Drawing the Portrait

First of all, let me say I have nothing but the highest praise for Mr. Ryder's work. His talent is amazing. But....I have to agree with the reviewer that gave this DVD set 2 stars. I bought it after I purchased Mr. Ryder's book. The book is great, his website has some wonderful examples of his work, but this DVD set just isn't worth the money. The camera work is terrible. Mr. Ryder's meandering commentary is annoying at best, and almost unbearable at its worst. He rambles on for minutes at a time searching for the right word, never quite getting his ideas across. It would have been better if he had narrated over the video, rather than trying to explain his thoughts on the fly. It is interesting to see his technique "live", but it could have been edited down to one disc. Also, there are several points in the DVD where the video display breaks down into pixalated images.

All in all, at full price or even at this "sale" price, the value just isn't there. Stick to the book - that's a good investment.

(Posted on 1/3/13)

To the bad review by Greg, he should try and get a refund on his brain too! In spite of Greg's bad review I purchased this DVD based on Tony Ryder's reputation. I'm only 2/3 the way thru the first DVD and love the insightful information Tony provides during the demonstration. The camera work could be a little better. But the philosophical commentary on portrait drawing from Tony is as good as it gets!
Thank You, Tony Ryder
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(Posted on 10/14/12)

I am new to the fine art world. And I found that his techniques are outlined in his own voice so I could interpret them as well. I was able to learn many basic, as well as advanced techniques so that I had a better understanding of "how" this is done.

I consider this a great purchase for my educational library, one that I can refer to anytime I need to.

(Posted on 9/17/12)

This video was the worst video I have seen in years. His book was very educational and when I saw this video with the claim " A Complete Video Course" I thought that he would go over his book in more detail. However, I was wrong. For the section on Line Drawing the drawing was already drawn so he didn't go into how he does it. He skip over the stages of the block-in but, he did demonstrate the envelope.
So if you want the "Complete Course'' get his book, it cost less and has more information. I have returned this video for a refund.

I gave this video 2 starts one for each disk.

(Posted on 6/30/12)