I’ve been ignoring this series for too long. The reason for not reviewing it before was that here are no words, and how do you review a book that’s just a collection of pictures? Well, you can’t, or at least, I can’t. What I can do, though, is talk, not about the individual volumes but the series as a whole.
The structure is simple: a single page of developing outlines culminating in a finished (colour) drawing. There are no instructions, just an introduction that is more about the subject than the techniques, so you’re completely on your own.
And yet. The series must be successful because it’s been around forever and new volumes appear almost every month. The latest is about insects and that’s what’s stimulated this write-up. I contend, your honour, that if a series gets to insects, it must be striking a chord with its public. I’m pretty confident that this is the only book you’ll find on drawing insects, and also that there won’t be any more along any time soon. To cover such a niche subject, the publisher has to be either very sure of their ground or a bunch of complete idiots. I’ll admit to having doubts about the sanity of some publishing decisions, but not usually those of Search Press. As sure-footed a crowd as you’ll come across, they are.
So, see if there’s something here for you and, if you like things as basic as they can be, there probably will be.
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