Review: Draw Faces in 15 Minutes

This book’s slightly gimmicky ‘15 Minutes’ tag might put you off, but don’t be fooled: this is not a guide for total novices. Instead, this is the latest in a long-running series from life-drawing expert Jake Spicer. Inside are instruction, advice and tutorials on pencil portraiture aimed at artists of all skill levels.

What Jake’s books do best is to break down their subjects into comprehensible stages. And so this 130-page guide takes you through everything you need to know, including which materials to use; how to find a model; methods of observation, structure and tone; and how to make effective marks.

You’ll learn how to construct a basic portrait sketch, then go on to discover how to develop your drawings and make them more lifelike. Each part of the face’s anatomy is addressed in turn, as well as other considerations such as blemishes and freckles, age and racial differences, and individual expressions.

For the beginner, this book is an invaluable masterclass. While for the intermediate to advanced artist it serves as a handy manual, full of tips, tutorials and explanatory examples, to dip in and out of and refer back to, time and time again.