365 Days of Drawing

A year of easy to progressively harder daily challenges to learn the fundamentals of drawing.

You want to learn to draw. You know you have to practice. Every day. But it is that blank sheet of paper that sets off the what do I draw? and I don't know how to draw it! panic. That is where 365 Days of Drawing comes in.

There is a step-by-step drawing exercise for every day of the year. Each shows the steps from the first line to the last and a brief text explains the steps. You can move through the book front to back or pick and choose. All 365 drawings start with one shape or line -- a circle, an oval, a square, a rectangle, a curved line, a straight line -- upon which the object or person is built. By mixing these basic strokes anything is achievable.

The reader can add perspective to go from two- to three-dimensions: create volume turning a square into a box, add depth turning a circle into a cylinder, create distance making railway tracks disappear. A one-quarter view of a box is different than from the front, and an open box even more different.

Facial features can be a beginning drawer's nightmare but not if you know the lines of halves and thirds on which all faces are drawn. At the same time, you will learn anatomy and what goes where when someone is walking, bowling, sleeping, or more. In all, there are more than 50 drawings of people in various poses.

The variety is impressive just by using the basic shapes and lines:

• all straight lines for a xylophone, an Egyptian pyramid, a house
• all curved lines for a rhinoceros, a high-heeled shoe, a crying baby
• curved lines mixed with straight lines for a jetliner, a city center, a tennis racket.

With its abundance of approachable drawings as well as loads of tips, instruction and inspiration, 365 Days of Drawing will have even the most artistically challenged mastering the art of drawing. Those with experience can use daily challenges to polish their skills.

Lise Herzog graduated from the School of Decorative Arts in Strasbourg in 1999. She has worked as illustrator of books for both adults and children, and collaborated with educational programs at museums. She lives in France.