Hyper Realistic Drawing || Amie Howard

Coloured pencils lend themselves to detail work, but the processes involved can be off-putting for those new to the technique. I’m avoiding saying “beginner” because I think this is something it would be unwise to embark on without at least a moderate amount of skill in the first place. Try to run before you can walk and you’ll be discouraged by falling at the first hurdle, to mix a few metaphors.

This is, however, an eminently accessible book. A series of short, reasonably simple projects leads you gently in and it would possible to complete them in hours rather than days. The introductory sections also provide a solid grounding in technique and Amie will guide you patiently through some basic exercises that develop that all-important initial facility. No corners are cut here – for once, the reader can be glad of a bit of expansion before getting on to the main meat of the book.

The main demonstrations themselves are not progressive, so this is not a book you either need, or will want, to work through in order. Subjects include fur, feathers, eyes, lips, leaves, fruit and still life objects, each one adding a particular characteristic or technique. Some are quite small – an eye or an ear, for instance. Others are more involved, such as a cat’s face or a wrapped sweet, which involves some complicated shading that presents more challenges than you might initially think,

Although none of the projects is laboured, you are definitely not short-changed on the instruction, nor will you feel a lack of intervening steps. There is a fine balance between illustrating every mark and jumping too far ahead, with an entire section left in mid-air. It’s that patience I mentioned earlier, a sense of a teacher who allows you to work at your own pace, only appearing at your elbow when you need them.

As a primer in a very specific, but rewarding, technique, this isn’t just hard, but maybe impossible to beat.

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Drawing Animal Portraits in Coloured Pencil || Lisa Ann Watkins

Themes, subjects and media go in cycles, and coloured pencil is having its moment in the sun again. This is no bad thing, because it’s a medium that requires little in the way of equipment and is highly portable, meaning you can work almost anywhere. On top of that, as printing tolerances improve, it’s possible to reproduce on the page the fine detail pencils allow; this is a book that sparkles in that respect.

Let’s assume, therefore, that you’re on board with the medium and subject matter presented here. You’ve also skimmed through the technical introduction because there’s never not something interesting, and perhaps new to you, to be found. Given the level of work here, you’re not a beginner, so the basic techniques are, even if not second nature, at least familiar. What you want now is to feel comfortable with your tutor and to get just the right amount of instruction to be able to follow the demonstrations and projects presented. As we’ve already cut to the chase once, we can do so again – you won’t be disappointed and should feel right at home.

This is not the first book on animal drawing, so we should look for individualities. In that respect, the word Portrait in the title is significant. These are head and shoulder images that capture the character of the subject. I really, really want to say “sitter”, but you’re going to need a photograph for that. And, yes, Lisa does indeed work from photographs. The technical introduction includes some rather useful tips on getting the photo right in the first place and also on using software to combine images for dual portraits. She also suggests reducing a colour image to line to help with the initial outline drawing. I haven’t seen that in a book where it’s not the main subject before and it’s an extremely useful addition, especially when working from photographs is essential to the subject matter.

The drawings themselves include a good variety of creatures (although not the donkeys on the cover). It’s worth saying that, although horses and cattle are here, dogs and cats predominate. Lisa goes into considerable detail about fur and hair (no feathers here) as well as features such as eyes, noses and ears. There are enlarged illustrations at all the points you need them. Lisa is a thoughtful teacher who has an excellent sense of exactly those points where a student is going to need help or a nudge.

In terms of style, as befits a portrait, backgrounds are largely neutral, but without the pitfall of looking like a blank card. The use of colour can surprise you – careful combinations of greens and reds are frequently used to create realistic shades and shading. Highlights, in the eyes especially, add character as well as that sparkle I referred to earlier.

Production-wise, the book has soft covers that open easily and deep flaps that make it feel nice in the hand. Obviously, it’s the content that matters, but ergonomics have a strong part to play in the way we react to a book and this one ticks all the right boxes. A lot of thought has clearly gone into it.

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Landscape in Ink and Coloured Pencil || Helen Hanson

I think we need a new term for the style introduced by this really rather charming book, and I’m calling it Soft Realism.

As with pen & wash, the use of ink creates sharply defined outlines that provide immediate impact, with a softer core that accentuates colour and adds a more impressionistic feel. The difference between watercolour and pencil, however is that the latter works with finer lines, more shading and includes detail itself. The result is that landscapes can recede subtly by the use not just of cooler colour, but by a softer focus and a reduction in detail.

What is surprising is that this is, as far as I can remember, the first book devoted to this method of working, which has much to recommend it. Yes, there have been books on ink drawing and, yes, there have been books on pencil work and, yes, again, all of them have covered mixed media, but it’s never been the star of the show as it is here. In a whole book, there’s nowhere to hide, and you’d better have plenty to say and a very clear idea of what you’re about.

Helen covers not just the broad sweep of landscape, but details such as flowers, trees, rocks and water, and explains both her approach and working methods thoroughly but concisely. As is the way with Crowood, there are more words than some publishers, but these are well-chosen and a pleasure to read, complementing the exercises and demonstrations nicely.

If you hadn’t thought about this way of working, Helen should convert you quickly and have you fully proficient by the time you’re through.

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The 15-Minute Artist || Catherine V Holmes

Can you? Really? Should you? I’m no fan of the art-if-you-have-no-time school of book, which this proclaims itself to be. On the other hand, something that teaches you to get an image down quickly, without fiddling, while the idea is fresh in your mind and before it gets up and goes off for its lunch, I don’t have a problem with that.

So, let’s pretend, for all its protestation, that this is one of the latter. The idea of reducing the steps of drawing a wide range of subjects to a few simple stages can be liberating and enlightening, although it can also frustrate if the step reduction is achieved simply by leaving a lot out. Although there’s a tendency to do that here, the steps that are included do actually progress nicely and I don’t think you’d be too bothered by having to make giant leaps completely on your own.

The subjects chosen are, frankly, a bit weird. There’s a lightbulb, a paintbrush, a serpent and an ant. Yeah, me too, though there are also some animals and birds and what you get taught does handle what are often complex shapes rather well. The author’s style is a bit flat and unadventurous, but that also makes the book easy to follow and is, I think, one of the reasons the truncated demonstrations are easy to follow – neither of you is trying to do too much at once.

I can’t honestly say this is a must-have book but, if you want an introduction that doesn’t ask you to spend hours on a single drawing and doesn’t tax your skills too much too early, it could be quite useful.

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Colour-Pencil Drawing || Kendra Ferreira

In a field that’s not widely covered, any book is welcome, and a good one doubly so. It’s therefore something of a relief to be able to report that this ticks all the boxes.

This media-related series from GMC is intended to be fairly elementary, but the variety of subjects covered here and the quality of the results – well-reproduced so that the individual marks are easy to distinguish – should satisfy more than just the raw beginner.

The nature of the book, both in terms of scope and extent, precludes any examination of anything other than fairly basic pencil types, but both dry and water-soluble ones get a look-in, which allows for a decent variety of styles to be considered. Subjects range from landscapes and skies to still lifes, people and animals. There are plenty of exercises and demonstrations as well as a pleasantly inclusive look at materials and techniques.

Although this is not intended to be an absolutely comprehensive look at the medium that would satisfy the most demanding specialist, it nevertheless goes a lot further than being merely a quick introductory guide and is a welcome addition to a fairly small body of literature.

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Botanical Illustration From Life || Işik Güner

Isn’t all proper botanical illustration done from life?, asks a pedant. It’s a valid question, though, but one which is also unfair given the wide range of books available on the subject and relative shortage of titles.

The first thing that should be said is that this is not a manual for the budding botanical illustrator. The style of work that appears here is not the sort that would grace a species identification guide. The manner, however, is much more than the more relaxed plant portrait and includes sufficient detail for even the most demanding general painter of natural subjects.

What it does offer is probably the most thorough guide to top-end botanical painting you could wish for. At 208 pages, it’s a substantial tome and the space is not wasted. There are no establishing shots and few intrusive hands or photos of the artist at work. Rather, there are the exercises and demonstrations you’d expect, but also extensive analyses of flower, leaf and stem structure, all illustrated with some really rather exquisite paintings that make this more scientific aspect not merely interesting but a joy to work with. It’s about art and so it should be artistic.

Just about every aspect of botanical subjects is covered – I mentioned flowers, leaves and stems, but roots, fruit and seeds are here too. These, though, are only the subject matter and the technical aspects of portraying them are dealt with extensively as well. Once again, the extent is put to good use and, despite the comprehensive nature of the coverage, there’s never any sense of rush, or of things being crammed in. The pages are relaxed and very user-friendly

I quibbled over the title. If I was going to choose, I might call it The Complete Guide to Botanical Painting, but that’s probably been bagged already.

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Colored Pencil Painting Portraits || Alyona Nickelsen

Thorough and comprehensive, this is more than just a practical guide. Aloyna includes historical examples that set modern approaches in context and show how portrait painting has developed over the centuries. As well as exercises and demonstrations, there are example poses, explanations of skin tones, facial features and structure, and extended consideration of the medium itself.

The subtitle refers to “a revolutionary method for rendering depth and imitating life”, which is a harmless enough strapline to aid sales. The blurb glosses this as “new layering tools and techniques”, although I do seem to have heard similar claims elsewhere. I’m not debunking the claim or the superb quality of the book, but I suspect that the author hasn’t in fact discovered something completely new, but rather adapted the glazing-like approach that coloured pencil artists have been using for some time. For all that, the results are impressive and the explanation of how to achieve them well executed, so you’d have nothing to complain about.

Watson Guptill books are characterised by their assiduous approach and detailed explanations and this is no exception. It’s one to read as well as work along with and an excellent masterclass in its subject.

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Bird Art || Alan Woollett

This is not, I think it’s fair to say, for the faint-hearted. Birds are a challenge to paint at the best of times, but in this detail, you need absolute confidence with your materials and techniques. If you’re up for it, however, this guide will satisfy the most demanding exponent. If you think of the difference between basic flower painting and botanical illustration, you’ll get the idea of what’s involved. Back when I was selling books, I was always surprised by how well this kind of thing did, so I think there’s a solid market.

The medium used is graphite and coloured pencils, which are capable of great subtlety of shading and record fine detail readily. The book has, as you’d expect, plenty of step-by-step demonstrations, but the way they’re incorporated into the overall instruction is interesting. Rather than an introductory section on materials and techniques that is separate from the main work, Alan plunges pretty much straight in. There’s no real “basic” section, but rather considerations of composition, colour, structure and the overall shape of the finished work: “leaving space” is some of the soundest advice here.

There are more words in this than you sometimes get in instructional books, but also plenty of illustrations and this betokens the fact that Alan is under no illusions about the magnitude of the task he has set himself. Although I said that this is not a book for the beginner, he doesn’t short-change the student and explains both the technical and ornithological considerations absolutely as much as is necessary.

This is a major work and Alan carries it through rather magnificently.

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The Encyclopedia of Coloured Pencil Techniques || Judy Martin

This was originally published sufficiently long ago that I’ve never reviewed it here, so let’s have a go at it as a Search Press Classic. The first thing that should be said is that there’s no clue to its age on the copyright page or in the information sheet I get in advance. I would take points off for that, but I think the “classic” billing probably has it just about covered.

The Encyclopedia series, originated by the packager Quarto, was ground-breaking in its day. Innovation often looks stale after a few years, but this still has a vitality that won’t leave you feeling you’ve been left with cast-offs, and the information is still sound. Quarto productions are always design-led and usually work on a spread-by-spread basis, so you can open this more or less at random and find a topic covered as completely as it’s going to be – which is with surprising thoroughness, given the space allocated. Quarto are always good at conveying information efficiently.

Information contained covers media, styles, subjects and techniques and there are plenty of illustrations to guide and inspire you. At £12.99, this is about the same price as it was when it was new, which is a reduction if you allow for inflation, but not a fantastic bargain. However, it’s not an unreasonable addition to the canon of Classics and emphatically one that’s worth keeping in print.

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Botanical Drawing using Graphite and Coloured Pencils || Sue Vize

Along with watercolour, pencils are a favoured medium for the botanical artist because of their ability to capture fine detail as well as blend to provide subtle colour variation.

As you would expect from Crowood Press, this is a very thorough and comprehensive guide that goes into considerable depth. As well as detailed analyses of its subject matter, it also includes step-by-step exercises that allow you to get hands-on with plenty of supervision. Each of these lists all the materials used, which are for the most part Faber Castell and Derwent. Unlike watercolours, where a limited, or relatively limited, palette is commonplace, you may need over 20 different shades for one subject. It’s worth equipping yourself, though, as you do need to be sure that you’re replicating the example exactly. Botanical illustration is not an area where interpretation is desirable.

Subject include flowers, leaves, stems, seeds and fruit and even fungi. This is a book for the serious student, who it will occupy and enlighten for a considerable period.

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