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.
Rating:
Summary: Accessible and thorough
Review: I looked over and purchased KEYS TO DRAWING on the recommendation of one of the reviews here. I don't have the resources or time for an art class, but I like to sketch for a few spare minutes a day. The book is perfect for someone like me.Dodson teaches the basics with an emphasis on relaxation and creativity. You really learn how to think about drawing. His exercises are designed to help you master skills (composition, proportion, shading) rather than the perfection of the end result. Oddly enough, the end result of all of these lessons are more perfect drawings! Now that I'm finished with the book, I still go back mentally to each of Dobson's lessons to help me through the challenges of creating drawings, and I still work on the exercises. To me, this more than earns a 5 star review.
Rating:
Summary: I started to draw
Review: I loved to draw as a little girl until my grade 5 art teacher held one of my "creations" up in front of my sister's class (she was very talented) and said, "can you believe they're sisters?". I was crushed and other than in art class, I never picked up a pencil again. Fast forward 20 years where I see Bert Dodson's book "Keys to Drawing". I remembered how I used to love to draw and bought it on impulse. I started at page 1 and progressed through the book. The day my sister (the artist) walked into my house and seeing the drawing I was working on said, "nice drawing of Louis Armstrong" was one of the best moments of my life. By the way that was a drawing of Satchmo I was working on. What I learned from Bert Dodson was that drawing is mostly about technique which anyone can learn. Although my masterpieces will never hang in a museum, they do hang in my home and my husband is very proud to have them there. If you've always wanted to draw but thought you had no talent - buy this book. You will surprise yourself.
Rating:
Summary: I started to draw
Review: I loved to draw as a little girl until my grade 5 art teacher held one of my "creations" up in front of my sister's class (she was very talented) and said, "can you believe they're sisters?". I was crushed and other than in art class, I never picked up a pencil again. Fast forward 20 years where I see Bert Dodson's book "Keys to Drawing". I remembered how I used to love to draw and bought it on impulse. I started at page 1 and progressed through the book. The day my sister (the artist) walked into my house and seeing the drawing I was working on said, "nice drawing of Louis Armstrong" was one of the best moments of my life. By the way that was a drawing of Satchmo I was working on. What I learned from Bert Dodson was that drawing is mostly about technique which anyone can learn. Although my masterpieces will never hang in a museum, they do hang in my home and my husband is very proud to have them there. If you've always wanted to draw but thought you had no talent - buy this book. You will surprise yourself.
Rating:
Summary: Starting from square one
Review: I never drew before but always wanted to learn. The exercises you need to do are the best part of this book, for me. I have learned a lot from them and continue to learn. I took a beginners course in my town at the same time and I found what I learned in this book to be very valuable. Instructions are clear and concise.
Rating:
Summary: Great self-study guide
Review: I'm drawing for fun and never had any formal training on any art subjects. This books gives you great guidelines on drawing. It contains numerous exercises that help develop your personal style. Going through the exercises, I could see tremendous improvements in a relatively short time
Rating:
Summary: The best how-to book on drawing -- bar none
Review: In high school, my best friends were the Artist and the Musician (I was the Writer), and while I learned to produce something approaching music, I was never able to draw anything recognizable. I never wanted to paint in oils or acrylics, or anything that advanced; I just wanted to be able to create good representational drawings and sketches. This apparent artistic inability has been a deep annoyance to me for more than thirty years -- aggravated by all the people who insisted that "anyone can learn to draw." Unable to find a class for adult beginners anywhere, and being the autodidact type, I've tried to teach myself from how-to books. I've read through dozens of them and have spent serious time trying to learn from at least five or six, but none of them turned out to be very useful, at least not to me.
Then I happened across Dodson's book and everything changed. He doesn't spend the whole first chapter describing the tools you need. He doesn't launch into a zen discussion of the "is-ness" of art or play amateur psychologist. He just tells you to sit down, cross your legs, and draw your feet -- and he explains, in very simple terms, just how to go through the process. Look, hold, draw. Look, hold, draw. And it works, it really does. I'm sure all this is old hat to you artists out there, but Dodson is exactly the sort of teacher I've been looking for all these years! There are about fifty exercises on methods and techniques throughout the book and I'm taking my time with them. After three months, I'm about a quarter of way through the book, and my sketch book is looking pretty good. I've learned to restate rather than erase, and I'm getting along just fine with two pencils (HB and 4B) and a Micron pen. I cannot recommend Dodson's methods too highly to anyone who, like me, just wants to learn to draw!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent techniques for any level artist
Review: Keys to Drawing is an excellent teaching or learning tool for the beginning artist or one hoping to improve upon his/her ability. The instructions are easy to understand and the illustrations are clear enough that even a beginner can immitate them. The author also includes drawings from Monet, Matisse, Rembrandt, and other well-known artists. He starts off very easy with drawing a pair of feet and continues with drawing various things with perspective and depth. The drawings are all in black and white, which makes it somewhat easier to render than color, but makes it hard to see certain things. I highly recommend it for the beginning or avid artist. Happy drawing!!
Rating:
Summary: a basic course in drawing
Review: Keys to drawing is one of my favorite drawing instruction books. The reader is guided through a large series of exercises, all pertinent and simple. You can get a lot out of this book if you like learning by yourself. Also, the technique and approach is not too demanding. On the other hand, observation skills can be taken much further than what is described here. Great for beginners. Tip: to develop accuracy, try copying plants while correcting yourself with tracing paper (as described in John Ruskin's "Elements of Drawing"). Doing blind contour drawing before this exercise is essential! (you should use a stand for correct the angle of vision).
Rating:
Summary: a basic course in drawing
Review: Keys to drawing is similar to Betty Edward's books. That is, it makes drawing a question of drawing what you see through what John Ruskin would call "the innocent eye". What sets this book apart is the long series of exercises, all pertinent and simple, informative and useful. The reader is neither shown loads of useless colorful pictures of materials (like in most drawing books)or lengthy sermons on what drawing is and isn't.
On the other hand, nobody can manage to become highly proficient just by following this book. What this sort of drawing technique lacks is accuracy. If you want to sharpen your skills to a greater extent, I suggest "priming" yourself with the "blind contour drawing" method shown in various other books and follow with the "tracing paper correction" method mentionned in John Ruskin's book "The Elements of Drawing". Ruskin suggests using plant drawings as models. It is almost impossible without practicing "blind contour drawing" first.
There's a similar method mentionned in The Art of Drawing by Willy Pogany (the first few pages are sampled on amazon.com). Also, if you wish to develop your perception of proportions, check out Harold Speed's book "The Practice and Science of Drawing" (very tiring). While using tracing paper, it is a good idea to use a stand to get as correct an angle of vision as possible. Even then the difference in angle between your copy and model tends to be a bit confusing. Apart from plants and dots, visual illusion/mandala coloring books from Dover Publications make great models. I hope these tips help.
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