Drawing Wildlife - Book Review

'Drawing Wildlife' by J. C. Amberlyn focuses almost exclusively on the creatures of North America. It is a thorough and comprehensive volume, well suited to those who've had at least a little drawing experience, going beyond the usual 'balls and ovals' formula and exploring each animal in detail. Though the cover is in color, the book is nearly all black-and-white.

Animals featured in 'Drawing Wildlife' include wolves, coyotes, wild cats, weasels, bears, raccoons, deer, bison, and squirrels, as well as their various relatives, and assorted small mammals. Amberlyn uses mainly pen and pencil for illustrations, with one major colored pencil demonstration.

The chapter on each animal family includes an overview of key points. Simple sketches show how to draw the basic shapes of the animal. The animal's movement is explained using sequences of line drawings, as well as any 'typical' poses, such as a cat leaping. Body and head structures are sketched and details of eyes, noses, and features such as tails are illustrated.

Amberlyn takes a methodical closer look at members of each animal family - for example, the Black Bear, Brown Bear and Polar Bear. The skull anatomy is drawn in detail, and identifying features such as head shape and expression, markings and differences in body shape are indicated. Difficult parts of an animal - such as a deer's antlers - are thoroughly explained. Through the book are many step-by-steps, which take the reader through a full drawing of various animals.

One of the problems (which of course, becomes one of the pleasures) of drawing animals is the unique structure of every creature. 'Getting the legs right' can be difficult, especially if you don't know how the animal's joints are structured and the reference photo is blurry! 'Drawing Wildlife' solves this problem, acting as a useful reference source.