73% Geek

Thanks to NetGalley, I was able to read a digital ARC of Drawing: Dragons by Michael Dobrzycki.

This booklet begins with about eight pages on choosing tools and materials, shading techniques, creating textures and constructing creatures. The remaining 30 pages or so are divided into projects showing how to construct and detail nine different types of dragon or drake.

This is a very spare book, and for my personal tastes not detailed enough. The pages on shading techniques and creating textures were very interesting and I wish there had been more on those topics. My tastes aside, I think this is a book kids into drawing dragons would love and have a lot of fun with.

Thanks to NetGalley, I was able to read a digital ARC of Drawing: Faces & Features by Debra Kauffman Yaun.

This booklet is divided into topics consisting of two to three pages of information on the various subjects, beginning with some pages dedicated to “Tools & Materials”, “Shading Techniques”, and “Basic Anatomy”, before moving on to adult faces and capturing proportions and features correctly. It also briefly deals with how to capture likeness and draw from life before moving on to drawing different views, lighting, backgrounds, developing hair, depicting aged faces and then ending the adult section with a couple of pages on facial hair.

The rest of the book is devoted to much the same topics as applied to children's and babies faces, before ending with a brief lesson on establishing values.

As each topic is presented very briefly, I feel this book is lacking in steps for the beginner, while also not delivering enough high-level information to satisfy an already accomplished artists. It's a fine booklet, with some good tips, but ultimately I'm unsure of who this book is actually meant for.

Thanks to NetGalley, I was able to read a digital ARC of Draw Like an Artist: 100 Faces and Figures by Chris Legaspi.

The book begins with two pages on how to best use the book, detailing suggested materials, the basic drawing process, using gesture lines, constructing the image and how to add details and clean up your artwork. This is followed by another couple of pages of tips on how to improve line control.

The rest of the book is split into three main sections, faces, features and figures, respectively. Each page has the same drawing in various stages of detail, beginning with the simplest outline, and progressing through more detailed stages, until finally reaching the finished line-art image. The cover picture shows this progression well, and is indicative of the book's content.

I'm currently learning to draw better and this is an extremely helpful book. It's very clear and easy to follow. I enjoyed it so much I've purchased a paperback copy already! Definitely a book to buy for developing artists!

Thanks to NetGalley, I was able to read a digital ARC of Creative Coding In Python by Sheena Vaidyanathan. Important things first, I love the robotic octopus gracing the cover, it's so ominously cute, and this book teaches Python 3.

The book dives right in with a short introduction covering what coding is, why to learn to code specifically in Python, how to install Python, your first line of code, functions, errors, algorithms, pseudocode, and flowcharts! A lot of information is squished into these first few pages, but I think it's explained well, and without too much detail which can bog a beginner down.

The rest of the book is split into into five chapters which teach you to create your own simple chatbots, art masterpieces, adventure games, dice games, and finally your own apps and games. Each chapter focuses on a main topic and a project to code, and also introduces various concepts along the way, ending with a number of on-topic exercises. Some of these exercises are new, while some use newly acquired skills to develop further complexity to code written for previous chapters.

Creative Coding In Python is well-written with clear, concise explanations, is aesthetically pleasing, includes a number of exercises to tackle, and even introduces some rather advanced topics, such as graphics and GUIs. Plenty of ideas and resources for further development of coding skills are listed at the back as well as a handy glossary of terms.

I'd have thought this book was brilliant as a tween, and I think it's pretty great as an adult. Definitely a book to buy!

This is such a lovely book ❤️