I loved this "how to" book so much that I bought a paperback copy to have in my art studio as well! It can appeal to several different age groups and would even be a great addition to an art teachers library, highly recommend.

Amarilys Henderson's "Drawing and Painting Expressive Little Animals" is a delightful guide that brings charming creatures to life on the page. With simple yet effective techniques, Henderson empowers artists of all levels to infuse their animal creations with unique personalities. This book is a treasure trove for those seeking to add a touch of whimsy and character to their artistic repertoire.

I was provided an advanced copy of this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I definitely can't do any of this art, but I did really enjoy looking through it and feeling like I could with the instructions!

Amarilys Henderson's use of color and emotion is aesthetically inspiring. Her color combinations are unexpected and lend an ethereal quality, which is reminiscent of a folk art style. This guide would make a lovely gift for any artist and enthusiast, however, it may not provide enough detail for true beginners. There is an overreliance on using visual comprehension to great perspective, which may be difficult for novices to pick up on. Suggestions to "sharpen your eye," without more detail are a challenging concept to capture. The basics were a little light and more detail about basic shapes would have been helpful. Nonetheless, the beauty in Henderson's artistry cannot be denied. Whimsically beautiful.

This is a delightful little book that offers all kinds of animal examples. Gives you just what it promises in a fun format. Recommended for all ages.

Watercolor Zoo

Amarilys Henderson has a wonderful sense of color and style in all of the animals featured in Drawing and Painting Expressive Little Animals. Her use of watercolor is striking, as she is not afraid to use bold and contrasting colors in her art. Each animal is drawn and colored from start to finished. The general outlines and drawing instructions of each animal are helpful, detailed, and easy to follow. They are not simplified by shapes, instead rely on general outlines rather than basic figure drawing. This may make these animals difficult to draw for beginners. Additionally, each drawing contains watercolor instructions. Including a list of color pigments she uses, how to apply the color, and finishing touches. Henderson has an impressive control over her watercolors as her shaping, shading, and inking of each animal is lovely to look at. The one complaint would be that some of the images of Henderson watercolor painting is at an angle and difficult to see. As an added bonus there are different style hints that reference different cultural or technique changes. This shows how artists can change up Henderson’s designs to make something different. Overall, this is a great book for intermediate drawing and beginner watercolor.

I received a free copy of the book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book. I'm a watercolor artist who mostly paints landscapes, but for the longest time, I wanted to get into other subjects, especially animals. This book is delightful and not crazy serious. It has step-by-step instructions on how to draw and paint expressive, cute animals. I also loved all the different "twist" sections. I would definitely recommend this book to any beginner, intermediate or advanced artist - anyone can get something out of it.

Great little book, I loved it,

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me access an ARC of this book in exchange for my feedback.

Do you long to draw animals with personality?
Watercolor illustrator, artist and Skillshare instructor Amarilys Henderson focuses on vertebrate animals in her book "Drawing and Painting Expressive Little Animals. Step-by-Step Techniques for Creating Animals with Personality- Includes 66 Step-by-Step Tutorials" and published by Quarto Publishing Group – Quarry. She starts with some preliminary sketching to make the animals more approachable in the first part of the book "Animal Essentials" before switching to step-by-step watercolor tutorials in the second part.
Henderson states as a goal: "Drawing and painting animals is learned, and it’s as attainable for you as it was for me. I still struggle with certain animals. I still feel uncomfortable drawing what I see because I simply don’t trust it sometimes. And I still rely heavily on a reference rather than working from memory. Creative hurdles feel so real to us, but they aren’t obvious to those who appreciate the product of our work. And not being gifted in an area makes you pay better attention to what works, what you’ve learned, and how proud you are of your feats. That’s why this book is meaningful to me, and I trust it’ll be impactful for you" (p. 5).
The first part of the book contains information to basic supplies, animal forms, animalistic elements, ... Throughout the book Anderson has not only included activities but has also listed the materials / colors that are needed to execute them. For artists who want to go further there are also exercised entitled "Style Twist." The book is completed by a list of resources and an index.
This is the second book by this author which I have read and once again it is a book with great information, design and illustrations. I really appreciated Henderson's approach. I want to highly recommend the book for beginners as well as advanced artists and I am convinced that it will make also a great present for them.
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.
#DrawingAndPaintingExpressiveLittleAnimals #NetGalley

Super fun this is such a great book on drawing expressive animals! The instructions were really easy to follow. I love the book and I highly recommend it to young artists and anyone who enjoys doodling. I love the variety of expressions achievable from lines. Truly enjoyed this book!

I'm not an artist and I have zero talent. But I do like sketching cute animals. It's not a hobby, but something I find myself doing while waiting in a queue on the telephone. Some people doodle, others draw squares. Me I draw animals.

Never could quite get them right. Now this book has made sense to me like no other. It's quite simple when you know how.

So Thank you

What a beautiful tutorial book! This has got hints, tips, and instructions for drawing and painting every animal you could think of. It goes into depth talling you about each joint / marking of the animal so you can get a feel for how a certain arm needs to be drawn, or how to add texture. The sketching instructions and illustrations are clear, simple, and easy to follow - perfect for a total beginner for me. Each one has a step by step to follow, adding more detail each time.
I got a little lost when it moved onto the painting side of things; the instructions are still very clear, but being brand new to painting, I found I needed more help to make mine look like the images in the book. If you have even a hint more of creative talent than I do, you should be fine though!
All in all, a lovely book to help you bring all sorts of animals to life in your sketchbook.
Thank you to Quarto Publishing Group and Netgalley for an eARC of this book to read and review.

I've always struggle with drawing and painting animals and this book made it seem so easy! It offered some truly mind-blowing techniques -- instead of focusing on details, draw the basic shapes first! and in watercolor! -- and I can't wait to try them.

I've always found watercolor to be a very intimidating medium, partly because I thought you had to perfect your sketch before ever touching paint to paper. But now I desperately want to try making the basic shape sketch with watercolor - it really feels like it's going to be a gamechanger.

There are clear step-by-step instructions for painting several animals, with further tips to adapt those instructions to fit other animals by noticing similarities and differences. I'm feeling so inspired after reading it.

If you've ever wished you could draw or paint animals with more accuracy or more whimsy, this is the book for you.

Thanks to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group - Quarry Books for providing an e-arc for review.

Great little book on drawing cute expressive animals! It's easy and so much fun when the teacher is thorough and easy to follow. Amarilys Henderson gave an easy way to draw and paint fun little expressive faces in her previous book (which I also own). Now she does the same thing for animals! I love the book and the easy steps as she takes you through them. I love the variety of expressions you can achieve from all the simple lines. I highly recommend this book for your art techniques library.

I was given a preview digital copy to review from NetGalley. I loved it so much that I’ve since preordered a physical copy.

This book gave instructions on drawing and painting different animals. This is a fun book to try out to improve artistic ability.

This book has two of my favorite things - animals and watercolor! I love the step-by-step process of first drawing and then painting each animal. There are a good variety of animals to choose from and they are all very cute.

This was fun to read! I enjoyed the painting bits especially, it felt a bit more free than the drawing tutorials. Then again I am a more color is better kinda gal. :-) I think this title would be perfect for someone just beginning to explore drawing and painting animals, and I think the way the artist uses color is interesting to explore for a person who is already experienced with watercolor painting. Either way if you like art tutorial books and animals pretty sure you can't go wrong here.

Free book for review from netgalley!

Drawing and Painting Expressive Little Animals is a wonderful step by step book! The tutorials are easy to follow and there are great tips included by the author also. I love that a description for the art supplies listed was given as well. A great resource that will be added to our library!

Thank you NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group for this ARC!

As a fan of drawing books, I am always on the lookout for something new.
Sadly this book was pretty much same old same old. The pictures were nice and easy to copy and there was a lot of variety in the animals that you got to draw but they didn't really come alive with personality.
I think the expressiveness was in the variety of movements that you could draw but nothing in the face was any different.
The book offered ways of making the textures different and used various mediums (media?) such as watercolour, pencil and paint. As a general drawing book it would have gained 4 stars but as I don't feel it completely did what it said in the title i.e. there was no expressiveness in the art, so I've given it three.

This book is a visual reference for drawing and painting realistic animals. I loved the gorgeous illustrations and vibrant colors used throughout. The reference provides step-by-step instructions and other tips. This would be a wonderful book for an artist looking to hone their skills.

Thank you Quarto Publishing Group – Quarry and NetGalley for providing this ARC.