"Drawing For Dummies" shows how to render anything that catches your eye, including your family and friends, nature, and cityscapes.

On a simple piece of paper, a fierce bird of prey can swoop down upon its terrified victim, an adoring father can share laughter with the infant daughter cradled in his arms, raindrops can glisten on the hood of a vintage sports car, a lightening bolt can cut across the night, offering a glimpse of trees ominously silhouetted against the blackness. Drawing can enrich your life in extraordinary and unexpected ways. Drawing your everyday experiences can change how you and others see the world, while drawing from imagination can give rise to fantastic new worlds. And, despite what you may believe, it's something just about anyone can learn to do. "Drawing For Dummies" offers you a fun, easy way to learn drawing basics. Its author, professional illustrator and long-time art educator Brenda Hoddinott, has a simple philosophy that only you can teach you to draw. With that in mind, she arms you with the tools you need to explore the basics and then coaches you through 30 hands-on drawing projects.;You'll quickly: conquer the basics of line and shading; develop an eye for basic shapes and contours; discover how to create the illusion of three dimensions; render still-life subjects and landscapes; and, bring animals and people to vivid life on the page. Brenda helps you tune into your right brain and see the world as an artist does. You'll discover how to break things down into basic lines and shapes and then reassemble them on the page. Other topics covered include: understanding and exercising the basic skills of drawing lines and shapes, adding life and depth with shading, and rendering textures; mastering the fundamentals of composition and planning drawings; creating lifelike doodles and cartoon characters; drawing the natural environment including both plants and animals; keeping a sketchbook and drawing from memory; and, drawing people, starting with babies and exploring the human face from childhood to old age. It's never too late to unleash the artist within. "Let Drawing For Dummies" put you on the road of discovery and self-expression through drawing.

• Introduction.

  Part I: YOU Can Draw!

  Chapter 1: Discovering the Joys of Drawing.

  Chapter 2: Nurturing the Artist within You.

  Chapter 3: Navigating Your Drawing Journey.

  Part II: Exercising the Basic Skills.

  Chapter 4: Seeing as an Artist.

  Chapter 5: Seeing and Drawing Lines.

  Chapter 6: Exploring the Third Dimension.

  Chapter 7: Adding Life with Shading.

  Chapter 8: Identifying and Rendering Textures.

  Chapter 9: Investigating Fresh Perspectives.

  Part III: Time to Start Drawing.

  Chapter 10: Planning Your Drawings.

  Chapter 11: Recording Your Life in a Sketchbook.

  Chapter 12: Drawing on Your Memories.

  Chapter 13: Setting up to Draw Still Life.

  Chapter 14: Saving the Joy of Flowers and Trees.

  Chapter 15: Documenting the World Outside.

  Chapter 16: Capturing Critters in Drawings.

  Part IV: Drawing People.

  Chapter 17: Baby, Look at You Now.

  Chapter 18: Celebrating Childhood's Innocence.

  Chapter 19: The Many Faces of Adults.

  Chapter 20: Enjoying the Lighter Sides of Faces.

  Part V: The Part of Tens.

  Chapter 21: Ten Tips, Hints, and Secrets.

  Chapter 22: Ten Steps to Completing a Drawing.

  Chapter 23: Ten More Fun Projects.

  Chapter 24: Ten Tidbits of Artsy Info.

  Index.