Reviewed by annieb123 on
Draw Baby Beasties is a new tutorial chibi art guide from Lindsay Cibos-Hodges & Jared Hodges. Due out 18th June 2019 from F+W Media on the Impact imprint, it's 128 pages and will be available in paperback format.
The book's introduction (~10%) covers materials and some very basic treatment of shading, building up drawings with simple shapes, and the drawing process. The tutorial instructions are concise and easy to understand.
The following tutorials include 27 (by my count) baby/juvenile fantasy creatures. The tutorials include step by step instructions showing how the drawings are built up. They are 4 pages each and include alternate poses. All of the tutorials include a short introduction and history of the creature along with a cute sidebar with suggested 'stats' for each of them (speed, strength, magic, cunning, and special abilities). Sort of DIY Pokemon style. The tutorials show line drawn/graphite base drawings and progress to a final colored version.
I have to say the Jackalope (p. 26) and the Baby Yeti (p. 30) are about the cutest things I've ever seen. They're all pretty cute, though. There are hours and hours of drawing fun for all readers here. This would make a great art/drawing unit for school or homeschooling, a super summer activity at home or the library, or a summer camp activity. Several of the tutorials are for Asian inspired fantasy creatures (kitsune, raiju, naga, shishi), as well as other cultures (quetzalcoatl and zaratan) so it's not just baby dragons, gryphons, and gargoyles.
Five stars, super appealing and something here for all ages.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
Reading updates
- Started reading
- Finished reading
- 8 June, 2019: Reviewed