Draw Furries - How to create anthropomorphic and fantasy animals

Ever wanted to draw fun furry animals leaping around like humans and kids? Well this book could be for you... In a cutesy/manga style Jared and Lindsay have produced a fun book which covers felines, canines, and various other animal/human hybrids in a fantasy setting. Straight away you get the feel that the authors really love what they do and want to share the fun of this genre. I would say that the reader should look through the whole book before starting on any of the exercises as there are topics, examples, and hints and tips that will benefit the reader when working through the exercises.

There are various animals for the reader to get their teeth into, with lots a pointers. However I would say that to get the best out of the examples the reader should have animal references to look at and gain ideas from. The colouring section is excellent and is easy to follow, to produce the same results as the book shouldn't be too difficult with a bit of patience. After this the Perspective and Setting element of the book is well thought out and easy to follow with good examples which leads onto a set piece section where the reader is encouraged to come up with theirs own ideas, research and sketch reference, then produce a piece themselves.

I worked through some of the intro exercises and found them quite fun, not too basic, and I actually learned quite a few things from them which was brilliant. You do need a certain amount of experience when dealing with the more detailed areas of this book; poses, clothing, and foreshortening to name a few. That aside I'd recommend this to anyone with an interest in this genre or wanting to try something fun and new. I look forward to working through the rest of the book, thanks Jared and Lindsay.

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Creating textured landscapes with pen, ink, and watercolour

Upon opening this book the first thing that strikes you is the styling and layout, it feels like a journal from some unknown artist and you're reading through their handwritten notes. This works wonderfully as the pieces displayed and examples given to work through are easy to understand and even easier to reproduce. I have experience with watercolours from years ago and recently ventured back into the medium for some commissions. I found this book to be very instructive and helped me greatly to remember some of the techniques I had used in years past, I also discovered plenty of new methods to incorporate into my work.


Claudia covers such things as clouds, and water effects, to textures on rocks, and tree bark, and in such a way that even beginners would be able to pick up a brush and produce decent results. She encourages the user to explore their own technique while experimenting with whatever they can lay their hands on to give different results on the paper. You might almost think you could have fun doing this...


The pen and ink examples took me back to my years as a student and reminded me how useful it could be and I'm very glad it was included in this book. She also goes over colour theory and how to use perspective as well as covering such topics as masking fluid, and spatter screens for textures.


I found this book invaluable in kickstarting me back into watercolour and now I've dusted off my brushes, palette, and paints I'll certainly be using it more and more as reference for a long time to come.

This book can be found on Amazon

DragonArt ultimate gallery by J "neondragon" Peffer

At first glance this is a very good looking book and the hard back cover gives it a robust feel. One thing you have to realize from the start is that this is a gallery book and NOT a "how to" book. If you are like myself and are always looking for inspiration for your artwork and appreciate the skills of an excellent artist then this would be a nice addition to your collection. The creatures featured are predominantly dragons however there is wonderful artwork of various creatures from gryphons to elves to wisps. A nice touch is that with some illustrations there are panels showing a quick progression of design from line art, to flat colour, then detailing. J. Peffer gives informative descriptions with most of the artwork in the book and even shows colour palettes she used for a few dragons. Her influence is very manga-esque but instead of the usual "cutesy" styles that you see a lot of she has a very grown up design with vibrant colours that are a joy to look over. The book even comes with a link to download some of the artwork to use as a wallpaper. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys fantasy art and is looking for goodexamples of dragons and other creatures.

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DragonArt collectors edition

I have bought quite a few of these "how to" guides and I have to say none of the others have thus far been as pretty as this book. The hardback gives it more of a collectors feel but it is much more than that. The introduction goes through basic principles like shapes, shading and 3d effects, penciling and inking, all the way to basic body design and a quick look at features such as hair and feet which is easy to follow. You also have a guide through this process in the form of Dolosus the helpful dragon which is a nice feature for the younger generation using this book.

You are then taken through various character designs in a step by step guide which is well thought out, with additions such as pages on butterfly wings and ruffles and ribbons, giving the reader more handy hints. As a fantasy artist resource it's very good for beginners and has great hints for budding amateurs with regard to features such as Orc tusks or dwarven beards. Also the section on fantasy"fashion" was quite enlightening and certainly pointed me in the right direction for some of my own sketches. After these sections we get to the meat of this tome which is the dragons. To say this is extensive would be an understatement. J. Peffer takes us through a variety of dragon designs,starting with the excellent basics of anatomy, showing a dragon skeleton and going into details such as the variety of feet design and how different geometric shapes give different looks of dragons. The step by step guides are very easy to follow and give great results even if you're just drawing a dragon in profile. The hints and tips are excellent and I produced exactly the designs illustrated in the book and then expanded on them as I experimented with various head features and looks.

The only downside of this book is that the author doesn't talk about digital art or exactly how to achieve certain results. Therefore I'd recommend this book to anyone with a grounding in digital art or already comfortable in a medium such as acrylics or pen and ink. As a book for an aspiring fantasy artist I'd say it is an essential part of anyone's collection which will keep on giving as a reference far beyond its initial read.

Available from Amazon