Drawing Dragons

Drawing Fantasy Art

by Jim Hansen, John Burns

This series shows the reader step-by-step instructions in creating their own designs and drawings. From what tools to use to creating depth and shadow, a novice artist can become an accomplished illustrator in no time.

Genres: Drawing, Art

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Tiffiny Federico]

My library has a shelf full of how to draw books that are quite popular. I decided to check one out and see why they were so popular. I’m a fantasy and sci-fi fan, so of course I picked How to Draw Dragons. There are only 31 pages in this book, but it is packed with great stuff. In fact, I was surprised with how complex the language and ideas related to art were. It used and explained in a simple way art terms such as perspective, line of sight, horizon line, center point, spectator point, and vanishing point. It also explains artist tools such as pens, pencils, triangles, compasses, light box, ink, French curves and more.

The book goes through seven stages of drawing different types of dragons: Eastern dragons, Western dragons, and North American dragons. Each stage of the drawing builds upon itself. There are textboxes that explain the different steps within each stage. It’s simple enough for middle school students to follow; yet it doesn’t dumb down the process or the academic vocabulary. The last few pages include a glossary, a list of further reading, and a list of websites that would be helpful. All in all, there is a lot of great information, broken down into easy to follow steps, packed into 31 pages.

[Sharon Skinner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had a lot of fun learning to draw the dragons in this book.