The Art of Drawing Animals: Discover all the techniques you need to know to draw amazingly lifelike animals
by Cindy Smith, Nolon Stacey, Patricia Getha, Linda Weil, Debra Kauffman Yaun
Walter Foster Publishing

This is a book I requested from NetGalley and the publisher and the review is my opinion alone.
Walter Foster books have been in my home since I have been a child, my dad taught himself to draw and paint with them. I am in my 60's now and still love them. I am definitely buying this one when it comes out! It has so much in it.

I believe a beginner or intermediate artist would love it. It has a section to show the tools and materials needed, drawing basics, techniques for shading and textures, how to draw from a photo, and perspective drawing.

The animals they show are step-by-step with pictures and instructions that are easy to understand. They show the free hand first step and they have a traceable step #2 if the beginner feels that this would be a good start at first. No, tracing is not cheating!

Baby animals shown in the step-by-step method include:
Bunny, bear cub, lion cub, lamb, giraffe calf, and tiger cub.

Cats and dogs shown in step-by-step method:
Kitten, Doberman puppy, kitten and butterfly, York's puppy, Bulldog, Dachshunds, kittens, cat, Springer Spaniel puppy, Siberian Husky, Silver tabby, Ocicat, and Labrador Retriever.

Horses and ponies shown in step-by-step method:
Foal, Horse in profile, Arabian, standing foal, cantering foal, Gypsy Vanner, American Paint horse, Pinto pony, and Dappled pony.

Animals in the wild shown in the step-by-step method:
Elephant, Australian Barking Owl, Koala, and Kangaroo.

Then it has a section for learning colored pencil drawing which I found useful. Here are the animals they show still using the step-by-step method!
Rooster ( which looks so pretty!), Shetland Sheepdog, horse, leopard, Maine Coin cat, and an Alpaca!

I really enjoyed this book and learned a lot. I can't wait to buy it! Even some of the side lessons look fun such as the perspective drawing has a monitor lizard! All the animals are adorable! I may not be great at art but I love to keep trying and I still feel the need for step-by-step instructions and these are wonderful with the images and directions so clear and helpful.
I highly recommend this book for beginners or intermediate artists!

The Art of Drawing Animals by Cindy Smith, Nolon Stacey, Patricia Getha, Linda Weil and Debra Kauffman Yaun was a really good book However I found it a bit advanced for beginners, but with lots of practise you will get there. This new book tells you tells you; what materials you need to have, what materials to use and how to use them. The correct techniques to use to create a masterpiece, Your masterpiece!. Especially, as it has a great step-by-step guidelines on how to draw some great animals, a bear, lion, cat, dog giraffe etc. I found this book very interesting and gave me the inspiration to pick my HB pencils and Sketch pad up again.

Thank you to Netgalley and Walter Foster Publishing for an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Art of Drawing Animals is fun and engaging. I liked the prompts and tool lists are always helpful, but it may be frustrating for beginner artists due to lack of detailed instruction. If you are looking for drawing prompts and examples this book may be helpful

The Art of Drawing Animals is a careful work of helping even people with basic sketching abilities learn how to draw detailed sketches (in colour as well as monochrome) of a wide range of animals, including animals participating in different activities and expressions.

I truly wish I had a pet because I am so certain that the skills that come from this book would not only be helpful towards replicating the sketches used as examples, but also to make creations of your own, using the book and its methodology as guidance.

The step-wise approach to each sketch is also reflective of how it is actually possible to get better at sketching with due practice at the beginning.

This is an awesome book! I will be buying one for my granddaughter because she is a beginning artist, but I also plan to get one for a friends daughter who is a more advanced artist.
The book is very informative and interesting.

I received a free advanced copy from NetGalley and these are my willingly given thoughts and opinions.

This worked well for me! It's easy to understand and not at all intimidating, especially for new learners like me who don't have any talent in this field. With just enough practice and guidance, anyone can enjoy making portraits of our furry friends.

Do you like to draw animals?
"The Art of Drawing Animals. Discover all the techniques you need to know to draw amazingly lifelike animals" was created by Cindy Smith, Nolon Stacey, Patricia Getha, Linda Weil, and Debra Kauffman Yaun, and published by Quarto Publishing Group – Walter Foster. It is one in the series "The Art of Drawing ...". Its goal is to help artists to discover all the techniques they need to know to draw amazingly lifelike animals. The first part of the book contains basic information about tools & materials, drawing basics, various techniques, and instructions how to draw from photos. Then the book is divided into five chapters: 1) Baby Animals, 2) Cats & Dogs, 3) Horses & Ponies, 4) Animals in the Wild (only four animals), and 5) Animals in colored pencil (only six animals). The book is useful for advanced beginner and intermediate artists. The step-by-step drawings will help artists to work on a particular subject and the tips, e.g., how to shade an eye, or how to draw the nose and muzzle of a dog are really helpful. It is important to note that most of the examples are done in the white-gray-black shades, but there are a few drawings that use colored pencils. It is also important to realize that there is a limited variety of animals presented. There are plenty of drawings of cats, dogs, horses, and ponies, but there are, e.g. only one rooster and one owl, no other birds. Consequently I recommend the book to artists who like to draw those animals, for drawing other animals it might be wise to look for another resource.
The complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley free of charge. I was under no obligation to offer a positive review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
#TheArtOfDrawingAnimals #NetGalley

The Art of Drawing Animals is a reformat and compilation which contains some content published between 2006 and 2008. This release is due out in late 2021 from Quarto on their Walter Foster imprint, it's 128 pages and will be available in paperback and ebook formats (ebook available currently).

The layout follows the familiar Walter Foster tutorial format. An introduction covers tools and supplies and is followed by a short and easily accessible general drawing tutorial and an introduction to texture and perspective. There's a good subchapter on blending, texture strokes, and pencil techniques as well as a short intro on how to compose a drawing and textures and shading for animal drawings as well as a short intro on reference photos.

Each of the chapters includes several start to finish projects illustrating the concepts and techniques from the chapter. The tutorials are grouped roughly thematically: baby animals, cats & dogs, horses & ponies, wild animals, and rendering with colored pencils.

This is a very basic book but full of good technique and will provide some useful takeaways for the majority of readers/artists. This entire series is worthwhile and will be a valuable addition to the artist's home library. Although the tutorials are not aimed at new beginners, there are numerous takeaways for artists at all levels of expertise and the specific step-by-step tutorials will give all readers a benchmark to aim for.

Four stars.

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

While this book is a bit advanced for beginners, I would recommend this to anyone looking to take their animal drawings to be next level. I especially appreciated the concrete tips for drawing fur, and as the book went on, the section on colored pencil was particularly helpful for me, as I prefer drawing in color. I learned a lot from this and look forward to seeing other art instruction books from Cindy Smith.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #WalterFoster for the #arc of the #artofdrawinganimals!

This is definitely not a child's or a beginner's drawing book. I have been doing some sketching lately using "Things to Draw" books, but I have no training and I don't consider myself to be an artist by any means. This is much more artistic, professional and instructive than the books I've been referring to recently. This books is geared more toward really learning how to draw versus just monkeying around. This is a book for a bit of a more serious pursuit of lifelike drawing. The first thing I needed to do was buy some proper drawing pencils, I'm such and art novice that I didn't even realize I needed different pencils for different parts of the drawing. The section on tools and materials was very informative to me. Then I spent some time working through the skill building pages at the beginning of the book, which was really helpful. There was content on the basics of drawing, pencil techniques, the basics of perspective, shading and animal textures. From there, the book was divided into sections for different types of animals: baby animals, cats and dogs, horses and ponies, animals in the wild and animals in colored pencil. A lot of variety is included and there is really something to appeal to everyone. It was a great instructive guide and I think I learned a lot. I would recommend it highly for an intermediate artist who is looking to hone their drawing skills. Thank you to Netgalley and Walter Foster Publishing for an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Art of Drawing Animals is an extensive guide for how to draw life like pictures. It is best suited to intermediate amateur artists, rather than beginners, and is put together by a variety of different artists. There are instructions for tackling different animal features such as fur. A variety of animal projects are included from cats and dogs to horses and wild animals. Different techniques are used and demonstrated, and it would make a great reference book.

The Art of Drawing Animals is a comprehensive, beautiful drawing book! It includes chapters on baby animals, cats & dogs, horses & ponies, animals in the wild, and animals in colored pencil. The book also starts out with an outline of drawing tools and materials, with helpful photos and text accompanying to help artists decide what to use to create with.
Drawing basics cover shading techniques such as hatching and crosshatching, how to create a three dimensional form, perspective, and creating texture. These basics are essential to master before tackling the animal drawing projects included! I have a background teaching art, and these tips are so helpful in breaking down the process to help it be less intimidating for artists to dive into.
The animal drawings are so skillfully done and beautiful. I love that there are both black and white and color projects included, as they are inspirational to anyone interested in doing their own variety of animal drawings!

The Art of Drawing Animals
Discover all the techniques you need to know to draw amazingly life like animals
by Cindy Smith; Nolon Stacey; Patricia Getha; Linda Weil; Debra Kauffman Yaun
Back of the Book: “Learn to draw a wide variety of cute critters, pampered pets, wild animals, and much more with The Art of Drawing Animals!
Featuring an array of adorable pets and majestic wildlife, this book offers simple step-by-step instructions for drawing dozens of incredibly lifelike animals. Inside, five talented professional artists reveal their tricks from the trade for drawing the features that are unique to our furry and feathered friends, from wet noses and expressive eyes to thick fur and delicate whiskers.
The book opens with essential information about drawing tools and materials for both graphite and colored pencils, followed by instructions for approaching a drawing, such as building up forms with basic shapes, tracing photos, and using photo references. The inspiring projects are divided into sections by animal type for easy reference and guide readers on making initial sketches and detailed shading to adding finishing touches. As you progress from project to project, you will find a range of helpful topics, such as portraying accurate proportions and creating dynamic compositions.
Among the amazing animals you'll learn to draw in realistic detail: Yorkie puppy, Giraffe calf, Maine Coon cat, Foal, Elephant, Kangaroo, Rooster Packed with beautiful illustrations and expert instruction, The Art of Drawing Animals is a comprehensive and indispensable resource for all artists smitten with the animal kingdom.”
Impressions: I want to first note that the illustrators of this book are very gifted. That being said they made me, the reader, feel overwhelmed by their skill level. The tools and materials, techniques, and perspective basic sections were helpful. My goal in reading this book is to better my animal portraits. The actual tutorial sections however are where I find fault in this book. The first step in the picture tutorials is literally a drawn animal. I feel like the steps to create a portioned sketch would have been very helpful in making a complete tutorial. The horse in profile, Arabian horse, and koala the only tutorials that provided a full and clear instruction of sketch to finished drawing in my thoughts. The advice for creating texture and shading while using lead or colored pencil illustration was the most helpful information I gleaned from this book. If I were looking for a resource for my art library I would be on the fence about this purchase. I feel that borrowing this from the library would be enough time to work from this book. I would be doubtful that I would continue to come back to this for reference if I would add this to my bookshelf as it didn’t teach me to draw anything.
I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review shared here.

Use this book to add as much or as little detail you want to draw animals that can talk to you. Loved the color at the end. The initial pencil sketches look like the one sin coloring pages. You could start off with some such book and learn the hard part of doing the coat and fur of the animals, with the various type of pencils and tecniques fast, if you want to chop the learning technique into a shorter time period. Digestable chunks of learning. There is an elment of autonomy and creativity too, because you could draw the fur and emphasis like you want.

A great book for beginner or intermediate artists, with clear, step-by-step pictures that help you get to the end result. I love how it provides an outline for each animal, so that you can trace over it and then follow the pictures. There's a great variety of animals, including dogs, cats, horses, and elephants, and I loved the coloured pencil section at the end. With something for everyone, it's a book I would highly recommend to anyone who wants to learn to draw animals.

What a beautiful book! “The Art of Drawing Animals” will provide you with all you need to learn how to draw incredibly realistic and stunningly beautiful animals, including a variety of cats and dogs, many baby animals, horse and ponies, and a number of wild animals. To provide a backdrop for eager beginners, the authors cover the basics including sketching supplies, and techniques such as shading and perspective, however I believe this book would be best appreciated, (and cherished ) by artists with some existing experience who are looking to expand their skill set.

A basic template is provided as a starting point for each animal, which can be traced or used as a model to provide the animal features and perspective. The authors then cover the techniques needed to layer on, step by step, fur, eyes and other distinguishing characteristics to complete the detailed sketch. The results are simply spectacular.

Although drawing skills at this level are somewhat beyond my experience, I know of a number of artists who would love to receive and learn from this book. I highly recommend it to anyone looking to expand their current skill set into the drawing of absolutely beautiful and incredibly realistic looking animals.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Walter Foster Publishing, and the authors, for a temporary advance review copy of this book, which will be published in Sept 2021. All thoughts presented here are my own.

This is a beautiful book. The sample drawings are magnificent. It is intended for intermediate artists to improve their technique for drawing animals. This is not a book for beginners, nor does it claim to be. Several artists/authors contributed to the book each demonstrating different techniques. The book also includes general information about supplies and working with pencils. The majority of the animals are mammals, more specifically, dogs and cats. There are other types of animals thrown in, but this is primarily a book for people who want to improve their technique drawing pet animals. Although I have some experience drawing as a hobby and have taken a college course, I do not draw at the level that would make this book useful to me personally. However I think someone who is a more advanced artist could learn lot from the examples presented.
Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for an advance reading copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

A lovely guide on how to draw a variety of animals, this is perfect for the beginner budding artist. Easy to follow and a good selection of different animals to try out.

I really liked the presentation of this book. The cover, the layout of the pages, the way things were organized, it was all really nice. It has plenty of useful introductory information before the you’re supposed to start drawing which can be useful. I did think the drawing steps could have used more in-between pictures to make it more accessible. Even if it was the same step/instruction, having more pictures of the process would be helpful. As it is, I would only recommend this book to someone who is slightly above beginner level, has already begun experimenting with different charcoal pencils and really enjoys drawing. I also thought the pictures picked to draw where a bit basic and bland, they all had the same feel to them.

I received an eARC from the author/publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Art of Drawing Animals is a wonderful resource for the intermediate artist.
While the beginning does cover materials, tools and techniques, it becomes quickly apparent that one needs to be reasonably proficient in drawing before tackling some of the projects in this book.
I did find the different techniques for drawing fur and textures very helpful, as well as the quick discussion of perspective.
Since there are a number of contributors, there were varying methods, which I found really interesting. Many used basic shapes to start off the process, while some advocated tracing from photographs, while still others divided the whole image using a grid so you can focus on sections at a time.
The first part of the book focuses on black an white images, while the second section covers coloured images. What I loved was the variety. There are numerous cats, a variety of dog breeds, horses, a bunny, a bear cub, an elephant, an owl, a sheep, a giraffe, a tiger cub, a lion cub, a koala, kangaroo, a rooster, a leopard, a llama.

Overall, a fantastic book filled with projects for the intermediate artist.