The Daily Zoo: Keeping the Doctor at Bay with a Drawing a Day

by Chris Ayers, J.J. Abrams (Foreword by)

In the spring of 2005 Chris Ayers was busy working as a concept artist in the Hollywood film industry. That came to a crashing halt when he was diagnosed with leukemia on April first. After a year-long period of treatment and recovery he started a sketchbook called The Daily Zoo on the anniversary of his diagnosis. Over the next 365 days he would draw one animal each day, challenging both his self-discipline and imagination. Most importantly it would allow him the focused opportunity to celebrate the gift of each healthy day. The pages of The Daily Volume One are chock-filled with 365 distinct critters, ranging from curious pandas to sinister hyenas, athletic aardvarks to zealous zebras, and his choice of artistic styles are as diverse as his subject matter. Alongside the images Ayers, whose big screen credits include Men in Black II, X-Men 3, and the Alien vs. Predator films, ties in commentary about his cancer experience, the sources of his artistic inspiration and his creative methods. Whether you're a beginning artist or a seasoned pro, this book will leave you inspired to grab the nearest pencil, pen, brush or crayon and start drawing!

Genres: Art

159 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2008

Reviews

[Tasneem Zafer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Keep the doctor at bay with a drawing of an animal structure a day!!
Deliciously detailed, and like J.J said it's delightful and wildly varied, both exaggerated and realisticly hillarious drawings!! So unpredictable and full of vivid life!!

I'm so getting a copy i don't care how!!
Thuraya, you better keep an eye on me ;P
And Thank you for such a great opportunity!! :*
I loooove you

[PBRS · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nothing to pick on here, really. It's a wonderful book of more or less magnificent drawings and scribblings by a talented and funny artist, as well as a touching memoir of his bout with leukemia. Spoiler: he survives.

I'm not sure if I could ever give five stars to what is essentially a picture book, but if one would ever come close - this would be it.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

I purchased this book at Comic-Con in San Diego from the author, Chris Ayers. Chris even signed the book for me. It was just a random encounter as I had not heard of him before. But I stopped by his booth and looked at his animal drawings and also saw that he had worked on "Monsters at Work."

He started drawing the animals for the "Daily Zoo" after a year of cancer treatment for leukemia. I knew I needed to buy one of his books so I could enjoy his animal drawings in more detail. I bought the first one and today I finally went through it. It's great! The drawings are wonderful and the author is funny and poignant. His takes on some of the animals were just so imaginitive. He uses many different styles of art, which makes it even more interesting to see his approach to each one.

Now my dilemma is do I purchase all his other books online, or do I wait and see if he'll be at Comic-Con next year so I can buy them directly from him again?

And really, what could be more terrifying than penguins? :-)

[Michele · Rating 5 out of 5]

Check out my discussion of Chris Ayers' The Daily Zoo as it fits within the study of graphic medicine in the May's edition of Fundamental Comics at Fanbase Press:

https://www.fanbasepress.com/index.ph...

[Ray Quirolgico · Rating 5 out of 5]

A terrific balance of whimsical creativity and heartfelt sentimentality: a creative journey with a survivor that feels healing and joyful for the reader too.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Self-imposed structure of drawing an animal every day for one year. Exploration of craft and the dedication and sense of adventure and facing the project day after day. Delight in viewing the illustrations and reading reading his notes.

[Michael Grills · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great!

[Vickie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun book!-- Especially for those who have been touched by cancer. Chris Ayers is so talented!

[Christy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an inspirational story with an artistic flair. A must read for people needing a lift while tackling an illness or if you are an artist needing some suggestions to release your inner artist.

[Deborah Tan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love it! The best way to keep you busy (and to keep you from thinking about what might be) is to live for today and to draw for today! Very inspiring :)

[Eleni Konstantine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing and inspirational. Fantastic artwork by Chris Ayers who decided to do an animal drawing a day after his battle with cancer.

[Roderick Gladwish Gladwish · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant, inspirational book that is also amusing. Well worth a read.