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Half Hour of Pencil Power: Fast and Fun Drawing Lessons for the Whole Family!
Tap into the powerfully positive impact of drawing for the whole family with 25 drawing sessions!
In March 2020, Mark Kistler received a call that his son's school was going virtual for the remainder of the school year. He began holding daily livestreams, leading half hour drawing sessions for what became hundreds of thousands of kids over two months, giving families a much-needed break from the chaos of the pandemic. Now, Mark brings these stress-relieving, creative outlets to life in 25 original lessons, Harnessing the life inspiring and transformative power of the visual arts, Half Hour of Pencil Power brings together parents, educators, and the kids they care for with step-by-step drawing lessons, all of which can be done in a half hour or less. Drawing will help your kid have fun, decrease loneliness, build self-esteem, and increase creativity, and Pencil Power is accessible, imaginative, and oodles of fun for everyone.
“Mark Kistler has created a series of wonderful, rewarding and easy (even for me) drawing activities that can help children, teens, and families connect to their inner selves as well as to each other.”
--from the Foreword by Jeffrey Bernstein, PhD, author of 10 Days to a Less Defiant Child
In March 2020, Mark Kistler received a call that his son's school was going virtual for the remainder of the school year. He began holding daily livestreams, leading half hour drawing sessions for what became hundreds of thousands of kids over two months, giving families a much-needed break from the chaos of the pandemic. Now, Mark brings these stress-relieving, creative outlets to life in 25 original lessons, Harnessing the life inspiring and transformative power of the visual arts, Half Hour of Pencil Power brings together parents, educators, and the kids they care for with step-by-step drawing lessons, all of which can be done in a half hour or less. Drawing will help your kid have fun, decrease loneliness, build self-esteem, and increase creativity, and Pencil Power is accessible, imaginative, and oodles of fun for everyone.
“Mark Kistler has created a series of wonderful, rewarding and easy (even for me) drawing activities that can help children, teens, and families connect to their inner selves as well as to each other.”
--from the Foreword by Jeffrey Bernstein, PhD, author of 10 Days to a Less Defiant Child
- GenresArt
176 pages, Paperback
Published August 30, 2022
23 people are currently reading
19 people want to read
About the author
Mark Kistler
44 books31 followersMark Kistler teaches art. He has run thousands of elementary school workshops, written art books, and starred in the public television series The Secret City, The Draw Squad, The New Secret City Adventures, and the Emmy-Award-winning Imagination Station, all teaching art.
[author photo credit: Lois Bernstein]
[author photo credit: Lois Bernstein]
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
June 20, 2022
Apparently this author has been a well known art instructor online and on places like PBS for decades, but I hadn't heard of him. This book compiles dozens of free tutorials he gave online during the early months of lockdown in 2020. They are pencil sketches of cute cartoon scenes for the most part. He talks a lot throughout and is very encouraging and conversational. He gives you step by step instructions using simple shapes and lines that you add to and erase as you go. Children and adults can follow this and produce pieces similar to his and all you need is a regular pencil (and eraser). The only down side for me is that I didn't really like most of the drawings and they just weren't my style of art (see cover for examples). That said, this is an excellent tutorial to get started drawing or to introduce kids to drawing.
Three stars -- liked it.
I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for review.
Three stars -- liked it.
I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for review.
May 23, 2022
This is a really cute book with drawings that make you want to try them. The sucky thing on my end is that it's one of those books you have to read from the computer and I can not see half of it.
Booksource: Netgalley in exchange for review.
Booksource: Netgalley in exchange for review.
June 24, 2022
Netgalley book for review. I enjoyed this one, it took me back to my childhood. We only had a few books of Mark Kistler's, and I maybe caught him on tv in a mall's toy store once; but these art books showed me doodling was cool and could be fun. However, I had to learn how to draw and doodle in my own style, because I couldn't "copy" anything properly in the books, which was frustrating at the time. So if you're at that point, don't give up, learn to look and see, and you'll be able to draw anything eventually!
There are all sorts of tips and ideas you can learn from fantastic illustrators like this. Even just taking the time to study paintings and think about what you like and why can be useful in learning how to draw and develop your own style.
Anyway, sharpen those pencils and keep drawing!
There are all sorts of tips and ideas you can learn from fantastic illustrators like this. Even just taking the time to study paintings and think about what you like and why can be useful in learning how to draw and develop your own style.
Anyway, sharpen those pencils and keep drawing!
August 20, 2022
What a fun book! I absolutely loved it. I’m a big doodle person so this book but inspiring and had great ideas . Perfect gift for any young artist and I highly recommend it. I loved just grabbing a sketch pad n seeing what was next. Good layout. Fir those new to sketching it could have had better tutorials but honestly it didn’t stop me from truly enjoying the book!
October 31, 2022
This is a great little book for people who are interested in learning how to draw quirky characters, but who have no previous drawing experience. I found it quite enjoyable to flip through, and tried several of these characters myself. Explanations are well thought out, and when I followed the directions I felt like a drawing superstar!
July 19, 2022
DNF- Lesson 6
Includes a variety of step by step tutorials on pencil drawing. The silly drawings will appeal to families however they were not my style. His directions contain background tidbits and anecdotes that are probably more engaging in the live classes taught by the author.
Includes a variety of step by step tutorials on pencil drawing. The silly drawings will appeal to families however they were not my style. His directions contain background tidbits and anecdotes that are probably more engaging in the live classes taught by the author.
August 4, 2022
Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader.
Half Hour of Pencil Power is a fun all ages book of drawing tutorials by Mark Kistler. Due out 30th Aug 2022 from Hachette, it's 176 pages and will be available in paperback and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.
This is a collection of 25 simple and engaging tutorial lessons. They include step by step humorous directions between the progress pictures showing each new line as it's added. The language is simple and easy to understand and the finished drawings are cute and full of whimsy. They're deceptively simple but contain really useful techniques such as shading and light, reflection, and perspective.
The author has also included an introduction for each lesson with a bit of background about the drawings and how he came up with them. I loved getting glimpses into his process and inspirations.
Five stars. This would be an excellent choice for public or school library acquisition, makers' spaces, or for gift giving, possibly bundled with some drawing supplies. It would also make a great choice for adults who spend a significant amount of time with youngsters, and who are trying to learn some simple drawings to up their "draw-with-me game" for their young charges.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
Half Hour of Pencil Power is a fun all ages book of drawing tutorials by Mark Kistler. Due out 30th Aug 2022 from Hachette, it's 176 pages and will be available in paperback and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.
This is a collection of 25 simple and engaging tutorial lessons. They include step by step humorous directions between the progress pictures showing each new line as it's added. The language is simple and easy to understand and the finished drawings are cute and full of whimsy. They're deceptively simple but contain really useful techniques such as shading and light, reflection, and perspective.
The author has also included an introduction for each lesson with a bit of background about the drawings and how he came up with them. I loved getting glimpses into his process and inspirations.
Five stars. This would be an excellent choice for public or school library acquisition, makers' spaces, or for gift giving, possibly bundled with some drawing supplies. It would also make a great choice for adults who spend a significant amount of time with youngsters, and who are trying to learn some simple drawings to up their "draw-with-me game" for their young charges.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews