It’s been a little while since I last reviewed an art/craft book but as soon as I saw Art Starts With A Line I was drawn in by the beautiful pastel cover design. Written and illustrated by Erin McManness, the owner of greeting card and gift company Paper Raven Co, the book shares a range of tips and techniques for mastering the art of line drawing and is a perfect guide for beginners.
The book begins with a guide to tools and materials, covering pens, pencils, paints and more, showing the different effects that can be created. It then splits into sections focusing on a range of different subject areas including borders, lettering, plants, animals and even iconic landmarks. There is also a short but informative section discussing how to work digitally with step-by-step guides on scanning and editing in Photoshop.
One of my favourite things about the book is the fact that the author encourages an interactive experience with sections to practise the various techniques right there on the pages - although sadly as I had a digital copy I had to dig out a sketchbook instead! I also really enjoyed the design of the book overall and how some of the ideas such as the illustrated borders are incorporated into it.
Whilst the majority of the content covers basic techniques there are also elements that I’m sure will appeal to those simply looking to improve upon their illustration skills or find new inspiration. Although I don’t use a bullet journal or scrapbook myself I can certainly see how this would be a great little guide full of ideas on how to jazz up your pages and make more personalised designs. I also think the techniques included in Art Starts With A Line would be fantastic for using on homemade cards, or even to create unique pieces of illustrated art for your home.
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