This book was written with me in mind. I am a begininng amature artist who wanted to learn more about drawing. The instructions in this book took me from drawing basic shapes, though shading to sketching full compositions. It even goes beyond drawining to introducing acrlics and washes. Even the simplist procedure is gone over in detail so I never felt lost on how I was to get from one set to the next. Don't be fooled by the price. This is a complete refrence book that I use more then other books that have cost three times more.