Pen and Ink Drawing: A Simple Guide

I bought this guys book because his tutorials on youtube are second to non I literally went from a horrendous drawer to something approaching half decent simply by watching one of his playlists, I couldn't believe what had just come out of my pen and how well explained and useful and concise his videos are. I am forever indebted to this man for giving me a new passion for something which previously seemed completely out of reach.To thank him, and also because I seem to learn from him really well from him I purchased this book. The cost was arbitrary as I felt like I already owed him money for teaching me to draw! I'm going to be quite honest now, I really like the book it lays things out in a very pleasant way its really easy to look at and nicely presented. The drawings are really inspiring and a lot of the things in the videos are presented which is nice as it gives a good chance to study close up techniques from the videos. For me personally I actually found the book less useful than the videos in terms of learning, and honestly not sure if this is a fault of the book or testament to the videos or just the way I learn. I do wish it had been bound, I'm not sure anyone ever does this but its something that really annoys me with book on a practical skills, why give them a spine making keeping them open a bit of a nightmare when the publisher/author (whoever makes that decision) clearly should know you will need your hands free while using it. I also would have liked to have seen more step by step examples on more of the textures and techniques although there are plenty already, I think these are the most inspiring for me anyway because you feel like you can have a go at whatever it is, following each stage, however there is plenty of this, I just wish there was more. Also a lot of things in the books are already covered in the videos so the crossover of knowledge meant some of the information was a bit redundant to me as an avid viewer of the YT channel.TL/DR A fantastic teacher of drawing, deserves every success for passing his extensive knowledge of drawing on via youtube and this accompanying book, I have some small gripes with the book,but I still love it, think it was absolutely worth the money and have really enjoyed reading and working though it. Maybe would have been a 4 star review on book alone had I not gained so much from the video tutorials already and feel like that fantastic FREE content is easily worth double the price I payed for the book.Alphonso Dunn when you release more books I will buy them instantly, I watched every video you made and am so so so happy with my drawing currently, I cant express it enough, you gave me a new life skill. THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Meine ganz persönliche Meinung: Das Beste Zeichenbuch ( Fineliner, Kugelschreiber ectr. ) für Anfänger überhaupt.Alphonso`s YouTube Videos sind genial und trotz meinem mehr als schlechten Englisch verständlich. Er hat eine sehr geniale Art die Dinge visuell zu erklären. Das versteht man auch ohne Sprache. Dieses Buch habe ich zum Nachschlagen und rundet seine tollen Videos (die ja kostenlos sind!) ab. Ich male mit Sakura Micron Fineliner und Kugelschreiber von BIC Cristal Fine 0,3.Hier habe ich auch Stimmen gelesen, die sagten er sei nicht der beste Zeichner. Na Gott sei dank! Das bin ich auch nicht! Ich will auch keine Mappe vorbereiten für die Bewerbung an der Kunstfachhochschule.Dieses Buch schreckt nicht ab, sondern lädt zu Kreativität ein. Vor allem der Anfänger verliert hier seine Hemmungen.Ein Beispiel: Lege Dir 2 Skizzenbücher zu.Eins das niemand zu Gesicht bekommt und nur für Dich alleine ist. Wo Du alles ausprobierst, Dir Notizen machst und nur zum Üben und nochmals Üben da ist.Das Zweite ist für die Techniken, die Du nach viel Übung so beherrscht, dass Du damit zufrieden bist und Deine Zeichnungen auch anderen zeigen würdest.Mit solchen Tipps fängt dann auch der gehemmteste Mensch an zu Zeichnen.Ich habe auch die neue große Zeichenschule von Gottfried Bammes, ja ein Standartwerk.... aber mir ist die Lust am Zeichnen vergangen. Dank Alphonso Dunn ist sie wieder da.Der Preis für das Buch ist ein Witz, gemessen an den Preisen die so manche deutschsprachigen Bücher kosten. Diese sind dann gefüllt mit vielen bunten Bildern der Autoren und Anleitungen wie man diese nachmalt (Thema Acryl z.B.).Ja und es ist auch richtig, dass man Zeichnen und Malen nicht aus Büchern lernt. Nur durch Übung!Aber es ist so schön, wenn man die Grundlagen (hier geht es um Grundlagen!) auf einfache und sehr anschauliche Weise gezeigt bekommt. Dann kann man auch üben...1000 Dank an den Autor für dieses wirklich tolle Buch und die vielen tollen Videos auf YouTube.Für die Kaufentscheidung: Einfach mal bei YouTube ein paar der vielen Videos ansehen. Dann kann jeder selbst entscheiden auch ohne Rezension.

I bought this book after viewing many of Alphonso's brilliant youtube videos. I have bought many "how to draw" books and several online course and found this book a refreshing change. It is packed with practical advice and clear, concise explanations for terms and approaches widely talked about but rarely described. I've seen advice to "apply shading in layers" elsewhere but Alphonso's book actually shows you in a simple diagram how you would practically do this. It is a thoughtful, personal book that offers a refreshing approach to drawing and not just with pen and ink. Highly recommended.

A fantastic, straightforward and inspiring text book for those with some basic drawing knowhow who want to extend their skills a little further and begin to use ink in their work. I have been sketching on and off for 30 years, mostly self taught and with varying degrees of success. This year I have decided to get a little more serious and focus on the process of drawing a little more with a view to perhaps completing a Foundation Art course next year. This book is ideal for helping me prepare for that. There are simple exercises in the book, which can be completed anywhere. The book is made from sketchbook paper and has areas in the margins where you are encouraged to have a go or just exercise your pen a little. This feature makes it highly interactive and I found it a little addictive as well as I wanted to complete and fill the book with lots of little rehearsals and practices all the time. I did find it handy to have a sketchbook with me as I was reading as I sometimes wanted to copy a drawing or carry out an exercise more than once. A great text book that I will cherish and return to for years to come. If only every art text book were this good!

It is rare that I will write a review on behalf of an author. But, Alphonso deserves much credit. I am a middle aged software engineer from the UK. I have made the decision to become a technical illustrator and author. I have been well educated (it does not follow that I think that I am very intelligent). I wanted to follow an illustrator who properly and thoroughly understood illustration. Before buying this book I looked long and hard at my options, and even went to the extent of ordering prospectus from the top UK Universities who offer Ba Hons in Illustration (E.g. Edinburgh - an outstanding University). My view is that Alphonso is special. He can produce beautiful work, but he can explain how it is done. He a true talent, and I am not a person who is easily impressed. The book explains how to illustrate. I have other books that have many beautiful illustrations. But that is a different matter. I highly recommend.