Drawing: Complete Question and Answer Handbook - Softcover

The question and answer format suits what is essentially a hints and tips book rather well. Trudy Friend has a lot of experience both as an artist and as a teacher and the questions she raises have an authentic feel to them. These are things you really are going to want to know, such as, "How can I draw twigs and branches that look convincing?" or, "When I draw hands, how can I prevent them looking like a bunch of bananas?"

The book is also nicely organised, with six sections covering Trees & Woodlands, Gardens, Still Life, Buildings, Figures and Birds and Animals and there is also an index so that you should quickly be able to locate what you're looking for.

Within the main sections, each Q&A is given its own double-page spread, with the simple answer at the top - in the twigs case, "twist the pencil as you work using erratic movements that automatically create angles from which other twigs and branches can emerge". The rest of the space is then devoted to examples of how to put this into practice as well as some handy technical hints and tips.

Trudy offers a great deal of very practical, down to earth advice, both in the main sections and her excellent introduction to basic techniques and media, and the book is excellent value for money.

Book: David & Charles. Paperback. 128 pages. Colour throughout