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Part II of the
Sourcebook

Part III of the
Sourcebook

Secret 6.5:
Follow-up
for One Year

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Biweekly
Communiqué

See a Sample
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Biweekly
Caricature

In-Depth Description of the e-Sourcebook:
What do artist's have that you don't -
and how do you get it?

You'll see in Part I: What do artist's have that you don't? That's simple: they've acquired the ability to leave behind their thinking, judgmental, talking left brains and hop - in a moments notice - into their real-time, observational right brain. The Artist's Brain. That's the fundamental thing they do that you can't. That's it! That's the key to learning to draw.

Part I: So how can you get what they got?

That goes along directly with the question "what's the key to drawing?". Here's the answer: perception. Learning to see as an artist is about learning to get you into your Right Brain. Anybody can learn this. And that's just what you'll learn in the first nine lessons - starting right off with exercise one of lesson one.

How do you get into your right brain? You do it by going one by one through specially designed exercises that'll ruffle and tease your rational brain to the point where it just has to throw it's hands up and say "this can't be done!".

"Well that doesn't sound so good" I hear you saying. But this is exactly what you want, this is the point of entry - where subtle magic takes over. This is where your right brain can come out of hiding and do it's stuff. And everything builds on that foundation: sneaking around that dominating, language-bound, control-obsessed left brain into abandoning the job at hand. That's the whole trick of learning to draw.

All the new things you'll learn about
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Like strengthening a muscle you'll build on that point of entry, you'll go into depth learning about things like lines, edges, and contours. You'll be introduced to concepts like "sighting", formats, perspective, proportion, contours, foreshortening, shadows and highlights, value and tone, crosshatching, positive form and negative space.

You'll apply the principles of the "vase-face" phenomenon, upside-down drawing, and contour drawings. You'll incorporate into your very self the five skills of drawing - techniques that jump start your drawing. In a word you'll learn how to collapse the three dimensional world on to two dimensional paper. And by design, every step boomerangs you back to that same starting point: sidestepping the rational brain and moving you into your artistic brain. You need to get good at this - and you will.

I'll show you everything I know

You'll use all the techniques I learned in Betty Edward's Instructors course (I'm a certified Instructor - see diploma) plus everything else I've leaned from other books, teachers and courses and a few things I've figured out myself - the exact same stuff, the tricks she and other master teachers have discovered work to get you in to your artistic brain and get you drawing.

Over three hundred pages worth. All that's packed into the first 9 lessons - which print out at over 300 pages. Over 300 pages of illustrations, animations, in depth explanations that spoon feed you each part of each lesson.

Getting back to your original goal. Our goal as you recall, is to get you drawing faces and caricatures, right? So after walking you through the basics, things start getting even more interesting - because now we get to specifics...

Part II of the e-Sourcebook:
Diving into the features of the face and the
fascinating shapes of the human head
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I've heard people say that it's not necessary to learn about the details of the face to draw a likeness. I've seen people who've been drawing caricatures for decades get around it - but only because they had such an intimate knowledge of the face and head they could they get away with it.

Once you've got a good feel for those
introductory skills it's time to apply them

It's my belief that to become a crack caricaturist or portrait artist you need a solid understanding of both the facial features and shapes of the head. And that's what this second section is all about: learning all about the features of the face and shapes of the head. And you'll learn them in detail by applying all the skills you've learned in the first 9 lessons. (By the time you've gotten here, you'll have a firm feel for the 9 foundation lessons. Now it's time to rehearse them. )

In Lesson 10 you'll start off with the ear. You'll apply pure and modified contour to your ear-drawing exercises; then you'll apply what you've learned from the negative space and positive form lessons. You'll have a "gestalt" drawing left and right ears when you apply "vase-face" techniques to creating them. By applying what you've just learned in the foundation lessons you'll build expertise and confidence, reabsorbing them, etching them deeper into your drawing repertoire as you explore each of the three drawable parts of the ear.

In Lessons 11, 12 and 13 you'll repeat the process for all the facial features. You'll go right through the list of foundation skills as you draw the nose with it's three pair of cartilage, the eye with it's globe, iris, lids, lashes and highlights, as you internalize the structure of mouth and it's underlying bony architecture, then extending the same to the lips and teeth. (back to top)

Depth of detail

And you'll be building depth in another direction too. Depth In detail. For example, Lesson 13 - drawing the eye - you'll find over 60 illustration-filled printable pages.

Why 60 pages on eyes alone? Because we spoon feed you. We break all the features down into pieces that are so basic and understandable you'll whip right through them - and remember them.

Lesson 14: The Amazing Architecture of the head. Then, in Lesson 14. After you've had some time to practice all those features and get repetition using the foundation skills, you need a place to draw all those amazing features. Here you'll embark on the shapes of the head. The head is in my opinion the most incredible example of natural architecture in the living world. All of creation is amazing, but the human face and head have to be the pinnacles. That's my opinion.

In the "Shapes of the Head" lesson

we give it a whole gang of attention - one dozen "lessons within a lesson" spanning well over 120 printable pages - where we'll approach drawing it piece by piece. From front views, side views and the more difficult three-quarter view, you'll learn about "bulk" representations - we'll cover all of it.

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The "Miter Box" and "Mr. Average Face"

Building the Human Head "Miter Box". You'll see how to apply perspective to drawing the head, how to build a "miter box" so you can grasp the three dimensionality of the head. Learning this you'll be able to figure out why certain drawings just "don't look right". With this method - which I've never seen anywhere else - you'll have a sure fire approach to grasp the volumes of the head every time.

"Mr. Average Face". All this leads up to the "Mr. Average Face" model - the one you need to internalize in your brain like a map so when you look at anyone else's face, you can pinpoint, you can "put your pencil on" what makes this person so unique, what makes them look like who they are. And that's the most amazing thing - being able to see and appreciate the unique beauty in any one. (back to top)



We break it down

But, like in all the other lessons, we break it down to it's most simple basics - giving you the foundation you need to see the most common, drawable features and shapes in every human being. All the time doing exactly what artists do: building upon your knowledge and application of the five skills of drawing, i.e. learning to stay in your artistic "right brain".

Lots of exercises. And I'll work you! That's the only way you'll unearth your gift: through repetition and practice. Michael Jordan wasn't born ready to play for the Chicago Bulls. He had to practice! But we try not to get too heavy. In fact, it's my firm belief you'll make real progress practicing fifteen minutes, three to five days a week. This I have no doubt about. Of course, the more time you can put in, the better you'll get at it. And the faster you'll get where you want to go. We try to approach drawing in a fun, low pressure way - most of the time. (Why do you think we love to draw caricatures? It's fun! But learning any new skill has it's ups and downs - more on that later :-) Which brings us to part three of the e-Sourcebook...

Part III of the e-Sourcebook:
Caricature Case Studies - the core of the lessons (actually the icing)
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Tying it all together. In the last and final chapter of the lessons, Lesson 15, you'll tie it all together - everything you've learned about ears and noses, shapes of the head, all you've learned about vase-face drawing, shadows, negative space, proportion, and how to use "Mr. Average Face" - too name a few.

How do you distribute the facial features? You need practice setting down the eyes, placing them just the right distance apart, and answering questions like "how does the nasal philtrum blend with the apron of the upper lip?" And "where does Cupid's bow fit?" You need a system to approach the actual drawing of the caricatures. And this is where you'll get that. In Lesson 15 you'll lasso it all together.

There's a System at work here

What's the system? You'll see there's a definite system here you'll develop to evaluate a caricature. You'll learn about the "first impression" approach, you'll apply Mr. Average Face, you'll see the head drawn using the "Miter box" approach - so you can grasp and reproduce for yourself - front views, side views, 3/4 views using the three dimensions at work in every picture.

You'll find links to great photos of each subject out there on the Internet so you can make sure we're staying on track - so you can always ask "do I think the drawing here looks like the person we're drawing?".

The real litmus test: caricaturing the caricature. Then, at the very last, we'll caricature the caricature. What's this do? It'll give you more ammunition and, it'll get you cued into seeing if our little "theory" about our subject is right: can it pass the test: does our caricature look like the person we started off drawing? (back to top)


In-Depth Case Studies

Thirty Six pages of exploration in the first case study. The first case study of Keith Richards spans 36 pages - 36 pages on nothing but how to approach drawing his face.

Continuing all year: In-Depth Case studies. And over the next year we'll be adding a new in-depth case study every 4 to six weeks so at the the end of the year you'll have at least another 200 pages on tying all this together.

Layer after layer of depth - and I'll use every source I know of to make these case studies make sense. I'll use simplified medical explanations, lessons I've gleaned from famous artists and caricaturists, you'll explore the in depth anatomy if it's relevant, you'll even learned a thing or two I've learned from plastic surgeons - all to keep these lessons interesting and to keep your brain stimulated.

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No wasting your precious time - Fully inter-linked to the previous sections - if a previous section is mentioned (like "shapes of the head", or "noses" or "negative space"), you'll find you'll have a link right at your fingertips to access that section. No need to spend your precious time paging through an entire book to find some obscure point.

"Priming" Animations. Nearly all the lessons start with animations that summarize each lesson - a brief overview. That'll prime you for the whole lesson. After the animation (which you can watch as many times as you like), you'll have a clear, focused idea of the outcome you're shooting for in that lesson.

Fully inter-linked. With 700 pages of printable information, won't it be tough to get around? "Won't I get lost?" you might be thinking. Every single page has a link to the major sections of the book. And there's an index / search engine feature close at hand. There's master link sections for each lesson large enough to need one - where all that particular lessons' sections are summarized.

Super-interlinking in the Case Studies. Just jumped in? Feeling like you're in a little over you head? Want to lean more about eyes before you go on? In the case studies (Lesson 15), you'll see a caricature at the top of every page. Just click on it's eyes and you'll be transported instantly to 60 pages of instruction on eyes; click on the nose - you'll be transported to noses. Ears? Click on the ear and voila! - all the ear lessons. And the same for the nose, the mouth, teeth and the shapes of the head.

You don't need to waste your precious time flipping through book page after book page - unless of course you want to.

Sometimes a simple nudge is all you need to get drawing - and that's all it takes to keep you drawing. So what might be stopping you? Lot's of things might be - no time, no money, but probably the biggest: you might be afraid. Yep, the simple nagging fear that maybe you'll never draw those masterpieces you've imagined you should be creating, the masterpieces you KNOW are inside you - well that can stop anyone.

Sure stops me - even when I know I drew really well just two hours ago. That's just how the mind works. And that brings us to the second part of the YouCanDraw.com system.

The on going follow-up of the
YouCanDraw.com System

So what gets a person started - what gets you started? What gets people past that fear? What keeps them motivated? There's lots of answers, but one that keeps coming up over and over in biographies of famous people and all sorts of success stories is this one: support. Mozart had it, Picasso had it, Andres Segovia (the classical guitarist) had it, to name a few.

Just a pinch of support might be all you need. And support comes in lots of different forms - for some as simple as an uncle who gave the approving nod (Andres Segovias), or a godparent who gave the child her first set of expensive drawing papers and paints - some kind of acknowledgment that what they were doing had value. That might have been the one thing that kicked them - and kicks you - over the top getting started in their careers. (back to top)

Your very own "Cyber-Coach"

That's one of the magical things the Internet has allowed: accessible, almost free, and certainly instant communication. How does that help you? Like I've been doing now for two years, it allows me to be your Cyber-Coach.

And as your personal Cyber-Coach, you'll be hearing from me every week. I won't be standing there with a whip and chain (well who knows, maybe I will be :-) , but my job is to keep you going, keep you excited about drawing and doing your self-paced lessons. Four times a month you'll get more of those little nudges urging you on. Why all the fuss? Here's a great anonymous quote :

"Genius is at first an openness to discipline"

All Art starts as a discipline. Like any art, learning to draw caricatures, faces, or just learning to draw, well it's a discipline - it takes practice. I'm not going to gloss over that. You have to face yourself every time you sit down in front of a blank sheet of paper. That's why we include as part of the purchase price these two instruments of your success:

1) The "Insider's Artist Loft every other week Communiqué" and
2) "Your every other Week Caricature".

They're there to keep you interested, prodded, to keep you keeping on.

The Every Other Week Communiqué

This is support feature #1. In the Every Other Week Communiqué we answer your and other members drawing questions, look at drawing techniques, sometimes we take a closer look at the anatomy around a hard to draw feature, sometimes we even touch on motivational techniques. We try to keep it short but packed. The subjects vary - we respond to your questions. Members even send their actual drawings with the request that we evaluate what's working and what's not. (And we do - in a very nurturing and honest way - but never critical. We know it takes courage to post your pictures for every one to see.)

Plus, if you do send your pictures for evaluation they'll become part of the permanent collection: you'll be published! With your permission of course. This helps us too.) It's a place for you to participate and sometimes participation gets you more excited about your own art than anything else.

Keeping it fun: Your "Every Other Week Caricature"

This is support feature #2: We don't want things to get too heavy, so to give you little breath of fresh air every other week you'll get an e-mail laugh: the "Every Other Week Caricature" e-zine. In some issues you'll get a "work-in-progress", a series of 3 pictures where we start with a realistic drawing (usually of a well known person), and together we'll explore what is it about our subject that makes them unique. Then, using the approach we've outlined in the e-Sourcebook, we'll caricature what's caricaturable - not once - but twice. (back to top)

Two weeks later you'll see the third, finished, hilarious caricature. In other issues you might get examples of finished caricatures just like you see in the editorial section of your newspaper - all to keep you excited about drawing and creating your own portraits or wacky caricatures.

Added bonus #1: Royalty-free Caricatures

As an added bonus all caricatures you receive by email and all caricatures stored in the on-line "Insider's Art Gallery" are for you to use Royalty free. They're there as a learning aid, but while you're getting your own portrait and caricature drawing skill up to speed, you can use the drawings any way you like - in your advertisements, your newsletters, your personal cards and letters. I don't care! (All I ask is you follow the simple, very generous, no-cost rules outlined in the Insider's Art Gallery.)

Pure satisfaction more than makes up for the discipline. Yes, it takes discipline to develop your genius - at first. Because once you get rolling, once you start getting your foot in the door, once you start learning to get in to your artistic brain - and it will show in your drawings - it'll be just plain satisfying. It'll be the satisfaction that starts driving you, not the discipline. You'll be looking forward to your next lesson and drawing sessions the whole day.

Added bonus #2: One free 30 minute "coaching " phone consultation

If you have a really pressing question and email just isn't direct enough, or you find yourself at a road block in the lessons and need a little direction, or you think you're ready to jump into e-commerce as a caricaturist, or just want to start your own special event caricature entertainment business, you're allowed one prepaid 30 minute consultation during your year of membership. If there's other sources that you could benefit from we'll figure that out too.

But you'll want to save this for that one really nasty, nagging drawing question or "stuck" situation. (To clarify, the consultation is prepaid, but the call is not toll free - i.e. it's not an 800 call, the actual phone charge goes on your bill. That's fair I think - don't you? Another note: to do you justice we can offer this to a limited number of people - we can't offer this consultation for long.)

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