Catherine V. Holmes

How to Draw Cool Stuff is built for classrooms and for people who have decided they cannot draw: shading, perspective, optical illusions and a lot of skulls, taught step by step with no expectation of talent. Holmes has taught art in Massachusetts schools for years and wrote the first book for her own students. The series has grown to several volumes and sells largely by word of mouth among teachers. The point is repeatable technique rather than self-expression, which is the opposite of how art is usually sold to children.