I am an art teacher and professional artist, so naturally, many people ask me questions about learning how to draw. And some of the questions I hear most are about finding good books that can teach you to draw – so, in this article, I will share my recommendations for the best books you can find to help you to learn drawing!
Best Books for Learning How to Draw in 2026
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My Pick
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Beginner Pick
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Intermediate Pick
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For Kids
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Description: By Barrington Barber; 2021 edition |
Description: By Mark Kistler |
Description: By Michael Hampton |
Description: Woo! Jr. Kids Activities Books |
By Barrington Barber; 2021 edition
By Mark Kistler
Woo! Jr. Kids Activities Books
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Best Drawing Books for Kids, Teens, and Teenagers
Younger Kids
For younger kids, this super simple book doesn’t try to explain concepts or techniques but instead teaches through very easy and clear step-by-step exercises, allowing your child to practice and see results appear – almost magically – before them.
By Jacy Corral
Like the 101 Animals book above, this is a very simple, step-by-step workbook that doesn’t confuse your kids with abstract ideas but instead lets the concepts and techniques come to them naturally by simply drawing and seeing what appears.
The perfect next step for younger kids, this book still stays away from concepts and boring explanations, but expands your child’s understanding and technique simply by covering a wider range of objects and subjects and very slightly more advanced practice.
Older Kids, Teens, and Teenagers
By Woo! Jr. Kids Activities
For older kids, this is a fantastic book for learning and practicing – it teaches you basic concepts clearly and easily and gives tons of fun exercises and clear illustrations.
A really fun way to learn, see and understand line, shape, perspective, three-dimensionality, relationship, and how things appear – so many fun examples and exercises, each of which can be applied to more “serious” drawing and artwork.
People and Characters – Portraits, Comics, Anime, Manga
Join me in the class, where I take you through the journey of designing characters using simple shapes, so you get more comfortable and have a solid starting point when drawing characters for your illustrations.
By Erik DePrince
A really fun and really easy way for younger kids to learn to draw faces with life, personality, and style.
A nice balance between concept and practice, this clear and complete book focuses on the most important aspects of portrait drawing and brings forward the importance of life and realism as well as accuracy.
A great book for adults, this thorough and thoughtful step-by-step guide teaches proportion, balance, line, and flow of realistic shapes and poses with an ideal combination of illustration, practice, and concept and a fun and fresh approach.
By Shinjuku Press
A very clear and complete guide to drawing Anime and Manga-style characters, as well as learning the basics of general portrait and character drawing. Excellent instructions and guides keep your kid encouraged and having fun.
Plants, Animals, and Nature
The title and the cover make this book seem very basic – and it is – but despite the almost cartoonish look of some of the drawings, which is great for kids, they learn how to draw plants and flowers that are realistic and effective.
By Lee J Ames
A comprehensive book of step-by-step lessons on drawing all kinds of creatures, this is a simple and fun approach from one of the most popular and beloved authors of kids’ drawing books.
A thorough and intelligent approach to drawing landscapes and natural elements, this wonderful book is also easy and fun. It makes even complex landscapes and nature settings quite manageable for beginners.
Fashion Design
As simple as it gets, this book has over 50 ideas for dresses, each with a pre-drawn mannequin figure, and encourages practice and personal creativity while developing an eye for form, flow, and beauty.
An intermediate fashion design book for kids, with nice illustrations and simple text and tons of ideas and inspiration.
This advanced book teaches not just the look, flow, and feel of fashion but, along the way, helps your older kid master human shape and proportions, shading, detail and texture, light and shadow, and a lot more – and still, it’s remarkably simple and fun!
Science Fiction and Fantasy
A very basic book that introduces the most simple drawing concepts and techniques in a way that your kids will love and find delightful.
A fun and interesting book that is as good at developing your child’s imagination as it is at teaching techniques and encouraging practice.
A fascinating book that not only brilliantly teaches more advanced concepts but also brings the mind and creative process to embrace complex stories and relationships and to connect visuals and narrative more organically.
Best Drawing Books for Beginners
A fun and positive primer on learning to draw that stresses than anybody can draw, and everybody has hidden artistic talent – a wonderful book and a great place to start.
By Mark and Mary Willenbrink
This highly popular book focuses on technique, down to the most basic strokes and movements, in order to not just teach but encourage you with great results quickly – this book really does lead to beautiful and very realistic renderings in a short time!
Both a great beginner’s drawing book and a way to naturally and effectively reach higher levels and make your drawings more realistic and advanced.
Best Drawing Books for Intermediate Artists
General Drawing Techniques
A true classic, Speed’s book takes a unique approach in balancing absolute understanding of all basic techniques and the technical aspects of drawing against the artist’s own personal vision.
A great book, then, for not just realistic drawing exercises and learning the whole art and practice of drawing, but also blooming as an artist, and one that has for countless people lead to delightfully successful drawing.
Discover simple step-by-step techniques for drawing a wide variety of subjects in pencil (Collector's Series)
One of the very best and most complete books on basic drawing skills, The Art of Basic Drawing covers basic forms, objects, scenes, people and wildlife, along the way teaching many invaluable tricks and techniques and helping you develop your artistic vision and define your own individual approach.
By Barrington Barber; 2021 edition
A book that I know mostly through recommendations from others, Barber’s illustrated Fundamentals of Drawing is praised for its completeness, its clear descriptions of both concepts and techniques, and how it helps you understand what drawing is all about.
An advanced primer on pencil drawing, Rines’ book offers advice and techniques which can prove equally applicable to other media, traditional or digital, as well.
Another true classic, and one of the most widely known and beloved of all art instruction books, How to Draw What You See has been a best-seller for fifty years and a blessing for all sorts of visual artists.
Human Figure and Anatomy
Join me in the class, where I take you through the journey of designing characters using simple shapes, so you get more comfortable and have a solid starting point when drawing characters for your illustrations.
This is arguably the most complete and accurate life drawing reference for any artist who really wants to see how a human body is put together, how it occupies space and how it moves.
Join me in the class, where I take you through the journey of making your characters more lively, expressive, and dynamic, by using simple shapes and drawing poses and gestures.
A less detailed and exhaustive reference than the Atlas mentioned above, Hampton’s brilliant book on figure drawing, focuses more on the actual techniques you can use to translate deep understanding of human anatomy and structure into actual drawing.
Revered by professional artists and art teachers and professors, Andrew Loomis’ figure drawing books are some of the best books you can wish for as an artist! It is beautifully made and it will teach you to draw figures, gesture drawing in a simple and straightforward way.
Perspective, Space and Relationships
Join me in the class, where I take you through hands-on examples of basic perspective rules so you can improve your artworks.
An incredibly simple book, covering one of the most important of all aspects of drawing, Perspective Made Easy is a masterpiece of repetitive drawing exercises, clear explanation and complete coverage of this crucial subject.
One of the most complete books available for teaching perspective, Montague’s Basic Perspective Drawing is written in a clear, friendly manner from a true authority in the field.
Pen and Ink Drawing
The Classic Book On Pen and Ink Techniques for Artists, Illustrators, Architects, and Designers
By Arthur Guptill
The cover of this classic tome, its 60th Anniversary Edition newly edited by Susan Meyer, claims that this is “the most comprehensive book ever published on the subject of ink drawing,” and there is no doubt in my mind this is true.
Shorter and more concise than Guptill’s exhaustive primer, this delightful book covers every aspect of pen and ink drawing with real clarity, and has in a short time become one of the most beloved and well-reviewed art books available.
Nature and Landscape
Like the human anatomy books above, Knight’s Animal Drawing: Anatomy and Action for Artists provides a deep understanding of the way animals are put together, how they move and how they appear in the world.
Join me in the class, where I take you through fun exercises and demos, so you can explore different ways to create beautiful floral designs.
200 Step-by-Step Flowers, Leaves, Cacti, Succulents, and Other Items Found in Nature
By Peggy Dean
This beautiful book teaches how to accurately draw plants, flowers, vines and leaves, but from the slightly different viewpoint of an illustrator.
Master the Concepts and Methods for Observing and Rendering Nature
By Suzanne Brooker
An excellent book on seeing things as they actually appear, on using simplicity to render complexity, and on learning, practicing and mastering both time-honored and new drawing techniques, Brooker’s new book is perhaps the best available for learning landscape drawing, as well as a great work for learning drawing in general, applicable to pretty much any subject matter.
I hope my guide helped you to find the best drawing book for you or the artist in your life and I especially hope that you, I, and all of us continue to do what makes us happy and that none of us ever stops learning!
Other articles in the Art Books series and resources:
- Best Pose Reference Websites, Apps, and Books
- Best Color Theory Books
- Best Perspective Books and Online Courses
- Best Drawing Figures for Artists
Hi, I am Iva (rhymes with “viva”). I am a full-time self-taught artist behind Art Side of Life® and a Top Teacher on Skillshare. I have 15 years of experience in the creative field as a concept designer, illustrator, art director, and now freelance artist, content creator, and art instructor. My goal is to help you get your creative groove on with Procreate and make awesome art through practical classes, tutorials, Procreate brushes, and guides on art tools, supplies and resources. About me »
