Draw Like an Artist by Brynn Metheney details step by step how to draw different 100 fantasy creatures and characters.

The designs in this book do seem very complicated and I wish that they had been broken down into more steps to help the reader follow.. I would recommend this book for more advanced artists who want to specialize in learning to draw fantasy creatures and characters.

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to the author Brynn Metheney, the publisher Quarry Books, and NetGalley for granting me access to Draw Like an Artist: 100 Fantasy Creatures and Characters in exchange for an honest review.

Draw Like an Artist: 100 Fantasy Creatures and Characters features four pages (two spreads) of written instruction paired with simple examples, then launches straight into 100 creatures on 100 pages (50 spreads.) The method used is the wireframe base, rather than divided blobs, and all 100 creature illustration demos go from wireframe to completed illustration in six phases.

On one hand, I expected a little more written instruction throughout, and I would love to have been presented with a few more focused tutorials at the beginning (focus on a reptilian head, focus on a hooved foot and ankle, discussion of knees vs hocks and when to use them, basics of wings, etc.)

On the other hand, the 100 creatures in six phases are beautifully done, and while a lot of detail is achieved in just six steps, it's all achieved fairly evenly in a way that is easy to follow and spot the differences. This book does not fall into the dreaded "now add details" trap that so many drawing tutorials do. These illustrations are colouring book ready by stage four, and the finer details are spread over stages five and six.

Overall this is a great resource for kids and adults alike who would like a little help in getting started with drawing a vast variety of fantasy creatures. It may only present one pose per creature and move on, but the stages of drawing development build skills a budding artist can transfer to their own efforts, and each drawing does manage to highlight all the important body elements of each creature, no matter what post it has taken.

These drawings are past my skill set but it's a great bunch of tutorials for artists who can follow basic tutorials. This uses the standard of drawing circles and lines to show the basic shapes and bends of a creature, then fleshing it out with rougher circles and getting more and more detail, erasing earlier pencil lines as you refine. Other than a very brief introduction to the techniques, this is basically a wordless book and without color. Each of the 100 fantasy creatures is done in black/grey and white. These are fantasy creatures of the sort you'd see in Lord of the Rings, Dungeons and Dragons manuals and so on, not child-like creatures. There are a few different ones like leprechauns and gnomes but mostly they're a little darker. Each drawing is depicted in six steps, one per page. All in all, a great sourcebook.

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for review.

This book is a visual reference for drawing 100 fantasy characters. The step-by-step instructions for each creature were really neat.
I wish there was more instruction and it went a little further, like teaching more about basic anatomy and shading. Overall, a pretty cool reference for those looking to improve their skill at drawing fantasy characters!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC.

100 Fantasy Creatures & Characters is a sourcebook and tutorial guide in the Draw Like An Artist series. Released 8th Sept 2020 by Quarto on their Quarry imprint, it's 112 pages and available in paperback and ebook formats.
These books all follow the same format. A very short introduction (10% of the content) gives some basic tips and very (very) brief overview of recommended materials. The following chapters contain short step-by step progress illustrations for line drawing 100 fantasy creatures and characters grouped together by category: creatures first (gryphon, unicorn, kelpie, and so forth) followed by characters (sorcerer, dwarf, mountain troll, etc). The book also includes a final chapter with specific original studies in the same 6 step format such as lava swimmer and goulodon.

These are very simple single page 5-8 step illustrations. The finished drawings are not part of a composition, and there is no written direction involved. All of them are simple enough to not really require directions. None of them are beyond the ability of keen amateur level. Correspondingly, there is little here which will challenge advanced artists.

This would make a superlative choice for young artists or adult learners, especially bundled with drawing supplies. There are several other companion volumes available also (flowers, faces, and some others probably).

Four stars (given the limitations). I will say that very many of these were pretty darned cool and would look great printed on cards or used as coloring pages.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

This is a book that I will refer to often. It is full of wonderful pictures, illustrating everything from mermaids to mummies, and a lot more. I will attempt to draw one of them soon, and another, and another. Truly this is a book to treasure, and I am giving it five stars, though I would give it more stars is I could. Highly recommended.