Illustration School: Let's Draw Cute Animals Paperback – Illustrated, October 1, 2010

I was looking for a book to help me with simple illustration and I've found that the "Illustration School" series is PERFECT.I've taken a zillion drawing classes but I just wanted something much simpler- a guide to illustration that didn't focus on the "heavy" stuff, like perspective or shading or any of that good stuff but still captured the essence of flowers and trees without being too cartoon-like. I do a lot of art journaling and mixed media work and I wanted to incorporate sketches from my garden without them being too fussy or representational, if that makes any sense.This is the *perfect* book for that. Sachiko Umoto's illustrations are gorgeous, and completely evocative of each thing she illustrates but they are *really* easy to sit down and do. Both my daughter (who is seven) and I (not seven) love this book and refer to it.Don't be fooled by the size- there is SO much in this book. It works as a starting point for other illustration- because each of the drawing has about six or seven step-outs, you can use your own creativity to take the drawings in other directions from any step.I love the size and the presentation of the book, too- it's about the size of a small journal, and the cover is a cream-colored thick stock with an embossed texture. The pages inside are a creamy white textured paper, as well. It would make a wonderful gift, along with a small pack of colored pencils or Micron pens and a small journal.But I am absolutely keeping my copy for my own use, and I can tell it's going to be a much loved part of my library. I can't recommend this enough!

My kids and I love this boom. We’ve had it for about a year and I always love when it gets put to use. The drawings are so fun and the instructions are really easy to follow. We have a copy for our family and we’ve given another copy to a friend who loved it too. It’s great for all ages!

This book is excellent for several reasons. It's compact enough to carry around easily, well organized content, easy to follow instructions on how to draw adorable little animals. My daughter and I used it to decorate goody bags for a younger sisters' birthday party. We were able to draw without any practice the animals in the book. We even added our own cute details. People who think they are horrible at drawing will be able to do this. She has other books that I am sure are just as fun and easy to use. The style of the book is very comfortable, not too wordy. Easy for pure beginners. I highly recommend!

I bought the three books available in this series: Illustration School: Let's Draw Plants and Small Creatures, Illustration School: Let's Draw Cute Animals and Illustration School: Let's Draw Happy People. I can recommend all of them and am posting this same review for all three books.While these books may be targeted at children, I think adults can enjoy them as well. There's a lyrical way to which the drawings are taught.There isn't a big focus on the minute details of getting things right. Instead, the focus is on encouraging the reader to just get into doodling. That, there are no wrong strokes.The illustrations are fun and the paper of high quality. I enjoy touching this book as much as I enjoy looking it. As to whether I have become a master doodler because of these books? Not quite yet.

I have little kids and they often want me to draw animals for them. I wouldn't say I'm terrible at drawing animals but I am definitely no artist. This book quickly shows you how to draw an animal and they turn out adorable. The approach is very casual and not overly involved. The book isn't trying to teach you the correct way to do anything, but the way it shows you is easy and fuss-free. I also love the paper used for the cover. It feels like a watercolor paper and the book is small (but not too small) and is easy to put on the bookshelf. I've also purchased the "Let's Draw Happy People" book and I highly recommend that as well!!

As an artist and educator, I'm always looking for art books that I can use as resources and/or reference books for my students and myself. The "Illustration School: Let's Draw Cute Animals" book by Sachiko Umoto fits both needs. The step by step instructions for about 70 different species of animals are simple to follow and produce endearing, yet realistic looking Japanese style cartoons. In addition, the author provides illustrations of the animals in multiple poses, as well as expressions, that challenge the user to further explore the skills they learned. I highly recommend this book.

This book is great! My daughter who is dyslexic and has other learning difficulties loves to draw and I can't believe how much her drawing has improved with this book and the other one from the same author happy people. They are simple drawings yet very detailed and lifelike. She has been drawing non stop and shows her work to family and friends and they can't believe how well she is drawing. Well worth every penny!

This is the second Illustration School book that I have purchased. I love the cute stories that go along with the drawings and the encouraging tone of the writing. I find Japanese illustration pleasing to the eye with its cute characters and simple designs and this book is no exception. The author/illustrator does an excellent job of showing that everyone can add personalized drawings to cards and letters with a few simple tools and a fun attitude!

I bought a copy for myself a few years ago and found it very useful. I recently bought a copy for my niece who has taken an interest in illustration, particularly animals, and a she loves the books. Super easy to follow and leads to great illustrations.

Perfetto

Simple outlining of cute animals rather than in-depth shaded style.

Superschön und toll zum Lernen für Erwachsene und Kinder. Das gilt für alle Bände. Es macht rein gar nichts, dass es nicht auf Deutsch ist - die Zeichnungen versteht man auch so.

Ideal para niños. Lo usé para regalo.