Rating: 
Summary: Good but derivative
Review: A good book but he borrows heavily from Betty Edwards and nowhere gives credit.
Rating: 
Summary: Brilliant.
Review: anyone who would say that the drawings in this book are "sloppy" is CLEARLY MISSING THE POINT. Dodson teaches you to "loosen up" and stop the overly critical attitude that holds people back from learning to draw. There are PLENTY of examples of well detailed, carefully rendered drawings alongside the loose ones, showing that Dodson CAN draw skillfully and accurately. The loose drawings are just one style he adopts to show you the attitude of freedom and play that is KEY to tapping into your powers of creativity and observation.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant.
Review: anyone who would say that the drawings in this book are "sloppy" is CLEARLY MISSING THE POINT. Dodson teaches you to "loosen up" and stop the overly critical attitude that holds people back from learning to draw. There are PLENTY of examples of well detailed, carefully rendered drawings alongside the loose ones, showing that Dodson CAN draw skillfully and accurately. The loose drawings are just one style he adopts to show you the attitude of freedom and play that is KEY to tapping into your powers of creativity and observation.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent drawing book for class or self instruction.
Review: As a high school art teacher I have used this book for 2 years in my art classes. It introduces concepts in each chapter and gives clear instructions and goals on drawing.
This is not a how-to book where your are told how to draw faces or animals. Each chapter builds on the previous chapter. Even experienced artists will find some of the exercises fascinating. I have drawn right along with my students and have found my skills improving
too. The text is clear and the drawings accompanying the text are very descriptive.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent drawing book for class or self instruction.
Review: As a high school art teacher I have used this book for 2 years in my art classes. It introduces concepts in each chapter and gives clear instructions and goals on drawing.This is not a how-to book where your are told how to draw faces or animals. Each chapter builds on the previous chapter. Even experienced artists will find some of the exercises fascinating. I have drawn right along with my students and have found my skills improvingtoo. The text is clear and the drawings accompanying the text are very descriptive.
Rating: 
Summary: HINT: Research before you write...
Review: Bert Dodsen has a few decent tips for artists who are trying to teach themselves Drawing; but he seems to have ignored his own hints in his first paragraph of his Introduction ~ in trying to describe the sorting out mixed information. Bert recalls an old Danny Kaye movie, a western, where Cowboy Danny gets mixed instructions from various bystanders while watching him enter a Comedy Gunfight. "The sun's in the west, so keep him in the east..." ~ Despite Danny being the master of these critical last-minute toungtwisters, and that he employed them in several of his movies - Danny never made a Cowboy Western movie! ~ Actually, author, Bert Dodsen probably recalled Bob Hope in "Alias Jesse James" (1959), where Bob did the exact routine credited Danny Kay in Bert's Introduction. I'd like to add my HINT ~ "Bert, Research before you write..."
Rating:
Summary: one of the best
Review: I am a professional artist. I began art teaching 6 years ago. My students have progressively gotten older so the challenges of teaching drawing increase. When I first began teachin, I found the Kaupelis book which has been a bible for me. It was also obvious to me that my teachers used the Kaupelis book back in the early 80's.But back to the "Keys" book, there was one bad review of this book and I want to address that one first. It went on and on about how bad the drawing examples were in the book. If you are anything like me, by the time I get the book I forget what the reviewers wrote specifically. My first reaction to some the drawings was that they were pretty bad, but this book is excellent despite this. What the first high school teacher writes is right on the money. This book is thorough and I find myself referring to it more than all of my 25 drawing books (smile) I have in this house... and am most enthused with my lessons that are inspired my the "keys", which improves my teaching even more. He includes words on thought process while drawing. He breaks down drawing to these small, bite size ideas that are very easy to understand and translatable. Of course, as you teach, you learn. This is a book for reading, then application. If you want a book to look at filled with beautiful drawings, I suggest, John Biggers, Charles White and Pontormo.
Rating:
Summary: One of the exceptional books on drawing
Review: I don't believe there is one perfect book on drawing but if I was asked to recommend one for someone either just beginning or needing to improve their abilities, "Keys To Drawing" would probably be it. Generally well written and complete; the author offers good ideas without being intolerant of other approaches (apparently a rarity in art instruction) or of doing thing slightly out of sequence. It's especially helpful for someone who is not in an academic setting. My next suggestion would be to begin to put together a small library over time of the very best books on drawing including Nicolaides' "The Natural Way to Draw"; some of Hale's anatomy works; Guptill's "Pen and Ink..."; etc. Drawing well demands a sincere desire to learn, some knowledge and a certain amount of real practice; this book will help on your journey - from someone who's "been there".
Rating:
Summary: Keys to Drawing
Review: I first heard of this book while taking a sketchbook drawing course, and it has been a constant reference source for all of my drawing and painting efforts. The medium is drawing, but the instructions are universal -- seeing vs knowing, organizing a piece, composition, balance, unity, variety, movement, tension - there is nothing here that I can't use in other media. Must have for anyone developing their compositional eye.
Rating:
Summary: I've only had it today and I already see improvements...
Review: I just got this book today, and am only writing a review because already my drawings are seeing improvement. This book gets to the point that it's all about seeing, and then drawing.
I'm excited to continue using this book and see what I'll be doing in even a week.
Just a little background on me, and where this may be similar to you. I am a person who used to draw a lot when I was younger, I showed talent at an early age, but around the age of 11 or 12 music took over, and I never drew again, (except for scribbling in my notebooks). It pretty much stopped at that point and never went the next step into formal training.
Now I've decided to go back to school for Architecture, and even though drawing great isn't a necessity, I want to do it, and now I've given myself a reason. This is a book I found recommended on this site, and I'm glad to have found it.
I look forward now (with no worries) to drawing landscapes and people on the spot anytime. (with practice of course) but this book is a good starting point. Thanks.
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