Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Simply Draw with Bob Parsons

SimplyDraw Simply Draw with Bob Parsons
Created by Bob Parsons

About Simply Draw

Anyone can learn to draw. The question is how hard do you want to make it on yourself. We review drawing programs on a regular basis and absolutely none of them compares to Simply Draw.

Designed to teach drawing for children as young as eight through adult education classes, the lessons in Simply Draw with Bob Parsons are simple and come with clear, step-by-step explanations. Because each exercise introduces a new idea or adds to drawing concepts already introduced, Simply Draw is so basic that even those of us who despair of ever learning to draw, can do so. Plus there are almost three hours of additional video instruction included, making this the easiest drawing program available.

Designed to teach drawing for children as young as eight through adult education classes, the lessons in Simply Draw with Bob Parsons are simple and come with clear, step-by-step explanations. Because each exercise introduces a new idea or adds to drawing concepts already introduced, Simply Draw is so basic that even those of us who despair of ever learning to draw, can do so. Plus there are almost three hours of additional video instruction included, making this the easiest drawing program available.

Simply Draw with Bob Parsons gleans a fair amount from the late Bruce McIntyre's Drawing Textbook. Wildly popular with homeschoolers for dozens of years, Bob Parsons received permission from surviving family to use Bruce's teachings. So if you missed out on securing a copy of Drawing Textbook while it was still available, you will be delighted to know those excellent principles are in Simply Draw.

My Thoughts

I’ve discovered that I could draw when we were having our church services at H.E.A.T. Worship House    I had no idea that I could do something with crayons and pastels.   Ah!   I should have known that it was part of my genes as both my grand-mothers painted.   My maternal grand-mother used to paint when she was 16 and I have her paintings in my dining room which were done on roller blind.  

So wanting to learn more about drawing, I contacted the author behind Simply Draw with Bob Parsons (yes Bob Parsons himself!) and asked if I could review it.   He agreed and I received via emails the book and the videos to start.

I love the way the book get your through the basics of drawing before you get into more complicated things.    At the beginning I wasn’t too sure about my ability of being able to draw, but I am enjoying it.   I am not entirely done with the book as I can advance only at a slower pace since homeschooling is my priority.   But I also have a child who is showing interest in drawing so I think I will use this with him when he is a bit older.

The book starts with basics – parallel lines, SPLs, shadows, angles, basic shapes, basic drawings, thickness & depth, contouring, drawing hands, lettering, stick figures and action, adding texture, and more.    The author always start you at the bottom of the ladder and let you climb it at your own pace.    Slowly, you get more complicated items to draw and with practice you get better at it I find.   The only thing I find a bit disappointing is that most characters you draw within the book are cartoonish or shall I say caricatured.    I guess when you are a beginner, it is easier to go through this first before getting in more complicated drawings like a real person.  

As for the videos, some of them will have the voice of Bob directing you and explaining what he is drawing while others will have either music or no sound.   I personally prefers having guidance when I watched a video than hearing music.    But different people would prefer observing without having someone talking all the time.

What I particularly like in this product is the fact that you have lots of space in the book to practice what you have learned.   First, you can practice on within the limits of a shadowed image but eventually you are free to practice without help in the book.   

I think my favourite section is the lettering.   Just looking at it I can see the potential it has.   You see I am a scrapbooker and I also make cards.   Having a new technique to do lettering for cards or scrapbook pages is interesting for me.  

If you are interested in learning how to draw but don’t have lots of money to spend in discovering this dormant talent in  you, I suggest you consider Simply Draw with Bob Parsons.   It will give you a good understanding of the basics of drawing and you will come out of it having learned quite a lot.   I also recommend this product for homeschoolers who have children who loves to draw.   This will give them a good base and from there they can decide to go further in drawing or simply draw for fun.

Simply Draw with Bob Parsons is available at the website Simply Draw with Bob Parsons or directly from Timberdoodle.

This review was possible because I received a copy of Simply Draw with Bob Parsons from the creator.

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