For
the fourth title in this series, the author gives fantasy
creatures the cute makeover. If you doubted whether a kraken
or basilisk could ever look remotely kawaii, then look no
further for proof!
Here
is another in this excellent series for my keeper shelf. I
think that these have to be the most user friendly drawing
books ever, and I enthusiastically recommend the series for
all those Japanophiles who find mastering the manga style
tricky.
The
key to success is largely in understanding what makes something
cute, and then altering elements of a drawing to achieve this.
Learn how to simplify facial expressions to convey a wide
range of moods, and add in simple but effective backgrounds.
Basic art materials are all you require, and you can draw
on anything, so this hobby probably won’t require any
outlay at all – always good news. Build up your beastie
from simple shapes, add in details, and you have a drawing
worthy to be turned into a soft toy, painted onto a T-shirt
or made in polymer clay.
The
book is divided into chapters so you can choose from depicting
creatures from water, air and land environments. Each item
takes up a double page spread and shows how you can build
up a drawing, adding color and also how to vary it in usually
two ways. Creatures include dragon, unicorn, Nessie and griffin,
but most are mashups invented by the author, such as a rabbit
with a mermaid tail, flying elephant, fluffball and many more.
At the back there are ideas on how to create your own with
examples. There aren’t any projects, but cute creatures
like these are ideal for translating into any craft project
you can imagine. More titles please!
If
you cannot find a good range of drawing materials locally
try www.searchpress.com
for a list of suppliers. |