Really two books in one, this book includes a full book on graphite pencil drawing and a second on drawing using colored pencils.

Only requiring pencils, paper, erasers, blending tortillions and stumps plus spray fixative, the author's technique creates well shaped images that appear 3-D. The book begins simply with drawing spheres and cylinders and progresses through grid drawing to a great discussion about perspective.

Lee Hammond’s All New Big Book of Drawing is geared toward beginning artists. The author explains the most important ingredient to becoming a full-fledged artist is practice, practice practice. If you are a budding artist interesting in drawing close to photo-realistic pictures of any subject, this book is a good choice.

Thanks to the publisher, North Light Books, and NetGalley for an advanced review copy. This book will be published on January 24, 2018.

This is an art instruction book on using graphite and colored pencils. The first half of the book was about how to do the author's blended, realistic style of graphite drawing. He has you use the grid method to get your initial shapes correct and teaches readers about shape, light and shadows, and blending. He covered perspective and drawing shiny surfaces, glass, metal, textures, flowers and foliage, landscapes, furry and feathered animals, people (head, hands, feet), and fabric (folds and patterned).

The graphite step-by-step projects were: sphere, cylinder, eggs, garlic, stone well, shiny vase, a marble, silverware, wood, seashell, tree, leaf, rose, butterfly, long and short fur, animal eyes, nose, and mouth, head and shoulders portraits of a kitten, dog, and horse, feathers, a bird, human nose, lips, facial hair, eyes, eyeglasses, ears, hair, whole head, male and female hands (plus tips on old versus young hands), baby feet, hanging towel, and sleeve.

The second half of the book was how to use color pencils, specifically Prismacolor colored pencils. He used colors from the 48 pencil set. He covered many of the same subjects as he did in the graphite section, only using color and layering or burnishing to create the desired look. As in the first half, the step-by-step projects were three (sometimes four) steps long. He described which colors he used in which order. He described creating light or darker skin tones when teaching about facial features.

The colored pencil step-by-step projects were: a sphere, brown egg, peppermint candy, grapes, water droplets, onion, crystal goblet, drinking glass, marbles, pitcher, brass spittoon, wood grain, pearl, green leaf, autumn leaf, two butterflies, two flowers, clouds, sunset, dog eye, dog nose, long and short fur, head and neck of a horse, leopard head, swan, sparrow, human nose, mouth with teeth showing, mouth with facial hair, eye, ear, long and wavy hair, short and curly hair, baby hand, baby feet, hanging towel, and draped fabric.

He included samples of his work to illustrate his points plus in a gallery section at the back of the book. I felt he clearly explained his methods of using graphite and colored pencils, and a beginner will find this book helpful. If you've read his shorter books on Still Life, Nature, Animals, and People and Clothing, the introduction to this book said you'd mainly be getting what he said in those books plus a few new projects to practice.

This book takes you step by step through the process of drawing people, animals, flowers, and nature. With beautifully detailed examples throughout it is the perfect reference for beginner and advanced artists alike. Two books in one allow you to explore pencil drawing techniques and then enhance those drawings with the use of colored pencils. A must have reference to add to your creative library with techniques designed to help you gain confidence and enjoyment with your craft.

I have owned and loved several of Lee Hammond's art books throughout my lifetime and I have enjoyed sharing my love of them with my daughter. I have always felt her books are some of the best art references on the market and jumped at the chance to review this one. I was so delighted to see such a wonderful collection of techniques in one book. This will definitely be a treasure to add to my collection.