Simply Draw with Bob Parsons
Step-by-step drawing lessons—no talent required.
$64.99
Quantity:
Consumable
In a Curriculum Kit
Multiple Grades
Nonreligious
2026 Seventh-Grade Curriculum Kit
Simply Draw with Bob Parsons
Some kids think drawing is a talent you either have or you don’t. Simply Draw with Bob Parsons takes a different approach—break the process into small steps, practice consistently, and watch drawings become recognizable much faster than expected.Designed for ages 10 and up, this drawing program walks students through sketching skills, one lesson at a time, with clear explanations, guided practice, and video instruction. The goal is not simply copying lines on a page—it’s understanding how drawings are built.
Bob Parsons, homeschool dad of six, keeps the instruction straightforward with enough humor to make the process feel approachable without distracting from the work itself.
The spiral-bound workbook gives students space to draw directly on the page using high-quality paper. At the same time, printable PDFs of every exercise allow multiple students—or parents—to work through the program together.
Nearly three hours of video instruction guide students through the lessons, reducing the need for parents to teach unfamiliar art concepts themselves.
Inspired by Bruce McIntyre’s classic Drawing Textbook, this Timberdoodle-exclusive program brings those foundational skills back in an updated format designed specifically for homeschool families.
Included:
- 200-page spiral-bound workbook
- Video instruction and printable PDF exercises
- Introductory hand-lettering instruction
How to Use Simply Draw with Bob Parsons
- Start with the workbook, a pencil, and the first lesson. Resist the urge to skip ahead—even students who already doodle benefit from building the foundations in order.
- Have your student watch the video lesson before starting each exercise. Bob explains the process as he goes, which means you do not have to become the art teacher.
- Work directly in the workbook or print extra pages if multiple students want to participate. The goal is practice, not preserving perfect pages.
- Keep lessons short and consistent. Most students make more progress drawing regularly than trying to power through multiple lessons at once.
- Expect some drawings to look strange at first. That is part of the process. Encourage your student to compare his progress to earlier pages rather than aiming for perfect results.
- Keep completed pages. Flipping back through older drawings is often the easiest way to notice how much has changed.
- Step-by-step illustrations
- Systematic progression
- Room to draw in the spiral-bound pages
- Includes section on hand lettering
- Video demonstrations
- PDF file of practice pages
Author: Bob Parsons
Publisher: Timberdoodle
Pages: 200
Binding: Spiral-bound
Copyright: 2010, 2025
ISBN: 9781616583378
Made In: USA
Consumable: Yes
Reproducible: Yes. Includes access to Printable PDF file
Faith-Based: No
- Pens (Pilot Extra-fine, Stabilo Sensor 3, Pentel Pocket Brush-Pen XGFKP-A)
- 8 1/2" x 11" 110# Card Stock
- A Soft Pencil, such as a 4B
- A Kneaded Rubber Eraser
- Cool-Gray Markers. Publisher's recommendation is Copic Sketch Line - the type with a brush on one end and a chisel point on the other. Buy a C-2 and a C-5 for starters.
Find answers to the most frequently asked questions about this product below:
Ages 8 to adult.
- July 20, 2020
step by step with explanations
Jennefer
Designed to teach drawing for children as young as eight through adult education classes, the lessons in Simply Draw with Bob Parsons are simple and come with clear, step-by-step explanations. Because each exercise introduces a new idea or adds to drawing concepts already introduced, Simply Draw is so basic that even those of us who despair of ever learning to draw can do so. This is by far the easiest learning to draw program I have seen yet! And you are bound to improve your skills!
- July 15, 2020
Looks Great!
Angel S.
This is the drawing curriculum we have been looking for! The videos and the book break it down step by step. It is very well planned out down to the strip of paper with the logo to slide into your binder so you can easily see where it is on the shelf. I am looking forward to using this.
- November 16, 2018
Simply Draw with Bob Parsons
Florence B.
My 11 year old son never showed much interest in drawing or anything pencil related for that matter. At first sight the thickness of the book overwhelmed him, but I believe it was the simplicity and humor that eventually got him to change his mind. In just one month of school he has gone from complaining to willingness to eagerness when it comes to drawing. I am truly amazed at how well he actually can draw! Bob Parsons got a way to motivate as well as to draw.
- May 10, 2018
Simply Draw with Bob Parsons
Natasha S.
My son has improved his drawing immensely!
- June 6, 2016
My daughter is loving this
Miriam W.
My daughter is loving this drawing curriculum. She has voluntarily added it to her daily to-do list.
- November 21, 2014
This drawing book is fun
Eduvijes E.
This drawing book is fun and effective in teaching the fundamentals of art drawing. This book is keeping my young twelve year old motivated to learn how to improve his drawing. Great drawing book I have come across in a while.
- September 22, 2014
Awesome Art!
Adriana R.
My daughter has been drawing since she was a tiny toddler and so we have been through many art kits/books/videos as we try to encourage her in this subject. While there are many great options for teaching art in general for children I never felt she was learning techniques and anything more than just copying a picture, nothing substantial. I felt something was really lacking in our other curriculum options. Enter Simply Draw ! I was so impressed with the clip and reviews we decided to give it a try. My daughter used several of the videos over the summer and loved them. My husband and I were really impressed with the drawings and sketches she created with the videos. However it wasn't until I sat down with her to do the lessons in the book that we really saw how amazing this curriculum is! It's clever, funny, teaches wonderful techniques, is an intensive art curriculum as opposed to a "learn to draw" book and really challenges my daughter. Bob Parsons please publish another!!
- January 5, 2012
Simply Draw Review by Joy in our Journey
Julieanne
I have to admit that when the girls and I sat down with Simply Draw...with Bob Parsons the first time and glanced through it, they weren't very excited. Mr. Parsons is an excellent artist; his talent is obvious. However, his style of drawing is not anything close to what my girls are used to doing. His drawings have a cartoonish, caricature-style to them. The lessons started out simply and progressed step by step. The directions were written very clearly; we all thought that they were easy to understand. The lesson page above shows the skill of learning to draw short parallel lines, or SPL. This was a new term and concept to my daughters. The enclosed DVD contained video clips which were showing Mr. Parsons demonstrating how to do the various techniques. The videos that we watched were short, to the point and easy to understand. The quality of the video was not as good as I've seen in some curricula, but it was acceptable. There were a few skips in the audio, like a syllable or word missing a couple of times, but the videos were clear enough to demonstrate the techniques. The girls decided that this was an drawing curriculum that they could enjoy using. Maybe they wouldn't be cartoonists or draw in exactly Mr. Parsons' style of drawing, but they figured out that the techniques in Simply Draw are those that can be applied in many types of drawing in the future. From a frugal perspective, I like the fact that this curriculum also comes with a DVD that not only contains the video lessons, but it also has PDF files that contain all of the reproducible pages that students would need to use with this program. You will need your own 3-ring binder for this curriculum, and a few basic drawing supplies, but it is a relatively inexpensive drawing curriculum. I was impressed with its ease of use, the ability to use it with all of the children in your family, the inclusion of the video demonstrations, and the quality of the cardstock used to print the actual c...
- December 30, 2011
Review by The Voice of One Crying Out In Suburbia
Arthur
I will admit up front I am not a really artsy kind of guy. Writing is my creative outlet but I have never been any good at art or music, so I was a little concerned about the Simply Draw materials because a lot of this stuff is completely foreign to me. I have to say though that I liked it a lot for homeschooling even though I am not an artist myself. The cons: I like the videos that come with the program but we couldn't play them on our TV and had to watch them on my computer. I have a huge 23" monitor so it wasn't terrible but it was a little awkawrd to cluster around the computer Also on the videos. They are not in chronological order on the DVD so figuring out which one to watch is a little challenging. It would be great if the video titles included the lesson numbers and the lesson titles. The pros: Again the videos. While the lessons are mostly parent led, the videos give a brief demonstration that really helps to cement what the lesson taught plus it helps people like my wife and I who have little talent at drawing to see what it is supposed to look like. A focus on fundamentals. Rather than leaping into drawing, Bob starts off with basics like holding the pencils properly, paper positioning, even good posture. I will admit to having no experience with other art programs but the way Bob builds it from the ground up makes it very user friendly for parents. I think it can be intimidating for parents without art aptitude to try to teach their kids. Price. Simply draw is only $37.50 and that gets you a 200 page lesson book and a DVD that includes video lessons plus pdf files of the material to print up. For a family of eight kids like ours, that is a great price point. The product has been very helpful already. My boys were a bit resistant at first but they are at least trying and I can see some improvement already. My girls, especially the two older ones, already draw a lot including using an electronic tablet so I think this will be great for them to make...
- December 23, 2011
A Drawing Program I Can Cheer About...
Melody
Enter Simply Draw with Bob Parsons; a drawing program that starts with the basic line, which anyone can manage, and transforms it slowly into a work of art. When the good folks at Timberdoodle offered to send me this program in exchange for an honest review, I was very excited...and I have not been disappointed. Simply Draw scored major points with me right out of the package... #1--It's fully reproducible, which for an art program is incredibly nice. #2--It's 3-hole punched and binder ready. Have I told you about my fascination with binders? I'm not going to tell you how many I have but I will tell you that I have dismantled perfectly healthy books in order to make them binder-friendly. This makes for easy access to reproducible pages (no squishing bound books in the copier), adds pockets for my notes, and hard cover protection for well-loved programs. #3--The pages are all CARD STOCK...almost 200 pages of it. I could hardly believe my fingers! *sigh* If only all programs could be printed on lovely, sturdy card stock! #4--The program includes a DVD with a list of corresponding lesson pages and DVD lesson duration times. My kids love video instruction and so do I. While the course is not entirely taught via video, the provided demonstrations and lessons (about 3 hours worth) and PDF file of all practice pages are sufficient to assist any beginning art teacher. The DVD is designed to only play on a computer but this is not a problem for my family...and not strictly necessary for using the program. Simply Draw is to drawing what phonics is to reading. The sight reading method does work but leaves the reader with gaps where solid building blocks should be. Phonics teaches an understanding of common elements that go into all words. The word may be yet unknown, but the student knows he will be able to read it someday soon. While we are still only in the beginning lessons of the program, I can already call it a success. The children are enjoying the learning pr...
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