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.

Find this book on Amazon

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