I've always loved art since I was a child. But you could say I became "serious" about my artistic endeavors when I entered middle school and became a pretty intense anime nerd and always wanted to recreate my favorite characters. This was also the time of my first art classes, which I loved and would always sign up for in the future. As I grew older my tastes changed and I became a fan of gothic imagery and loved to draw portraits.

My research for this project involved looking at the rhetoric in Kimon Nicolaides' The Natural Way to Draw, the book which is recommended for the drawing courses here at UAS. At times it can be somewhat of a tough and wordy read with intimidating lesson plans, but the rhetoric used seems like it would be highly motivating to artists who have a serious desire to improve their skills. Nicolaides is obviously a credible, trustworthy teacher as he has taught many students during his career and recalls different scenarios he has encountered during his teaching. He appeals to an artist's emotions by making them question whether they truly have the desire or motivation to better themselves, which I think is something that almost every artist probably wants to do. Overall, despite a few flaws, this book seems like it would be very helpful and engaging to anyone who would like to learn to draw.