How To Draw Lifelike Portraits From Photographs - Revised: 20 step-by-step demonstrations

I started drawing portraits of my daughter from photos after losing her to cancer last year. Then I was given the name of this book and author and ordered it. It arrived the day before we were flying to Mexico and I read the whole book on the plane. I found a store in Mexico that sold the needed supplies and the first portrait I did was really good. Everyone liked it and thought I had potential. I have since recommended the book to others. With time I have improved in my drawing and I think this is a great book for those who want to draw very nice portraits. And I say if I can do it, anyone can. Go for it! I have read a super-critical, long-winded review of this book that told me that I will never be a great artist using this book. I say so what! I draw beautiful portraits that are pleasing to my subjects and myself. Since I am 71 years old I don't intend to be the "professional" that the long-winded reviewer pretends to be. People are happy with my portraits and so am I. I am very grateful to Lee Hammond for this book.

This is an excellent book on drawing portraits including facial features, hair, skin, clothing, backgrounds, and even hands. Lee will teach you how to make your portraits look real and smooth with her blending technique. Before purchasing this book I wondered what could be on the bonus DVD included with this book. Well, I found out. IT is an excerpt from her Lifelike Drawing DVD were she actually demonstrates how to shade to achieve smooth results. She also shades a sphere and this is important because facial features -- eyes, cheeks, shoulders, balls of noses - are all made of spheres. The tips I learned from this book are invaluable. If you have any questions, post a comment below and I'd gladly answer them. The materials you need are cheap and easy to find.

I like this book too much, I have purchased many of the books by Lee Hammond and I think her teaching is very easy to follow and the results have been almost instant for me. I have drawn occasionally since my childhood (I'm 57 now) but never dedicated to it. However, Lee Hammond has fired again that desire inside me and I am now drawing lifelike portraits. Some of my drawings (portraits) are on F A C E B O O K now. You have to practice a lot, and this book is recommended for practicing her methods. She recommends Mechanical pencils with .7 mm points and 2B hardness. The tortillion for blending is her most common tool. It is called the blending method. If you follow her method, you will be drawing lifelike portraits in no time at all. Buy this book, I recommend it.

Buy this book for the video. I've bought lots of drawing books over the years. I've given most away to people I don't like. I keep books by Lee Hammond and Carrie Stuart Parks because they do the best job of explaining how to draw, and to learn to draw you really need a good book. The big difference between the two is that Hammond uses a grid to help you figure out proportion and Parks uses a measuring aid. Both methods work well and are complementary. But even the best book is insufficient. You need to SEE HOW THEY ACTUALLY DRAW. And for that you need a video. It's like the difference between reading a book on golf and watching a golf video. And this book has a 24 minute video.

This is a must have book for a person learning to sketch or do portraits. This has become a well used reference for me.

Very useful user friendly

Received book in wonderful condition. Love this book. I'm returning to my art after a very long time and need a thorough refresher of my skills. I've read through the book and I immediately related to and appreciated her techniques and insights, as well as how she expressed them. Highly recommend for beginning and returning artists!

This is a fabulous book that will definitely teach you how to draw beautiful, realistic portraits. You will be amazed at how easy this is. I can't say enough about this author and her method of drawing. I have many of her titles and they are all just beautifully done. They are worth so much more than the cost of the books. Highly recommend any of her books.

This is a really nice book developing and honing your skills step ny step but you have keep patience before jumping in portraiture by practicing each feature .The journey itself is so enjoyable than the destination so practice a lot!!

Hier geht es um perfektes fotorealistisches Zeichnen. Aber wenn das Bild Deiner Katze eher aussieht wie ein Krokodil oder die Portraits alles wiederspiegeln nur nicht die gezeichnete Person, dann hilft dieses Buch nicht wirklich. Wer auf hohem Niveau zeichnet oder aufgrund von Talent Personen wiedererkennbar porträtieren kann und es für notwendig hält fotorealistisch zu zeichnen, der ist hier gut aufgehoben. Ich persönlich halte fotorealistische Ergebnisse gar nicht für erstrebenswert und frage mich, ob es dann nicht besser wäre fotografieren zu lernen- aber das ist eine reine Frage persönlicher Vorlieben und ich will niemand zu nahe treten der das ganz anders sieht. Mir hat es nicht geholfen Gesichter wiedererkennbar zu zeichnen. Auch wenn ich das technisch perfektioniert hätte, wären die porträtierten Personen nicht erkannt worden.

I bought this book because I want to improve my drawing skills. Even in these initial stages of using it, Lee Hammond's comments on the 5 elements of shading have made an enormous difference. Significantly, Lee says in her analysis of tonal values in drawings that "The most famous phrase I use in my classes is "Get it darker!" Not going dark enough will cause your drawing to lack depth." This comment has given me the confidence to 'go darker' myself - with the effect of making some of my pictures really live, through greatly improved light and dark contrasts.

This book teaches you how to draw each facial feature one at a time. You are able to take each feature and then add it to the last feature you learned until you have created an entire portrait. I would recommend this book to anyone who would like to draw, but feels that it is too much and they are not capable of drawing. I was able to create a portrait in two weeks that was so close to the actual practice portrait that my husband was amazed. This is just so much fun, with no stress, as you are not comparing what you do with a person next to you. If you have to erase a line, and then erase again until you get it right, you don't feel time pressured. A great book.

This book will lead you through simple practical steps . You will be amazed how good your own sketcheswill become .A very good buy