Book Review: Creative Sketching Workshop by Pete Scully

This book went straight to my shopping list the moment I knew it was coming out.

Due to some good fortune, the publisher Tan Yang International offered to send me a copy to review purposes. Tan Yang International has the rights for selling and distribution in Asia. The RHED logo on the cover is from RHED Publishing, a wholly owned subsidiary of Tan Yang International.

There are two additional publishers for this book, namely Apple Press and North Light Books. Apple Press is selling in UK and Europe if I'm not wrong. And North Light Books is for the USA market. Depending on where and who you buy the book from, the price is going to vary. Other differences would be slight changes to the title and the cover art. The pictures below show the covers for North Light Books (left) and Apple Press.

Pete Scully is an artist from London but now lives in California. He is an avid sketcher that I know of through his sketch blog.

Creative Sketching Workshop features a collection of ideas, grouped into workshops, to help you brainstorm on what or where to draw. There are tips on drawing indoors, such as at cafes, bars, workplaces, or outdoors at parks, towns or even on the road on a car.

The subjects could be buildings, people, or even animals. There are also ideas on themes you can explore. For example Pete Scully has a series where he would draw all the fire hydrants he sees. There are other guest contributors as well, such as Kumi Matsukawa who documented the building process of the Tokyo Skytree, or Samantha Zaza who likes to sketch portraits of people she meets overseas. People make for interesting subjects and there are several workshops that cover sketching people, either as a portrait or handling them as a crowd or to provide context to a place or event.

The workshops have simple instructions to follow, and there are lesson points, tips and and a bit of techniques provided. But overall, you'll get the best out of the book if you already have some basic sketching skills.

There are a total of 12 contributors and they are

• James Hobbs
• Virginia Hein
• Nina Johansson
• Ilga Leimanis
• Kumi Matsukawa
• Shiho Nakaza
• Melaine Reim
• Rita Sabler
• Liz Steel
• Paul Wang
• Samantha Zaza
• Pete Scully

In addition to these contributors, there are also many other guest artists whose beautiful artworks are included. This 176-page paperback is packed with inspiration and insights. And you can check out the website of the contributors for even more artworks.

I recommend this book to those who love sketchbooks, sketching, or who have a creative block on what to sketch next.

Another ideas book to check out would be Danny Gregory's Art Before Breakfast, and other sketchbooks I've reviewed.

Visit Amazon to check out more reviews.

If you buy from the links, I get a little commission that helps me get more books to feature.

These are links to the ones published by North Light Books:
Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.de | Amazon.fr | Amazon.it | Amazon.es | Amazon.co.jp | Amazon.cn

These are links to the ones published by Apple Press:
Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.de | Amazon.fr | Amazon.it | Amazon.es | Amazon.co.jp | Amazon.cn

You can also find this book in bookstores in Asia.