent portraits, but I'm looking for a book that takes me step by step through the various technical approaches to find a more reliable way to draw portraits. I am doing this while also working fulltime and dealing with health issues, so an exercise book that has everything I need to practice sounds ideal.This book certainly covers many different ways of approaching a portrait. I enjoy having many drawn examples. When the author takes us through the process step by step, it's great.However, he doesn't always do that. For example, I was happy when I came to the 'chapter' discussing the planes of the face - only to find that it really only said 'You could look at the planes of the face - practice here'. Other instructions on the topic I've seen were much more detailed.Furthermore, a big downside is the lack of reference material. On some pages, you are encouraged to use a drawing as reference - but all I'm doing then is copy someone else's line work. This may help a little in the early stages of studying the layout of the face (and because I find it easy to copy this author's work, I enjoyed it), but it's not the same as translating a photograph into pencil work yourself. And there are no photographs in the book. Oftentimes, there's an empty page demanding 'practice here'. What with? I'm already busy taking in all of the information, now you ask me put your book aside and find a reference photo? Nine out of ten times that will make me put the book down, not practice my drawing.Overall, this is a book a beginner can learn from a lot. But it didn't provide me the step-by-step process for all aspects of the face that I was looking for.

This book is really easy to follow! It’s well structured and Spicer has explained clearly the steps that are taken to break down a portrait from simple circles, to adding shape then creating more structure to the shape and so on. I’ve included photos to help give you an idea of the structure inside. I used to draw a lot in school and loved doing portraits, but as I grew up I stopped. I figured what better time to take it up again and get back to doing things I enjoy! And I’m so glad I found this book. And I love the way the book has been designed. I did also get a separate sketchbook so that I can practice regularly what I’ve just learned from each chapter. You do get a few practice pages but it’s usually only two pages so depending how much you want to practice before moving on to the next stage, you may want a sketchbook to hand as well. I try not to linger too long on the same chapter and trust my instincts if I feel it’s getting repetitive staying with the same drawing and to try the next drawing. Overall I’m really happy with the book and it’s been invaluable so far and I highly recommend it for a beginner. My only advice is have fun with it and don’t put pressure on yourself to be perfect on first go. Just enjoy the challenge and try again the next day. I don’t push myself to draw it again in the same day. I admire what I have drawn so far and then try again the next day and I only spend about 15 mins a day on it so that I can build up a routine without tiring myself out.I am a little saddened by people’s reviews that the book is badly made. The strap that goes over the book is actually deliberately removable but can be used again to secure it. It’s not supposed to be attached to the book permanently. Also Spicer has included an exposed spine so that you can lay the pages flat for practice drawing. So this is also not a design flaw and helps the reader to use the practice pages like a sketchbook. I feel those who reviewed these as flaws didn’t quite understand these was intentional and returned too hastily. It’s actually a really thought-out well designed resource. I hope my review helps in your decision to purchase! I highly recommended it!

A brilliant book - I’m really enjoying trying all the different exercises (you draw straight into the book) and I can already feel my observational/drawing skills improving. It’s amazing!

As a gift

Each lesson has a blank page to experiment with. Well set out but I think you’d have to practice quite a lot before you get things right.