This is one of those book that illustrate how to build up from simple forms thru easy steps a bit more complicated objects. It is well presented and easy to follow. It gives an instant satisfaction to beginners. Unfortunately it leads to nowhere, as you don't learn actually how to draw. For realistic drawing you need to know about perspective, light source, shading techniques, color theory and so on. A lot of non-attractive but necessary know-how. No pain no gain. Simply put: you may draw the subjects in the book succesfully but you won't be able to draw any other subject, yet less from imagination.

I requested an e-copy of this because my husband has taken up drawing comics in his retirement, despite no experience or tuition in drawing, and wants to learn more about drawing wildlife.
This book gives step by step outline drawings of 60 different creatures and plants from meadow, forest and coast, one to a page.
The last image on each page has the finished illustration with suggested colours for completing your own illustration.
I thought the illustrations were charming and made me want to pick up a pencil.. I haven't drawn since school, so I tried out 3 of the illustrations in the interests of completeness.
The instructions were simple to follow, even reading on my phone.
My feather looked a bit like a tree, my hare was recognisable if clumsy, but I was very happy with my hedgehog.

I think this book is suitable for those beginning to draw the natural world and those who want to improve. It seems there are other titles in the Ten Step Drawing series, so I'll be having a look for those.

I enjoyed the way the artist noted how to notice larger shapes within a subject and work from the outside in. It was especially helpful with the plant subjects - breaking down the complicated, tendril like structures into larger shapes before creating the final form. Overall, the book provided some useful tips for creating a quick sketch while out in nature sketching. I could see myself getting a more efficient sketch down when outside sketching with using some of the methods in this book. However, for some of the more complicated animal sketches, I felt like there were larger leaps in between steps that might make it harder for beginners. This might be the concept of 10 steps max, but it was a little jarring.

I love the breadth of subjects covered here - there are some beautiful and uncommon choices presented and I really appreciate that it wasn't a guide to drawing the same 15 flowers we see in every illustration book (don't both looking for a generic rose or tulip, and thank goodness for that!). And, I like that it was organized by natural area - that was a nice change of format. The guide colors for each finished illustration are also a lovely touch, makes it feel a bit more personal/sketchbook-like.

Overall, I love the idea of this guide - but I'm not sold that it accomplishes its aims. The thing is - steps 1 through 8 are yeah, the most important - you gotta start from the ground up, right? - but it is those final touches that make most drawings something that we'd want to sign our name to/look at on a wall. And this book gives you 3-4 very basic steps and then each 'step' becomes more and more complex, but with less guidance, so if you're a novice it is just darn hard to keep up/interpret.

I appreciated when the author took the time to point out the geometry or the shapes behind the drawings - that was really helpful. On the other hand I really struggled with the buds or background leaves that are shown only very small in the later steps and without much individual instruction.

Ultimately, I don't think I was able to learn as much from this as I'd hoped, but to each aspiring artist their own, so maybe it'll serve others better.

My thanks to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for the arc to review.

Cute, concise, easy to follow. Would be a great option for aspiring child artists, or adult patrons that want to find a new hobby. Enjoyable tutorials.