We artists do love to buy books.
Especially books that promise to teach us how to draw or paint better.
In fact, we spend so much time buying books it’s a wonder we have any time for drawing.
I’ll come clean. I have a special weakness for art instruction books. There’s something about the possibility of learning new drawing and painting skills that has a special pull for me. I have more art instruction books than I care to think about, and certainly more than I need.
From all my book buying and reading, one thing stands out above all else.
Most of them were useless!
Sad but true. And in a few cases, they were worse than useless, either because the information in them was just plain wrong, or because they directed me down unproductive paths and wasted my time with fripperies instead of concentrating on drawing fundamentals.
Still, in all the books I’ve come across there is a very short list of real gems that I’ve found have really helped me in my bid to grow artistically and develop my drawing skills.
The books on this list are outrageously useful, in my opinion. I recommend them without reserve. They account for a very small percentage of all the art books I have, but they’re the only ones I really needed to buy.
If you’re teaching yourself to draw, I recommend you get these three books and work with them constantly and consistently for two years. If you put the effort in, I think you’ll be amazed at how far you can develop your drawing skills.
How these books were chosen
For a book to make it onto this list, it has to be one that I’ve come back to again again. It has to have been of practical use, so it will have included practical exercises, not just theory or glossy pictures.
It will have proved itself so useful to me, that I doubt I could have got as far as I’ve got without it.
And it will be evergreen: Still as useful to me now as it was when I first started working with it. And worth working through in its entirety multiple times. In many ways, that’s the true test of the usefulness of an art book.
So here’s a list of the books that I’ve personally found the most useful.
My 3 Best Art Instruction Books
1. The Practice and Science of Drawing – Harold Speed
This is hands-down the best art instruction book I’ve ever read, ever worked with.
I suspect that many of the people who own this book have read it without actually doing the drawing exercises it describes. That’s a mistake, because the exercises are extremely practical and informative, and will teach you timeless fundamentals of drawing.
The language might be difficult for some people. Speed was English, and wrote this book at the turn of the last century. All work is a product of its time to an extent, and there are some passages that are a little embarrassing to read, and some ideas that no longer carry much weight.
But if you’re serious about developing your drawing skills, there’s no better book in my humble opinion, both from a practical and philosophical point of view.
Best of all, you can download it for free.
James Gurney recently published some good blog posts about this book, if you want to see some more of the detail. They start here.
2. The Bargue book
Although this book has a lengthier and weightier title, everyone I know just calls it the Bargue Book.
This book will teach you a method that will help you learn to see. It will teach you focus, and patience. It will bloody well teach you to draw, if you follow the method to the letter, strive for absolute accuracy and don’t stint on your practice.
Look closely at the way the hatching has been done, how the values are created, the subtlety of the marks, and try to match all of those as closely as you can.
It will be very hard. It will teach you an incredible amount about drawing.
Now, you don’t have to copy every plate. To get a huge amount of benefit from this book, you just have to copy a few of them. But copy them really intensively, till you can’t tell any difference between your own drawing and the original.
Then watch what happens the next time you try to draw something from life.
Unfortunately, this book is expensive, so if you’re cash-strapped you can skip it 🙂
3. Composition – Arthur Wesley Dow
Of the three, this is probably my favourite, for two reasons: It has taught me so much, and it covers an area of drawing in practical detail that most books either skirt around or approach vaguely and more philosophically.
If you want to improve your composition skills, this book is the one.
Composition encapsulates everything I think an art book should be. It is filled with practical exercises. It is very short on theory and justification. There is zero author ego. After the short introduction, Dow gets right out of the way and just presents you with a load of practical stuff to do.
But it doesn’t give you everything, this book, and like the Speed book, it was written some time ago and will require some interpretation on your part. You’ll have to think, and unfortunately I have a feeling that we’re less and less used to doing that for ourselves these days.
But more than any of the other books here, it allows you to grow as an artist and as an individual. I believe that if you have the staying power to stick with it over the long term (I’ve been working with it for about three years so far) will teach you to make art and help you to find your voice.
This book can also be downloaded for free.
Honourable Mention
Drawing on the right side of the brain – Betty Edwards
I’ve included this one as a runner up. It’s often seen as a beginner’s book, and sometimes gets a hard time from people who have advanced beyond the beginning stages of drawing. But there’s much really useful stuff in the approach and the sheer practicality of the exercises.
Artists who think they don’t need to work on the fundamentals any more are not advanced enough yet to realise that they need to work on the fundamentals all the time. That’s how progress is made. If you want to make consistent progress, you must adopt an attitude of Shoshin (beginner’s mind).
Whilst all of the drawing exercises in the book are available elsewhere, and the idea of right brain drawing is oversimplified and slightly gimmicky, this is still a great book. It is, quite simply, a series of very simple exercises that will help you develop spatial awareness and get over your brain’s tendency to rely on its symbol system when drawing.
If you’re ever stuck for something to draw, pick up this book and run through one of the exercises. It will never be a waste of time. There are few books that you can say that about.
What’s on your list?
I realise that this list is highly personal, and there are inevitably many, many art instruction books out there that I haven’t read. Many of them will be excellent, I’m sure (although even more of them will be useless, I’m equally sure!)
These three books represent a collection of (I believe) balanced and practical approaches to learning to draw that will benefit anyone. I think they’re that good. But it’s just my opinion.
Is there a book you love that you think I should have included? One that holds a special place in your heart, and helped you make real progress that you can see in your work?
If there is, please let me know in the comments.
Best wishes, and thanks for reading,
Paul
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hello dobbleganger!!
I laughed when I read your post (because you just fished inside my brain to write it, clearly – as opposed to it being funny!) I used to work in a book shop and got really good at looking at art instruction books, then putting them back on the shelf.. I deduced that they were printed to make money out of the unsuspecting novice, and not to actually instruct anyone, and promptly banned my students from buying anything. I love all three books that you have listed and certainly learned to think and to see differently and begin-to-understand, differently, because of them. They were all written a loooong time ago… My runner up would be Colour and Light by James Gurney – another interesting book, guiding and instructing on seeing (as opposed to techniques).
I think you can get individual images on line from the Bargue book if you don’t want to buy the full thing,
Speak soon! Julie xx
Thanks for the tips!
I would recommend Andrew Loomis’ “Fun with a pencil” as an absolute beginner book. It doesn’t teach realistic drawing per se, but doing the exercises builds confidence, which I consider an important skill 😉 It starts with an extensive section about drawing cartoons, which teaches you to “build” figures quite efficiently. Later sections of the book contain really useful tips about perspective, composition and a little bit about value.
Those of you interested can download the book from here:
https://archive.org/details/Andrew_Loomis_Fun_With_a_Pencil
Honestly I haven’t checked his other books, but they’re on the waiting list and I have big expectations on those 😉
Cheers!
The book that got me started drawing was Clare Walker Leslie’s “Nature Drawing: A Tool for Learning.” The context is the natural world, but the drawing instruction is solid, sequential, and so accessible—Clare Walker Leslie is a brilliant and well-known art educator, and it shows in this book. There are hundreds of step-by-step exercises, all written in a positive and encouraging tone that makes you want to keep trying. I started using this book as a rank beginner, and after thirty years, I still return to it book and find new ideas and challenges. A classic book for those who want to learn to see and draw the natural world. 🙂
Hi Paul
Many thanks to you. I am very interesting to know the most important books and you now help very much.
I am study draw at home and I follow it is possible this books!
Best regards.
Beth
I really like How To See Color And Paint It byarthur Stern. It was the exercises from that book that really helped me to look closely at color and see how colors effect each other.
agreed! Also, Henry Henshe ‘s book on painting
I am nowhere near expert for drawing, but I have found instead of Becky Edwards I replaced it with Keys to Drawing by Kurt Dudson. Because, I feel the Betty Edwards book is too (for the lack of better words) in comparison to Kurt Dudson Keys to Drawing. You also get exercises to do from the book. Recently started with the Harold Science of Drawing, I feel it’s not really beginner friendly, but more of when you start getting some experience with drawing, then you start understanding the concepts presented in the book itself.
Just my thoughts.
I take back my words on the science of drawing, it seems I have a different version compare to the one shown on Gurney’s blog.
And also the author name for Keys to drawing is Bert Dodson, not Kurt Dodson .
Great list, Paul. Thanks for doing this, and hopefully saving us all some time and money. I only have the first two books, but I’ve ordered the third book through inter-library loan at our local library to check it out. I know that you have previously mentioned it somewhere on your website – or maybe in the recent webinar??
I would also suggest “The Natural Way to Draw” by Kimon Nicolaides, published in 1941. I picked up this book after working on the Betty Edwards book and another book called “Experiential Drawing” by Robert Regis Dvorak. Both of those authors cite Nicolaides as the teacher who first introduced contour drawing. This book was also the first where I encountered the concept of gesture drawing. I worked with the Nicolaides book for a long time when I was just getting started and it was really helpful. His directions for each exercise that he introduces are great and he has schedules in the book that tell you which exercises to practice and for how long. He has lots of good insights about the drawing process as well. This book was really important for me as a beginner, and continues to be one that I return to frequently. I remember posting this quote from the book near my drawing area: “The sooner you make your first 5,000 mistakes, the sooner you can begin to correct them.” (That may not be the exact quote, but it’s really close so you get the idea.)
Thanks again!
Jocelyn
There is also a Bargue Companion DVD available as well as several good YouTube videos. All the books you advised are outstanding, esp. Drawing on the Right Side, so long as one takes the time to actually perform the exercises. I was absolutely amazed at my progress with that book. Astonishing results!
Hello Paul,
Good idea this post.
About figure drawing, there is this great advanced and detailed book:
Richard G. Hatton (1904), FIGURE DRAWING, New York, Dover 1965.
Thanks for all your work.
Yvan
Thanks to you I have both the Speed and the Dow but have failed you by not working continuously through them. Must improve! I have found Bridgemans Complete guide to Drawing from Life useful as a source to copy from and to understand anatomy better. Also own Nicolaides ‘The Natural Way to Draw’ which I have not managed to ‘get into’. For painting in oils I have a copy of Linda Cateura’s ‘Oil painting secrets from a Master’ – quotes from her tutor and mentor, David Leffel which I dip into when floundering. Thought provoking and timely as a reminder that I must return to the Speed and Dow this winter. Thanks Paul x
Thank you for the great explanations of what to expect from each book and for keeping the list narrow. This is an excellent resource.
Great post as always. I have all these books except “Composition” which I have quickly rectified with the download thank you. This will prove to be a great read I’m sure. I can only suggest one book for the list. “The Art Spirit” By Robert Henri. Its a great book for artistic motivation.
OH! how could I forget, “Alla Prima” by Richard Schmid
Oh yes Paul, I have all of them and some. On my kindle I have all 3 books by Juliette Aristides. They are all very valuable in their own way. I use all of these books at different times. We all have our unique way of learning and to find what is right for us we have to investigate. However, the bottom line is practice…. practice….practice.
Love being able to download free books that are over 100 years old.
Dorian just had a webinar on his new course on Mastering light and Form. Here is the link for replay: http://unleash.uartsy.com/dorian-iten-replay
Hope it works for you. I am also very familiar with James Gurney, thank you for the link I had missed that one.
Thank you for being such an inspiration Paul.
Helga
Hi there, I am fairly new to your site and am learning and enjoying it tremendously. Your post reminded me how it is time to go through my art books and cull, trade, sell most of them! What you said is all too true. Some of the books were given to me or I bought in the beginning years. I have all four of the books you listed and have dipped into them over and over again.
I have to second or third James Gurney’s Color and Light book. I also am working my way through “Sketching from Square One to Trafalgar Square” by Richard E. Scott. It has the properties you mentioned in your post.
Thanks!
-Renee
A couple of other ‘maybes’;
Kimon Nicolaides
The Natural Way to Draw
John Ruskin
The Elements of Drawing
(if you can ignore the arrogance of the author)
Though I haven’t managed to follow through any art books doing all the exercises – too busy with Creative Triggers challenges for that.
One thing that makes me chuckle with these older books is their complete contrast with today’s ‘quick and easy’ method manuals. When you read an exercise that finishes with ‘just do this for ten minutes a day for three years’ – that’ll filter out most of the quick-fix society in one go.
All your posts are so inspiring. I have read the book ‘Drawing from the right side of the brain’, and it helped tremendously with my drawing skills. Right now I am doing breathing lines exercise and I can’t thank enough to you for this. This exercise gives immediadte result and is so meditative.
Thanks for sharing 🙂
Thanks so much for publishing these links, Paul!. I’ve downloaded both the Speed and Dow books. I had borrowed Dow’s book some time ago from the library after reading about your practice with it. I’m glad to have access to my own copy now to work with more thoroughly (and not have to worry about returning it). I have Googled the Bargue plates and have found some few posted here and there to work from until such time I can afford to buy the actual book. I have had Betty Edwards’s book for years, and I’ve recommended it to everyone I know who is interested in learning to draw, especially people who insist they can’t. They always express surprise when I describe what Edwards has done in her classes — if she can teach adults who don’t think they can draw realistically to do so, then anyone reading her book can learn it, too.
I, too, have become very selective in choosing whether or not to buy art books. To me, too many of them seem to rehash information I already have in other books. But two recent books I come back to again and again are written by Bert Dodson, “Keys to Drawing,” and “Keys to Drawing With Imagination.” He covers the basics very well in the first book, and gives many solid insights, examples and exercises to work on, and in the second, he gives many suggestions and techniques to develop your drawings conceptually. I have had loads of fun with some of the exercises in that book and have recommended both to people as well.
You may have posted this already, but just in case someone hasn’t seen it, here is the download link for virtually every one of Andrew Loomis’s books: http://www.alexhays.com/loomis/. I have had “Figure Drawing For All It’s Worth” since I was a student in art school, but I hadn’t seen some of his other works. These are all worthwhile as well.
Thank you, Paul, for being such an inspiration to all of us here!
The two books that taught me how to see and how to develop a logical approach to drawing when the goal is accuracy and relative speed are:
Drawing in the Digital Age: an observational method for artists and animators by Wei Xu. 2012. Angle-based methodology based on simple math.
Basic Drawing:New ways to see and draw by Raphael Ellender. 1964 As above, based on seeing large shapes as envelopes and dividing them into smaller envelopes, seeing the connecting lines, etc. love this book! Ellender was an instructor at NYU and Arts Student League. He presents very clearly and precisely his approach to drawing from where you look when drawing a straight line, to perspective and gestural lines in life drawing. A real gem!
Hi Paul, what a terrific blog post! I’m in the middle of culling my own (big!) art book collection and I’m having to make decisions as to what to keep. Speed, Loomis- yes! and the Barque book – yes also! I would like to add here how much I like the Famous Artists 3-Volume set that you often find on Ebay. My own set was not expensive (it’s from the 1950s) and there is a lot of useful information about drawing and composition. Tony Ryder’s book on drawing also deserves a mention, it’s an intelligent, thoughtful book.
Hi Paul,
Always love posts about books, and this one features two of my favorite ones. Thank you for sharing!
It’s always a difficult to assign a favorite on books, at least for me, but the three books I consider invaluable are:
Scott Robertson’s “How to Draw”
Michael Hampton’s “Figure Drawing: Design and Invention”
James Gurney’s “Color and Light”
I’d love to hear opinions on Solomon’s “The Practice of Oil Painting and Drawing” – I have only read the very first few pages, but it seems to follow a bit Speed’s approach of things.
Thank you for reminding us to actually do the exercises in Speed’s book. Great opportunity to re-read and refresh our knowledge.
While Dow is a great resource, to me it is hampered by low quality scans but even more by the fact that is a rather complicated text. As a pedagogic tool, it really would benefit from being broken down into smaller pieces and having excercises set out more clearly. It is not obvious what the progression is, compared to say Loomis, where you get a sense of “this piece fits into this bigger picture”.
Loomis books may have their faults, but since I have nothing to compare to and not having the master drawers expert eyes and hindsight knowledge, I really like the Titan reprints. They make me want to pick up the pen.
I bought a copy of the Harold Speed book, but it was such bad print quality that I had to throw it away. I went back to the pdf I already had, and printed it. Quite a wordy fellow by the way, but at an intermediate level I think it could be useful to me.
The Charles Bargue stuff – it is like a bunch of dry oatmeals that I have to eat … it is probably healthy and nutritious, but by Jove… it will kill me. And as Paul has hinted at earlier in his postings, the reproduction of a plate is not without its issues. Why isn’t there something more modern, akin to this, but that could be easily printed onto A4/A3 if we have to get through the oatmeal session?
What I really need I think, is a mix of Dow and Loomis, for me today. The big challenge is to start out on the journey without falling prey to pessimism because it seems such a long haul to even being halfways good.
Sorry for the rambling!
I own the Bargue book, and totally agree. The should have printed the plates to the correct size, otherwise what is the point.
Robert Beverly Hale’s “Drawing Lessons from the Great Masters”.
Hi. I haven’t read these books except the honourable mention. Just my opinion..yet I may be wrong to say that Andew Loomis’ books are the still the best for beginners and aspiring portrait artists. It contains the very basic concept we tend to forget when starting portait and figure drawing.
Great post as always, Paul. ‘The Practice of Oil Painting and Drawing’ by Pre-Raphaelite master Solomon J. Solomon is another precious classic. Definitely worth checking out (if you haven’t already!).
The Bargue book has been on my to-order list for a while now. Hoping to get it along with the Dow book on my next order 🙂
My top five Books helped me
1- drawing for the absolute utter beginner by Claire Watson Garcia, this was the book i started with.along side “How to Draw What you see” by Rudy de Reyna with the 50 class free course on wet canvas. (http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums howthread.php?t=316196
2. my top choice is drawing academy by barrons this come as one book $40 or in a series
of 4 book
a) the basics of drawing
B) line and shading in drawing
c) light and shadow in drawing
d) Perspective in drawing
each individual book is $20 so you save money getting the big book and the other benefit is if you do all the projects (i did all project plus samples a habit) you end up with one of the most awesome drawing portfolios around. You show it at any school and be offered admission.
3. Drawing realistic textures in pencil by jd hillberry here is where you learn to take
value and tone to the next level. He teaches you what tools to use to get various effects.
4 Andrew Loomis Eye of the painter
I have slowly been getting digital versions of the books I love. I cant find all of them but I did manage to find quite a few allowing me to free up some space. I don’t mind paying for them a second time if it saves me space. Its not a perfect system for sure. There are several books that are just better and easier to read in hardback. The Loomis books are a good example. You can get the pdf for free but the formatting is difficult to follow. The hardbacks flow so much better. I do think beginners should opt for digital books if they can. Just because the collection tends to grow huge as you look for more information.
I have always wanted to be able to draw decently. I have finally decided to work all the way through the book “Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain.”
My drawings can be found here.
learningtodrawweb.wordpress.com
I am obviously not understanding something. It is probably so basic that the drawing books don’t even bother to put it in. If anyone can explain it to me so I can at least get started….
Thanks for the list. I am just picking up drawing.
Thank you for this list. I will look into these books. I’ve not drawn long but the book that really helped to jump start my skills was the Nicolaides'(?) book *the Natural Way to Draw.* I had bought a lot of different art books over time yet this one book helped more than all of the others combined. Right now I’m working on the Edwards book you mentioned and thanks to your recommendation I might try the Speed book next. thanks.
i am a new individual two drawing world lets just try
Paul I could not agree more with you that there are numerous bad books on the market that are either unhelpful or would undermine people’s learning to draw.
I love drawing and this year established a weekly drawing group. To support the 15 group members I have set up a small library of books for loan. From those books I strongly recommend the following on the basis that they contain well written text, pose numerous challenging exercises, reference the masters of drawing, and include supporting drawing images throughout.
Robert Kaupelis Learning to Draw, 1966 (My number one pick)
Robert Kaupelis Experimental Drawing 1980 (more advanced than the first book)
Claudia Betti and Teel Sale Drawing: A contemporary approach,1980
Nathan Goldstein The Art of Responsive Drawing, 1973-84
Seymour Simmons and Marc Winer Drawing: The creative process 1977
I personally find all of these books inviting, rich and inspirational.
Thanks Tim, that Kaupelis book look very interesting. I’ve not come across it before so will give it a go.
Hi, for an absolute beginner, which one shall i start witg, or should i do all three at the same time, please reply soon.
Regards
As an absolute beginner, which books should i start with?
These three 🙂 Seriously. I’d start with Betty Edwards, then get the Speed book, then progress to Bargue plates.
Hi, Paul,
Many thanks for yet another insightful, informative post. You’re incredibly generous in sharing your expertise, and I’ve learned so much from each one.
I wonder what your thoughts are on Anthony Ryder’s classic The Artist’s Complete Guide to Figure Drawing: A Contemporary Perspective On the Classical Tradition?
It’s nearly always mentioned as a resource by artists such as Juliette Aristides, and Sadie Valeri, too, I’m pretty certain.
All best wishes for a healthy and productive 2017,
Carol
Wow I have all three of those books and the honourable mention… best go do some work!
This is fantastic, thank you for the recommendations. I just ordered them and cannot wait for their arrival. Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain was given to me by my mom when I was much younger….very nice memories.
Hi Paul:
Thank you very much for the book recommendation.
I googled the book Drawing Course – Charles Bargue online, found so many same books with different ISBN, and the price varies with a big difference.
I am going to buy the book but so confused with many choices.. Do you know which edition with more instruction and more illustrations in it? what the difference is between all those books
.
Thank you for your time!!
YJ
I try to check books out from the library before I decide to buy them, here’s one I really want: It is clear and comprehensive.
Drawing Essentials by Deborah A. Rockman The third edition came out recently – in late 2016/2017. Oxford University Press.
Open access Companion Website http://www.oup.com/us/rockman
The book shows student work, historical masters, contemporary works, has information on drawing materials and processes, how to diagnose problems in your work, key questions for critique, glossary of art terms
Hi Paul,
Thank you very much for recommending books for beginners. First of all, I am trying with Betty Edward Book ‘Drawing with right side of the brain.
Many thanks for your inspiration and thoughtful recommendations.
Thanks for this Paul
I, too, fell into the trap of buying art instruction books then realised (as everyone else did) that you only needed one or two really good ones. I have the Bargue book (excellent) and couple of books by Juliette Aristides. The rest can be junked. What I’ve concentrated on over the last two or three years is books on particular artists or a genre of work, not instruction. That’s the best way to approach it.