[.ca] Drawing Realistic Textures in Pencil (ISBN 0891348689)

An extremely useful manual for drawing lifelike images.:
Of all the art technique books I've ever looked at, this has been one of the most useful to me. Graphite is and always has been my favorite medium for drawing, and though I've tried others, I always find myself falling back on the trusty generic pencil. So when I saw this book in the store, I picked it up and thumbed through it and was so impressed by the author's example drawings alone that I bought it. The author is a magnificent artist, and the book has turned out to be a great reference. I've noticed a marked improvement in the realism of my drawings since I started using it. Hillberry begins by introducing us to various materials - graphite pencils, charcoal pencils, carbon pencils, types of erasers, blending tools, types of paper, and other miscellaneous items that can prove helpful - and describes the use and effect of each. He goes on to offer tips on choosing a composition, using light for different effects, using different pencil strokes, blending techniques, layering media, masking, and other helpful methods. The bulk of the book contains instructions on achieving realism when rendering different types of objects: metal, eyes, human hair, glass, broken glass, wood, leather, barbed wire, clothing, and fur. He even offers instructions on little details such as knots in wood, protruding nailheads, etc. At the end he talks about how to put all these methods together into a complete composition, and gives tips on working from photographs. I have not yet tried all of Hillberry's techniques, but the ones I have used have helped me immensely. I would highly recommend this book to any intermediate to advanced level artist.

Superior!:
My daughter received this book for her 13th birthday and my whole family loves it. Even a beginner can benefit from this book. It's true that this is not a how to draw book, but how to make your drawings much better. My daughter had already studied online tutorials to learn to draw the basic figures from shapes. This book is teaching her to refine those drawings into a real work of art. J.D. Hillberry has a drawing forum link on his web site where you can post your drawings for critique or just ask questions about how to draw hair, eyes, etc. His site, of course, is jdhillberry.com. If you are an art lover with an interest in improving your drawing skills, I highly recommend Mr. Hillberry's book as well as paying a visit to his web site.

Most useful, and inspiring:
Of all the many "how to" art books I own, this is the one book I would grab if my house was on fire. The explanations as well as the illustrations make it delightful to recreate a 3 dimensional setting with all its textures and depth. And it's possible with simple, basic drawing implements. It inspires me.

Fantastic!:
I am a beginner drawer and find that this book is a must-have. I think that everyone, beginners and pros alike, will learn something valuable from Hillberry's book. He's a master artist and I am thrilled to be able to find out his "secret" techniques of which combination of paper, pencil, eraser and blending tool is used to create each texture. Get this book and you won't be disappointed.

Fantastic Book!:
It is easy to find books that try to teach you how to draw, but this book goes way beyond that. If you need something beyond the basics, I highly recommend this book! It is very detailed and has simple steps to help in rendering very realistic textures. Great buy!