Lifelike Drawing In Colored Pencil With Lee Hammond

I have always been a fan of Lee Hammond's. I have also been graphite/charcoal drawing for several years. With Lee Hammond's help my drawings have greatly improved over the years. I finally wanted to add a little color to my art and thought colored pencils (CP) were the best way. I started first with the most popular book Colored Pencil Painting Bible: Techniques for Achieving Luminous Color and Ultrarealistic Effects by Alyona Nickelson. I don't want to take anything away from this book, it is very thorough. Alyona Nickelson's works are exceptionally beautiful. But for me, it was difficult to achieve even a resemblance to her final works. It may be because I am too new to the art or maybe I lack the talent. Either way I was left defeated and felt that I should stick to black and whites. Everything changed once I came across this book. I have seen many reviews where people call Lee Hammond a cartoon artist, not a real artist, copycat, etc. Yet after just a couple of her warm-up techniques and exercises, I was able to achieve my first CP drawing. The exercises I performed looked very much like Lee Hammond's final products as well. She presents each of her books as if you are completely new to the subject. She takes her time to explain the materials and goes over the techniques you will need to become proficient at the art. Her books may seem repetitive but she does not over-power the books with just lessons on materials and techniques. For those that don't need to go over that information again and again, she also provides a fair amount of examples to follow. Her chapters are as follows: 1.Getting Started 2.Techniques 3.Round and Cylindrical Objects 4.Rectangular Objects and Perspective 5.Fabric and Texture 6.Transparent Objects 7.Metallic Objects 8.Nature 9.Animals 10.People In "Getting Started" she goes over the tools and materials she uses. Her favorite CP pencils are Prismacolor (she uses Prismacolor Premier Soft Core Colored Pencils, 132 Colored Pencils (4484) ). Although she raves about Cresent Ragmat and suede papers, I noticed she uses mostly Stonehenge Paper Pad 100% Cotton 250 grms 9 x 12 inch White 15 sheets and/or Stonehenge Wired Pad White 9x12 32 Sheets . The latter is the exact same paper as the first but with 32 sheets and in a non-perforated spiral notebook mainly used for sketching and not final works. But it is still the more economical route to go (wherever you may purchase it) since I can just use my blade to cut the paper and still end up with the final draft. In "Techniques" she covers layering, burnishing, values scale/gradation, color and contrast, 5 elements of shading, basic shapes, and finally using a grid and view finder. The rest of the book (pages 36-141) covers different exercises on the various topics. Each exercise has anywhere between 3 to 5 steps shown. With the more complicated/detailed pictures beginning with a grid of the photo. Interwoven between the exercises are more relevant examples of her final works. So even with all the name calling she has made a better artist out of me. It may appear like copying photos but sometimes you need to start simple before you can improve. This book helps you get the basics down. I have even gone back and done Alyona Nickelson's exercises. At least now my final CP works have some resemblance to hers. I have even begun to branch out and create my own works of art. This is a great place for the begining CP artist to start their journey.

I love this book. Lee covers a huge variety of subjects to draw from still life to stoneware to pewter to silver to pottery to flowers to animals, water and waves, the sky to folded towels and human skin, and hair for a portrait. The best part is that she tells you what prismacolor pencils she used for the correct colors. In the book she includes 2 full pages of color swatches with their corresponding numbers so you can see them for yourself. If you like Prismacolor premier pencils you will love this book. She teaches you how to use a grid to get picture perfect proportions easily to start you on your way. Starting with a fairly accurate drawing using a graph will keep you inspired and still hone your skills. This book will keep you interested even if you are a total amateur and your name isn't Michelangelo. Lee accomplishes teaching you burnishing with a simple lesson of two cherries. Try one lesson or try all. Everybody in my senior center was impressed with my colored rendition of two cherries. I have since created a couple of other amateur "masterpieces". You will learn at thing or two even if you don't pick up a pencil and just browse around the book. Good Work Lee. Thank you for this wonderful book.

Still going through the book's lessons. Very informative. I am, however, not sure if I really like this form of art. I am finding it a bit difficult for me. But the lessons are clear and easy to follow.

Demonstration and instructions and illustrations are clear concise and written with care for the reader. I can't wait to begin. I haven't been able to draw in 30 years and these books by Lee are just great. Makes getting back into drawing a blast. Thank you!

Lee Hammond is one of my favorite color pencil artist. Her drawings are versatile and vivid. She draws the variety of subjects, not only still life or flowers as many other color pencil artists do. I love her confident strokes. I bought many books on colored pencil but this one was the most helpful to me. This book is both educational and fun to look at. I also bought Lee Hammond's DVDs on colored pencils and highly recommend them as well.

My book arrived on time and in better condition than expected. It's in excellent condition 😊. It's beautiful book with 40 projects and easy steps to follow. Excited to get started. Looking to buy a few more! Thank you.

The color shading exercise help you gain control of this medium of colored pencils. Doing the circles helps you gain control of any rounded shape. Its a well thought out way to teach art ,The book is not just for colored pencils

The book is really easy to read, everything is very well explained, I was also blown away by the wonderfull drawings, but what really captured my attention was to know that some of these drawings were produced with only five or six colours. I never thouht possible to be able to draw like she does, but now I do. Colour pencil technique can be a very rewarding and not too expensive lifetime hobby.

Très bon livre sur l'utilisation des crayons de couleurs. Pas à pas bien fait sur des sujets difficiles comme l'eau le verre, la peau, etc. Explications claires. Dessin et photos de bonne qualité. accessible pour un débutant, mais l'ensemble du livre est d'un bon niveau.

O conteúdo, tamanho e layout do livro são excelentes. O papel é de ótima qualidade. O livro é muito didático e um deleite aos olhos! Indispensável para se aprender sobre a técnica de lápis de cor. Gostei muito!

Muy buen libro

The author could show in detail some techniques like how to draw fur since I am totally a new beginner

This companion to the successful "Lifelike Drawing with Lee Hammond" addresses subjects in colored pencil that are largely not covered in the author's previous colored pencil books.Readers will learn to draw flowers, people, animals, water, glass and more from a veteran artist and instructor using reference photos, simple techniques and clear step-by-steps.The book includes before-and-after examples from Lee's students that prove how her simple graphing and blending techniques translate into remarkable drawings; the shape and 'puzzle piece' theories that can apply to anything readers want to draw; more than 40 step-by-steps; and plenty of tips for beautiful drawings.