Ralph Masiello's Dragon Drawing Book [Hardcover]

Ralph Masiello (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2007

Author/illustrator Ralph Masiello explores the world of dragon lore, from the mystical Australian rainbow serpent to the revered imperial dragon of China. Just follow the steps in red to create your own mythical, magical beasts. Extra bonus steps in blue show how to add realistic scales and more advanced details.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4–6—The vibrant, eye-catching cover of this well-designed, neatly arranged book is sure to attract the attention of dragon fans and aspiring artists. A "Choose your tools" box illustrates the supplies needed (pastel pencil, crayon, watercolor, fine-tip marker, colored pencil, marker, poster paint). An outline map (that does not identify the continents) indicates where the types of dragons originated. Detailed drawings of 11 creatures (Aboriginal Rainbow Serpent, Lambton Wyrm, Chinese Imperial Dragon, etc.) require anywhere from 12 to 50 steps to complete. The technique is similar to the method used in Lee J. Ames's books, but Masiello includes boxes with additional drawing ideas for fish scales, Maya patterns and shapes, a treasure chest, and so on, and a paragraph of facts about each dragon. The glorious, fire-breathing creatures depicted nearly leap off the page.—Augusta R. Malvagno, Queens Borough Public Library, NY
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

In this handsome, large-format book, Masiello introduces 11 traditional beasts and shows how to draw them. For each, he provides a series of detailed drawings that build up to the finished pictures slowly, guiding young artists line by line. Masiello uses the term dragon broadly to include Ouroboros and the cockatrice as well as more traditional forms such as Fafnir, the Aboriginal Australian Rainbow Serpent, and the Chinese imperial dragon. By closely following the series of drawings, with the new lines in red, an aspiring artist of even modest talent could end up with a respectable representation of a dragon. After two to eight wordless pages of step-by-step drawings, the finished picture appears, brightened with brilliant colors and accompanied by a paragraph discussing the beast. The book opens with an author's note and a world map placing the dragons on five continents. It closes with a pronunciation guide and short lists of recommended books and Web sites. Well designed and practical. Phelan, Carolyn

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 64 pages
• Publisher: Charlesbridge Publishing (June 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1570915318
• ISBN-13: 978-1570915314
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #606,121 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #55 in Books > Arts & Photography > Drawing > Specific Objects

More About the Author

My Official Bio
Ralph was born, raised, and still resides in the state of Massachusetts where he lives with his daughters Alexa and Talia. A graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design (BFA, Illustration, 1985), Ralph has illustrated for magazines, newspapers and books, created posters and prints, and shown his fine art paintings in galleries throughout the world. Beginning with The Icky Bug Alphabet Book in 1986, Ralph has has become internationally known for the children's books he's written and illustrated. Since 1987, he has visited over 2,300 schools all over the world, inspiring children with his life story, humor, and art. While visiting schools, he is often inspired himself by the enthusiasm, creativity, and hard work of the students and teachers. This led him to create his unique "How to Draw" book series. The most recent, Ralph Masiello's Ancient Egypt Drawing Book was released in July 2008 to rave reviews. In 2011, his work appears in a strange and mysterious book called The Mystic Phyles: Beasts, which is the first in a series of books sure to become instant classics.

My Unofficial Bio
In 1961, the year of the Ox, I was hatched from an opal colored dragon egg that lay in a dung heap on a skunk cabbage farm near my parent's house. Taking pity on me, they raised me as one of their own, but always wondered about me. They knew I was "different" from my brothers somehow.

* I ate Brussel sprouts.
* I liked the color purple.
* I liked to watch television standing on my head.
* I played with toy knights, not those green plastic toy soldiers that my brothers enjoyed.
* I drew pictures while hiding under my bed, where I talked with my friend, Charlie Pistachio, the little nut man who lived under my radiator (heater).
* I stared at the clouds for hours on end.
* I went to the College for Children Born from Dragons where I studied Artistic Alchemy. I graduated and became the Grand Poobah of the Artistic Wizards Guild.
* Through a mixture of mythology and alchemy, my two daughters were born after hatching from a similar egg lying in a dung heap.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Resource for Budding Artists and Dragon Aficiandos, August 21, 2009

By 

Shanna A. Gonzalez "eyelevelbooks.com" (Gaithersburg, MD) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ralph Masiello's Dragon Drawing Book (Paperback)

This addition to Masiello's drawing series is more advanced than his Ocean Drawing Book and is probably better suited to the 8-12 age range. Along with his detailed step-by-step drawing instructions for eleven kinds of dragons, he provides some historical and mythological information about each dragon, including by a nice map showing the geographic locations where stories about them originated. He also supplies a bibliography for further reading.

This ambitious book instructs the reader in drawing dragons using several styles of artwork, including a realistic style (as much realism, anyway, as can be expected from a mythological creatures) as well as Mayan, Thai, and Chinese styles of representation. For budding artists or dragon aficiandos, this is an excellent book for fanning the flame.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Masiello's is my favorite in how-to, November 17, 2011

By 

wry gemini - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Ralph Masiello's Dragon Drawing Book (Paperback)

I recently purchased a number of "how to" drawing books, for myself and a couple to give to my kid nephew. Of the wide assortment of styles and instructions and subject matter, Ralph Masiello's books are a personal favorite. At this point, I have no aspirations (nor talent, I think) for producing fine art. Masiello's step-by-step, line by line illustrations allowed this very impatient student to accomplish an actual image right away. His demonstrations allow the individual to see where to start a drawing and how the image comes together. Once practiced and confident in my improved skills, I was able to apply what I learned to creating the creatures in different poses and create scenes of my own imagination -- not just pen or pencil, but embroidery, mixed media, etc.... anything a crafter can dream up using materials on hand.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very good dragon drawing book, December 25, 2010

By 

Art lover - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Ralph Masiello's Dragon Drawing Book (Paperback)

My son (8 years old) loves this drawing book. It shows how to draw dragons step by step. We checked out this book from library since he always wanted to learn how to draw dragon. He loved it so much that we finally decided to buy this book for him.