DRAW IT ALL!

Always wanted to know how to draw? This book is the perfect starting point­, since it’s packed full of ideas, inspiration, and simple step-by-step guides. You’ll discover all types of characters and varying levels of difficulty, with tips and tricks to help your drawings really stand out.

CHAPTERS INCLUDE

ANIMALS

Critters come in all shapes and sizes, and chapters focusing on pets, underwater creatures, and wild animals mean that you can learn to draw a huge variety of the animal kingdom.

PEOPLE

Drawing people can be a challenge, but we’ll show you how. Try portraits, full figures, action poses, and discover tips on hands and feet.

MONSTERS AND FANTASY

Drawing characters from your imagination is great fun. These fantasy creatures in step-by-step form will help you master all your favorites.

SPEED MACHINES

If technical drawing is your thing, then try the race cars, speedboats, and space rockets in this chapter.

DINOSAURS

As well as trying terrifying T. rex, why not draw Triceratops, Velociraptor, and Iguanodon, and bring these reptiles back to life.

SCENES

Once you’ve drawn your characters, learn how to put them together in a scene. Try a jungle, back yard, or underwater masterpiece.

STYLES

REALISTIC STYLE

There are two styles of art in this book. The dinosaur below has been drawn and colored in a realistic style with pencils and watercolor paints. Paying attention to detail and looking for references to copy helps with realistic drawings.

CARTOON STYLE

This dinosaur is pretty different! It has been drawn and colored in a cartoon style. The features are exaggerated, and there is a thick black outline. Cartoon drawings allow you to experiment with shapes and colors as much as you want.

FOLLOW THE LINES

Build up your picture step-by-step by looking at the color of each stroke. Red strokes show you the lines you need to draw, and black strokes show what you have already drawn. All the lines will be red in the first step. After that, only the new lines will be in red.

YOU WILL NEED

Every artist needs essential drawing tools including pencils, pens, a ruler, paints, and paper. As you become more experienced, you can add materials, such as ink pens, gouache paints, or pastel crayons. They will help you to develop your own favorite style.

PENCILS

Pencils come with different weights of lead. Hard lead pencils (H to 9H) are useful for drawing precise, fine lines. Soft lead pencils (B to 9B) work well for shading and softer lines.

MARKERS

Before coloring, it’s a good idea to go over your pencil outline. A marker is perfect for this. You can use a thick or thin one, depending on the effect you want to create.

RULER

For technical drawings, a ruler really helps. It will allow you to make your lines straight and angles accurate.

PAPER

You can use different types of paper for different jobs. When practicing shapes and lines, a rough sketch paper is practical. For final colored-up drawings, a smooth plain paper works well.

ERASER

From time to time, you’ll make mistakes or need to erase guidelines. That’s where an eraser comes in handy. Don’t worry if you make mistakes—everybody does!

PAINTS

There are all different kinds of paints you can experiment with, but poster paints and watercolors are an excellent starting point. You could also try gouache, which will give you more solid tones.

FELT-TIP PENS

Felt-tips are perfect for coloring drawings that need bold, bright colors. They work especially well for cartoons.

ART IN ACTION

Take a look at the examples below to see how to get the best out of using different pens, brushes, and paints.

This friendly dolphin was colored in watercolor paints to give a smooth effect. Colors can be blended together to create different shades with watercolors.

Felt-tip pens were used to color this cartoon shark, making it look dramatic. The outline was done with a black marker, and the body was highlighted with white chalk.

SHAPES AND LINES

All the drawings in this book start with simple shapes and lines. They give you a basic structure to build on. Then you can work on developing the details.

SIMPLE SHAPES

Here are some examples of the shapes you’ll use. It’s a good idea to practice drawing them until you feel comfortable. For some of the shapes, such as the squares, rectangles, and triangles, use a ruler to get straight lines.

LINES

THICK LINES

You can create different effects depending on the thickness of your line. This tiger looks dramatic because it has a thick bold outline and fur made with jagged short strokes.

SMUDGED LINES

Smudging your lines makes this werewolf seem wild, since it gives the fur a sense of movement. Try soft pencil or charcoal, then smudge the line with your finger. You could also use an old brush and ink to get a scratchy effect.

FINE LINES

A fine line gives a more delicate appearance. It’s perfect for creating the wispy fur on this almost cuddly yeti. Notice how the outline is not solid but made up of lots of tiny strokes drawn very close together.

COLOR MAGIC

When you color in your drawings, you instantly bring them to life. As well as working with colors that go well together, think about those that contrast. Using color is also a great way to create a particular mood or feel.

If you’re going for realistic hair, then it’s a good idea to avoid a single block of color. Brown, yellow, and white have all been blended together here.

Did you know that you can make brown by blending green and red together? Try this with watercolor paints.

To give this elf a truly woodland feel, we decided to color her outfit in many different shades of green.

To add some “pizzazz” to the picture, try including a touch of lime green. You can make this by blending a strong green with bright yellow.

COLOR WHEEL

A color wheel can help you decide how to mix and match color. The primary colors are red, yellow, and blue. You can make up all the other colors by mixing them.

CUDDLY AND CUTE

Changing the color of a picture or adding features can make a huge difference. This green baby dragon looks friendly and sweet.

HOT AND BOTHERED

Turn him bright red, and he becomes more mischievous. Give him a puff of fire, and you know you better not make him angry!

SHADING AND HIGHLIGHTS

Adding darker areas of color to a picture is called shading. Highlights are patches of white. Artists use these techniques to give their pictures bulk and depth, so that they seem three-dimensional and real. Find out how on the Triceratops example below.

1. Once you have outlined your drawing, plot out where the shading needs to go. Darker areas around the neck, underneath the body, and on the legs give this dinosaur its bulk.

2. Now build up the shading. We have used a watercolor paint because we are working in a realistic style. Make sure that the shading is in a darker color than the main body color.

3. Now cover the whole picture with the main body color, in this case a light brown. Notice how by going over the whole body, including the shaded areas, the colors feel blended together.

4. The final step is to add highlights. Here, we have used white chalk on top of the watercolor. Add most of the highlights around the neck plate, spiny back, and thigh joints to make them stand out.

PERSPECTIVE

In real life, objects look smaller the farther away they are. You can create this feel in your pictures by drawing them in perspective. Using this technique will also help make the objects look solid. Follow the steps below to find out how.

VANISHING POINTS

When creating perspective, you need at least one vanishing point. This is the point where parallel lines would meet in the distance if you kept on looking at them.

If you are drawing objects from the front, then one vanishing point is useful. Be sure to mark the horizon line first. This is where the lines leading to the vanishing point, shown by the red lines, will meet. Then you can build up your picture.

When drawing at an angle, two vanishing points can be useful to help you get your picture right. Both of the vanishing points should be positioned on the horizon line.

To draw a bullet train in perspective, start with the horizon line. Then create your vanishing point.

Now you can begin to build your picture. Add vertical lines to mark the body and front point of the train.

Follow the guides to shape the nose and windshield. Can you see how already the rear of the train looks like it is disappearing into the distance?

By adding the window detail and the track, your picture is becoming more solid and realistic by the second.

All that’s left to do is to color it in. Your bullet train will now look like it’s speeding toward you.