I've never been good at drawing anything - I'm MUCH better at painting. BUT this book was really helpful and I actually drew something that looked like an animal.

This was a cute little book that tries to teach you to draw. I myself have never been very successful at drawing but could see with practice this book helping get better at it. Like many drawing books it starts with the fundamentals of breaking animals down into blocks or parts. A very important step that my frustrated child self didn't want to do but now I deeply regret.

My daughter and I read through this book together, and we loved it a lot! She is quite the little artist, so she was really excited about it, and she drew five cats by using the instructions in the book.

The book is very detailed, yet it is easy to read, and the little graphics are really cute. It explains how to draw lots of different animals, in an easy way. Some of the drawings are in black and white, and some are in colour, with more detail.

This is a fantastic book, which I highly recommend!

Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to the publishers for sharing this one. It's pretty basic, but might be handy for someone who just needs somewhere to start. My full review appears on Weekend Notes.

I loved this book because it explains really well how to draw animals and they aren't just the animals that you may encounter often but all kinds of animals. This is a great book for anyone who wants to learn to draw cute animals.

I have taken drawing classes and have been unsuccessful. With this book, I’ve been able to draw some cute animals. I still need practice, but people can recognize what I’ve drawn. This book gives step-by-step instructions for quite a few different animals. The book starts out talking about faces and bodies and then gets into specifics. My favorite is the cats and how it shows examples of different colorings.

I recommend this book.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) copy of this book and I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

This book was not as easy as i thought it would be. There weren't as many steps as I expected and it was very interesting that each drawing started with the face rather then the body. Each of the animals are super cute but not sure this is the very first drawing book i would start with but would be perfect for those with intermediate skills.

For those who love to draw animals
Japanese artist, illustrator, and picture book author Ai Akikusa presents her book "Drawing Lessons for Beginners: Cute Animals. Learn to draw animals! Start with basic shapes, then make them cute!", published by Quarto Publishing Group – Quarry. In her introduction Akikusa states: "Animals are built differently from one another—some can run faster, some can eat more easily, and some can swim better. It can be interesting to draw animals when you look closely at these kinds of characteristics (p. 6). She challenges the readers: "I’d like you to enjoy observing the characteristics of these animals rather than copying the examples. Then, you’ll eventually notice the unique aspects of each animal. As you get used to drawing animals, you can try drawing different motions or positions such as running or sleeping, or you can even try drawing the animal upright (p. 6)."
Afterwards she gives some basic information (animal bodies, animal faces, drawing balanced bodies, and facial balance) before presenting the drawing of a wide range of animals from well-known ones (e.g., fox, hedgehog, field mouse, ...) To more exotic ones (e.g. Japanese Macque, Okapi, Ring-tailed Lemur, ...) in various steps. Occasionally Akikusa even includes additional information such as the winter coat and summer coat of weasels or the foot print of a camel.
I highly recommend this book for beginners who want to draw animals since Akikusa starts with the basic shapes and builds up on them which is really helpful. The index at the end of the book is really helpful to find a particular animal very fast. One important note: Akikusa gives the outlines of the animals, step-by-step, but she does not give instruction how to color the animals.
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.
#DrawingLessonsForBeginnersCuteAnimals #NetGalley

Cute and adorable, this book is a great guide to drawing animals.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read a digital arc in exchange for my feedback.

Lovely book with easy to follow instructions on drawing cute animals. It is a book that can be used by a very young child as the step by step instructions are illustrated in very simple style. Once having mastered the cutie they can be added to and draw into various backgrounds to make a picture.
Great concept

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

Drawing Lessons for Beginners: Cute Animals is a really informative book for beginners starting out drawing Animals. The book starts out with lots of information about differences in animals bodies, face shapes, head shapes, eyes, legs, feet etc and then moves on to explain how different types of animals have eyes positioned in different places compared to say domestic animals - predatory animals are shown to have eyes at the sides of their heads which I didn't really notice until reading this.
The book then moves on to show you how to draw animals starting with dogs and moving on to other categories such as farm animals, cats, wild animals,zoo animals etc.
This book is great for children and adults and I'm going to have a go at drawing some of these with my own child.

Well written book for beginners to drawing. Instructions are thorough and images are cute. Would be a good book to add to your child's first drawing supplies. I would recommend this be a staple in most libraries and elementary art shelves.

Drawing Lessons for Beginners: Cute Animals is a beginner drawing tutorial book by Ai Akikusa. Released 30th Nov 2021 by Quarto on their Quarry imprint, it's 128 pages and available in paperback format.

This is an appealing book filled with simple tutorials for drawing animals. The tutorials and techniques are suited to beginning artists. There are step by step tutorials for more than 60 different animals (including some similar to one another grouped into families). The introduction includes some very basic drawing instruction for making a balanced drawing and some simple line drawn comparison pages to show the differences between different animal limbs, faces, bodies, and other features.

The pages which follow include simple single page line drawn tutorials for each animal in a couple poses with step by step progression illustrations. They're very simple and will be easy to reproduce for even beginning artists.

This would make a great gift for would-be artists of all ages. The included tutorials are varied and eclectic. There is a complete table of contents, so locating individual ones shouldn't be problematic. They're slanted toward line drawings, though colored pens, crayons, and watercolors could certainly be used to enhance the drawings.

Cute book, accessible for everyone.

Four stars. This would be a nice choice, bundled with some drawing supples, for a young artist. It would also do well for school or public library acquisition, home library, and even for adults/childminders/caregivers/teachers who want to up their "draw with me" game with their young family members.

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

This is the third volume in Akikusa’s drawing books. The first book is Drawing Cute Birds in Colored Pencil and is followed up by Drawing Cute Animals in Colored Pencil. Book #3 —Drawing Lessons for Beginners - Cute Animals — provides the steps in order to draw particular animals and shows the finished animal in colored pencil and in a variety of poses.

Drawing Lessons for Beginners - Cute Animals begins with an illustration of the animal body with the various parts labeled. Akikusa shows the different kinds of animal paws/hoofs as well as heels. Then it’s on to drawing animal faces and specifically, the position of the eyes (front versus side) and upper face shapes (curved versus straight). Finally, Akikusa discusses the idea of a balanced body, which includes the three sections - the head, body and legs. By way of geometric shapes, Akikusa shows the balanced bodies of 7 different dog breeds in both front and side view perspectives. I found this section extremely helpful as it visually explained how to start these drawings and how to think in terms of geometric shapes.

What follows next are the step by step instructions for approximately 48 animals and for about five of them, she includes colored drawings of different members of their family (think dogs, cats, cows, deer, etc). Some unusual animals are included in this collection, such as tamandua, tapir, ring-tailed lemur, and capybara.

For some animals, there are the steps to draw a front and a side view. And sometimes there are colored drawings of other angle(s) or poses. As an example, for the bunny there is an additional page of 8 colored different poses that are just adorable. The number of drawing steps ranges from 4 (mole, standing red panda) to 13 (lion, giraffe). For each animal, Akikusa shows a completed colored animal, which i found to be a useful guide when I pulled out my colored pencils.

I really enjoyed trying my hand at drawing some of these animals and found the steps easy to follow. I highly recommend this book.

Thank you to Quarto Publishing - Quarry Books and NetGalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Such a fun book for all ages!
Even if I am not a kid (anymore), I truly enjoyed it. Clear visual explanations and an entertaining way to learn how to draw so many different animals.

This would be a perfect book for children but also for adults looking to clear their minds and learn a new skill.

Cute animals inside!! For young readers, this will be a good opportunity to learn what kind of animals are out there and also learn to draw them. There are many movements for the animals that you can learn how to draw it. If you are a beginner and like animals, and you want to learn to doodle them, I recommend this book. It's simple to book, and the instructions are very easy to follow.

Drawing Lessons for Beginners: Cute Animals starts with basic lessons in drawing bodies and faces, then starts in on the animals. From dogs to cats, and horses to seals, this book gives budding artists instruction on drawing many of their favorites from land and sea. The instructions are step by step and presented in a way that look hand drawn by a beginning artist. I appreciate that the drawings look more like what I, myself a beginner, can accomplish.

Some animals are a little more challenging, but the step by step instruction definitely helps. The coloration of the creatures makes it better to visualize without looking at other sources.

Drawing Lessons for Beginners: Cute Animals was meant as a starting off point and I found it very fun and engaging. I was honestly surprised that the drawings I attempted resembled their real-life counterparts. This book would be a perfect gift for any age group or skill level. I liked the little facts and notes located throughout, giving little lessons where needed for success. For the reasons listed, I would recommend Drawing Lessons for Beginners: Cute Animals to other readers.

Disclaimer: I was given an Advanced Reader's Copy of this drawing book by NetGalley and the publisher, Quarry Books. The decision to review this book was entirely my own.

Beginning artists of all ages will enjoy this title. The book begins with some general observations and directions before going on to feature lots and lots of animals to draw. Just some of the critters found in these pages include the Shiba Inu (a new pup has moved across the way from me), the polar bear, a horse, a cat, a giraffe, a kangaroo a kdoala and many more.

I never consider myself to be a person with artistic prowess. Howver, I feel that I can follow these instructions and will enjoy practicing.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own.

Contains helpful diagrams on how to proceed with drawing all sorts of animals in many different poses. Perfect for beginners and shy artists. A handy guide for all sorts of artists, from those dabbling in water-colors to embroidery.

Absolutely fantastic book, so easy to use and well explained, the diagrams are so say to follow regardless of age or ability. Will be looking to buy this as its a keeper.