Customer Reviews

Drawing Wildlife

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

J.C. Amberlyn is a fine wildlife artist whom I have been watching evolve for almost 10 years, both for her nature art and her cartoon characters (love you, Space Chicken and Space Weasel!). This book does not tell you the magic secret of J.C. Amberlyn's incredibly lifelike animal art--that spark that animates each and every one of her drawings, no matter if it's unfinished or not. But it's the closest she can come, and she shares her unique artistic viewpoint and her 20+ years of wildlife studies with you with no holds barred. I understand that the publishers cut out a lot of her discourse on each animal's habits--too bad, because that was as entertaining as the drawing lessons in the preview edition I read some months ago. A second book, please, with the edited materials and more? But I digress.

I am not an artist. I have trouble with stick figures. However, "Drawing Wildlife" gave even me some hope that with a little (lot!) of practice, I can draw something that someone besides my husband will recognize. My first bear (p.86) was actually overtly bear-esque, in fact. My daughter, who draws well, did even better, and my mother, who draws even better than my daughter, produced a wonderful bear on her first try from Amberlyn's directions.

Amberlyn uses traditional art teaching methods such as uniting shapes with lines to form a coherent whole--except, when she's doing it, that cougar that consists of 1 circle, 4 lines, 2 rectangles, one triangle and 3 ellipses already has an animated, lifelike pose. As I said, magic! (See page 54). Also, I don't know how she does it, but no matter how unfinished the drawing around them, the eyes she produces stare at you right from the page (pp 22, 34). That's the wonder of J.C. Amberlyn, and although I can't make it happen yet, as I said--this book gives me hope!

I can't recommend it highly enough for those who actually can draw. I think you'll see your own magic flow from your pencil in very short order. Way to go, J.C. Amberlyn!

P.S.
If you have never looked at J.C. Amberlyn's nature art or her cartoons, do yourself a favor and find her online.

Well, this wasn't for myself. I bought this for my daughter that loves to draw, especially wildlife and animals. She goes on 13 soon, and this is part of her birthday gift, along with a set of good pencils and pads of drawing paper. She has not received these yet. I have thumbed through the book with my wife and it seems like it will be a great reference and learning tool for her, the book seems well set up with exercises to learn perspective and proportions. The book seems to be a step by step without being over simplified.

I am very excited to give her this book soon and to see how it helps her and expands her drawing horizons and am chomping at the bit to see her do the exercises and see her drawing quality improve (which is already pretty good for someone of 12 with no real training/teaching).

I would recommend this for people that like to draw, especially wild animals. I think this would be good for as young as pre-teen that likes to draw on up to adults. (I may even try some of the exercises myself, that is if she'll let me borrow the book).

Hope this helps.

If you're at all interested in learning more about drawing North American mammals, this book is SOOO worth it! She goes into detail about structure, the simplified forms of the animals, their movements, and the hair patterns! She covers a lot of species other books have missed, like the small rodents, the cacomistle, the opossum, and others. My only real quibble with the book is the title (which I think J.C. didn't choose, anyway- the publisher named the book.) Every time I open this book, I find something new to marvel at. Her knowledge of animal anatomy is amazing and extensive. I hope she does a book on drawing birds as well!

J.C. Amberlyn's first art book is remarkable in several aspects. Not only does she have a clear, concise way of passing on her hard-won knowledge of anatomy and artistic technique; she also delights in sharing her love and respect for the amimals that she portrays. Her simple, direct instructions will be of use to the seasoned artist who lacks her years of field observation, as well as young people just starting to draw.

This little volume is destined, I think, to become a standard reference to those who value the "nuts & bolts" basics of wildlife art; one of those books that are kept at hand to review again and again. It's a "keeper".

I am really impressed with this book. It explains every step and has TONS of information in it. I bought it for my 13 year old grandson and he has used it over and over since he got it. He has used the knowledge that he gained from this book for his art class at school. He told me he LOVES this drawing book. He was impressed that the book is extremely detailed.
I think this book would be helpful for both beginners and advanced artists.

This book should be purchased (or borrowed) by people who already have some basic founding skills in drawing wildlife, or life in general. It does start you out with circles, cones and boxes, but it then jumps straight to detail. So, if you're not that far yet in the process, don't buy this, or you won't learn anything from it, for it is the next stage in developing your talent!

The instructions are somewhat limited, but again, the book assumes you're already learned in the drawing process.

The illustrations are nice, starting with bone and muscle structure, which teaches you where hollows and points are underneath all that fur and that fluffy animals are not just a big pile of it. They are also simple enough to make you feel like you are on the same level, without overwhelming you with tiny details and "I could never draw that" illustrations that you find in some books.

The information given about each particular species and families of animals are keen and teach you how they would behave naturally (very good information for drawing action poses!). It also advises to go to parks and zoos to observe your subject, to get a feel of how they move and act. The author also encourages the artist to "let loose" once in a while and add some style and flair to their drawings (think Disney animals!).

Overall, a very good piece of learning material that I think most young artists should have within their reach (I am 20).

I already read many books about drawing animals but none of them helped me as much as Drawing Wildlife did. This books contains detailed sketches with important structures for all kinds of animals. It details paws, bones, head, skelleton structure and also has finished drawings with more details (like fur, horns).

For someone who ain't used to draw animals, I definetly recommend it. It has everything a drawer needs to understand the basics of drawing wildlife animals.

J.C. does show many great ways to draw various of Northern America wildlife, her instruction is clear and easy. Beginners can actually produce several of good drawing from this book, especially mountain lion, mule deer, and few other in detailed steps. One thing I would expect more from this book is how to do textures, it does not really show much instruction on that part. That is essential for "life-like" or realistic drawing.

The book is all right. I learned a few extra things that I didn't learn from Jack Hamm's How to Draw Animals. But I kept feeling like I was reading Hamm's book a lot. If you don't have a lot of money, Hamm's book will give you just as much for almost half the price.

And both books should really be called How to Draw Mammals. There's nothing about reptiles, birds, or fish in them.

As an aspiring artist I am really enjoying this book. I've used some of the techniques to illustrate my own recent book. Multiple animal types covered, excellent tips and techniques described throughout.