This new series is excellent and its authors pack a lot in. As well as information on the technicalities of drawing, including working from photographs and planning your final picture, there are 11 demonstrations of both wild and domestic animals. These include a variety of shapes, poses and hair and fur types, as well as details such as eyes, noses and ears. An innovation in this volume is links to online videos that complement the printed demonstrations.-The Artist As with previous volumes in this series, you get a lot for your money, though the layout here is a little more conventional, the book consisting mainly of a series of demonstrations and some notes on detail work. An innovation is the online demonstrations which you can access through a link or a QR code that you scan with a mobile phone. This is a good idea, though I must admit that I find the codes intrusive on the page and I do wonder whether the small screen of a phone is the ideal viewing medium. Tablets tend to have lower-resolution cameras and can struggle with these codes, so typing URLs on a keyboard may be the best solution. All the codes are the same and lead to a long online menu, so placing a single reference on the title page might have been a better idea. I'm sorry to have taken so long over what sounds like a quibble, but the idea of using YouTube rather than supplying a bound-in DVD is so stunningly obvious that I'm genuinely surprised that this is the first time I've seen it done. It's cheap, flexible and adds immeasurably to the value of the book without compromising the price and I'd urge other publishers to follow suit. Just keep the content good and appropriate, that's all. A video done for the sake of it undoes all the good work of the printed page. The book itself doesn't start hugely promisingly. Lucy draws, as artists often do, her materials and equipment and it seems she struggles with three-dimensional objects and their perspective. This is particularly odd as this is one of her strengths when it comes to animals, which are much more difficult than a simple water pot. In every single case, her subjects have depth, texture, life and character and she is one of the best animal artists I've come across. After the usual introduction to materials and techniques the book is, as I said, a series of demonstrations. These are divided into wild and domestic animals and include meerkats, elephants and tigers, dogs, cats and horses. Each section is a specific image, so you don't get the huge variety that some other volumes in the series have introduced. At the same time, these are subjects that need a lot of attention and detail work and the trade-off is worthwhile.-Artbookreview.net Wow! This book really made me want to draw animals, and that is something that was never on my to do list. Lucy is an excellent artist and her work speaks for itself. This book covers many types of animal with eleven step-by-step projects to help you improve your drawing skills. There is an in-depth section on mark-making and materials such as surfaces and drawing equipment. Techniques such as fur and whiskers are included. You'll also find information on planning your drawing. I like Lucy's drawing style and her animals are realistic. This book also includes the bonus of free links to online tutorials. Great value for anyone who likes drawing animals.-Yarnsandfabrics.co.uk/crafts

Lucy Swinburne trained as a Graphic Designer in 1988 and was selected as a finalist in the Daily Mail's first "Not the Turner Prize" competition in 2003. She subsequently exhibited at the Mall Galleries. Lucy also writes articles for the Leisure Painter magazine. Lucy holds regular workshops for artists, where she tutors students in pastel techniques. These painting workshops are based on animal subjects, wildlife or domestic and more recently, people portraits. Lucy also provides individual tuition, demonstrates for art groups and runs a private class in Hertfordshire. In her spare time, she attends dog shows with her own pets.

Introduction - 6 The history of drawing animals - 8 Materials - 12 How to start - 20 Wild Animals - 28 Wolf - 28 Step by step Meerkat - 34 Step by step Elephant - 40 Step by step Tiger - 44 Step by step Cheetah - 50 Step by step Domestic Animals - 28 Dogs - 54 Dog - 58 Step by step Cats - 64 Cat - 68 Step by step Horses - 74 Horse - 76 Step by step Foal - 82 Step by step Rabbit - 88 Step by step Bearded Dragon - 92 Step by step Index - 96