Need Cheap Drawing Workbook/Activity Book

[WishboneDawn]

I want a cheap how-to-draw workbook for my son. He's 9 and still drawing stick figures and need lots of practice with his fine motor skills. I don't want anything that's high quality. I want something you might see in the dollar store and sneer at. :) Just something mass produced that will get him tracing things and doing a few drawing challenges. Also, not a how-to-draw-animals or how-to-draw-cars sort of thing. Something that pretends it's actually teaching some fundamentals about lines and shape.

 

I had one of these several years back, sneered at it and gave it away. Darn it.

 

I'm open to any suggestions.

 

ETA: I'll takes websites with printables too. :D Stuff for younger kids would be perfect.

Edited June 3, 2011 by WishboneDawn

[mom2denj]

Have you tried Draw Write Now?

 

http://www.drawyourworld.com/drawwrite.html

 

They are about $10 each. We LOVE them!!!

[morosophe]

And in Book Five, Draw Write Now introduces proportions (of the human face and body) and has more complicated drawings and longer copywork to go with it. Book Eight gives the basics of copying (maps, in particular) using a grid for help. All the books show how to start with basic shapes and end up with pictures, although they get more difficult and sophisticated as they go along.

[WishboneDawn]

It might be an option. I'll have to see if the boy is interested. Would still like something else though I think.

[morosophe]

Well, you could always check out your local library. Mine has a variety of "follow the steps to draw" resources in the juvenile nonfiction section. If your library uses Dewey Decimal Classification (most public libraries do), check the juvenile section for 743, Drawing and drawings by subject. My local library is particularly well-stocked at 743.6, Drawing animals.

 

That way you can cycle through a number of books and he can try his favorite drawings in each of them. If he shows a preference for a particular book, see if it is available cheaply--www.addall.com is a good place to look for used books when Amazon has failed you.

 

Or just look up "How to draw" on Google, if you have a decent internet connection. There seem to be loads of free tutorials. If you change your search engine to Google Images, you'll see a lot of final products to start from. Be careful, though: some of these seem to be created by manga fans, and the subject matter may be far more adult than you desire for your son. It would be better for you to find the tutorial and check it out before letting your son have at it. In other words, the usual internet caveats definitely apply.

[Down_the_Rabbit_Hole]

The cheapest way...walk your son through the process of drawing a person. We did this step by step. He drew the U for a face then in pic 2 he drew the U but added hair, pic three was the U, hair and face features...you get the idea. I them contact papered it and he keeps it in his school binder. He has referred to it often and since it is his own actual drawing he cannot say he cannot draw people.

[warneral]

the how to draw is a good series. We just got a few - you can draw on the sample page but I'd prefer they not!

 

http://www.amazon.com/Barbara-Soloff-Levy/e/B001IGJVKK/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

 

several qualify for 4 for 3 promotion.