Paint lively and lovable animals of all kinds! Capture all the natural charm and personality of your favorite animals. Bestselling author and beloved teacher Claudia Nice makes it fun. With step-by-step guidance, Claudia shows you just how easy it is to paint a menagerie of lively creatures in her trademark pen, ink and watercolor technique. Follow along and see for yourself. Whether you are a beginner attempting to paint your first animal subject, or a more experienced artist looking to broaden your skills, you'll find this book to be both entertaining and instructive. It features: 14 complete step-by-step demonstrations A range of delightful animal subjects, including dogs, cats, horses, pigs, sheep, bunnies, birds, and more 60+ mini demos and quick studies that focus on getting the details right, such as fur, feathers, feet, facial expressions and backgrounds Techniques for painting from photos, sketches and memories Key tips for working with ink and watercolors successfully Claudia starts by simplifying the animal subject into basic shapes and diagrams. She then shows you how to refine these shapes into drawings. From there, you'll gently add color in simple washes and finish the details with pen and ink. Discover the versatility and satisfaction of painting with pen, ink and watercolor, and watch your favorite animals spring to life with a charm and detail you've never captured before.

Artists seem compelled to try to capture the amazing variety of the animal kingdom; the challenge remains how to breathe energy into your paintings and make the animals jump off the paper. This deeply practical book offers an accessible introduction to sketching animals from life, to try to capture that essence. It gives instruction on how to approach drawing; covers ideas for materials and supplies to make sketching from life a joy; gives step-by-step demonstrations of different watercolour techniques; offers specific advice on using colour and painting, fur, feathers and features and gives ideas for mixed-media experimentation. Full of colourful examples and guidance, this new book explains how to transform your studies into finished artwork that are brimming with character. It encourages you to find the extraordinary in the everyday, as well as revelling in the breadth of nature. Taking a contemporary approach to traditional watercolour, the author shows how a few, well-chosen brushes of paint can reveal the soul of your subject.

Line and wash is an exciting combination. This practical book shows you how to exploit the strength of ink with the transparency of watercolour to produce powerful and dynamic paintings. With over 170 illustrations, it covers a wide range of styles and subjects, before exploring mixed media, new surfaces and other ways to take your line and wash work to another level. Includes advice on choosing materials; exercises to hone your drawing and painting skills; gives inspiration for new approaches to line and wash and, finally, step-by-step demonstrations of ideas and projects. This book is a visual treat and an essential guide for all artists who want to try this exciting technique.

In Sketching Your Favorite Subjects in Pen & Ink, Claudia Nice covers all aspects of pen and ink drawing. You'll find complete instruction for and demonstration of techniques such as crosshatching, stippling, texture and value contrasts, as well as the use of contour, parallel and scribble lines. All of theses techniques are illustrated throughout by the author's striking works. You'll find chapters detailing: Houses and Buildings: using freehand and architectural styles, learn to detail barns, houses and cityscapes. Animals: draw realistic animals by focusing on anatomy, facial features and hair texture. The Plant Kingdom: learn to sketch plants, flowers, leaves and trees - from an individual flower to an entire forest. Faces and Figures: sketch realistic, dynamic figures and capture varying moods. Birds: learn to draw lifelike feathers, eyes, bills and feet. Waterscapes: capture the reflections of a quiet brook and the spray of crashing surf.

Learn how to draw realistic animal portraits with this insightful guide! Using affordable felt tip pens and markers, both beginning and experienced artists will practice drawing 26 amazing animals from A to Z – including elephants, frogs, and sloths – and all of their unique features and textures. With step-by-step instructions and illustrations, drawing techniques include stippling, cross-hatching, and more to create tons of realistic details. Also included with each drawing project are reference photos and fun facts pertaining to each animal!

Showing how to paint a variety of leaves, vines, weathered wood arbors, birdbaths, and other outdoor details, bestselling author Claudia Nice provides all the information artists need to create gorgeous country garden art. 150 color illustrations.

“We have more to learn from animals than the animals have to learn from us.” – Anthony Douglas Williams Animals are fascinating drawing subjects for most artists. Drawing lively animal portraits brings with it another level of excitement, not to mention challenges, such as bringing out that mischievous spark in a dog’s eyes or that vicious promise of impending violence in a lion’s eyes. The facial proportions of the animals, the fur or the pattern of scales on their bodies are yet other challenges difficult to master. Not anymore. In this book, you will learn how to draw expressive and lively portraits of a range of animals, from your humble house pets to vicious forest dwellers. What will you learn in this book? · All about values and how they are especially important in a pen and ink drawing. How to determine the values and use them in a drawing. · Pen and ink drawing techniques. · Materials available for pen and ink drawing. · Shading techniques. · Ink painting and techniques. · Foreshortening – the concept and its usage in drawing animal portraits. Since the best way to learn is through hands-on experience, throughout this book, you will actually draw animal portraits using 20 step-by-step demonstrations. We’ll be focusing on seven categories of animals, including: · Elephants · Cat family (felines) · Dog family (canine) · Reptiles · Horse family · Rodents · Monkeys

Methods of merging soft luminous washes with sharp, crisp definite penwork are made easy with this book. Each stage of the painting process is illustrated in a highly practical way, using step-by-step photographs and a colourful selection of finished paintings.

Artist Tim Pond's lively and engaging book fuses science with art, providing the reader with the skills, techniques and knowledge they need to create sketches of animals filled with life and movement.There are some very good books written on life drawing, yet when it comes to drawing wildlife, illustrators and artists often revert to working solely from photographs, which can leave the artwork looking lifeless and flat. In this inspirational book, artist Tim Pond shows you how to observe and draw animals in zoos, farms, wildlife parks and aquariums, teaching you some fascinating facts about the animals along the way and ultimately bringing you closer to nature. One of the challenges with sketching wildlife is that animals are constantly moving. However by having some basic understanding of the biology of an animal, such as knowing that a duck has a cheek or that a cheetah can't retract its claws, can influence how you might sketch them, and results in a lively drawing that captures the form, movement and ultimately the spirit of the animal in question. Combining scientific knowledge with expert practical guidance is key to creating successful drawings of animals, and Tim's ability to convey this in a way that is both accessible and engaging makes this a unique and inspiring guide suitable for artists of all levels. Tim's book takes you on a journey of discovery that will enable you to develop the skills, techniques and knowledge you need to sketch a broad range of wildlife, encompassing mammals, reptiles, birds, fish and insects. It includes quick, gestural sketches as well as linear and tonal studies, in a variety of media - pencil, pen and ink, and watercolour. There are numerous studies comprising how to represent the different patterns of animals' coats, how to capture the plumage of an exotic bird in watercolour, and how to sketch a hippo's hooves, as well as guidance on tools, materials and basic techniques. The result is a treasure chest of fascinating facts, studies, sketches and annotated drawings that will not fail to ignite your enthusiasm for drawing animals from life.