Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain: The Definitive, 4th Edition

Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain might be the best drawing book ever. As a kid, I was really into art, but like most adults, I've long since lost those abilities. I picked up maybe a dozen books, bought online courses, and watched a ton of YouTube videos, and I felt like I understood so much of the theory of drawing, but nothing was translating to paper when I tried to actually re-create what was in front of me. But then I got this book. And a few days into it, I could suddenly draw. I could draw well. I could beautifully draw my left hand with my right hand. I could draw my cat tower. I could draw leaves and trees. WHAT. HOW. The crazy thing about this book is how well Betty gets in your head. After an exercise, she immediately calls out what probably went through your head, what actions you took, and *what feelings you felt.* She pointed out in one exercise how I probably grabbed a ruler at one point, but then put it down. She said I probably erased something and felt guilty about it. HOW DID SHE KNOW. The actual science behind left brain/right brain stuff is probably outdated. I mean, she wrote this book in the 1970s. Even with revisions, she's not going to re-write the whole book when the fundamental goal of the book is still super effective. The main purpose is to convey this message: your knowledge of what you *should* see is messing up your ability to *actually* see. Example: You expect a chair to have a big wide flat surface for sitting and four feet resting level on the floor, and that's making it impossible for you to draw the chair where your view shows a thin, awkward trapezoid for sitting and feet appearing at different heights because of how perspective works. The books is truly eye-opening and helpful. It's easy to read and fun and entertaining. I purchased the companion workbook, but honestly, that's not super necessary. Also prepare to make yourself a picture plane, so save the amazon box the book arrives in.

"Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain: The Definitive, 4th Edition" by Betty Edwards is a groundbreaking guide that unlocks the secrets of artistic expression and creativity. With its innovative approach to drawing, this book has inspired countless aspiring artists to tap into their right-brain abilities and unleash their full creative potential. From the very beginning, Edwards captivates readers with her unique perspective on drawing as a learnable skill rather than an innate talent. She introduces the concept of the "right side" of the brain as the seat of creativity and visual perception, challenging readers to embrace a new way of seeing the world around them. One of the book's most compelling aspects is its practical approach to teaching drawing techniques. Edwards provides step-by-step exercises and hands-on activities designed to help readers develop their drawing skills incrementally. By breaking down complex concepts into manageable tasks, she empowers even the most novice artist to achieve remarkable results. Moreover, "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" is not just a technical manual; it is also a journey of self-discovery and personal growth. Edwards encourages readers to explore their own creativity and artistic vision, guiding them through exercises that stimulate imagination, intuition, and emotional expression. Furthermore, the 4th edition of the book features updated content and additional resources, including new insights into the neuroscience of creativity and expanded chapters on topics such as composition, color theory, and drawing from memory. These enhancements make the book an invaluable resource for both beginners and experienced artists alike. In conclusion, "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain: The Definitive, 4th Edition" is a must-have resource for anyone seeking to unlock their creative potential and master the art of drawing. With its practical exercises, insightful teachings, and inspiring philosophy, this book has earned its reputation as a classic guide to drawing and a timeless source of inspiration for artists of all levels.

Betty Edwards takes you on a journey that is not just about learning how to draw a curve or a shape, but rather deeply psychological and actually plays deeply with mindfulness work, negotiation stuff I'm learning, and more... How you ask? By teaching you how to truly observe what is right in front of you and do your level best to replicate it while leaving the imprint of your own stylish elements as an artist. You are taught how to activate those perceptual centers and get out of your head from those over analytical racing thoughts that run through our minds til your mind focuses what is right in front of you regardless of how you feel about it. It takes you away from ambiguity and paradox to what is. It teaches you how to concentrate on hand and eye moments and to note the nameless shapes and curves rather than the preconceived bias of notions of shapes that affect your ability to replicate. It shows you the psychological truths of how we work in an artistic way to develop perceptual thinking and reduce cognitive dissonance and why for thousands of years artists vs politicians have been that artists will paint what their mind sees no matter how ugly or awful it is or how beautiful or pleasant it is, they just pain what their mind directs them to. It teaches us how to access the deepest recesses of our subconscious til we let go. This is the brilliance of how she presented her drawing lessons. And in just weeks you will go from barely being able to draw to being able to at least do a somewhat realistic portrait although not full on hyperrealism If you learn this book, it will then be a greater stepping stone to learning hyperrealism from elsewhere

This book was my first step in learning art and it’s been immeasurable. It teaches you how to see as an artist as well as how to use your hands.

Don't get me wrong, I love this book. I nearly read it all in three sittings and I really love the approach. The very good: Excellent book for beginners, it will coach you to draw what you see, not what you think. Absolute must if you are interested in the dichotomy between left and right brain hemispheres and how they interact. The introduction captivated me, and further exercises are great experiments to experience the switching of processing between the two halves of your brain first hand. I knew about it but I didn't think it could be made so obvious. The only good: The author describes five skills that together compose drawing skills: - Perception of edges - Perception of spaces - Perception of relationships - Perception of lights and shadows - Perception of gestalt The first four could be reduced to three in my view but I am willing to accept the four. If the first four were properly rendered, the fifth would derive naturally. Once a face is out of proportions, the correction of resemblance will require correcting the rendering of the first four. "Gestalt" here is not a skill, it is an effect. The not good: Very little that I find unacceptable, really. Mostly in the explanation of perspective. The explanation of point of view is perfect except it starts by "In a one point perspective drawing...". No. Every realistic drawing (the point of this book) has one point of view and only one, however many vanishing points there are. Yet this statement is still accurate, it just suggests that the definition does not apply to multiple points drawings. I was willing to overlook that one. Then on page 151 a drawing purporting to explain two points perspective using two cubes commits the sin the author has been warning us against since the beginning of the book: she draws what she thinks and not how it is. The drawing represents two cubes and two vanishing points for each - so far so good assuming that the cubes do not have parallel faces. The problem is that the two vanishing points of the farther cube are between the two vanishing points of the closer cube, which is not possible if these are indeed cubes as stated in the caption. If the cubes have parallel faces then their vanishing points are common; if not, they alternate on the horizon as both faces of the second cube turn in the same direction with regards to the first cube. (I attach a picture of the book and one of a quick drawing on my whiteboard - I don't pretend my drawing is perfect but it illustrates my qualms.) I can hear people calling me picky on this one and I certainly feel that way. One full star off just for that? Well, I am following an art class and some of my fellow students have a very hard time getting over this one. To compound the confusion, the drawing frame in the book picture shows another horizontal line without explanation, leading some to infer this is the "actual" horizon. (For the records I studied Math and then mechanical engineering before CAD systems were ubiquitous, which meant designing mechanical parts on paper with compass, tees and rulers, and I have been drawing for well over 40 years. I took this drawing class to qualify for painting next year.) Finally the author does not mention that vanishing points do not have to be on the horizon, as if all groups of parallel lines in the 3D world had to be either horizontal (vanishing points on the horizon) or vertical (represented as parallel lines in most usual drawings). Three points perspective is barely mentioned about tall buildings drawn from street level and to state it is very rare in drawing. All in all this remains an *EXCELLENT BOOK*, clearly the best I have seen about teaching realistic drawing so far. Best for - People who want to learn to draw realistically - People interested in the brain processes involved in drawing and in particular the processing differences of the two brain hemispheres. The only caveat is about perspective. Too bad.

I bought this last Christmas for a close friend of mine (20) who, after seeing me doodle, expressed that she had always wanted to draw and felt she was unable to. She was under the (really common) impression that you are "born" with the ability to draw well - and I'd almost take offense at that; I work really hard to be able to draw like I do! (I can certainly draw and paint, though I'm no Picasso.) After some research, I discovered the incredible reviews, not to mention the results, from the people who have read this book or been to one of Betty Edward's classes. And I saw in her teaching something that I had taught myself, but had not yet been able to put into words: when you draw, accurately, you override your brain at every stage telling you "no, a foot looks like THIS", or "Actually, eyes are shaped like THIS", and you really *see* what is in front of you. It's not a magic ability or a genetic quirk, it's simply a skill that anyone can learn with the right teacher. And Betty Edwards is most certainly that teacher! The book has gone down a huge success with my friend, whose enjoyment is only matched by her enthusiasm to learn, and honestly, it's a great gift for me to see someone I'm close to enjoy the same thrill that accompanies artistic improvement, and for me to have played a part in that. The book itself is a fascinating read and the exercises are incredible - though if I recall correctly, some of the science behind the left/right brain hemispheres has been debunked recently? In any case. Whether you are 15 years old and unhappy with the pace of your school's art class, or 20 and wishing you could draw anything besides a wonky smiley face, or 60 and regretting a life not spent with a pencil and paper: Get, and put to use, this book. It is the best starting point I've ever heard of, excepting perhaps the classes held by the author herself. And if Dr.Edwards could ever find the time to visit Ireland, I can guarantee she'll have at least a +2 for any classes she sets up! We'll drag along everyone we know if we have to!

This book definitely deserves five stars! I've read it before and I didn't know it. Funny story: I had this book several years ago, and I just assumed that this would be a recent version or edition. I don't have that book handy – the first one – because I have moved to a smaller place and it is in storage. So funny me - I bought the version I already had before so I could compare it with this supposed newer version? So I thought. Well because the link didn't work to go to the Amazon page where this book is located, and since I saw no reviews on what I thought was the older book's page, I now have three copies of the same book ha ha. It's just as well because this book makes a perfect gift for anyone starting out in the art world. Drawing skills are a essentials, and they come before anyone even thinks of doing any painting. I think that is why a book like this, covering a method of drawing as with right brain and left brain to learn the basics and the tricks of drawing well, would be such a complicated book. I've rarely seen a painting book that is this detailed. I do have them, I would like to find them, because attention to detail – as with drawing and painting hands – is so important and difficult to learn for the first time. I've been in and out of the art scene for over 25 years, and I am not what I would consider an artist. However, because of books like this, (and videos) I merrily walked into a watercolor class for the first time the other day and painted better than almost anyone in the class. It really surprised me. I took informal classes for six months about 3 years ago - at a YMCA where a member who is an artist and teacher decided to teach in a spare room. She was really rude to me haha but I did learn some, just nothing like what I just painted. I've only have the basics of training. Most of my expertise is in Photoshop. In Photoshop the are tools for perspective and symmetry. Just reading this book as a review has refreshed my memory about my drawing days. I think it is an important distinction to make that I am doing digital art most of the time anyway. Somehow, book and video learning in traditional drawing and painting has helped me translate skills into digital painting. Not so with digital painting books I have read where it is assumed you need to learn the software from the very beginning, but still assume you are already a painter. Learning the drawing must come first, so I've been told. Though I don't have any formal training in drawing or painting, and I've really studied about and practiced painting AND drawing at the same time, books such as this one are so handy to have so we can review the basics along with the added concept of left versus right brain thinking regarding drawing skills. So for me, it is more of a reference, and I highly recommend this book as a gift to a young person just starting out in the art world. It is a precious classic for a reason. The techniques are solid and classical. This book covers drawing from so many different perspectives that I find it hard to believe anyone would read this, practice with this book, and come away empty-handed. In fact, I would expect the best of results of course varying from person to person. Classical artists have been using most of these techniques for thousands of years. The right brain left brain drawing concept isn't new because this author has been writing updates and additions on this book for many years. I'd be surprised if many artists are not familiar with it. I get the feeling that this is an underutilized gem. And I am happy to review it – again – ha ha :-). I have a new grandbaby, as my very mature son just had his first child. You can bet that she will get all of my art books. And her mother, already likes this one, because she gave a copy to me years ago. Instinctively, I was able to draw from the get-go, but to do it well – I have seen very few people accomplish that without some instruction. We are talking about perspective, composition, negative space, positive space, drawing with grids, using pencils and other tools for measurement when doing what I would consider to be live drawing, and more. So many people these days use photos as reference; and even then, one can benefit from the good old grid. There aren't too many projects in this book really, unless you decide that you want to practice after every lesson or chapter. This is the way to really get value here. I can still use this book right now, because in painting I am having trouble with foreshortening, which is drawing something at certain angles in perspective where the front needs to be drawn differently from the part farthest away, and you can only draw what you see as if it is the front of my hand in front of my other fingers and so on - as I understand it. I could never afford, nor could I manage a fine art degree, but darn it, I am doing pretty well just the same. The reason why I am not explaining the left brain right brain concept. which is the cornerstone of this book, is because for me it is very confusing. I get dyslexia every time I try to think about the different brain hemispheres. So please don't get me wrong; I am not discounting this sort of learning concept; I am simply saying that this book is just great on its own merits despite my not being able to understand the "different from the norm" concept within this particular classic. This book is very well diagramed, and much can be learned by looking at images/drawings; for example, a drawing of the ocean, showing how the ripples are smaller and closer together as they recede up to the horizon line; just as when I am challenged with a landscape, it helps to know the relationship between one part and the other, since I didn't grow up observing so well how nature works. Most artists I've talked to have been observing nature in a detailed and specific way most of their lives. This is not to say that no one will not be able to learn how to draw or paint really well instinctively, but it is rare. I am saying this to demonstrate how important it is to know these concepts from a book like this to get familiar with them. Or to just be introduced to them. I am just as pleased to have a reunion with this book as I was to find that after three years of not painting with watercolor, I was able to do a landscape very well in watercolor when I didn't ever learn to before . Highly recommended.

I love this book. 'Bought the first edition WBW (way back when), and having left that one behind in my travels I've bought it again. What attracted me initially was the drawings of students at the beginning of the class (Author taught a college drawing class) and drawings by the same students after the class. The difference was remarkable and encouraged me to believe I could also improve.