Drawing: A Complete Guide

Description

This is an essential book for anyone learning to draw, or wishing to improve their drawing. Starting with the basics of drawing techniques, Civardi gives expert advice on drawing portraits, the clothed figure, hands and feet and scenery, finishing with a section on the importance of light and shade. Civardi's technical advice and practical tips, accompanied by his own outstanding drawings, make this an invaluable resource for any artist. Previously published as Giovanni Civardi's Complete Guide to Drawing (9781844482061) and now includes The Nude (9781844482443).

Giovanni Civardi is an Italian artist and teacher who for years has combined studies at the Faculty of Medicine, Milan, with the practice and teaching of sculpture.

Most of this first appeared as Giovanni Civardi's Complete Guide to Drawing, but this smaller format edition also includes the volume on The Nude. It's a sound introduction to drawing in pencil and the smaller page size makes it more manageable, but also means that you have to strain slightly to read the text, which has also been reduced. The style is best described as classicA", meaning that it's all well done, but perhaps slightly dated. If you don't mind that, and it's the technique that's more important to you, then this is a book it's hard to better. If your eyesight's not 100%, however, best buy a pair of stronger reading glasses as well.-Artbookreview.net For those wishing to learn to draw or improve their skills this book is an essential read. Previously published material has been used along with new information in the compilation of this fabulous instructional volume. Packed full of beautiful illustrations, we begin with the very basics of drawing techniques, from description of use and simple mark making with pencil or graphite onto using carbon sticks and ink, each accompanied by many varied depictions where he tells us what media was used for each, and very importantly, what technique was used. All these details help the reader to understand the process of selecting media and technique to render the drawing they want to achieve. The section on portraits covers small details like hands, eyes and placement of features, all necessary to achieve a lifelike rendition through to full figures, both clothed and naked. The book is full of details such as anatomy of figures, and how to find the correct proportions to the fall of fabric on clothed figures, again in great detail and easy to follow. Scenery is covered in the same in depth way, from linear and aerial perspective, light and shade, tonal work and use of source material. All sections come with the same incredibly detailed illustration showing use of media and methods. If you want just one book to learn or improve your drawing skills, and draw well then this is the book for you. Its packed full of all the essentials you need to learn to create realistic 3d images in a 2d media.-JeannieZelos.com Drawing, A Complete Guide by Giovanni Civardi is a comprehensive exploration of hand drawing techniques and tools. While this book is focused on these techniques from a pure artistic point of view, the skills that are covered have real relevance and value for modern Graphic Designers. Technology changes everything and Graphic Design is no different. It doesn't seem so long ago that Graphic Design was a much more hands on discipline, with ideas mocked up on layout pads and then worked up through various refining stages, until the final design, along with a specification sheet overlay, was supplied for typesetting with the final artwork being produced through cut and pasting. Now it is possible for anyone with basic skills to produce understandable concepts using a PC and desktop printer, but there is real value for Graphic Designers to develop their drawing skills. Such skills can help Designers to quickly and clearly develop ideas wherever they are and can also allow them to produce hand drawn graphics for inclusion in finished designs.-Suite101.com Rather like a 'Greatest Hits' album, this is an amalgamation of seven previous books, each devoted to specific aspects of drawing technique. It serves as a comprehensive guide, for both beginners and seasoned draughtsmen. The basics serve as a strong launch pad into specific and often troublesome areas for draughtsmen, such as hands and feet, and portraying the figure in clothes. In terms of hints and tips - you name it, it's in here from the texture of various drawing implements to aerial perspective. It is densely packed with Civardi's pencil drawings but the text doesn't vary in size or colour, which can be overwhelming, despite the genuine pearls of wisdom contained within.-Artists & Illustrators There are many available books on drawing, written for artists of all levels of skill and experience. Giovanni Civardi's new publication presents a classically disciplined and traditional approach. Focusing mainly on the figure, portraits and anatomy, Civardi's clear, crisp, detailed drawings provide a good range of illustrations to follow as examples yet, to a certain extent, remind me of the classical models of casts and statues used in the past by European art academies. However, in his Practical Advice sections, readers will find some helpful comments to refer to when they come to make their own drawings. Ranging from perspective, drawing detail, tones, materials and the proportions of adult and child figures, these sections are concise and informative. The short section on landscape and scenery provides an introduction to those subjects but the most comprehensive and thorough content is the human figure and portraits. What the book does not cover is a wide variety of drawing media or coloured drawing materials, focusing as it does mainly on the use of pencil and pen. Similarly, ideas for developing a personal style through expressive mark making to extend range and experience are not developed; instead Civardi prefers to present drawing in his own classic style. But these are minor points and the section on drawing hands and feet is particularly beautifully illustrated and annotated, and will be a section most frequently dipped in and out of I am sure. (James Willis)-The Artist Full of technical advice and practical tips on all aspects of drawing, although the emphasis is on drawing portraits and the figure. The book is based on seven books by Civardi published between 2002 and 2007, making this essential guide to drawing very good value.-Leisure Painter Italian artist and teacher Civardi has published seven excellent drawing books on techniques, portraits, the clothed figure, hands and feet, scenery, and light and shade. These were collected as Giovanni Civardi's Complete Guide to Drawing in 2006. This new incarnation adds material from his 2007 book, The Nude, and lowers the cover price, yet it seems pasted together. For a more coherent approach, see Barrington Barber's The Complete Book of Drawing.-Library Journal USA