Learn How to Draw and Paint

Book excerpt: This is a complete course on practical & creative techniques: drawing, watercolour, oil & acrylic and pastel. It is a comprehensive artists' manual that includes examples of many different styles and treatments. It is perfect both for the beginner and the more advanced artist. It includes up-to-date information on all the latest techniques, materials and equipment. It is packed with practical guidance on how to treat all the classical subjects - portraits, figures, buildings, landscapes and flowers - in the most popular mediums. You can learn techniques such as brushwork, texturing and knife painting, then apply them to your own project. It features over 750 at-a-glance, step-by-step photographs show clearly how to achieve successful results. This comprehensive book offers a complete guide to all the materials, techniques and approaches an artist needs to get started. As well as step-by-step instruction for beginners it offers expert tips, advice and ideas to offer inspiration to more advanced practitioners. Divided into four parts, this book covers all the most popular art mediums: drawing; watercolour; oil and acrylic; and pastel. Each section describes the range of materials and equipment available, and reveals how to get the best out of them. There are over 30 step-by-step projects each designed to teach a skill in depth. More specialized methods are then explained, for increasingly advanced and sophisticated effects.