The Art of Creating Beautiful Faces

The rage for mixed media art 'girls' has a list of rock stars and Jane Davenport is one who makes fans where ever she goes.  In her book, Drawing and Painting Beautiful Faces - and on her Youtube channel - she explains how her background as a fashion illustrator helped her hone the style and techniques that she discovered and teaches in mixed media workshops and online classes.  The book is gorgeous, thorough, and brilliant!  A 5-star art book if there ever was one!  The step-by-step demonstrations give tips and insights that only a pro can give.

Want to see more about this book?  Watch the video review of the book's step-by-step demonstration, Making Clouds, with book review, here!

Get the book! Drawing and Painting Beautiful Faces: A Mixed-Media Portrait Workshop

Or, take one of the author/artist's online workshops: Jane Davenport's Youtube Channel

The Art of Botanical Drawing From TimberPress

The Art of Botanical Drawing
by Agathe Ravet-Haevermans 

This gorgeous book came from the city I live in, Portland!  Not everything great about Portland is on TV, and not everything on TV is true!!  This botanicals book about the art of drawing plant-life and painting illustrations with watercolor is by the scientific illustrator at the Natural History Museum in Paris.  It exudes taste, style, know-how, and classic botanical art like something from a museum in Paris - sort of because it is, or the author-artist is, anyway.

I tried my hand at a step-by-step exercise as I do in my video reviews, but this book doesn't have step-by-steps.  Instead, it has color charts, and tips 'paperclipped' to the pages, along with information on how to see botanicals in order to be able to draw them.  I loved the subject matter she chose - a drying rosehip rather than roses, a rope of braided garlic which is so lovely I almost ran and bought garlic, and my fave (which I tried out) the pumpkin blossom - rather than the pumpkin.

The Art of Botanical Drawing: An Introductory Guide

My attempt will be published September 23 - Draw and Paint Pumpkins - Art By the Book Review - The Art of Botanical Drawing and Late Summer Botanicals.

In doing my research for my attempt, I put together a video with royalty-free images, for anyone who'd like to try - and if you get this book, you probably will.  If you live in the Northwest, chances are you have pumpkins growing outdoors, right now, but it won't always be late August, and not everyone lives where pumpkins like to grow, so here is a video with Late Summer Botanicals - just a few - to draw from.  

How To Draw Your Dragon Is Fantastic

I am now a fan of dragon art and Sergio Guinot, author-artist of How To Draw Your Dragon.  As simple and straight forward as the title, are the steps to drawing these incredible dragons.  Starting with just simple shapes, anyone can learn to draw their dragon.  The information doesn't start - or stop - there.  Dragon Anatomy is a chapter which includes teaching the reader to draw a dragon skeleton, skull, teeth, and claws.  Drawing a dragon shield on up to dragon riders is all part of a storyline plot as though the author is sketching furiously in a sketchbook while the wings of dragons beat overhead.  I did a review of the step-by-step exercise: Polar Dragons.  5 stars and then some.

How to Draw Your Dragon

Watch the Video Review from How To Draw Your Dragon step-by-step demonstration - Polar Dragon - from inside the book, here!

Fantasy Art Drawing Skills

This book, by Socar Myles, if you did all that it told you to do, is the equivalent of about 2 terms in Fantasy Art at a university.  And, let's be honest, after all the Lit 101's, PE, required health and science, you rack up about 4 terms for  your specific major anyhoo.  Not bad for one book.  The problem is, the advice includes - draw the figure - Life Drawing, so there you go, you are already enrolling in a Life Drawing class, now.  However, if your mission is to be self-taught I believe it can be done within the subject of art and even get a specific genre (major) like Fantasy Art.  This is a book not to miss; however, I do feel it fails its subtitle that this book would be all you need to master Fantasy Art.  Following it's advice, demonstrations, and tips, though, would be accomplishing a Master Class in the particular genre - with a most awesome guide (Socar) - and that is not a given when you sign up for class.

Watch the video Step-by-Step book review: Toad King, here!

Fantasy Art Drawing Skills: All the Art Techniques, Demonstrations, and Short Cuts You Need to Master Fantasy Art