Customer Reviews

Illustrating Nature: Right-Brain Art in a Left-Brain World

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I've looked at a lot of art instruction books, wondering if they'd perform

as promised. This profusely illustrated book is the best I've seen!

The first thing you notice when you leaf through Illustrating Nature ~

Right-brain Art in a Left-brain World is that Irene Brady has skillfully

constructed exercises to lead you by the hand at your own pace down her

well-marked trail to professional illustration. For instance, the book begins by

explaining that artistic skills are natural to most of us and that to open

the door all you need is the key - then she hands you the key.

Starting with right-brain exercises to help you access your creative

skills, she then shows you how to really look at things, noticing and

comparing shapes and angles. The next step is to convey that information to

your hand and the paper - and amazingly, out comes a picture you'll be

amazed you could create. While beginners can get started with this book,

all artists can jump in at their own skill level and proceed from there to

a stage of excellence they've only dreamed of. There are exercises to

advance the artist's skill in such different areas as shading; use of

pencil, pen, and computer; organizing and designing an illustration; field

sketching (and taking notes about the subject); and a multitude of procedures and tips, both large and small, that go into creating beautiful, professional

results. The heavily illustrated instructions for each exercise are clear,

concise, and lead the artist from elemental to complex in easy increments.

The appendix outlines steps to guide your art into a career in a wide array

of professional fields.

If you've ever thought you might like to jumpstart, improve, or hone your

artistic skills to a fine point, this book is an excellent choice.

A great deal of this art instructional book deals with trying to see things and draw using the artistic side of the brain instead of the analytical left side. Subjects covered include sketching, texture, tone, line art, drawing techniques, design and layout, drawing fur, eyes, and other parts of animals, and botanical drawing. The appendixes include multiple projects, field sketchbook and portfolio creation, and career tips if you want to pursue illustration as a career. In addition to the common techniques you typically find in an art instructional book there are dozens and dozens of field notes specific to nature illustration work in the field. These make the book a best choice for anyone who wants to engage in nature illustration. Illustrating Nature is recommended for drawing in general and highly recommended for nature drawing techniques.

Irene Brady is an expert, biologically accurate nature artist, but that doesn't stop her from creating (and teaching others to create) lively, interesting nature art. I am very impressed by her book, Illustrating Nature, Right-brain Art in a Left-brain World. From the construction of a leaf or a wing to the hairs in an ear and the fur on the body, Brady leads you to analyze the structure of plant or animal parts. Then she skillfully helps you understand techniques to illustrate these features. You learn how to pay attention to the details and illustrate the entire organism in a realistic and delightful manner. Brady wisely encourages the developing artist to use computer graphics as part of their toolkit. She also provides an appendix with many design ideas for book and magazine layout and design and promotional graphics, brochures and the like for museums and nature centers. This is a superb book for classroom use and the individual learner. I would have given my eyeteeth for this book as a child. Maybe there is hope for me yet!

Nancy Field

Nature Publisher, Author and Wildlife Biologist

Dog-Eared Publications

Author of several titles, including Discovering Sharks and Rays, the winner of a 2004 Ben Franklin Award for Best Juvenile-Young Adult Nonfiction

Rebeccasreads highly recommends ILLUSTRATING NATURE as an important tool for every budding artist (no matter their age) with an eye for a career in illustration, scientific or otherwise, as well as an extraordinary assistance for elders wanting to keep their brains in tip-top shape!

If you're a bit confused by all this Left Brain/Right Brain stuff, then Irene Brady ably guides you in discovering just what your Left Brain does, & what your magical Right Brain can do. Amazing stuff, folks!

ILLUSTRATING NATURE is a superbly inter-active book -- you are in for an adventure in creating fascinating, realistic images.

ILLUSTRATING NATURE is a textbook you will keep coming back to, as your skill progresses - highly recommended for home schooling, elder art classes & anyone of any age who loves to draw.

Pleasantly surprised at how comprehensive this guide turned out to be. Layout and instruction are highly engaging and I feel motivated to practice the exercises. Perfect for homeschoolers using the Charlotte Mason method.

I had been wanting to order this book, but for one reason or another kept post-poning. I'm glad I finally ordered it. It is wonderful, inspiring and for any level.

Irene is not only a wonderful artist but a wonderful teacher--those two things don't always go together. It's a skill, but it's also a gift, and Irene has it. Beautiful, clear, inviting illustrations give a taste of what it must be to take one of her classes in nature journaling...

I even love the cover of this book! It captures the magic of the experience of pulling an image out of a blank sheet of paper...

Haven't had a chance to really study the book, but from glancing through it there's a lot to be learned. I got to mainly for the pen and ink drawings which are excellent. However, I never really did understand the right side and left side of the brain when it comes to art. Maybe this will help.