642 Things to Draw: Inspirational Sketchbook to Entertain and Provoke the Imagination (Drawing Books, Art Journals, Doodle Books, Gifts for Artist)

Very fun and great idea prompts. some spaces are very small like the 4 to a page but I guess that just makes ya use your imagination and creativity more. I have done several pages in the book already and love sitting and drawing. The prompts are not really things I would have ever considered drawing but have been great to help me get more creative. You can do elaborate drawings based on the prompt or also this book of prompts will be good to help anyone learn and practice shading and perspective by just drawing the one item prompt to practice honing their skills. I erase a lot and the paper seems to be holding up good. I would not use markers or gel pens s they may bleed through. I have used pencil and colored pencils. I do wish that these books would leave the back of each page blank so that a person could use any medium and not ruin the next page. But overall I am happy I bought it .

This was a gift for an artist friend who loves to doodle and sketch. They found the book to be entertaining and relaxing, and best of all, great fun!

Am I exaggerating? No, I am not. This book has no "how to draw this step by step" parts. You don't want that, I promise. If your goal is to really improve your drawing skills, then get this book. This book gives you blank pages with a random prompt. Your goal is to draw that prompt. No guides. These prompts can range from a skunk, to a crayon, to David Bowie, to a sense of humor. Just random prompts. Why is this the best thing for your skills? If you really want to get good at drawing, you have to practice drawing everything. You haves to expand and understand your mind reference library. The bigger you mind library is, the better art you will make. But you don't know how to draw one of the prompts? I'll let you in on a secret. Artists use references. They look up and learn what they want to draw. All the best to this. From the ancient masters to Rockwell to James Gurney. You can often find their notes and process on famous artwork. If your goal is to become better, or even just learn how to do it, that is what you will have to do too. In fact, however simple and nice those step by steps are, this approach will do much much more for you in the long run. This isn't a big book and the paper shouldn't be used for anything other than pencil or a ball-point pen. But, you don't have to draw in this book. You can take the prompts you find and draw/paint/color them in your sketchbook or on whatever paper/canvas of your choosing. This book is great for breaking out of art-blocks, for figuring out what to draw, for getting you out of your comfort zone, and for helping you improve your skills. Get it. Use it. You won't regret it.

This book really threw me off when I first opened it. I knew from the "Look Inside" feature that the book consisted of just what it says: "642 Things to Draw." The pages consist of a drawing prompt(s), with a space underneath the prompt where you draw the item. The pages vary as to the number of prompts and spaces -- some pages are divided vertically with a prompt for each column. Some are divided into four squares with a prompt for each square, some into three horizontal rows, etc. The prompts are small and understated, and include such things as "a giraffe", "a saint", "first love", "a rollercoaster", "a real estate agent", "cat whiskers." When I opened the book I immediately looked for an introduction. Even just a paragraph or two addressed to the reader, explaining how to use the book (I know it's obvious, but I'm a stickler for instructions). Or, if not explaining how to use the book, at least providing some sample drawings. Or even a simple: "dive in and have fun -- there are no rules." Just ... something! But there was nothing. I thought I was missing it! I looked in the front, carefully separating the opening pages in case they were sticking together. Nothing. The book starts with its first prompt: "a rolling pin." I wanted to know if I should find a rolling pin and draw it by looking at it, or draw a rolling pin from my head, or find a picture of a rolling pin and draw from the picture. I wanted to know things like, why 642? Why is the book set up as it is? etc. I even looked in the back, thinking I'd find SOME kind of message there. Still nothing. This was really bothering me ... until it dawned on me: The author is making a point to keep this book simple simple simple -- there isn't even an author's name on the cover. The whole point of the book is KEEP IT SIMPLE. This way, the reader/drawer is encouraged to focus solely on the prompts and our imaginations. I realized that the author is saying, "It's up to you how to use this book. It's up to you whether or not to draw from a picture, from real life, or from your imagination. You don't need an introduction to tell you that. Just draw." I also realized that my confusion resulted from this being marketed and designed as a book book, rather than a sketchbook. It looks like a book that you read. For me, I think this book would be better if it were designed as a sketchbook, with spiral binding and drawing paper. And if the title included the words "a sketchbook" after "642 Things to Draw." Other than that, I'm intrigued and a bit delighted with the author's creativity and tenacity in how he/she designed this book. Most importantly, I'm excited to dive in and just draw.

[My two teenage girls LOVE these!] This was my original review. Then I noticed several 1 star reviews. Wow, I rated this book 5 stars, what could possess a person to rate it 1? I decided to read a few, then I understood. Let me start by saying, I knew what I was buying. One of the many benefits of checking things out at the book store first. I picked it up, thumbed through it, and imagined how differently each girl might interpret these requests. My girls draw every day and have since they were little. They are always honing their skills and exploring different styles and subjects. This book is brilliant! Blank pages yes, but it's not just words on those pages. They are challenges! They are opportunities for an artist to express herself, her style and skills. Some of the challenges are playful and silly, others maybe a little more serious. Instead of leading an artist to draw something someone else's way, it relies on inspiration to draw something they might not otherwise ever draw and gives freedom to draw it the way they see it in their own creative mind. I hope this helps people understand the real purpose of this book. Happy drawing!

Lo he comprado dos veces: una para mí y otra para regalar. Te obliga a imaginarte y dibujar cosas muy diversas. Genial!

Ein tolles Buch um immer mal wieder zum Stift zu greifen ! Die vorgegebenen Begriffe sind von einfachen kleinen Zeichnungen wie zb. konfetti bis hin zu größeren und aufwändigeren wie z.b. die Milchstraße. Der eigenen kreativität sind keine Grenzen gesetzt. netter Zeitvertreib!

good variety of things to draw, good to teach yourself how to draw different things

No complaints

As an artist I believe in drawing one thing every day. This book has pages of things to draw and the spaces in which to draw them; from a quarter of a page to a whole page. You can draw from life or use your imagination. Open to any page, pick an item and draw. Because the book gives you the object to be drawn, you draw things you would not normally think of. So for anybody who likes to draw it is great fun. I have completed some of the drawings in pen and ink, Graphite pencil, pencil crayon, pen and ink with light watercolour washes even wax crayon. When finished it will be a source of materials for picture book illustrations, for others it will just be a source of great fun. I highly recommend this book.