Becoming an Artist: Design, Drawing, Value, and Color

Developed for introductory courses, the readings in Becoming an Artist: Design, Drawing, Value, and Color breaks down major art concepts for those who have not previously studied them. Readers learn the basics of both drawing and painting, with a focus on graphite, charcoal, and acrylic painting mediums. The material is organized into four primary concepts – design, drawing, value, and color, with each building on the previous concept. 

Specific topics include design principles and elements, proportion and measuring, perspectives for interior and exterior drawing, parts of light and shadow, and color theory. The text features representational drawings and artwork, as well as paintings from life. Each chapter includes activities and assignments that help students apply the concepts to create aesthetically pleasing works of art. 

Designed to help students successfully use what they have learned, no matter their level of artistic mastery, Becoming an Artist is an excellent text for beginning art classes. With its emphasis on concepts that are universal to visual mediums, it can also serve as a supplemental reader for courses in clothing, floral, and theatre design.

Jan L. Christiansen is an artist and educator who has worked as the lead designer for American Dancer Magazine and a web designer for the wellness company Melaleuca. A graduate of Brigham Young University - Idaho, she studied graphic design and painting and earned her degree in 2D studies. She is now a faculty member at Brigham Young University - Idaho where she teaches general art and drawing and continues to paint, thus pursuing both of her passions.