Drawing Animals

Rating:
Summary: Nice book, very helpful
Review: At first glance I didn't care for the book that much because it was short on actual written directions. Just recently I decided to actually try and draw something from the book. I chose the rabbit on page 154 and 155.

First he shows many different views of the animal, then some form sketches, skeleton and musculature and surface anatomy, then comes the part I find most helpful. In three steps he shows you how to do an animal from start to finish. He shows you the outline of the animal. Then the outline with some shading and then the final step of adding texture.

I haven't been drawing very long but I can usually do the outline and shading, but have trouble getting texture that looks real. Even though he doesn't explain how to do the texture in words it was very helpful to me to SEE how to do it.

I showed my husband my completed rabbit drawing and he was stunned! He couldn't believe that I had done it. I may be a dork but I am planning on framing it and hanging it in my daughter's room.

I am working on a bear next. I plan on doing each animal in the book then going back and doing the animals in the different views that he showed. Practice makes perfect they say!

Rating:
Summary: Best drawing resource ever!
Review: If your into drawing animals, this is the book for you! Tips on shading and bases are included. Clear pencil drawings or just outlines you can try to draw. It's the best drawing animal book ever!

Rating:
Summary: Learn to draw many animals
Review: This is a great book that shows you how to draw many animals including elephants, bears, horses, cattle, deer, sheep, primates, cats, dogs, squirrels and rabbits.

For each animal there is a complete sketch of the front, side and three-quarter view as well as close-up front and side head views. Next, sketches using basic shapes show the animals from several angles. Then, skeleton, musculature and surface anatomy are shown and discussed. A brief three-step demonstration of how to draw the animal follows.

Complete drawings of the animals doing various activities such as drinking, touching, sitting, and resting are also shown along with sketches of the animals' young. Sometimes different species of animals are shown such as polar and black bears. Animals sharing a similar shape such as zebra, buffalo, hippopotamus and burro are shown sometimes as well. Drawings include brief commentary.

Though I do like this book and did find it helpful, especially the anatomy/muscle diagrams, I wish the written instructions were a little more detailed. Overall, I would recommend it to any beginning to intermediate artist who wishes to improve their animal drawing technique.