Draw 62 Animals and Make Them Happy: Step-by-Step Drawing for Characters and Personality - For Artists, Cartoonists, and Doodlers

 

Draw 62 Animals and Make Them Happy is a fun tutorial drawing book for all-ages by Terry Runyan. Due out 20th Oct from Quarto on their Quarry imprint, it's 128 pages and will be available in paperback format.

This is a fun and accessible drawing book with a similar format to the other books in the series. I love drawing tutorial books even though I'm a scientist and don't consider myself an artist. I like the feelings of fun and freedom drawing gives although I'm very often intimidated by starting on a blank page. This tutorial book gives the reader "permission" to just start drawing, to get ink on paper, and that's a big deal. Given the state of the world right now, being able to draw something *happy* is priceless. This might have benefitted by being something of a "right book at the right time", but if so, it's a great bit of serendipity. I spent a week drawing and doodling some of the tutorials here and it's just been so fun and entertaining. I'm still a scientist and not a brilliant technical artist, but I had fun.

The tutorials are exactly that - step by step line drawn series of pictures start to finish. There aren't a lot of extraneous bells and whistles here. There's a full table of contents with each of the animals listed - and it is a comprehensive list; from guinea pig and walrus to binturong and long-eared jerboa.They're whimsically drawn and the format for each is a two page spread with the tutorial drawings on the left page and a "try it yourself" on the facing page with a number of suggested similar poses and settings including other animals and scenery.

Great selection for a gift for a young artist, perhaps with some added sketch pads and pencils. This would also make a superlative classroom or library book.I would also recommend this book to babysitters, grandparents, parents, and basically anyone who spends a fair bit of time with small kids in order to up their 'draw with me' game. I really enjoyed this.  I will use these to decorate journals and notes for friends. I see some line drawn animal scientists in my future (emu and lemur lab nerds with microscope, lab, and test tubes)!

The tutorials are all simple line drawings but would obviously lend themselves well to coloring with other media after drawing. 

Five stars.

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