The author sure is an amazing sketch artist, but I don't know if anyone except a beginner who wants to start with their art journey can profit from this.
This book tries to be a complete art reference in 144 pages. Tools, composition of architecture, landscape, crowds and still life, how to use watercolor, perspektive and the basic forms are all crammed in there.
I no way I would say my art journey is very far advanced, but this was all knowledge that I already possessed.

Good for starters maybe, but everyone else will need something else.

I enjoyed the structure of Sketching Techniques. It was easy to follow and the attention to detail was on point.

I really liked the techniques covered in the book, especially those related to Architecture, in which I intend to build a portfolio related to this and "let the arm loose" to be able to make faster sketches.

This is a very quick to read book, yet it gives you a lot of great sketching tips, plus a little foundation on composition, perspective, and even colours too!

I really enjoyed this book, but I do have a teeny tiny big complaint: the author talks too much about what they like to sketch and how, and it completely ignores everything else. Personally I prefer things to be presented in a general way, and then add a few personal things.

A very detailed and encompassing book on sketching techniques, with lots of information, examples and techniques.
The book is divided into chapters including materials and tools, general sketching techniques, compositions, perspective, still life, landscapes, architecture, figures and watercolour. The chapters are very informative and have a lot of information in them.
This is an excellent book for both beginners and experienced artists, there are a lot of sketching (how- to) on the market, but I found this book up there with the best of them both in practical information and teaching. Great book

Sketching Techniques for Artists is a new tutorial volume written by Alex Hillkurtz. Due out 12th Jan 2021 from Quarto on their Rockport imprint, it's 144 pages and will be available in paperback format.
The author is a skilled and well known storyboard artist who uses cinematic visuals to convey story and context. There is a useful amount of philosophy and technique contained in the instructions here to help artists not only render what they *see* but to tell the story of what they're seeing at the same time. Guided directions help the student convey who, what, where, when, and why in their renderings.

The layout is straightforward and easy to understand. The introduction includes a survey of the tools, materials, and basic techniques. The following chapters progress through exercise lessons in composition and perspective to give the reader a basic understanding and facility with visual storytelling, contrast, thumbnails, and different perspective views (and which to choose for specific situations).

The rest of the book provides specialized tutorial lessons grouped roughly thematically: still life, landscape, architecture, figures, and a final chapter showing several watercolor techniques. The book wraps up with an afterword from the author, abbreviated resources and influences lists for further reading, and a short author biography.

The overall feel of the book is technically rich, useful, and varied and I saw many things which got my fingers itching to jump in and start drawing. I'm not a professional artist by any stretch of the imagination, but there were a number of takeaways here which I will certainly incorporate in my drawing practice going forward.

Five stars. This would make a superlative selection (possibly bundled with drawing supplies?) for gift giving, as well as as a good support text for more formal drawing instruction/learning. The perspective tutorials were especially apt and well written.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

It is an advanced course book for artists.
First of all its illustrations are wonderful and soulful.
It goes in depth to cover all important aspects of realistic drawing especially of nature.
It sheds light on perspective while drawing, postures, moods, watercolor, shadows and body movements.
A really important book full of practical wisdom and one book that will be very helpful to polish your drawing skills.

A great book with lots of useful tips for all levels of artists. It goes into great depth about composition and perspective, and shows you what could make a great picture, and what doesn't work. Easy to follow, it will help you refine your drawing skills and improve your techniques.

I love how the author approaches drawing and painting from the perspective of someone who has a background in storyboarding and illustrations for film. For example, one of his headings is Using the language of film to tell a story, and still-life can be a “poem made visible.” He presented fresh ways of looking at sketching and painting such as “draw a verb, not a noun” and watercolor is a dance in which we must be ready to adjust if the paint begins to improvise.

There are useful tips and techniques for composition, perspective, still life, landscapes, architecture, figures, and watercolor. In other words, all the essentials.

Because of the above reasons, I really enjoyed this book. I wish each chapter was longer with more material though. As it is, this is a small volume with about 73 pages.

Great for learning urban sketching, either for the beginner or the sketcher who wants to enhance their art.

After reading this book, I hurried to follow the author on social media!

Alex Hillkurtz's Sketching Techniques for artists is not really a "generic" sketching book, but rather one that I feel falls into the genre/trend of "Urban Sketching." That's not necessarily a bad thing by any means, but because of that, it's definitely worth knowing going in that this book will feature more landscapes, buildings/architecture and city scenes than it will say, figure sketching (which does appear, but is brief). And you won't see any life drawing sketching here either. Instead, this book follows a very standard formula of "urban sketching," - basic introduction to pens and pencils with a clear preference for what's most portable, and then the addition of watercolors, followed by discussing all the necessary techniques for choosing and crafting your sketch subjects on location. I feel the most valuable additions Hillkurtz gives to this format is his emphasis on the "gesture" of architecture and buildings in relation to one another, followed by his developed eye for composition and talking about where to position oneself for the best view -- clearly inspired by his time as a storyboarder.

Whew, if you need a manual of deep looking at what is in front of you and new techniques for expressing that, here you go. The basics are included: materials, composition, perspective and more. If you copy the tutorials, your grasp of what you are seeing will multiply - as will your ability to replicate it in 2 dimensions.

It's not particularly pretty. That said, whether you're starting out with a pencil or pen, or if you're adding life and color with paint washes, you'll find the expertise and clear diagrams helpful. Recommended.

Thank you Netgalley for letting me read this book in return for an honest review.

This book is very informative and I really enjoyed the architecture parts due to enjoying architecture photography so I have reference photos that I can use! The book not only helps my drawing skills but it also helps me refine my photography!

Rating: 5⭐
Would I Read It Again? Yes
Would I Recommend it? Yes

Very informative and easy to follow along. I like how the author explained different techniques and showed a variety of mediums. It was clear and easy to follow along with great tips that help improve the readers skill

Wow. Very good and original book about sketching that makes you want to begin isntantly. After the usual materials you find a very interesting approach: you have to tell a story. So you have to answer the questions: What, Where, How, When, Who. You learn the essential about composition, perspective. The next chapters are dedicated to the subjects: still lifes, landscapes, artchitecture and figures and finally the tecnnique of the watercolor. Well written, beautifully illustrated, well presented.

I liked this book. It's practical. It covers many interesting topics in sketching. I love how the advice is structured - from more basic items to more complext compositions. I especially liked the part about the perspective in architectural sketches, cityscapes.
I would have liked some more focus on shading and on use of colour, but then again, this is sketching techniques.
Also it might have been useful to give more "steps" in sketching and offer more examples.
All in all, useful, even if you are only a hobby artist as I have become since Covid started.

A nice and helpful guide full of hints and tips, but disappointed not a touch more figures and form included, but a great guide for me and other beginners trying to teach themselves during lockdown

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

Sketching Techniques for Artists is a nicely presented work with some good tips and ideas. Although it mentions figures and faces, the bulk of this book focuses on architecture and landscape sketching. There is the usual introductory section on choice of materials and methods before the book kicks off. If you are interested in figure drawing, you'd be best served finding a book that specialises in that. However, this is an excellent reference work if you are keen to sketch landscapes or, in particular, city scenes, since it goes into great detail on the best approaches for drawing various building features, and how to find the most dynamic angles and lighting for your sketch.