DragonArt Fantasy Characters: How to Draw Fantastic Beings and Incredible Creatures [Perfect Paperback]

J "Neondragon" Peffer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 27, 2007

Give life to the beings that roam your imagination.

Dragons may terrorize fantasy worlds, but they need peasants to munch on ... heroes to confront ... elegant elves, shrewd sorcerers and dreaded demons to battle. Following on the wings of the ferociously popular DragonArt, this book shows you how to conjure up your own fantasy realms by drawing inspiration from fairy tales, legends and (if you dare) things that go bump in the night.

• Breathe the life into your beings by basing them upon fundamental human anatomy–proportions, facial expressions and gender-specific characteristics.
• Color-coded, step-by-step demonstrations (simple enough that even the dullest of dwarves could follow along!) show you how to create a sordid cast of creatures, including goblins, orcs, sprites, angels, mermaids, centaurs, vampires, werewolves, banshees and more.
• Accessorize each being by tailoring them with tusks, wings, hooves, daggers, armor and various apparel, from the fine garb of nobles to peasant rags.

Copy each being as-is. Or, better yet, follow your own twisted imaginings to conjure up creatures from fantastic lands.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"[An]impressive instructional book ...If you're planning on creating your own comics that steer towards the more fantastical, this is a book to seek out." -- Ain't It Cool News, September 27, 2007

About the Author

Jessica "NeonDragon" Peffer is a fantasy art illustrator and author of DragonArt: How to Draw Dragons and Fantasy Creatures. Her style has overtones of the popular Japanese manga/anime. Trained at the Columbus College of Art and Design, she has done character and logo commissions, and runs a popular website, www.NeonDragonArt.com.

Product Details

• Perfect Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Impact; X edition (August 27, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1581808526
• ISBN-13: 978-1581808520
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #521,123 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jessica Peffer (1983-current)was born in Cleveland, Ohio. She was a 2005 graduate of Columbus College of Art and Design with a major in illustration. Jessica is the author of the DragonArt how-to-draw book series, and the webmaster of neondragonart.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great companion to "DragonArt", October 6, 2007

By 

W "Neko-san" (CA USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: DragonArt Fantasy Characters: How to Draw Fantastic Beings and Incredible Creatures (Perfect Paperback)

DragonArt Fantasy Characters follows the steps of the previous book from J. Peffer, DragonArt. This is a great book for an aspiring artist to learn how to draw fantasy characters. It provide easy to follow instruction and shows Peffer's inspiring art.

This book is divided into five sections: a preface and four parts. The preface contains a tutorial about how to draw people. It briefly covers all the basics: shapes and shading, penciling and inking, coloring, human body, face, facial expressions, hair, hands and feet.

There are step-by-step tutorials on how to draw fantasy beings in part 1, 2, and 3. Part 1 contains 6 classic fantasy creatures: a fairy, a sprite, an elf, a goblin, a dwarf, and an orc. Part 2 contains 6 mythological creatures: a mermaid, a centaur, a faun, an angel, and a kitsune. And part 3 contains 4 night creatures: a banshee, vampire, a werewolf, and a demon.

Part 4 is about fashion. It shows a limited collection of clothes, accessories and weapons for male and female characters of various professions: warrior, ranger, rogue, mage, cleric, samurai, noble, and peasant.

The step-by-step tutorials are very useful, but this book works the best for me as a source of inspiration. J. Peffer's artistic style is refreshing and extremely contagious.

The bad thing about this book is that it's only 128 pages long. Overall, I think this is great book for anyone who wants to learn how to draw fantasy characters.

Other books by J. Peffer:
DragonArt
DragonArt Evolution: How to Draw Everything Dragon

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bloody awesome, October 5, 2007

By 

Shadow "the bookwyrm" (Greenville, NC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: DragonArt Fantasy Characters: How to Draw Fantastic Beings and Incredible Creatures (Perfect Paperback)

I bought the first neondragon book just because I liked the artwork on her website, and while I loved all the monsters, I have always struggled with drawing people. I'm so glad that she came out with this book, it has helped a lot, and even despite that, the graphics are awesome just to look at! I HIGHLY recommend this and everything else she has come out with. Keep up the good work Jess!

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Artist EVER!!!!, January 15, 2008

By 

Ruth Sumaroo "DragonLuva" (KY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: DragonArt Fantasy Characters: How to Draw Fantastic Beings and Incredible Creatures (Perfect Paperback)

Jessica Peffer has come out with the most useful art books that i know of that relate to fantasy. I am a VErY big fan of her work and i recommend this book to every and anybody who is interested in drawing fantasy stuff. GO JESS!!!!