How to Use This Book

Fantasy creatures, by their very nature, have no firm blueprints. In made-up worlds, rules are made to be broken. However, the creatures all share some similar characteristics. Anatomy must be functional. By studying each piece of the anatomy and understanding how it works, you'll learn to build your own characters.

This book consists mainly of easy-to-follow step-by-step demonstrations. Each new step of each demonstration is denoted in red. Following along with the demonstrations will help you draw several different, truly fantastic creatures. Look out for Dolosus, your fierce dragon guide, and Harold, his incompetent minion, along the way, too. They shows up here and there to provide helpful tips and tricks to ease your passage.

›1‹

Bigin with a line of motion

Then add lanky, stretched-out boxes to indicate the head, chest and hips.

Don't be discouraged if your first efforts don't look exactly as you planned. Everything comes with practice. The more you draw, the better you'll get. Through sheer repetition, your drawings will improve and your own personal style will emerge. If each drawing you make looks a little bit better than the previous one, you're getting somewhere.

›2‹

Draw dimensional lines to connect the chest and hips.

Using simple line-and-circle construction, sketch in the arms.

So sharpen your pencils, find your softest eraser and prepare your trusty inking pen, and let's go!