Drawing Masterclass: Animals

Reviews / Votes

July 13



The latest in the series focuses on wild and domesticated animals and provides 11 short step-by-step projects for readers to try. Those seeking tips on sketching animals from life in a wide variety of media may be disappointed, as Swinburne uses photographs as the main inspiration and pencil as the primary medium for the animal drawings presented. However, careful readers hoping to depict detailed and polished drawings of animals realistically will be satisfied with this book. VERDICT Both teens and adults who are short on time will appreciate this guide's concise approach. * Library Journal, USA * Jan 13



As with previous volumes in this series, you get a lot for your money, though the layout here is a little more conventional, the book consisting mainly of a series of demonstrations and some notes on detail work. An innovation is the online demonstrations which you can access through a link or a QR code that you scan with a mobile phone. This is a good idea, though I must admit that I find the codes intrusive on the page and I do wonder whether the small screen of a phone is the ideal viewing medium. Tablets tend to have lower-resolution cameras and can struggle with these codes, so typing URLs on a keyboard may be the best solution. All the codes are the same and lead to a long online menu, so placing a single reference on the title page might have been a better idea. I'm sorry to have taken so long over what sounds like a quibble, but the idea of using YouTube rather than supplying a bound-in DVD is so stunningly obvious that I'm genuinely surprised that this is the first time I've seen it done. It's cheap, flexible and adds immeasurably to the value of the book without compromising the price and I'd urge other publishers to follow suit. Just keep the content good and appropriate, that's all. A video done for the sake of it undoes all the good work of the printed page. The book itself doesn't start hugely promisingly. Lucy draws, as artists often do, her materials and equipment and it seems she struggles with three-dimensional objects and their perspective. This is particularly odd as this is one of her strengths when it comes to animals, which are much more difficult than a simple water pot. In every single case, her subjects have depth, texture, life and character and she is one of the best animal artists I've come across. After the usual introduction to materials and techniques the book is, as I said, a series of demonstrations. These are divided into wild and domestic animals and include meerkats, elephants and tigers, dogs, cats and horses. Each section is a specific image, so you don't get the huge variety that some other volumes in the series have introduced. At the same time, these are subjects that need a lot of attention and detail work and the trade-off is worthwhile. * Artbookreview.net * Jan 13



Wow! This book really made me want to draw animals, and that is something that was never on my to do list. Lucy is an excellent artist and her work speaks for itself. This book covers many types of animal with eleven step-by-step projects to help you improve your drawing skills. There is an in-depth section on mark-making and materials such as surfaces and drawing equipment. Techniques such as fur and whiskers are included. You'll also find information on planning your drawing. I like Lucy's drawing style and her animals are realistic. This book also includes the bonus of free links to online tutorials. Great value for anyone who likes drawing animals. * Karen Platt Yarnsandfabrics.co.uk/crafts * Jan 13



Drawing Masterclass is a new series that's hit the ground running. Apart from the practically inevitable, but mercifully short, introduction to materials, they're based round a generous selection of short demonstrations that assume you already have some basic technical skills. As a result, they can concentrate on the subject in hand and the techniques necessary - in this case, to deal with complex shapes and the textures of hair and fur. Proportion, shape and perspective are the essential basics of drawing animals and Lucy gets these right every time. Follow her simple guide at the beginning of the book and you will too. Once you have the outline, it's time to build up the features and get to work on the textures and Lucy has plenty of advice to offer here. The book is divided into two main sections, covering wild and domestic animals, and includes meerkats, elephants, tigers, dogs, cats and horses. This gives as wide a variety of shapes and skin or fur types as you're likely to encounter, thus giving you the tools to draw almost any species. * Paint * Feb 13



People have been drawing animals for thousands of years, and indeed are one of the oldest subjects for art. Learn how to put your own impressions of pets, zoo animals and more in this useful primer. You don't need much more than pencils and paper to make a drawing, and there is a good section here on what to buy and what sort of marks each is capable of. There is also a section showing what different types of paper can offer with examples, and also something on setting up an area for working. I was particularly impressed by the section on reference material and what makes a good study of an animal and a poor one, with more helpful examples to look at. Discover how to get the most out of the animal you are trying to photograph or draw and how to use source material. The animals themselves include cats and dogs, a tiger, wolf, meerkat, horse and lizard and each project is made up of illustrated steps explaining what to do next. As a plus there are codes you can scan with a Smartphone or type into a computer or tablet where you can watch the artist at work. As with most YouTube style footage it is rather faint and looks better on a large screen than a small one. Added to the information in the book it does help to bring out certain tricky parts such as eyes, fur, expression etc and I hope to see more of this in the future. I would have liked more on getting the look of the animal's coat right and a slightly longer section on using the acetate grid but apart from that this is a good, user friendly guide. This book is aimed more at people who have already had some drawing experience and want to try something different rather than the total beginner to drawing. However, anybody belonging to the group termed "improvers" should get plenty out of it. * Myshelf.com * Mar 13



In her Introduction, Lucy Swinburne explains that her aim is to equip her readers with as much preparation as possible so that you will be able to 'produce a portrait of which you can be proud'. A brief history of animal drawing is followed by a description of the materials you will need and the techniques required to achieve certain effects, such as stippling, negative shading, curved crosshatching and graduated shading. These materials include graphite pencils, pastel, pens, carbon and charcoal pencils. Surfaces come next, before Lucy starts on creating her drawings, showing you how to gather and use reference material, prepare your workstation, plan your picture and transfer it to paper. Demonstrations follow, including step-by-step stages on how to draw wild animals, from wolves and meerkats to elephants, tigers and cheetahs; as well as domestic animals such as dogs, cats, horses, rabbits, and even a bearded dragon! The instruction is clear and well presented, with the pages kept uncluttered by unnecessary distractions. Throughout the book you will see a number of QR codes (3D barcodes) that provide short video tutorials, which are free to view either on the Search Press website or on the web address printed alongside the code. * Leisure Painter, The * February 2015



Lucy's beautiful and confident illustrations in this new book will have you reaching for your pencils after only a few pages. Her drawings get proportion, shape perspective and texture right time after time and her subjects seem to come alive on the page. After a brief introduction to materials and techniques, the book moves on to a series of short demonstrations, divided into wild and domestic animals, that includes meerkats, elephants, tigers and horses. Each one shows you how to work from the basic outline, adding layers and detail and building up to the texture of hair or fur. Working in this way, you can be sure that you are keeping the proportions right and that your result will have that lifelike look. As well as being the species you're most likely to encounter these also feature a good variety of shapes and structures, allowing you to develop techniques that will help you draw almost any species. * SAA * Dec 12



This new series is excellent and its authors pack a lot in. As well as information on the technicalities of drawing, including working from photographs and planning your final picture, there are 11 demonstrations of both wild and domestic animals. These include a variety of shapes, poses and hair and fur types, as well as details such as eyes, noses and ears. An innovation in this volume is links to online videos that complement the printed demonstrations. * Artist, The *