Book Review: How to Draw Cool Stuff

Two posts in one day, who 'dis?! Today though, I have a post that Penelope helped me on, because if there is anyone I trust to give me an opinion on anything involving art, it is absolutely Penelope.  

How to Draw Cool Stuff - Catherine V. Holmes

How to Draw Cool Stuff shows simple step-by-step illustrations that make it easy for anyone to draw cool stuff with precision and confidence. These pages will guide you through the basic principles of illustration by concentrating on easy-to-learn shapes that build into complex drawings. With the step-by-step guidelines provided, anything can become easy to draw.

This book contains a series of fun, hands-on exercises that will help you see line, shape, space and other elements in everyday objects and turn them into detailed works of art in just a few simple steps. The exercises in this book will help train your brain so you can visualize ordinary objects in a different manner, allowing you to see through the eyes of an artist. From photorealistic faces to holiday themes and tattoo drawings, How to Draw Cool Stuff makes drawing easier than you would think and more fun than you ever imagined! Now is the time to learn how to draw the subjects and scenes you've always dreamt of drawing.

How to Draw Cool Stuff is suitable for artists of any age benefiting everyone from teachers and students to self-learners and hobbyists. How to Draw Cool Stuff will help you realize your artistic potential and expose you to the pure joy of drawing!

All four of my kids like art, in their own way, but Penelope is the consummate artist. She spends hours every week just drawing away. Sometimes she uses videos, but mostly she likes to copy things so we're always looking for new books for her to try. Even at seven, she's bored of the books geared for her age group, so we've been trying books for older kids/adults, so when this came, you can imagine how quickly she cracked it open and started doing her thing. 

Amazingly, she is doing pretty well and was pretty excited to draw a rather lifelike looking bird! The directions are obviously clear enough that a seven year old can do it, so you should have no problem giving it a try! I know the author does videos on YouTube as well, so I think Pep will take a look at some of those though. Some of the concepts are a little more advanced (she really doesn't understand shading yet or how to use her pencil to get a more gradient look), but as an adult (or teen), those will be much easier to grasp than for a kid in first grade. 

I think if you're looking to add to your arsenal of summer activities or boredom busters, this (and others in her series) would be really good to check into. The nice thing about these books is you can use them repeatedly so you'll feel like you've gotten your money's worth, that's for sure! 

Thank you to TLC Book Tours for having me on this tour and providing a copy for review!