Pastel Workbook: A Complete Course in Ten Lessons

Rating:
Summary: Very good for beginners
Review: As a painter, familiar with acrylics and oils, I found some frustration when I tried pastels. I mean, how hard can it be, they're just fancy crayons, right? Wrong. Lots of little differences in application techniques and blendings and materials etc. This book walks you thru all the basics and gives you some practice at the fundamentals. You will probably need more instruction later but this will get you started and help you overcome the early frustrations. Only reason I didn't give it more stars... it is a little short! But good value for the bucks.

Rating:
Summary: Fine for novices
Review: Being a painter most of my life, I decided to try my hand at pastels after a good friend of mine gave me a small set for Christmas. I soon found that pastels are very different than paints (I actually thought you could mix the colors like paint), so I started looking for some printed guidance. After reading the glowing reviews about this workbook, I decided to take the plunge and buy this book. After all, it was pretty cheap. What could I lose?
All I can say is if you are an experienced artist, this book is not for you. Over half of the lessons deal with the obvious design problems any first year art student is confronted with. If you know anything about composition and color, then you can skip the first half completely, except maybe the materials page. Most of the early exercises are pretty elementary, but I suppose that is necessary for anyone who is either new to painting or very dependent on guidance.
The second half gets better with applications and demonstrations. They are simple enough not to overpower someone new to the medium. Yet they convey enough information to carry a person through to more complex compositions. It was enough to show a painter like me at least a rudimentary approach to pastel solutions. Was it worth the money? Yeah, I suppose so, but I believe there are probably a lot better books out there for a little bit more money. So I will keep looking and buying.

Rating:
Summary: Fine for novices
Review: Being a painter most of my life, I decided to try my hand at pastels after a good friend of mine gave me a small set for Christmas. I soon found that pastels are very different than paints (I actually thought you could mix the colors like paint), so I started looking for some printed guidance. After reading the glowing reviews about this workbook, I decided to take the plunge and buy this book. After all, it was pretty cheap. What could I lose?
All I can say is if you are an experienced artist, this book is not for you. Over half of the lessons deal with the obvious design problems any first year art student is confronted with. If you know anything about composition and color, then you can skip the first half completely, except maybe the materials page. Most of the early exercises are pretty elementary, but I suppose that is necessary for anyone who is either new to painting or very dependent on guidance.
The second half gets better with applications and demonstrations. They are simple enough not to overpower someone new to the medium. Yet they convey enough information to carry a person through to more complex compositions. It was enough to show a painter like me at least a rudimentary approach to pastel solutions. Was it worth the money? Yeah, I suppose so, but I believe there are probably a lot better books out there for a little bit more money. So I will keep looking and buying.

Rating:
Summary: GREAT BOOK FOR BEGINNERS!!
Review: I am an absolute beginner and have bought many pastel books and this is one of the 2 best i have.It assumes you know nothing, which for me, was true.It begins with basic marks and techniques and progresses into making pictures. I gained much confidence by going through this well organized book. If you are an absolute beginner, buy it!!!

Rating:
Summary: Private tutor with half a price
Review: I am new to this medium and therefore eager to find a good book which would not only teach me the basics of pastels, but also how to improve my skills even further. So when I came upon Jackie Simmonds' Pastel Workbook, it was exactly the kind of book I was looking for. I am extremely satisfied with my purchase. Compared to the books on pastels out there in the market I think this is by far the best for beginners and even for those in the intermediate level. This book "baby sits" you. It goes through every step in great detail. You really cannot go wrong, but if you do she teaches you how to make corrections. The book has full color illustrations and the pictures are taken at a close shot so you do not have to wonder if it's a sidestroke or a thin line. The book has ten lessons and every lesson in this book begins with an aim and ends with a tip. Lesson one introduces you to the materials and equipment while lesson two shows you how to use your pastel to create the different strokes, followed by how to form shapes, the use of colors to create the different effects and so forth. Once you are comfortable with the terms and use of pastels she gradually teaches you to compose pictures, paint beautiful landscapes, paint skies and winter scenes. This book does not frustrate you is all I can say as you get to see instant results in your artwork. Having this book is truly like having my good old art instructor Mr. Albert beside me but even better because I can use the book as a reference whenever I need to. I have noticed great improvement in my pastel skills in just a few days of acquiring this book. My friends could hardly believe that I did not take a class in pastel drawing. I give five stars to Jackie Simmond's book. It's worth every cent I paid for.

Rating:
Summary: WOW! What a PASTEL WORKBOOK!!
Review: Simple,direct, easy to follow. It helps you become comfortable with the idea of what are pastels and how to use them!! One of the best pastel book for step by step practice.