--- product_id: 1273755 title: "The Artist's Complete Guide to Drawing the Head" price: "£31.42" currency: GBP in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.co.uk/products/1273755-the-artists-complete-guide-to-drawing-the-head store_origin: GB region: United Kingdom --- # The Artist's Complete Guide to Drawing the Head **Price:** £31.42 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** The Artist's Complete Guide to Drawing the Head - **How much does it cost?** £31.42 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.co.uk](https://www.desertcart.co.uk/products/1273755-the-artists-complete-guide-to-drawing-the-head) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description In this innovative guide, master art instructor William Maughan demonstrates how to create a realistic human likeness by using the classic and highly accurate modeling technique of chiaroscuro (Italian for “light and dark”) developed by Leonardo da Vinci during the High Renaissance. Maughan first introduces readers to the basics of this centuries-old technique, showing how to analyze form, light, and shadow; use dark pencil, white pencil, and toned paper to create a full range of values; use the elements of design to enhance a likeness; and capture a sitter’s gestures and proportions. He then demonstrates, step by step, how to draw each facial feature, develop visual awareness, and render the head in color with soft pastels. Review: Clear, useful book on portrait drawing - As a previous reviewer has noted, the title of this book is a bit misleading- it's not a "complete" guide to drawing the head. It really has a rather narrow focus: it concentrates on drawing three-quarter view portraits with (if you follow Maugham's instruction precisely) using two particular colors of pastel pencil on shaded drawing paper. In addition to his specific materials and subjects, Maughan concentrates on teaching chiaroscuro (use of light and shadow to depict form) in a "classical realist" style. However, for what the book really does, it does quite well. Keeping a narrow focus in a drawing instruction book is a virtue. Many drawing books (and I have a lot, since I've been trying to teach myself) try to cover far too much. They try to summarize in a page or two each of the different drawing mediums (pastel, charcoal, pencil, pen, etc.) and different elements of drawing (line, tone, etc.) while not giving you enough depth or detail about any one thing to learn much that's useful. Maughan, though, sticks to his central focus, describes the basic principles of chiaroscuro in an understandable manner, breaks down his drawing process into basic steps, and provides more demonstrations and detail than most books of this sort. The best evidence I can give in its favor is that my drawing immediately improved after I read this book and started practicing its techniques (even though I've mostly been using pencil rather pastel, so you don't have to precisely follow Maughan's recommendations). Overall, it's one of the clearest and most useful drawing instruction books that I've seen. It's not really an ideal book for people just taking the first steps in learning to draw realistic portraits (for absolute beginners I would still recommend Betty Edwards' flawed but effective "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain"). It doesn't have much depth on some of the things that beginners need to learn, such as judging proportion. However, it's a good book to use early in your drawing career. Review: This is the best book on drawing I’ve ever read. - This is by far the best book on drawing I’ve ever read, and I’ve read many. The author teaches you something more important than how to draw - he teaches you how to see as an artist. He teaches you how to see shapes more clearly through the filter of chiaroscuro. When you accurately identify the lights and darks of your subject and break it break down to just five values - darkest darks, reflected light, halftone, and highlights - your drawing automatically becomes more realistic and convincing. I love the author’s step-by-step demonstrations and easy to follow text. If you are looking for a systematic method that simplifies the process of drawing and helps you improve your artwork immediately, this is the book. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #38,168 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #25 in Arts & Photography Study & Teaching #43 in Figure Drawing Guides #49 in Pencil Drawing | | Customer Reviews | 4.6 out of 5 stars 952 Reviews | ## Images ![The Artist's Complete Guide to Drawing the Head - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81rJRj9Y13L.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Clear, useful book on portrait drawing *by S***L on June 12, 2004* As a previous reviewer has noted, the title of this book is a bit misleading- it's not a "complete" guide to drawing the head. It really has a rather narrow focus: it concentrates on drawing three-quarter view portraits with (if you follow Maugham's instruction precisely) using two particular colors of pastel pencil on shaded drawing paper. In addition to his specific materials and subjects, Maughan concentrates on teaching chiaroscuro (use of light and shadow to depict form) in a "classical realist" style. However, for what the book really does, it does quite well. Keeping a narrow focus in a drawing instruction book is a virtue. Many drawing books (and I have a lot, since I've been trying to teach myself) try to cover far too much. They try to summarize in a page or two each of the different drawing mediums (pastel, charcoal, pencil, pen, etc.) and different elements of drawing (line, tone, etc.) while not giving you enough depth or detail about any one thing to learn much that's useful. Maughan, though, sticks to his central focus, describes the basic principles of chiaroscuro in an understandable manner, breaks down his drawing process into basic steps, and provides more demonstrations and detail than most books of this sort. The best evidence I can give in its favor is that my drawing immediately improved after I read this book and started practicing its techniques (even though I've mostly been using pencil rather pastel, so you don't have to precisely follow Maughan's recommendations). Overall, it's one of the clearest and most useful drawing instruction books that I've seen. It's not really an ideal book for people just taking the first steps in learning to draw realistic portraits (for absolute beginners I would still recommend Betty Edwards' flawed but effective "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain"). It doesn't have much depth on some of the things that beginners need to learn, such as judging proportion. However, it's a good book to use early in your drawing career. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ This is the best book on drawing I’ve ever read. *by R***O on June 17, 2024* This is by far the best book on drawing I’ve ever read, and I’ve read many. The author teaches you something more important than how to draw - he teaches you how to see as an artist. He teaches you how to see shapes more clearly through the filter of chiaroscuro. When you accurately identify the lights and darks of your subject and break it break down to just five values - darkest darks, reflected light, halftone, and highlights - your drawing automatically becomes more realistic and convincing. I love the author’s step-by-step demonstrations and easy to follow text. If you are looking for a systematic method that simplifies the process of drawing and helps you improve your artwork immediately, this is the book. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ What I needed. *by K***R on August 27, 2022* This book was exactly what I needed at this point in time in my artistic life. I was struggling with shadow theory vs actually seeing it and rendering it in a believable way. My portrait skills had been improving, but they still looked slightly cartoonish and caricature is not what I was going for. It's a lifetime of practice and study for sure. But this book helped me recognize some of what I was struggling to see. Not for everyone's style for sure. And I certainly do not agree it's the complete guide or the only way! But it was exactly where I wanted my work to go. But I'm a fan of the loomis method which he refers to in the beginning... one point is that I tried but do not like the particular paper he suggests and I couldn't find the color anywhere and belive it's no longer produced. So just use what you love in a tone that makes sense. I do however love the stabilo pencils nearly as much as I love conte crayons/sticks, and they are definitely easier to sharpen than conte pencils! Of which I have a love hate relationship. So that was a lovely new find. The content is good. I wish he'd shown more than the 3/4 style view. But overall it was the nudge to understanding facial shadows that i needed to keep developing as an artist and was worth the money for me. ## Frequently Bought Together - The Artist's Complete Guide to Drawing the Head - Drawing the Head for Artists: Techniques for Mastering Expressive Portraiture (Volume 2) (For Artists, 2) - Lessons in Masterful Portrait Drawing: A Classical Approach to Drawing the Head --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.co.uk/products/1273755-the-artists-complete-guide-to-drawing-the-head](https://www.desertcart.co.uk/products/1273755-the-artists-complete-guide-to-drawing-the-head) --- *Product available on Desertcart United Kingdom* *Store origin: GB* *Last updated: 2026-05-17*