Lifelike Drawing with Lee Hammond

Lee Hammond is a remarkable teacher. The job of a good teacher is not to lose her student's attention and to simplify the material to the point where he/she can connect. Because I had always been interested in art, following the basic instruction that I received in middle school, I took an advanced art class in high school. That was over forty years ago, and while I continued to produce an occasional sketch, I never grew as an artist. I would rate my level of success at about a C or fair, although some people seem to like what I produced - beauty is definitely in the eye of the beholder; I wasn't happy with my "finished products". After recently thumbing through one of Miss Hammond's books and watching one and half of her videos, I finally acquired what I lacked: a good foundation. At the point that arthritis crippled and weakened my hands to such a degree that I stopped doing many manual jobs that I enjoyed, a few weeks ago, I decided to try art again. Miss Hammond's instruction has helped immensely - this self-taught artist has two exceptional gifts: she's an excellent artist and a great teacher; the two don't always go hand in hand, but Lee Hammond definitely has the touch.I have observed several video instructors, going back to the days of black and white TV until now, and in one afternoon, I've learned more about technique from Miss Hammond than ever before. True, artists don't always use the same techniques or follow the set "givens". Being self-taught, Miss Hammond apparently developed her skills using analytical thinking, a lot of trial and error, and staying the course until she hit upon the secrets to producing lifelike pictures. Making the procedure simple, but not boring, for a student to follow is the ace in the hole.Today, I received three of Miss Hammond's DVD's: "Lifelike Drawing in Colored Pencil", "Drawing Lifelike Portraits with Lee Hammond", and "Lifelike Drawing". I'll have to look for more after I've accomplished something worthwhile with these, and I don't think it will take long, although Miss Hammond cautions her students to be patient and not rush.I quickly popped the first DVD into the player; it's wonderful that you can view the DVD's anywhere and not attached to a computer. Miss Hammond starts each lesson by introducing the viewer to the materials he'll need for the project. Next, she progresses to technique; which include instruction in shading, layering, blending, and, in the case of colored pencils, burnishing; how to hold your tools; and how to preserve them. The first lesson is to work with your pencil, moving it up and down, and back and forth. Then you work your way up to a sphere, which she points out, is an essential part of many jobs that you will tackle. Her patient, step by step instruction kept me glued to the screen. After viewing these tapes I see newspaper pictures in a brand new way. Mind you, I had already learned that I could draw a person or animal by looking for certain geometric shapes within the targeted subject; but learning from Miss Hammond is like moving from hamburgers to fillet mignon - now I really, really see the shapes, lighting, and shading in every situation. Arthritis or no arthritis I'm going to strive to get as good as I can get and hopefully incorporate such drawings into the production of a couple of children's books that I'm presently working on, and the credit will go to Miss Hammond's gifts.I'm glad I didn't skip the intros on each tape because each one offered new information in addition to what she discussed previously. The pace of each video also varies. In this video, "Drawing Lifelike Portraits with Lee Hammond", she spends a lot of time on the child's portrait in order to demonstrate the detailed steps that go into shaping a nose, integrating it with the upper lip and the rest of the face, walking you through the different parts of that lifelike eye, the details of the ear, and the tricks to creating natural looking, healthy hair. You'll learn to draw with the tortillons and the eraser, as well as that number 2B graphite pencil. Terrific video!

I never knew how much joy one could get out of a 2B pencil, some tortillons, and a kneadable eraser. That constitutes the complete kit you'll need for this marvelous book. By carefully following Lee's instructions, you'll be amazed at what you can create.By way of background, I recently decided to teach myself how to "paint" with colored pencils. The ability to draw is obviously a prerequisite for pulling this off, so I picked up some of the more popular drawing books: Betty Edwards, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, and Bert Dotson's Keys to Drawing, among others. The typical book spends a lot of time teaching techniques for rendering a scene, but much less on toning. Indeed, to judge from the scribble drawings in the Dotson book, it appears that he does not place much value in toning at all.As a result, I was pretty good at rendering a scene as a line drawing, but had a very hard time making my pictures seem three dimensional. For monochrome drawings, the only thing I found reliable was to use washable graphite and rely on applying washes or produce something halfway decent.Lee Hammond's book inverts this formula. She is concerned with rendering, and recommends the graph method for solving this problem, but the book is really about toning. The key insight is that less is more when it comes to toning. By only applying graphite to the darks and then using tortillons to move the pigment into halftones and lights, my work is vastly better.I also appreciate the attention to detail in the book. For instance, she suggests applying graphite along the same direction as the surface, ie rounded strokes on the edge of a sphere. The direction makes a difference to the results. I tried making my shading lines the other way--perpendicular to the direction of the surface, and found the result to be less good. I really appreciate such attention.Reading other reviews, there is a great deal of controversy around her blend method for toning. Apparently, purists view the tortillon smear method with disdain. So be it, but I measure the value of a technique by the results it produces. Having struggled with hatching as a way of creating tone, I can tell you that the smear method produces vastly better results for me. While it may be possible, with years of effort, to perfect the hatching method, I want to make nice things now and not five years from now.Bottom line: if you want to take your toning to the next level, this is the book to buy.

This book is great for those who want to just do one-off projects where realism is important. Hammond shows you how to square up a photo onto a piece of paper, carefully draw it, and shade it in, using stumps to blend to perfection. You will surely make the most realistic-looking drawings with this technique. I like Hammond in that she's a humble practitioner and artist who can find beauty in drawing anything, including a simple scallop shell! Here's a pic of her photoreal shell, and one I drew from life. Mine has some charm, sure, but the photoreal one she did is very impressive!Hammond shows you how to render any photographic image in graphite, so you can do portraits of your family or pets, and "impress your friends". But if you want to learn how to really draw, however, this book is not for you. I recommend Gene Franks or Barrington Barber, who teach you how to grasp form from life, and in simple steps, how to work up the contours and tones to make a realistic (but not photographic) drawing. They also do not use stumps or polish their work--but if you're serious about being more than just a "photo-copier", then look at their books.But Hammond sets out what she aims to do, and for many, it works. I also like that (in her earlier books, at least) she did not use color, since color is a complication best saved until one has mastered tone (the grayscale of a drawing).I'd rather see a Hammond on the wall than a Bob Ross! There is something humble about caring enough about an object or image to copy it from a photo, after all.

Is ok I guess they try put all in one book but very good for beginners and people that have problems with details I have read other Lee Hammond books and as I can tell is not different from the others

I have several books on drawing, but wanted to improve on my "realistic" drawing so my wife purchased this book for me and it's very good, it covers everything still life, glass, landscape, building's, water, clouds, animal's, and portraits and shows you how to shade properly to produce those realistic pictures. The book was produced in 2005 but the contents are as valid now as then. I will certainly buy more books from Lee Hammond.

This will be a very quick review -  Lifelike Drawing with Lee Hammond . I purchased two books from Lee Hammond at the same time (a link to the second is here  Lifelike Drawing in Coloured Pencil with Lee Hammond ) I "try" to Draw and Sketch, not very well, but I try. But I was after some additional information in the form of a book so, having searched the Internet for various options, and also gaining some advice that Lee Hammond had helped several Internet contacts, I purchased the books.This was a good move. Both books are well set put and easy to use. Worth a look if you want some assistance in Drawing and the like. Lifelike Drawing with Lee HammondLifelike Drawing in Coloured Pencil with Lee Hammond

Another excellent book by Lee Hammond. She covers each subject masterfully and clearly, this book is exactly as the seller describes it. It arrived on time securely packed. I have now several of Lee Hammond's books and is looking forward to the next one. This lady puts time and effort in her books.

She is an incredible artist, she can draw just like a photograph. I have never thought of smudging pencil to make it more realistic- but it works. She has broken down the main issues of drawing into fun exercises that help you gain skill and confidence in your work.A remarkable book, a must buy for realistic drawing!

I brought one book from this Artist and now I have lots, they are so helpful, I have many many art books and these are the most helpful so far. I definitely will be buying the new one in January 18 too.