Observational Sketching: Hone Your Artistic Skills by Learning How to Observe and Sketch Everyday Objects Paperback

Excelente libro, con mucha información, referencias de artistas y consejos, lo he leído en detalle y me encanta

I’m one of those people who drew a lot as a child and then kind of got out of it. I also spent 20 years on a drawing board as an engineer, but that kind of drawing is a whole different ball game. It uses some of the same skills but it is quite structured.A number of years ago, since often to estimate projects for tooling you might sketch what you are going to do upfront, I went through the exercises from “Drawing on the Right side of the mind” that really helped my observation skills. Essentially you need to learn to draw what you see, not what you think you see.Well this book touts a type of drawing that is quite unique. That of examining an object and recording this on paper in the manner you choose. It is more structured than most other types of drawing.The author takes it a step further and in Chapters 3 & 4, really presses you to learn about the objects you are sketching, including not only the material it is made of, but the process used to make it. Having come from industry, I’m not inclined to go the reverse engineering route like this, but I do like to do semi-structured drawings.I can’t say that this book does a great job teaching you how to do it, beyond some rudimentary breaking objects into simple forms and discussing perspective, and the exercises in that but it is a nice book to page through and energize you back into drawing.The chapters are:Chapter 1: The appeal of Observational Sketching (7-20)Chapter 2: Fundamentals of Sketching You Can Use Right Away (21-40)Chapter 3: How to Observe (41-68)Chapter 4: Let’s do some Observational Sketching (71-118)Would recommend anyone trying to learn to draw to first try the “Drawing on the Right Side of the mind book first”. It really helps you develop your eye.

While this isn't the perfect drawing book for *me*, I do think it's excellent. I say it's not "perfect for me" because it really is a book about drawing from a perspective of studying the industrial design of things rather than the form of things. Meaning- the book shows you how to take an object- a mug, for example- and study it closely- the handle, the seams where the handle meets the vessel, the texture of the materials used to make it, the shapes that make it up, the markings on it. Also, the book invites you to think further about it- how was the handle joined to the mug- is it fastened on? Or attached and the clay smoothed over? Then it goes even further- it starts asking questions about manufacturing mugs in general. I know it sounds like an exageration, but this book really does push you to consider these things.And by looking at objects with this much depth, the book posits you are better equipped to render them.I think this is a very interesting - and thorough- approach to drawing. One that produces exquisite, realistic, and properly rendered results. But one thing the book doesn't take into consideration is technical skill- the bottom line is that some people can do this type of illustration without pause, and others will struggle to draw a straight line, no matter what "tips and tricks" they learn (which is me).I definitely think this book gives me a whole new way to approach drawing, but my drawings are still coming out quite wonky and lopsided, no many how much effort and time I put in practicing and observing. And there's no place in the book - in any of the examples or artists whose work is shared- for anything less than neat and rendered well.So if you have a quirky style, and don't mind that, and want something that will help you develop it even further, this is not the book for that. However, that being said, this is a great book for learning how to fully observe all the little aspects of the world around you, which WILL help you capture the character and fundamentals of everything you see when you start drawing.

Love, love, love, loooooove this book! It won't appeal to everyone but it certainly struck a chord with me. The author is an industrial designer and she takes both an engineering and architectural style approach which is straightforward and simple.I've been arting for years and do so in a lot of different ways, sometimes urban sketching which closely relates to observational sketching. However, in this book, Higaki chooses inanimate objects as subjects for observational sketching. The practice is based around analyzing your subject matter by breaking it down into simple shapes and questioning materials, considering how they behave, and how that can be conveyed in your drawing.Trust and honor the process. You will find that it translates to organic subjects too. I know when I sketch flowers and humans, I break down every element into a simple shape then build flesh around it. The same process follows here, where starting with inanimate objects might be less intimidating. But start with any simple subject that appeals to you (and will remain still!).These are great beginning steps for those who want to learn how to sketch, or for those who want to give their already-existing skills a bit more structure and realism.This is one book I will reorder for my youngest son who loves drawing, and also for my friend who has been arting for a year with an instructor who is highly accomplished and holds a MFA. This offers an excellent foundation for anyone who wants to draw anything and then build their own style from there.

There are not nearly as many examples in this book as I thought there would be. Its pretty much the same 12 drawings on the cover repeated on multiple pages.

Great source for design sketching techniques. Experienced as well as novice sketchers would benefit from this book.