I was provided an advanced copy of this book by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The subtitle of this book is "Essential Tips & Techniques for Capturing People on Location," however this book is more of a lookbook of different artists' sketches and ideas than it is a book of tips and techniques. I've found other books that are more instructional than this, however this is meant to be for urban sketchers, so its format is understandable.

A wonderful art book. It demonstrates how to draw urban lanscapes. It builds up gradually from simple lines to complex drawing. It focuses on all aspects. From perspective to colour combinations and shadows. A perfect book for art lovers both new and old.

Another book from the Urban Sketching Handbook series! How can they make them all so interesting and full of new information?. I recently reviewed Techniques for Beginners from the same series and it had a dedicated chapter about drawing people. I felt what needed to be explained, was explained, but this book showed me that there’s still much more to learn and explore from this very challenging subject.

When I say that drawing people is challenging, I’m not talking about nailing likeness or good proportions, no-uh. I’m talking about the extra challenges that arise from sketching people “in the wild”. Often they are strangers that might suddenly leave, change poses or even approach you (gasp!) in the middle of your painting process. Well, in this book, you will learn how to deal with the fear of discovery, subjects moving, leaving or approaching. Also, you will learn how and where to find the right subject ( for example, at restaurants, during a delayed flight, gatherings, people you know, etc.)

There are plenty of tips and advice for drawing crowds, what to focus on, light and shadow, colors (with special attention to skin and hair), accuracy, proportions, body language and expressiveness, differences between old and young subjects, how to capture hands, feet, movement and poses. As it is usual for this series, its pages are filled with sketches from different artists. Each one sharing their unique approach at sketching people.

With so many tips and styles to choose from, I feel that sketching people becomes less intimidating and more of a game of experimentation. There’s also a section called “Galleries” and it includes even more wonderful sketches with useful commentary. The Challenge Yourself section at the end of the book consists of 27 prompts inviting you to try different tools, techniques or subject types. If you are struggling or not confident about adding people to your sketches, this is the book you might want read.

Do you want to sketch people who are expressive?
"The Urban Sketching Handbook: Drawing Expressive People. Essential Tips & Techniques for Capturing People on Location" by Róisín Curé is one of the books in the "The Urban Sketching Handbook Series, published by Quarto Publishing Group – Quarry. After the introduction Curé divides the book into two parts: Keys and Galleries. They keys are 1) Tools & Supplies, 2) Challenges, 3) Proportions, 4) Poses & Actions, and 5) Color & Light. The Galleries contain the topics of 1) On the Move, 2) Light & Shadow, 3) Creative Color, and 4) Capturing Memories. To close out the book Curé adds a list with various ideas to "Challenge Yourself". She states: "... drawing people is a challenge: They don’t keep still, and we know what they’re supposed to look like, which adds pressure. The reward, however, is worth the effort many times over. Once you get the hang of it, you won’t want to stop, and you’ll see stories unfolding everywhere.
The good thing about drawing people is that you will get lots of enjoyment out of your results, even at the beginning. The mind’s eye will join the dots. A combination of lots of practice and lots of learning will help you observe and tame those subtle details that bring people to life (p.4). According to her, her goal of the book is to "share some of the tricks that transformed my sketches from people-free zones to a joyful celebration of the color and life I see all around me. To capture another human in art in a fleeting moment of their journey may be challenging, but it is also a privilege (p.4)".
Curé does not only present samples of her own work but also from other artists. This variety is inspirational and helps the artists to find their own style. The tips that she spread throughout the book will also be of help.
The complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley free of charge. I was under no obligation to offer a positive review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
#TheUrbanSketchingHandbookDrawingExpressivePeople #NetGalley

This book lacks any direction and I personally did not find it helpful at all. I learnt nothing... other than "observe and draw" which it was kinda obvious and if that's all I need, then why should I get this book as a helpful guide?

There weren't really any techniques presented, and the tips were not that helpful. It was based more on silly generalizations from the author's life (like "family might mind if you draw them, friends will not" and so on, which is not really a tip and it depends from family to family and friends to friends, so not helpful).

The illustrations presented did not really help in delivering any helpful tips or techniques.

Drawing Expressive People is a part of the Urban Sketching Handbook series - this volume with tutorial instruction by Róisín Curé. Due out 22nd Dec 2020 from Quarto on their Quarry imprint, it's 112 pages and will be available in flexibound and ebook formats.

This is a concise and well made book covering some essential concepts for capturing people in an urban setting. The emphasis is on speed, fluidity, building technique and consistency, distilling the essential personality of the subject and rendering them into the sketchbook reliably and aesthetically. Although the book is aimed at moderately advanced students to professionals, there are takeaways here for artists of every level.

The layout is logical; the first section contains tutorial "keys" of varying difficulty: tools, supplies and techniques, challenges, proportions, poses & action, color & light. The second section contains a series of galleries: on the move, light & shadow, creative color, and capturing memories.

The study tutorials are arranged thematically: architecture & cityscapes, understanding perspective, people & motion, and working with color. The overall feel of the book is rich in technique, useful, and varied and I saw so many things which got my fingers itching to jump in and start drawing. I think most (non)artists are a lot more shy about drawing on paper/media and this book has a lot of good suggestions for picking up materials and making a start.

Four stars. I really liked this book but I'm not exactly sure what takeaways were valuable for me personally. A great deal of the information was diffuse and philosophical. (Not without value, just less specifically relevant to rendering specific human subjects reliably and with improved technical expertise). It could possibly make a valuable text for more formal classroom/group type instruction. There's a *lot* of information included here.

The author has also included a useful checklist of personal goal challenges to tick off as they're achieved (practice drawing feet, subjects on their phones, sketch the hair of 5 people in unrealistic colors, and many more). The challenge checklist could also make a nice starting point for assignments in a classroom or lecture setting.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Urban sketcher Róisín Curé captures lively characters on the move. In just a few minutes she's caught the story of a mother and daughter playing in the park, or the idiosyncratic poses of an expressive waiter or barber enjoying their work. Opportunities to draw are everywhere in life. And Curé shows us how in this all-hands-on-deck practical approach to getting out there, into the urban, with our "compact kit" at the ready.

This handbook, part of the urban sketching series, offers short explanations of technique and tips alongside examples of work from Curé and other contemporary sketchers. The gallery section is a worthy exhibition in and of itself, showcasing the seemingly endless methods of approaching style and artistry, all with just a few watercolours, inks and pens. Fair to say then that the book is an inspiration for the hobbyist and the gallery-goer as well as the practitioner with a serious squint in their eye.

But don't be caught out by smartphones. "Photos are the enemy of lively sketches. Leave the phone in your pocket," says Curé, adamantly. It's easy to be tempted to save a photo and go back to the composition later, but live sketching is about the unexpected and often trivial moments of spontaneity that lead to further wonder and creativity. So be calm, and patient; remember people don't care as much as you think they might if you're watching them, say, in an airport lounge, or queueing for an ice cream by the sea. Admittedly, it takes a certain courage to stare at people, but the artist has a pretty good excuse: Art.

In my experience, the ego of the person seen gets wrapped up in the whole process. "Draw me!" called out a man who saw me sketching his young daughter whilst on the plane. He even pushed her aside and demanded I sketch him instead. It wasn't a good sketch (for obvious reasons), but at least he liked the one of his daughter, asleep with her forehead balanced against her iPad, with cartoons dancing around in the dark.

However, if you are particularly concerned, Curé recommends you try an upper balcony - nobody notices you up there. Also, humility works miracles.

Even as a novice artist, actually as a stick figure artist I was disappointed in the title vs. what was actually in the book. When I showed the book to my more experienced young friend who is a beautiful artist, she was let down as well. She was thinking she would get more direction and insight, but instead it was just some thoughts and this is my idea, but no real one on one how to get there from point A to point G to end up with what she was saying. I can pull that up on the internet with more instructions.

Overall the content was not there and it seemed convoluted.

I received an advanced copy from NetGalley and these are my willingly given thoughts and opinions.

Thank you Netgalley for letting me read this book in return for an honest review.

I really liked this book as it explains materials, how to do it, how to get past any challenges and so forth. I haven't been able to use it outside due to Covid-19 but I have used it for subjects in my house and found it very useful!

Rating: 5⭐
Would I Read It Again? Yes
Would I Recommend it? Yes

Let's face it (pun fully intended) – you can't really go into urban sketching without knowing how to draw and paint people! That's why this book is very fitting as the latest addition to the Urban Sketching Handbook series.

As I admire the fun, colourful and expressive sketches of Roisin Cure, this book was a treat for me. It is full of examples from her sketchbooks. I have followed her blog for a long time and enjoy not only her art but also her humorous writing and sometimes funny drawings, some of which she has included in this book.

The author addresses five keys to people-sketching. Besides the mandatory tools and supplies, these are covered:

The challenges. What do you say or do if people discover you drawing them, what do you do when they move or leave? Who do you draw? I love where she gives people more than two arms or hands to show that they are moving!
The proportions. You won't find the conventional “how-many-heads high” technique discussed in detail here and you won’t need it!
Poses and actions. Learn the common poses, capture the body language.
Color and light. Color for skin, hair and clothes. Light and shadow.

You will find lots of sketches to showcase all the above. I do wish though that more illustrations were used to support some of the tips (such as placements for the features of the face) and better swatches to show paint mixtures for the skin tones.

The book ends with an inspiring gallery of sketches from urban sketchers from all over the world.

Overall, a good addition to the series.

You truly can't go wrong with an Urban Sketching book. Every one of the books in these series is better than the next. And this one is no exception.

It's always challenging to draw people at all so I was super excited to read this book. It starts with a lot of different ideas around how to capture different folk out in the "wild" and the book starts with tackling this challenge head on. How to handle people moving, leaving, getting upset at you for drawing them etc.

Then it tackles the proportions, poses and actions and color and light. It has all the bits of what it takes to draw people and ends with a beautiful gallery of sketches of people. It has some great tips to help you simplify this scary process.

I wish there were a few more specific examples of how to implement the tips, shortcuts, and ways of approaching different options. As always, though, what one needs is practice and not just reading books, of course :)

In the end there is a full gallery of wide range of sketches from different urban sketchers, always inspiring!

with gratitude to Quarto Publishing Group – Quarry and netgalley for an advanced copy in return for an honest review.

This book is part of The Urban Sketching Handbook series and here the author shares tips on how to draw people. The first part covers essential drawing tools and supplies such as a sketchbook, water container, a paintbox with up to 24 colors, water brush, pens: carbon pens, fude pens, travel brushes, and so on.
The second part covers challenges with drawing humans especially when they’re moving and the author suggests tips to handle this.


The reader will learn how to draw strangers, people working, family, gatherings, and so on. The subsequent chapter covers subjects such as getting the right proportions, poses and actions, color and light ( including a human palette consisting of nine colors).


The author also guides the reader on how to mix colors for various skin tones, clothes, and how to add light and shadows. The book concludes with the works of various artists. Would recommend to art lovers.


Thank you to NetGalley, Róisín Curé, and Quarry Books – Quarto Publishing Group for the ARC of this book.

Sorry, but I did not like this book. For me the artwork was too messy, uninspiring, ugly. I mean this is not question of time that is normally short in the case of urban sketching, but of taste. I like the loose style (like that of Charles Reid) if I feel a professional hand and a search for beauty, With this book unfortunalely it was not the case.
Also the font type was too thin to be comfortable.

A reference book that I will return to, and an inspiring collection of pictures that I can now attempt with more confidence than before, because the book is for beginners as well as advanced, giving tips and materials used for sketching in an urban environment. I love the observational skills that the artist shows, the attention to detail. A book that did not disappointment me, in fact a must have book.

The Urban Sketching Handbook: Drawing Expressive People is an extremely useful book for artists of all abilities from beginner through to advanced. It covers one of those areas that many artists have difficulties with, putting characterful people in their drawings. This can be hard to master. Having a book dedicated to the subject is ideal. It covers everything from basic drawing to including characterful people that help convey the story or scene. There are wide variety of examples and exercises to try and many different techniques and tips. Overall an excellent book.