{"id":15621,"date":"2016-07-05T07:44:20","date_gmt":"2016-07-05T12:44:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.flandersfamily.info\/web\/?p=15621"},"modified":"2023-08-22T20:09:32","modified_gmt":"2023-08-23T01:09:32","slug":"how-to-draw-almost-everything-timberdoodle-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.flandersfamily.info\/web\/2016\/07\/05\/how-to-draw-almost-everything-timberdoodle-review\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Draw Almost Everything (Timberdoodle Review)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"HowTimberdoodle<\/a> sent me another book to review this week: How to Draw Almost Everything<\/a>. I was curious to get a look at it, since so many of my children love art and have been drawing since they were big enough to hold a pencil<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

To be honest, this title was not at all what I was expecting. As it is part of their Ninth Grade Curriculum Kit<\/a>, I thought it would be a little more advanced. The drawings are broken down into step-by-step instructions<\/strong>, but the end results still look very simplistic and childlike, in my opinion.<\/p>\n

This book was not a good fit for my ninth-grader (who happens to be unusually gifted when it comes to art), but fortunately, we have a lot of younger and less-experienced artists in this family who were more than willing to try it out<\/strong>, including 8-year-old Gabriel:<\/p>\n

\"How<\/p>\n

To gauge what kind of progress the children made using these step-wise tutorials, I had them draw a few things from memory first<\/strong>, using nothing but their imaginations.<\/p>\n

Then I showed them the book version of the same objects and had them follow the directions to duplicate those drawings. Here are the side-by-side comparisons:
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"How<\/p>\n

As you can see, there was quite a bit of detail in my 8-year-old’s drawings even before consulting the book, but the drawings he did using How to Draw Almost Everything<\/a> look a little more three-dimensional and realistic. Wouldn’t you agree?<\/p>\n

\"How<\/p>\n

My six-year-old Abigail also got in on the action:<\/p>\n

\"How<\/p>\n

As you can see below, the details in her post-instruction drawings are more true-to-life<\/strong>. She went from doodling generic trees and flowers to drawing particular kinds, such as pines and morning glories:<\/p>\n

\"How<\/p>\n

And it didn’t take weeks of practice to see this much improvement<\/strong>, either. She completed all these before-and-after sketches in a single, ten-minute sitting.<\/p>\n

\"How<\/p>\n

I especially like Abby’s giraffe. When I asked her to draw one from memory, she made three attempts and was still dissatisfied with the results. But after following the steps in the book, there is no question about what animal she had sketched. She is as proud of this one as I am:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"How<\/p>\n

Even though I wouldn’t recommend this book for a serious, experienced art student<\/strong>, I definitely think it deserves its place in Timberdoodle’s catalog and can understand why they offer it. How to Draw Almost Everything<\/a> is a great choice for a variety of students:<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n