About the Author
Joe Weatherly is a Southern California based artist specializing in the drawing and painting of animals. His style is bold and vigorous capturing the essence and drama of the subjects he draws and paints. The attitude and expression of the animal's character along with telling a visual story is what his work conveys. Conservation of the natural world is something Joe is very passionate about and hopes his work will motivate people to protect it and promote its survival.A recent publication of Joe's is the Weatherly Guide to Drawing Animals that he wrote and illustrated. This book has sold many copies around the world and is used as a textbook in several art colleges and universities. Teaching drawing is a part time endeavor of Joe's and some of his clients include Dreamworks Feature Animation, Universal Studios, Laguna College of Art and Design, and The Academy of Art in San Francisco. Joe is an associate member of the Society of Animal Artists, holds an M.F.A in Illustration from California State University Fullerton. He has also had one man Shows of his oil paintings at Ford Motor Companies Corporate Headquarters and California State University Fullerton.
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Welcome to the exciting world of animal drawing, a world where you can create your favorite creature through the use of line and tone. It is the hope that this book will take the mystery out of animal drawing by showing various methods and procedures used to draw them. Solid drawing principles necessary for strong draftsmanship is what this book is based on. Learning to draw animals well is both rewarding and challenging, and with a little study and dedication, you will be well on your way.
The book emphasizes solid drawing principles. I believe there is no better way to learn how to draw than by studying how the Great Masters went about it. Michelangelo, Rubens, and Da Vinci to name only a few, discovered and passed down methods of drawing that set the standard for solid drawing. Their drawings all had volume, anatomy, and motion, and these are key elements to good animal drawing.
No matter what your ultimate style will become, you must first learn the rules before you can break them. In other words, you can't cut straight to the chase and skip the fundamentals. It is the fundamentals of drawing that serve as a foundation in which to build upon. When the fundamental principles are not understood, the results are obvious. The drawings show a lack of true understanding.
So what are the drawing principles that I am talking about? Well these will be discussed throughout the book, but they all stem from the "Big 3": Action, Construction, and Anatomy. An understanding of these principles gives the artist the power to create drawings that are solid, expressive and full of life.
