........This is a Very Sordid Book Review........
.......The contents will likely be offensive........
...............You have been warned!...............

( Please see the end of this review for an explanation of this dire warning and of this write-off, an Epinions tradition of no small stature. No, none of this review will likely be offensive. But you have been warned...:-)


"A wild and wacky collection of monsters and other fantastic creatures awaits you in this book, and by following simple, step-by-step instructions, you can draw each and every one of them, from the Bride of Frankenstein to Sasquatch"

So begins your journey into the fun and liberating world of self-expression through the art of drawing "...monsters, creeps...and other curiosa."

This simple text is a collection of step-by-step drawings of the various featured creatures. The creatures are selected from literature, motion pictures, folklore, mythology and the sordid imagination of the author/artist.


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-- Contents --
-- To the Reader
-- To the Parent or Teacher
-- Step-by-step drawing instructions for the promised 50 curiosa. Examples include: Werner Werewolf, Yoda, Medusa, Jaws, Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster, Bluddin Gaur--zombie, John Henry, Kurt the Dirt, and 41 others.
-- Author/Artist biography

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-- To the Reader --

The reader is told to gather the equipment that will be needed. This includes '...paper, medium and soft pencils and a kneaded eraser"...and yes, it will be needed.

The reader/user will have to be sufficiently skilled to accurately reproduce 'to scale' lines and curves used to roughly sketch and finely detail the creatures. The creatures are all relatively 'tame'--yet sufficiently 'scary'--to appeal to the average teen or pre-teen male. This 'older' male enjoyed sketching several creatures for the writing of this review.

A separate page is used for each creature to be illustrated. Each creature begins with the simplest of lines and/or curves. Each succeeding 'picture' shows new lines to be added to the picture in a slightly 'bolder' ink color. The previous lines are now in a 'softer' color.

The reader/user picks a creature to draw and attempts to 'copy' the illustrations in sequence from the starting line/curves through increasingly complex and detailed sketches to the finally fully-detailed, completed drawing. The number of total sketches range from 6 to 9 for each creature. This seems to be based on the size of the finished creature's picture rather than in the complexity of the picture.

The "To the Reader" section continues by warning the reader/user to be careful in completing the first few intermediate steps. Flaws here will 'throw-off' the scale and accuracy of the finished picture. Using a mirror to view the intermediate steps is advised by the author/artist. Supposedly this will make errors in scale or shape more evident. I found my errors in scale and shape to be readily evident by looking directly at my sketch...

The reader/user is told to keep all lines as light as possible. The kneaded eraser may be used to 'press' the drawn lines to lightly erase/remove them if not needed.

The first sketch is very basic lines and curves. If it were a sentence, it would look something like this:

..u....r. ... .e... ...r. ..o ... ..t....
b...... ....h .. ...s .....n..., . ... ..t...,
....e.... .. ......., ... ...i..... .o ...
...p....i.. ...t ... ..n ... ...a... ..u...

The next sketch, building on the previous sketch, adds new lines while de-emphasizing the previous lines, something like this:

.ou..c.r. ... .e..n .e.r. ... ... .at..r.
b....h. .o..h .. .h.s ..n..n..., . ... ....o.,
c...e.... .n ....r.., ..d. ...i....d .o ..e
.r.....ti.. t... ... .e. ... .r.a... ...a..

This process continues as the book leads you through several iterations of what your sketch should be 'looking like'. My example might continue like this:

f...sc.r. ..d .e.en .ear. ..o o.. fa...r.
br...ht fo..h .. th.s ..n..n..t., . n.. .a..o.,
c...e.... .n .i..r.., .nd .e.i....d .o .he
.ro....ti.. t..t ..l .e., a.. .r.a..d eq.a..

I won't continue my 'sentence sketch' because the editing is killing me !! The sketches in this book are not quite this bad but they do seem to move along slowly until...boom !!...there is the finished sketch. I am sorry, but many steps are omitted from the last partial sketch to the finished sketch . The inexperienced 'artist' will find it difficult to duplicate the detail that the author/artist does with his finished sketches.

What was the content of my 'sentence sketch' ??
What's the matter, couldn't you 'see' what I was 'sketching' ??
Oh, all right, here it is:

"Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers
brought forth on this continent, a new nation,
conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the
proposition that all men are created equal."

The jump between my last 'sentence sketch' and those famous words spoken by Abraham Lincoln mimics many of the creature sketches in this book. It is a little disconcerting when you get to your finished product and it shows little of the polish of the author/artist's finished example.

However, to be honest, the very first sketch I did from the book looked pretty good to me. And my teenage son was very impressed !! Perhaps there is a budding artist within me !!

A website featuring an animated example of the technique used in this book is available. Sample sketches from this book and many of his other 'DRAW 50' books are also available at the website. See the URL in the "Just the Facts, ma'am" section below.

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-- To the Parent or Teacher --

The author speaks of the "pride and sense of accomplishment" that a child feels when they make a creative drawing. Some approaches to art instruction stress "...freedom of expression, experimentation, and self-evaluation."

The author/artist deigns to use a more traditional 'do-what-I-say, draw-what-I-draw' approach. It is assumed that the reader/student will gain some proficiency in the art of drawing and the "sense of discipline" needed to grow as an artist. The author/artist also takes the opportunity to plug his other 'DRAW 50 series' books.

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-- Author/Artist biography --

Lee J. Ames had been earning a living as an artist for almost forty years when this book was published in 1983. He is apparently still alive nearly twenty years later...and probably still drawing! Early in his career he worked on the productions of Walt Disney's Fantasia and Pinocchio. In his working career he has spent time as an educator, owner of his own advertising agency, magazine illustrator and, author of over one hundred books. This book is just one of many 'DRAW 50' books he has created and authored.

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-- The Bottom Line --

This book will be of value to those who seek inspiration by ghoulish, sordid creatures to draw. While the step-by-step sketches are useful in guiding the novice artist, perhaps the greatest benefit is just being challenged to begin drawing and to 'have a go' at it. This book would probably not be of use to an intermediate or advanced art student. I would think most would be able to make these simple sketches at the drop of a pencil.

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"Just the facts, ma'am"
Title: Draw 50 Monsters, Creeps, Superheroes, Demons, Dragons, Nerds, Dirts, Ghouls, Giants, Vampires, Zombies and other curiosa...
Author: Lee J Ames
Publisher: Doubleday
Copyright: 1983 by Lee J. Ames and Murray D. Zak
Pages: 62, Hardcover
ISBN #: 0606042148

On-Line Resources:
http://www.epcomm.com/draw50/index.htm
(Animated sample of the drawing technique and additional links to samples from many of the 'DRAW 50' books.)

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-- A Very Sordid Book Write-Off --

From www.dictionary.com...

sor·did.....Pronunciation Key (sôr-did)
adj.
1. Filthy or dirty; foul.
2. Depressingly squalid; wretched.
3. Morally degraded.
4. Exceedingly mercenary; grasping.


The majority of the books included in this write-off were selected due to their perceived 'naughty' or 'sordid' title and/or content.

One user's 'sordid' book is another user's MH book. And one user's 'sordid' user is another user named sordid-1. Was that confusing enough ??

As a relatively new member of this community, much of what I know of the history of this 'big, happy family' has been gleaned from snatches of conversation here and there. Strange comments, seemingly cryptic and 'foreign'. Knowing glances and shrugs of the shoulders. (OK, maybe not that last.) Mysterious comments and befuddling replies. Conversations among elders that hint of woe and tempest, far removed from the present.

Much will never be known to those of us who are new to this site. We were not here when gunpowder flashed and quills slashed their angry content onto pixels and silica wafers. What can we hope to know of adversaries old and battles historic ?? Sordid-1 himself downplays "the limited, minor role (he) played..." in a matter of great import to the history of Epinions.

But there are 'users' who have made a difference and I would count sordid-1 among those users, 'nough said.

My reader is invited to discover their own truth on their own journey through what is Epinions.com...

Recommended: Yes