Customer Reviews

How to Draw Animals (Perigee)

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book is a clearly written and easy to follow step-by-step guide to drawing animals by applying a comparative anatomy system using geometric shapes to help you understand how animals are put together. This fully illustrated reference contains over a thousand diagrams and illustrations and is structured into twenty carefully organized sections in which the author covers the basic and not-so-basic concepts, principles and techniques you need in order to produce realistic, three dimensional and anatomically accurate renderings of animals.
His topics on specific animals include the cat family, the bear family, the horse family, the elephant, the dog family, the camel, the giraffe, the hippopotamus, the rhinoceros, the deer family, the buffalo, the cow, the pig, the monkey and the ape family, the kangaroo and the rabbit. As an added bonus he includes other topics: Odd and Unusual Animals, Miscellaneous Small Animals and Animal Interpretation and Abstraction, as well as an Introduction to Animal Drawing in which he focuses on animal simplification, structure, construction, poses, gaits and movements, comparisons and techniques on how to make animals look more natural. As a warning, note that this book only explains how to draw mammals and doesn't include mollusks, amphibians, insects, reptiles or birds.
By studying this book as if it were a textbook on a course, doing all the exercises and reviewing each section afterwards, I have steadily improved my drawings of animals in such a short time that I am now constantly rewarded with praise from my friends and family.
This book will give to the beginner the fundamentals of drawing animals, and will give to the seasoned artist and professional new principles and techniques to try. For both, this book is a must buy.
--Reviewed by M. E. Volmar

How To Draw Animals by Jack Hamm is the book that started my art career. It a simple drawing guide with step-by-step instructions for sketching more than a thousand different animals. When I initially purchased this book four years ago, I had no idea that I could draw at all. I had never even considered doing art for anything more than a hobby. Three years later I won my high school's art scholarship and am now majoring in the fine arts at the University of Lethbridge with aspirations of being a tattoo and airbrush artist. It all started with the first drawing I tried in the book - the front view of a horse (page 63). I read all of the instructions about drawing horses and began sketching right away. I was amazed with what I had produced. It actually looked like a real horse! I was so impressed, I went on to learn more of the techniques in the book. Soon, I was drawing animals left and right, receiving many compliments from friends and family.
The fact that the book is able to break drawing down into a few easy steps is part of what makes it so successful. The first page contains seven follow-through steps for drawing the greyhound. The steps are very simple, and therefore not at all intimidating to the beginning artist. It starts off by explaining that drawing the animal begins with drawing a stick-figure representation of the animal. The next steps go on to explain how to make changes that will turn those stiff lines into the sleek figure of a greyhound. In doing so, the guide also gives a small anatomy lesson on the animal, thus informing the reader of the importance of being familiar with his or her subject. That is one of the most important lessons I have learned to this day in animal drawing. Next, the book goes on to explain how to simplify the animal before drawing. It is a very elemental approach to drawing, as there is no particular animal in mind. This approach helps the reader to gain an understanding of how the basic shapes and proportions of the animal work. After the reader has a feel for the basic shapes of animals, the writer encourages experimentation with different body parts and shapes of different animals. This leads to a large section on the comparison of various body parts and skeletons, and then an explanation of movements and typical body postures of each animal. Finally, the book goes on to motivate the reader to add his or her own imaginativeness to his or her knowledge, as there is more enjoyment in creating something completely different when one has a store of animal information in his or her own mind. With that in mind, the reader may be inspired to continue on with other artworks.
I must advertise the fact that the book is a wonderfully informative step-by-step guide. The preface reads: the purpose of this book is stated in the title. The "how" of anything involves a process. It's not enough to place finished, real-life pictures of animals in front of oneself or a student wishing to learn....This statement is very true. The success of this book is greatly based on its ability to train the reader how to look at the common characteristics between all animals and apply them accordingly. The beginning artist must be trained to see all aspects of his or her subject matter and in doing so, will begin to understand what makes an artwork successful. Drawing animals can be quite difficult and intimidating, but by using this book, the artist can gain confidence through experience, and work at his or her own pace.
This book is not an introduction to drawing in itself, but just the drawing of animals. The thought of learning to draw animals right off the bat might be relatively overwhelming to the beginner. Not all beginners may be ready to jump right into drawing animals, and therefore may require initial instruction before using this book. That is the only reason I would not recommend this book to someone. Other than that, I would strongly suggest this book to anyone who has an interest in art but has never acted on it.
I am an ambassador of self-learning! I probably would not be involved in the art field at all if I had not purchased this book. I still use it when I need a refreshment on my knowledge or even an idea for a project. It is wonderful when a person who is interested in learning a skill is able to do it in the comfort of their own home and at the pace that he or she prefers. Any person who would like to learn how to draw animals - or even to further enhance his or her drawing skills - can and may benefit from it.

Jack's book here is one of the best and most useful. Animals can be tough, admility, and Jack clears up some commen problems faced when drawing these beauitful creatures. Topics range from drawing horses, dogs, big and small cats, elephants, and bears. There are literally hundreds of clear and precise images in this book! Give this book a try, you can't go wrong. The pricetag and content are unbeatable!

This book, combined with "Drawing the Head and Figure," and "Drawing Scenery: Landscapes and Seascapes" is a critical part of what I consider a complete course in commercial art, barring color theory. Many good books are available on color theory, but these three volumes condense everything you need to know to illustrate.

Jack Hamm's style is dramatic and powerful. His instructions are simple and he's best for giving many, many examples. It's easy to find anything you want to copy. His proportion diagrams for cat bodies in motion or at rest are fantastic. The animal I was most familiar with drawing was cats, so the cats section gave me great trust in the bear, dog, horse and other animal sections. He covers a wide variety of animals with clear instructions.

This book is a perfect example of the "hundreds of examples, very little text" style of art instruction. You won't find many step by step projects, but it's content-heavy. Treat it as a slow read. I could've handled it at age 9-12 but it's best used taken a page at a time, trying the exercises, reading and rereading.

It's reread value makes it a must-own. All of Jack Hamm's art instruction books are the sort that demand replacement now and then for being worn out, because they're good long term references. No matter how good I get at drawing, there's always something new to learn. At a bargain price under $10, this is a good investment in your future as an artist, whether you're a goal driven future professional, a hobbyist, already a pro artist.

It isn't an easy read, but it's a well indexed easy reference. The only comparable animal drawing book I've read is Charles R. Knight's "Animal Drawing: Anatomy and Action for Artists." They complement each other well because Knight goes a little deeper into natural history, fur patterns and textures and details -- while Hamm gives a lot more on motion, proportion and general drawing techniques valuable if you're drawing the human animal or anything else. I recommend it without reservation.

What I liked escpecially about this book was the fact that he explain *why* the animals are drawn the way they are, not just say "that's the way it is, period". the line drawings are beyond amazing. The only drawback, that if you are a student like me you will have a hard time concentrating on studies and fill your free space and time with sketchings. Have fun!

While Jack Hamm is quite well-respected, I have to recommend The Art of Animal Drawing: Construction, Action Analysis, Caricature (Dover Books on Art Instruction, Anatomy) for anyone considering this book. While this book does have a lot of useful information (like demonstrating the position of the ankle in different animals), some of Hamm's drawings are lifeless, stiff, and sometimes downright awkward-looking. This is most likely due to the use of taxidermy models (in some cases photos of taxidermy models) as the base for his drawings. This is most evident in some of his more exotic animals where the faces look malformed.

Even by looking at the images provided here, there is a bit of a difference in the feel his sketch images when compared to his finished ones. This is more pronounced in the book itself when you see the book in its entirety. The poses for the finished animals are routinely a little bit unnatural looking, just like how the lion on the front is, if you look at him long enough.

Hamm's instruction itself is valuable, but the images he presents with them are not always the best. I have personally found copying the images in a drawing book to be a good study to understand an animal and get an idea of what it is and how it moves, and that is where this book falls short. Basically you end up copying a copy.

I would not hesitate to recommend this to someone looking for a couple of animal drawing books, but if you're only going to buy one, Hultgren is the way to go. I speak as someone who owns both. This book has some useful information in it, but Hultgren is the one I carry around with me. In conclusion, it's a good book, but not the best.

You cannot beat this book for the price! Hamm's drawings are anatomically accurate, and well organized by animals with similar structure, such as the cat family. This arrangement enables the reader to memorize just one set of underlying shapes for many, many animals. He provided side-by-side drawings comparing various members of the cat family (for example) to make this clear, and also provided side by side drawings that illustrated the differences between cats(mostly in the head and fur pattern.) He provided detailed instructions for each group of animals, covering such topics as: easily memorized basic shapes to start your drawings; the details that make your animals look natural such as angles of the ears, stances, typical expressions and what they mean, detailed gaits (especially of horses), and many poses. He did show a few detailed examples of skeletal and muscular structure for a select few animals, but don't expect a lot of these.

This is a fundamentals book, and the emphasis is on giving the beginner the skills that will have him/her drawing animals and enjoying it.

If you like to draw, you can't go wrong with Jack Hamm books. They are economically priced, and each of them is a wealth of reference and how-to-draw information. I have all four of his books I know of. In addition to this one: Drawing Scenery: landscapes and seacapes; Drawing the Head & Figure; Cartooning The Head & Figure. Be advised that the style of the drawing in these books is dated, that is a bit old-fashioned, when fashion comes in to play. But the material is great.

This is a really exceptional fundamental book which includes the whole range of animals in a really simple and easy to comprehend format. It gives great basic techniques and lots of tips instead of just of bunch of examples of his particular artwork. Many years ago, as a horse-crazy teenager, I had many "how-to-draw" books (mostly of horses) but later as I became more proficient I came across this book in an art supply store and was really impressed. Over the years I've actually bought it 3 times since I keep loaning it out and never get it back. And now I'm planning to buy it yet again. Highly recommended.

This is an excellent book for the beginning artist or any artist wanting to improve their skills. The animal anatomy is superb. The analysis of animal gait patterns is a must have! The cost of the book is also a plus. I got alot more than I paid for!