Book Description
As "Commander Mark" on his national PBS TV series The Secret City, Mark Kistler has taught 10 million viewers of all ages how to draw. Mark Kistler's Draw Squad gathers all his zany, effective shortcuts to basic drawing skills into a book that will delight would be artists of all ages.
Like his TV show, the thirty lessons in this book are peppered with jokes, tips, and slogans, and organized in easy-to-follow steps. "Warm-up" exercises generate enthusiasm; the "Key Drawing Words" develop specific skills; practice pages are provided for hands-on participation; and the Commander's own lively sketches and "contests" invite you to add your own creative touches. His bubbling energy, flashes of whimsy, and talent as a teacher make learning to draw fun and easy -- even for those who swear they can't draw a straight line!
Customer Reviews:
Gift for 9 year old artist.......2007-02-22
Mark Kistler's "Draw Squad" was my gift to my niece on her ninth birthday. She is a crafty young lady, always coloring and drawing. When she opened "Draw Squad" for the first time, I could see her interest in it. Along with this book, her gift included a sketch pad, pencils and sharpener, a gum eraser and a sturdy notebook with pocket folders to store her drawings. (I checked out the simple supplies that Mark listed for beginners). The first gift that she picked up after opening all others was this book. She followed the step by step instructions and drew a rabbit within minutes.
"Draw Squad" will be used for several years as a learning tool and a reference book. It brings out the hidden talent in all of us.
Brief review.......2007-01-16
Satisfactory for gift for our (artistic) 11-year-old granddaughter; we expect it to help her in freehand drawing, especially of 3-D drawings on a 2-D surface. She can take it from there as her abilities and interest (and parental support) permit.
Thanks.
Good for children and adults too.......2007-01-03
This book has a lot to offer. Its main focus is on achieving 3D effects through a number of important techniques such as shading and shadows, perspective, foreshortening and density. It is obviously geared toward a very young audience, but its lessons are so fundamental that any adult lacking basic drawing skills will benefit from them.
Bear in mind that this review is written from the perspective of a non-artist who enjoys drawing. The level of ambition I'm addressing is analogous to that a conscientious writer of letters, or emails, posts and reviews on the Internet, not that of a James Joyce or a Thomas Pynchon. Likewise, this review is not for aspiring professional artists - it is for adults and children who wish to confidently hold a pencil to a blank sheet of paper.
I can see the book working in a classroom setting, but without the energy of an enthusiastic teacher or classmates, a child or adult alone might quickly find the lessons boring. They're a little like doing scales on the piano, though not nearly as arid.
It is almost a sure thing that a child or said "adult lacking basic drawing skills" who does enough lessons to grasp the eight key words (besides attitude and daily practice) will then have many (not all) of those skills, leaving behind the great majority of us who don't know how to draw and actually fear drawing. For that alone the book is well worth the dough, but personally, I find it too boring to go through entirely. Progress is quick, though. What I did glean from about ten lessons is very useful; to go through all thirty would reinforce what I already learned and I preferred to branch out in other directions. Still, Draw Squad remains in my library, just in case I feel like doing a few "scales."
Among the many skills the book does not impart (this is not a gripe, as this book is very basic and the subject matter is vast) are composition, negative space, the great importance of shaded areas in rendering faces and other organic subjects, and some notion of measurement in the positioning of objects, items and features, and I could go on. The book deals mainly with objects and is cartoonish in style, and gives very little attention to complex or organic subjects such as animals, trees or the human figure and face. But don't worry - there is no shortage of books on these. Betty Edwards' "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" is decent, but the skills acquired from Kistler's book would be more at home with De Reyna's "How to Draw What You See", which uses fundamental shapes the Kistler graduate will have mastered as building blocks to complex drawings.
Inspirational!.......2006-12-09
This was my favorite book when I was in elementary school. From it I learned how to draw, and I still love to draw now in graduate school!
With lots of practice as a kid, and with the insightful and fun guidance of this book, my drawings improved a lot.
Thank you, Mark Kistler!
Drawing Fun.......2006-08-27
Draw Squad makes the learing process of drawing so much more fun! As an art teacher it is sometimes hard to get the message to the students that they have to practice to get better. Mark Kistlers book does just that and they love it. He has some wonderful ideas on how to make it exciting...of course making the students wanting more!
A must for anyone wanting to learn some basics or a teacher wanting to spark the drawing bug into students.
I have been fortunate enough to see Mark Kistler at a school assembly and all I have to say is WHAT FUN!
Average customer rating:
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Visual Journal: Harlem and D.C. in the Thirties and Forties
Deborah Willis ,
Deborah Willis-Thomas , and
Jane Lusaka
Manufacturer: Smithsonian
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Collections, Catalogues & Exhibitions
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Photo Essays
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ASIN: 1560986913 |
Customer Reviews:
Must Read.......2001-07-12
Unlike many self help books, this book is written very concisely and gets to the point making it very easy, enjoyable, and quick to read. The biblical references and examples are very helpful too. This book has helped me tremendously. I think anyone getting married at any age for the first time should read this book.
Very good book for the engaged........2000-06-24
This book helped me and my fiance. As I was reading it I found that there were some things that we just never talked about and this opened the line of communication. Which made our relationship stronger.
Excellence resources for couples want a marriage that last........2000-05-05
This book is good for couples who are getting married. For first time marriage, the author provides wonderful insights into lives after marriage, expectations, how to communicate with your mate, and suggestions to handle touchy issues like in-laws, etc. For couples who have gone through unsuccessful marriage in the past, this book also explains the typical causes that make a marriage goes sour, and how you can free from your past and build a lasting relationship with your mate. Although this book is written from Christian perspectives, it can serve as a good resource for everyone who wants a lifelong marriage.
Product Description
Workbook to be used in conjunction with video series. This is the workbook for him.
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So you're getting married
Henry Boltinoff
Manufacturer: Arc Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
General
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Sociobiology
| Anthropology
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ASIN: B0006C4ESG |
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So, You're Getting Married
Fred Sahner
Manufacturer: CCC Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Comics & Graphic Novels
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General
| Humor
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Love, Sex & Marriage
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Marriage
| Relationships
| Health, Mind & Body
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General
| Weddings
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ASIN: 1576440443 |
Product Description
Workbook for her - to be used in conjusnction with the video series
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So you're getting married!
Carol Benjamin
Manufacturer: Abbott Loop Christian Center
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
General
| Christian Living
| Christianity
| Religion & Spirituality
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ASIN: 0911739157 |
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Outrageously Gross Jokes Volume XXVI (Gross Jokes)
Julius Alvin
Manufacturer: Zebra
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Humor
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Jokes & Riddles
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ASIN: 0821757849 |
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Analisis Economico Financiero - 17b: Edicion
Oriol Amat
Manufacturer: Gestion 2000
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Corporate Finance
| Finance
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Spanish
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Finanza Corporativa
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No-Ficción
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ASIN: 8480885386 |
Book Description
Bull's Eye Business Writing - 10 Easy Guides for Getting to Your Writing Target by Gloria Pincu
This self-paced workbook makes available a stable, inclusive, and continuing process for working managers who, on their own time and at their own pace, can learn and practice the principles of clear thinking and clear writing. Upon completion of this Bull's Eye Business Writing course, managers will have the tools to: • Use fewer words to communicate their ideas • Use words and constructions that readers will find clear and unambiguous • Organize so that readers will see their main points easily • Eliminate unnecessary repetition • Proofread and edit their own writing • Reach their target audience
The course topics include: • Ten Easy Guides To More Effective Letters And Memos • Start-up Techniques For Organizing Your Thoughts • Practice In Eliminating Jargon And Gobbledygook • Ways To Streamline Your Sentences • Tips On Proofreading • Methods For Getting To The Point Of Your Message • New Chapter: Email Advice
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The Nordic Labour Markets in the 1990's : Set (Parts 1 and 2)
Manufacturer: Elsevier Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Labor Policy
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Labor & Industrial Relations
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General
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ASIN: 0444824774 |
Book Description
From the moment of fertilization until the day of birth, the extraordinary life of a fetus is chronicled in this awe-inspiring volume drawn from the latest in pre-natal research. How Life Begins, taking advantage of the relatively recent advent of ultrasound technology and other imaging techniques, offers a month-by-month guide to what a developing baby is seeing, hearing, dreaming about, and how it is accomplishing the miracle of preparing to be human. Readers will discover:
How a fetus's eye movements work to "boot up" the computer that is its brain
How the hands and feet commit programmed suicide to create fingers and
What role genetics plays in determining an infant's sexual identity and personality
How the baby becomes the choreographer of the mother's labor, and the director of his or her own birth
Interviews with leading researchers combine with truly remarkable photography to make How Life Begins an unforgettable journey marking the passage from single cell to bright-eyed baby.
Customer Reviews:
Really good.......1998-03-12
I am a father-to-be. After browsing through tons of titles, this book caught my attention. It offers an easy-to-follow description of what scientists have learned so far about life in the womb. From the mother-embryo links, to the development of the new human being, to the prepration for birth, this book is exciting. The chapter about the brain is particularly interesting. On the down side, I wish the book had suggestions for further reading on each topic.
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Hitler's Fortress Cherbourg: The Conquest of a Bastion
William Breuer
Manufacturer: Stein & Day Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
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ASIN: 0812829522 |
Book Description
In order to reinforce and expand the D-Day bridgeheads won on 6 June 1944, the Allies needed a port to bring in troops and vital supplies. Cherbourg, at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula, was therefore the first priority for the American VII Corps, under the command of Major General J. Lawton 'Lightning Joe' Collins. After establishing a firm beachhead, elements of VIII Corps moved west across the base of the peninsula to isolate the 40,000-strong Cherbourg garrison, dug in behind concrete and field fortifications in dominating hill positions. Collins then sent divisions north to Cherbourg but maintained units facing south as well to prevent any German reinforcement.
Book Description
Following the landings in Normandy, one of the Allies main concerns was how to supply the expanding beachhead. Having cut off the Cotentin peninsula, General Bradley turned his attentions to the port of Cherbourg, the deep-water port nearest to the American landing beaches. However, Hitler had given specific orders that the port must be held until the last man. For over two weeks three divisions battled for the ring of forts surrounding the town and only after heavy casualties was the port taken. It was, however, too late, the Germans had reduced the docks to ruins.
This book details this important, yet little known battle, giving a detailed and illustrated account of the events around Cherbourg in June 1944. Visitors to the area will also be able to visit the key sites on a series of tours around the peninsula.
Book Description
Somerset's Polden hills divide the county's central marshlands, Sedgemoor to the south and the Brue Valley to the north. Traces of human activity there include wooden trackways built across those marshes six thousand years ago. Most of the written sources tell the story of men from settlements on the nearby hills or isolated 'islands' who looked to those low-lying lands for food and fuel for themselves and food for their stock. Those sources, dating from the late Saxon period and particularly rich in the middle ages, derive largely from the archives of the former abbey of Glastonbury, main landowner in the eighteen parishes of this volume. Pastoral farming dominated and still dominates, its early progress due to successful drainage and flood-prevention schemes, one of the largest dating from the late twelfth century. Each parish has its own long story: of Glastonbury-planned origins at Shapwick and perhaps also at Catcott, Edington, and Chilton Polden; of trade along the tidal river Parrett at Huntspill and Puriton (Dunball); of the gradual expansion of the 'island' farmers of Westonzoyland, Middlezoy and Othery into the surrounding marsh; of the long-enduring common arable fields at High Ham; of the rise and fall of peat digging. ROBERT DUNNING is County Editor, Victoria County History of Somerset. Forthcoming: IX: Glastonbury and Street
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Birds over Troubled Forests
Russell Greenberg
Manufacturer: Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Birds
| Field Guides
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General
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Reference
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ASIN: 1881230007 |
Books:
- Mary Engelbreit's Life Is What You Make It : 2006 Wall Calendar
- Mary Engelbreit's Oh So Breit: 2006 Day to Day Calendar
- Masters of Deception: Escher, Dali & the Artists of Optical Illusion
- McGowan/Interior Graphic Standards and Interior Graphic Standards CD-ROM Set
- Mountain Interiors - Interieurs Des Montagnes (Midsize)
- Nagasaki Journey: The Photographs of Yosuke Yamahata August 10, 1945
- New Wombs - Electric Bodies and Architectural Disorder
- Norman Foster: A Global Architecture (Universe Architecture Series)
- Painting More Than the Eye Can See
- Painting the Digital River: How an Artist Learned to Love the Computer
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