Great book with step by step instructions on drawing realistic images of fantasy characters. There are details on the pencil drawings, but very minimal info when it gets to the coloring step. If you are looking for a great drawing book for dragons etc. this is a good place to look.

I really enjoyed this how to book on how to draw dragons (Yeah Dragons!) and other magical creatures. I got to spend some relax time while my baby was asleep drawing dragons with my morning coffee. The steps gave you the general structure of the creature and then you had to use your creativity to create details of scales, fur, etc. It was a wonderful experience.
#drawingdragons #Netgalley

This is a nice book to learn how to draw specific fantasy characters. This is a great starter book, for a teen getting into drawing. The explainations are very clear and the process is shown step by step.

I am so impressed with this book. It has beautiful illustrations with fairly detailed instructions for learning to draw dragons and other fantasy art. I feel it will take me time to become as good as the artist but with practice and these steps I believe I can accomplish fairly decent drawings of all my favorites and more. I received this book from netgalley for an honest opinion and I love it! I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves fantasy!

The artist who illustrated this book is incredibly talented. The dragons and creatures included were well drawn and fantastic. I do not feel I could do these drawings as well. The book seemed to be a more advanced teaching than a learning book. I feel the descriptions about tools used and ways to draw and shade were well done. However once it got to the dragons it was six steps and I just got lost. It was as easy to follow along.

Maybe this is a lore advanced drawing guide. If you’re interested in learning to draw dragons and magical creatures and you have patience this book is for you.

I’m not a drawer but this is a fabulous book to step you through, even for a Novice! Definitely a must look for.

A lovely collection of magical creatures, with good, solid tips on how to draw them. Overall, a good helping hand to the aspiring illustrator.

I enjoyed the works presented in this how-to. I learned a lot and really enjoyed this went just past dragons. While I liked that they added the colouring aspect of the pieces, they didn't break down the drawing. While they are assuming that the beginning chapters were enough to extrapolate from, for me, I knew step by step instructions still.

The Little Book of Drawing Dragons & Fantasy Characters is a tutorial book aimed at artists of all levels of experience. Released 3rd Sept by Quarto on their Walter Foster imprint, it's 128 pages and available in paperback format.

The book follows a logical, easy progression. The general introduction covers tools and materials, along with a short treatment of breaking subjects down into geometric shapes and refining them, adding details, shading and texture. It separates the drawing process into technical elements which can be studied and mastered by any student with practice.

The next couple of chapters are full of tutorials for dragons (western and eastern), wyverns, wyrms, centaurs, fairies, and 8 more.

The fourth and final section gives a short tutorial with projects for adding color with markers, colored pencils, and watercolors. There is a small amount of filler in the page content with 'practice pages' scattered throughout, but there is a lot of good instructional content here. I found a lot of useful information and added a couple of sketches to my sketchbook based on the siu riu (Japanese water dragon).

This would make a super gift with a set of pencils or drawing materials for learning realistic anatomy based graphic fantasy art.

Five stars.

This book is so helpful and really easy to use for drawing. The instructions are so good and it breaks everything down so well. So many different methods the book uses to ensure you draw things correctly and easily.

I enjoyed the works presented in this how-to. I learned a lot and really enjoyed this went just past dragons. While I liked that they added the coloring aspect of the pieces, they didn't break down the drawing. While they are assuming that the beginning chapters were enough to extrapolate from, for me, I knew step by step instructions still.

This book is very detailed but it is not necessarily for beginners. I would suggest this for more intermediate artists. The illustrations are beautiful and they break down supplies(tools) and strokes but the details are very intricate. I am currently
Using to try and draw the dragons and it’s definitely a challenge. Overall it’s a fantastic reference to use for fantasy illustrations.

This was a short but useful book about drawing and shading, and making realistic images of fantasy beasts such as dragons, griffins, satyrs, and wyrms. It takes a step-by-step approach, and I'm not sure I buy into this raw blocky shapes first approach, followed by refining them because, for me at least, it means a rather soul-destroying trudge through drawing and erasing repeatedly as the blocky shape is transformed into the final artwork. Ultimately though, the point is to get to that final image, so whatever works for you as an artist is the way to go.

I wish more attention was paid to thais kind of thing, because I've seen very many art books which take this same approach and treat all prospective artists as though they are at the same level with the same personality and methodology and in need of precisely the same tuition. That is patently untrue, but I guess if you wish for more individual attention, you take an art class. This book is a 'lowest common denominator' kind of approach, but that doesn't mean it can't take you at least a part of the way along the path you wish to travel, and if starting here gets you closer to that fine end result embodied in the examples we see here, then this is as good a way to go as any!

On that basis I commend this as a worthy read.

REVIEW

The Little Book of Drawing Dragons & Fantasy Characters

More than 50 tips and techniques for drawing fantastical fairies, dragons, mythological beasts, and more


by Michael Dobrzycki, Bob Berry, Cynthia Knox, Meredith Dillman, Kithera of Anevern


A Walter Foster art book is a prize. I remember looking through my mother’s art books by Walter Foster that dealt with fashion illustration and wanting to become an illustrator...but those were the dreams of childhood. I also remember seeing the books in art stores when we would go after school for my mother to pick up paint or brushes or other art supplies. More recently I have purchased original Walter Foster art books to assist me with drawing I have picked up later in life and they are definitely keepers no matter whether old or newly on the market!


In this book I learned more about the fantastic beings that populate fantasy worlds and fairy tale lands. And, as adults are also reading fantasy and fairy tales and learning to draw these creatures sounded intriguing I was thrilled to be given the chance to look through and try my hand sketching a few...and...they are not quite like in the book but were fun to create.


I also learned a bit about some of the creatures while learning to first draw them by putting basic shapes next to one another, smoothing the shapes into lines and then add texture, color and more to make them pop off the page.


Did I enjoy this book? Yes

Would I buy this book for my collection? Definitely


Thank you to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing – Walter Foster for the ARC – This is my honest review.


5 Stars

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44287359-the-little-book-of-drawing-dragons-fantasy-characters?ac=1&from_search=true




Description


Featuring drawing lessons, step-by-step projects, and open practice pages, The Little Book of Drawing Dragons & Fantasy Characters teaches beginning artists how to draw dragons, fairies, mythological beasts, and more.

Step-by-step projects, creative exercises, interactive prompts, and helpful tips and techniques bring this popular drawing subject to life and invite creativity and personalization. Drawing techniques, such as value, shading, and creating texture and perspective, are included to help artists of all skill levels learn to draw accurately. Learn to draw fur, scales, wings, tails, and how to put them all together to create your own unique fantasy characters and artwork.

More than 15 step-by-step projects include:Western Dragon, Eastern Dragon, Water Dragon, Hydra, Centaur, Fairy, Minotaur, Griffin, Unicorn And more!


In the popular, established The Little Book of... series from Walter Foster Publishing, artists and art hobbyists alike delight in learning a variety of fun, approachable, relevant, and interesting art topics in a portable format boasting a fresh, contemporary, and interactive design. Open practice pages, creative exercises, and art prompts encourage interactivity for immediate results while teaching beginners the fundamentals of the featured medium in a fun, engaging way.

This is a wonderful little book for beginners and experienced artist alike. There are sections on various magical creatures as well as dragons in their basic forms, then it goes into various media like marker, colored pencil and watercolor to make some beautiful finished drawings. Really enjoyed it! Good reference book!

This is a good book for anyone with some drawing experience who wants to focus on the details of dragons and fantasy creatures. There are some good step by step projects with an excellent variety of good quality pictures to try. However I don't think there are enough steps for a complete beginner. I love the section that focusses on the individual features such as scales, skin and claws. This will allow any artist to select different styles and work on intricate details of a subject. It is a good quality well thought out book and I would have loved for it to be double the size with lots more projects to try.

This book shows you how to simplify your drawings. You break down the subject into basic shapes like circles and triangles which later become body parts like a head or claws. I found the chart of how to create different textures very helpful and a great resource to look back at.

I was amazed at how easy it was when you followed the step by step instructions. I would have been overwhelmed if I had tried to draw the creatures from the end drawing. But breaking it down it into steps and leaving the details for the end makes the process much easier.

I like to paint more than I like to draw. However, I think the principals I learned about shadows and highlights will help me in my painting. As you are drawing you realize how well-placed shadows will help show proportion and depth.

The last portion of the book covers added color to your drawings. I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone interested in learning to draw.

I received this book from NetGalley.