The 10 Best How to Draw Books

Penned by lauded illustrator Andrew Loomis, Successful Drawing (appx. $27) covers all the techniques needed to master three-dimensional works. It takes you through the fundamentals of proportion and perspective and provides detailed examinations of scale and the effects of light.

The underlying philosophy in You Can Draw in 30 Days (around $11) is that anyone can be an artist with a little time and practice. It explains all the basic principles without using intimidating jargon, and the exercises start out very simple and build upon one another as you progress.

The Realism Challenge (around $14) offers a masterclass on creating sketches that look like they could come right off the page. It will show you how to capture difficult textures, surfaces, and shadows through a series of increasingly ambitious three-dimensional projects.

If you're a logical thinker who finds it difficult to tap into your creative side, Your Artist's Brain (appx. $21) will help you see things from a different perspective by showing you how to focus your attention on the details that take art from good to great.

Using a unique approach, The Drawing Lesson (about $12) is a graphic novel and instructional text in one. It follows the story of David, a young boy with artistic aspirations, who meets a talented woman named Becky who spends the whole summer teaching him how to sketch.

A collaboration between legendary creators Stan Lee and John Buscema, The Marvel Way (appx. $8) delves into the tools and vocabulary of the industry before teaching readers how to draw their own comics, using basic principles that can also be applied to other forms of art.

If you can barely manage a stick figure, consider trying Keys to Drawing (appx. $12). Using a straightforward and to-the-point writing style, it guides readers through 55 key concepts at a comfortable pace and includes 8 self-evaluation checklists to help you gauge your progress.

For fans of films like "Toy Story" and "Finding Nemo," Disney-Pixar Characters (about $7) will teach you to sketch like your favorite big-screen illustrators. It uses both pictures and written explanations to give thorough, in-depth instructions that are easy to follow.

The human appearance is one of the toughest things to capture accurately. In Realistic Faces (appx. $14), author Carrie Stuart Parks, an FBI-trained sketch artist, shows you how to get all the details right for tricky features, like eyes, ears, and hair.

Draw 50 Animals (appx. $7) is a solid primer for those who are partial to feathered, scaled, and furry creatures. It shows you how to start with simple shapes, like circles and triangles, and add a few lines at a time to turn them into tigers, elephants, and birds.