How to Draw (Watson-Guptill Artists Library)

Rating:
Summary: Misleading title, but good book on the art of drawing.
Review: This book is a condensed version of the more complete book "The Great Book of Drawing" (originally written and published in Spanish), that has been roughly updated and unsatisfactorily adapted to the English-speaking public.
This beautifully and richly illustrated book contains an overview on the history of the art of drawing (from the prehistory to the twentieth century), which highlights the most important movements and most distinguished and significant artists of each period. It also includes a section on materials, tools and techniques that give the artist a basic idea of the properties and applications of each, making them familiar with the most commonly known and widely used materials and tools, and pointing out which techniques work best for which desired effects.
Also in this book are included two sections, Practicing Basic Drawing Techniques and Drawing in Practice, which are, at best, superficially and poorly written, lacking any real step-by-step instructions or exercises. Here is where this book goes from being an instructive book into being a book that simply shows you how much better than you the artist is without explain how he does it.
This is not really a book on hot to draw, but rather an introduction to the history, materials, tools, techniques and principles of the art of drawing. If you are looking for a step-by-step book on how to draw, get a title like First Lessons in Drawing and Painting by Jack Hamm. Only buy this book if you want a general, illustrated overview of the craft.