Sketch!: The Non-Artist's Guide to Inspiration, Technique, and Drawing Daily Life
- Downloads：4751
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-07-29 06:55:06
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：France Belleville-Van Stone
- ISBN：0385346093
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
An inspirational manual for integrating sketching into daily life for artists and non-artists alike。
Urban sketching--the process of sketching on the go as a regular practice--is a hot trend in the drawing world。 In this aspirational guide， French artist France Belleville-Van Stone offers motivation to move beyond the comfort zone， as well as instruction on turning rough sketches into finished work。 By sharing her own creative process， which includes sketching by hand and digitally， Belleville-Van Stone emboldens readers to craft a method of their own and devote more time to art， even if it's just 10 minutes a day。 "Sketch Your World" will inspire artists both established and aspiring to rethink their daily practice， sketch for the pure joy of it， and document their lives and the world around them。
Urban sketching--the process of sketching on the go as a regular practice--is a hot trend in the drawing world。 In this aspirational guide， French artist France Belleville-Van Stone offers motivation to move beyond the comfort zone， as well as instruction on turning rough sketches into finished work。 By sharing her own creative process， which includes sketching by hand and digitally， Belleville-Van Stone emboldens readers to craft a method of their own and devote more time to art， even if it's just 10 minutes a day。 "Sketch Your World" will inspire artists both established and aspiring to rethink their daily practice， sketch for the pure joy of it， and document their lives and the world around them。
Reviews
Debra Hahn
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A wonderfull book on every day drawing。 It contains A to Z information and tipsOn drawing。 Written in easy to follow instructions。 This is one great art book， for any stage artists。 I know I will be putting mine to a lot of use。Debra H。
Rebecca Schwarz
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These sorts of books are like art "devotionals。" Providing some technique tips and lots of inspiration both written and in the lovely drawings。 These sorts of books are like art "devotionals。" Providing some technique tips and lots of inspiration both written and in the lovely drawings。 。。。more
Wojciech Zawada
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Dobre motywujące dla nieprofesjonalistów。
Jan
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Great Inspiration to Draw， Draw， Draw！I thoroughly enjoyed the spirit of this little book。 France transparently and charmingly invites wannabes and those who have dabbled to jump in and enjoy drawing whatever， anywhere， anytime。 It is loaded with tips and encouragement。 Even if you’re a pro， you might enjoy this little jog into the mind of a pen， pencil， and even Procreate and Paper app artist。
Madeleine
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It’s a good book for getting into sketching from life。 Despite the title， the author places realistic sketching above doodling and other sketch journaling， and comes across as a bit snobbish sometimes。 For example， she decries the use of tablets and drawing programs as cheating and “like photo manipulation for art”！ She makes sure to tell us that when she uses an iPad， she draws on it exactly as if she was drawing on paper。 This is a very old-fashioned approach， and would be off-putting to a you It’s a good book for getting into sketching from life。 Despite the title， the author places realistic sketching above doodling and other sketch journaling， and comes across as a bit snobbish sometimes。 For example， she decries the use of tablets and drawing programs as cheating and “like photo manipulation for art”！ She makes sure to tell us that when she uses an iPad， she draws on it exactly as if she was drawing on paper。 This is a very old-fashioned approach， and would be off-putting to a younger reader who is excited to explore。I think the title is more in reference to her not having studied art formally， which is a weird hang-up to have and she keeps mentioning her successful artist friends as a bit of a flex。 The section on how to draw when you don’t have much time is very useful， and it’s good that the author’s personality comes through。 I think this book would be a bit intimidating to a beginner， so I’m not sure who would benefit from it most。 。。。more
Wenqi
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I love this excerpt from the front part of the book :On Being Untaught I teach French and every year I explain the difference between "language learning" and "language acquisition" to my freshman students。 In a nutshell， we acquire our mother tongue but learn a foreign one。 When you acquire a language， you figure it out on your own。 You figure out that the seemingly sharp stainless steel object that you see your parents slicing bread with is what they call a knife。 You are not given a quiz on it I love this excerpt from the front part of the book :On Being Untaught I teach French and every year I explain the difference between "language learning" and "language acquisition" to my freshman students。 In a nutshell， we acquire our mother tongue but learn a foreign one。 When you acquire a language， you figure it out on your own。 You figure out that the seemingly sharp stainless steel object that you see your parents slicing bread with is what they call a knife。 You are not given a quiz on it to assess if you got it。 There is no homework。 It's just you， experiencing the language firsthand， both as a witness （listener） and a performer （speaker and doer）。 The language you acquire as a child is not something you study; it is something you do。 Your own curiosity， which is driven by the need to understand and communicate， is the fertile soil where your language grows。The same goes for drawing。 The beauty about not having been taught drawing is that you are in a position of the acquirer: the process of figuring it out might take a while， and you will most likely continue to figure out what stuff out as you go， but that process is yours。There are no shortcuts and no tricks， just the plain practice of drawing， screwing up， and drawing some more。 Not unlike the infant who has listened to thousands of hours of language before uttering their first word， I observed， page after page， drawings of the greats: Michelangelo， Van Gogh， and Mebius。 Sad to say， the rest of the book is not so helpful in regards to drawing technique。 I would direct you to Samantha Dion Baker's Draw Your Day which share the similar concept of incorporating drawing into your daily routine but that's an unfair comparison since Samantha is a professional illustrator。A few good points that I take away from this book when it comes to drawing when time and resources are limited include : gridding your pages， blind contour， limit your drawings in 5 to 10 minutes， accept unfinished pieces， draw daily objects from different POV and drawing an isolated pieces from a whole object。 。。。more
Kevin de Ataíde
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A good encouragement for professional and ordinary artists to join the sketchbook movement， and this particular book advocates the use of the most basic items， often just a pad of paper and a pencil or ballpoint pen。 Recommended reading for all doodlers。
Anthony Scardino
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This book pointed out so much of why i don’t draw much anymore and how to fix it。 Loved it。 Reminded me why i draw in the first place and rekindled that spark。
adeservingporcupine
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This just wasn’t what I hoped it would be。 There were almost no real tips for a non artist outside of ‘just draw，’ ‘process over product，’ and cross hatching。 Also， the author kept giving examples of perfectly good sketches as if they were horrible trash， which I found incredibly frustrating。 But then， I’m not trying to create super realistic drawings and was hoping for help with quick approximations of objects for sketchnoting。 （Also， I skipped the chapter on digital sketching， which I have no This just wasn’t what I hoped it would be。 There were almost no real tips for a non artist outside of ‘just draw，’ ‘process over product，’ and cross hatching。 Also， the author kept giving examples of perfectly good sketches as if they were horrible trash， which I found incredibly frustrating。 But then， I’m not trying to create super realistic drawings and was hoping for help with quick approximations of objects for sketchnoting。 （Also， I skipped the chapter on digital sketching， which I have no interest in）。 。。。more
AL
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So-so。 The most useful tips is to practice sketching， no matter where and no matter how little time you have。
David Joseph Blazo
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They say that the best teachers are those who practice what they teach， but most people haven't thought the significance of the opposite which is， those who teach what they practice are equally or possibly better teachers。 France Belleville-Van Stone is an example of that。 Through this book， she offered her personal experiences and practices that eventually lead to a genuine and insightful piece of literature。 She gave examples from her own gallery and artworks。 She herself also gave tips based They say that the best teachers are those who practice what they teach， but most people haven't thought the significance of the opposite which is， those who teach what they practice are equally or possibly better teachers。 France Belleville-Van Stone is an example of that。 Through this book， she offered her personal experiences and practices that eventually lead to a genuine and insightful piece of literature。 She gave examples from her own gallery and artworks。 She herself also gave tips based on her own style。 The way she presented her journey， likes， and desires helped the reader enjoy their time in reading and at the same time get inspired and learn。Therefore， the reader recommends this book a lot。 P。S。The reduction of points is for the publisher or the editor。 There were around 2-5 spelling errors in the book。 （Since the number are low， I forgot the pages where it was encoded 😂） Overall， it's a great book！ 。。。more
Lou Griffiths
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Approachable and inspiring。 Shame all the digital apps are Apple only。
Oyeronke Atilade
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GreatGreat book。 A good read。 Interesting。 Helpful。 Learnt a lot and will read it again。 Highly recommend it。 Thank you
Rick Jones
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I picked this up as a resource， for when I teach sketching to young people。。。I knew there would be much in there that i already use as my practice， but it's always good to get other perspectives。 It's a lovely book， full of good advice and fun drawings of everyday life， especially for someone who really wants to get drawing， but thinks they don't have the time/skill/ability。 If it gets people drawing， and it does seem to do that， it is achieving a good thing， and I'm all for it。 My only complain I picked this up as a resource， for when I teach sketching to young people。。。I knew there would be much in there that i already use as my practice， but it's always good to get other perspectives。 It's a lovely book， full of good advice and fun drawings of everyday life， especially for someone who really wants to get drawing， but thinks they don't have the time/skill/ability。 If it gets people drawing， and it does seem to do that， it is achieving a good thing， and I'm all for it。 My only complaint is the constant self-deprecation。 Belleville-Van Stone has clearly put in untold hours of drawing， and it shows。。。even her failures are great， useful drawings。 I wish she had emphasized this MUCH more， as opposed to the "I was never formally trained。。。/ these drawings are failures， but。。。/I don't know anything about materials， but。。。" It would have been a better book， if she had actually talked to other people， or experimented a little more to get some sense of these things， so it was a positive conversation instead of negative。 。。。more
Michael Schoenhofer
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I loved this book。 Inspired me to sketch every day。
Diane Cason
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I keep going back to this book to look at， learn from， and appreciate the sketches。 I enjoy France Van Stone’s technique and her openness about her affordable supplies。 If you were looking for instructions on how to draw like her， you won’t really find that here。 She does have videos online you can watch for tips。 You will hopefully be as inspired as I was to start drawing everyday items around you too。
Ronald J。
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A great book that helps those of us who are self-taught at learning how to draw。
Hitessh Panchal
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The techniques that the book promises in the title for non-artists are almost zero。Better techniques are scrawled on zillions of blogs around the net。 Same goes for inspirations that the book mentions in the title。The book is just a shopping catalogue for pen， pencils， colours， tablets， styluses and Applications。Two stars only for the graphitis in the book。 Else， this book is just a Scam。 There are better books out there like Betty Edward's book on drawing， which delivers as promised。 The techniques that the book promises in the title for non-artists are almost zero。Better techniques are scrawled on zillions of blogs around the net。 Same goes for inspirations that the book mentions in the title。The book is just a shopping catalogue for pen， pencils， colours， tablets， styluses and Applications。Two stars only for the graphitis in the book。 Else， this book is just a Scam。 There are better books out there like Betty Edward's book on drawing， which delivers as promised。 。。。more
Jen
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This is a solid starting point if you want a good pep talk， some ideas on what to draw， and a basic list of materials to get started with。I wish there'd been a bit more instruction （her drawings are gorgeous！ how do you even get started？！） although I think I'm not the intended audience。 It's in the title - "non-artist's guide" - so I think it's meant for those who never pick up a pencil / pen， what have you， and to get started。I loved that she emphasizes how few materials you need to make someth This is a solid starting point if you want a good pep talk， some ideas on what to draw， and a basic list of materials to get started with。I wish there'd been a bit more instruction （her drawings are gorgeous！ how do you even get started？！） although I think I'm not the intended audience。 It's in the title - "non-artist's guide" - so I think it's meant for those who never pick up a pencil / pen， what have you， and to get started。I loved that she emphasizes how few materials you need to make something。 They don't have to be expensive or fancy。 Just go make art。 Even if it's on an envelope。 Also， the tip about not being so attached to drawings was great - you can doodle on a piece of paper and throw it away。 It's about the process of drawing and not the result。I found the advice really helpful and will definitely be drawing more every day things。 :） 。。。more
Elena Grahovac
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An easy-to-read and inspirational book。
Tara
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Scared to draw/sketch？If you have a desire to draw or sketch and you don’t ever do it because you’re afraid to mess up a good piece of paper or your afraid it won’t look right or for whatever silly reason you find to not draw， read this book。
Avery
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A beautiful book。 Borrowed from the library， but am going to purchase my own copy when I get the chance， so that I can refer back to the motivating suggestions to keep sketching a part of one’s life。 The author doesn’t focus too specifically on literal sketching technique， but it’s actually a kind of art book we all need。 It is simple for non-artists and artists alike to understand， while it expresses the interesting relationship between sketching and being present in our daily lives。
Stef A。
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It's mostly about the art supplies and tools used/owned by the author。 I wouldn't call it a guide and it definitely didn't inspire。 Too bad， it's seemed promising from the cover and description。 It's mostly about the art supplies and tools used/owned by the author。 I wouldn't call it a guide and it definitely didn't inspire。 Too bad， it's seemed promising from the cover and description。 。。。more
David
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Inspiration
Dana Al-Basha دانة الباشا
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Another book to study urban sketching。。。 I tried the ketchup one， it was so good。
Emily
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Not as much as I was expecting Some nice tips on how to make sketching a daily activity， and some good cheerleading， but she talks more about using pens than anything， and there weren’t that many tips on how to achieve certain effects。 I was expecting more。
Linette
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I liked it。 It was nice。 Refreshing not to be given a set of ‘thou shalts。” Not earth shattering or I must go out and buy this book though。
Andrea Paterson
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I read through this is a single day。 it's a pretty little book with lots of illustrations but don't expect a how to book。 this will not teach you to draw。 instead it will encourage drawing habits。 basically draw often， make mistakes， always carry a sketch book。 I read through this is a single day。 it's a pretty little book with lots of illustrations but don't expect a how to book。 this will not teach you to draw。 instead it will encourage drawing habits。 basically draw often， make mistakes， always carry a sketch book。 。。。more
Jackie
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Originally， I was going to give this book 4 stars but I decided to go with 5 because there were some invaluable lessons I learned from the first half of the book。 Let me start out by saying， I know it says "technique" in the title but this is not a learning to draw type of book。 If that's what you're looking for you might be disappointed。 Belleville-Van Stone does mention her supply list along with some drawing techniques and digital art programs that have worked for her。 But， in the few drawing Originally， I was going to give this book 4 stars but I decided to go with 5 because there were some invaluable lessons I learned from the first half of the book。 Let me start out by saying， I know it says "technique" in the title but this is not a learning to draw type of book。 If that's what you're looking for you might be disappointed。 Belleville-Van Stone does mention her supply list along with some drawing techniques and digital art programs that have worked for her。 But， in the few drawing techniques that she does mention there are no step-by-step directions but more like suggestions or tips。 For example， she mentions cross-hatching， how you should curve your lines to give dimension， and not to over cross-hatch。 But， she doesn't give a tutorial of how to cross hatch。 For that you'll need Google or some other book。However， this is a great book for anyone who is learning to sketch or even learning a new medium。 Sometimes as a newbie you may feel intimidated or lack motivation as you compare yourself to others or maybe what you are making is not what you had in mind。 Whatever the case， the key is getting out of your head and not worrying about making great art but thinking about the process and journey。 She also goes into taking the time to practice and how to do it with limited time。 We're so rushed these days that sometimes just taking 5 minutes even if it means drawing on post-it notes， napkins， or meeting notes can be invaluable。 Throughout the book Belleville-Van Stone features her artwork as examples and some of it was surprisingly not good， like works from her practice sessions。 But， this was good inspiration for me as well because it shows that even someone like her doesn't constantly pump out "great art。"Overall， I think this was more of an inspirational book for me than learning about techniques and supplies。 The first half or so of the book was more interesting to me。 If you're into digital art， she does include an entire chapter on it that may be informative to someone starting out。 The last chapter goes into art prompts， which again can be useful for someone who needs it。 。。。more
erikaj
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