Wednesday 14 October 2015

Drawing Animals Shape By Shape Book Review

I was always into art and drawing when I attended school (a long time ago now!) so it was nice to see my daughters also quite enthusiastic about putting pencil to paper. It's a brilliant way for them to show what's going on in their imaginations. But of course there comes a point where they start wanting to make things like animals look a bit more realistic and I will admit I'm not the best teacher. Christopher Hart's book Drawing Animals Shape by Shape is a handy reference which makes the drawing of animals very simple in a clever way.


What I love immediately is that this book isn't just about drawing, there are things to be learnt as you turn the pages. Each animal is drawn using simple shapes such as a square or a rectangle for instance so straight away it's a great way to test your child's knowledge of shapes!

All you need to make use of this book is a pencil and a piece of paper, as soon as you have those basic tools you can begin.


Near the beginning of the book there are two pages filled with shap templates. You can trace these and cut out your own templates if you struggle to draw the shapes needed for each animal. I like that these have been included as it makes the book suitable for a much wider age range. The templates allow your child to attempt the drawing independently without the help of an adult.



Broken down into sections there are a wide range of animals to choose from including farm animals, reptiles and bugs and even dinosaurs. Again this gives an added element to the book as you get to discover all of these birds, creatures etc, some your kids will know others they are being introduced to for the first time.

And of course the fun doesn't end once you've completed drawing your chosen animal because of then you get to add in backgrounds and of course you have to add a splash of colour too.

Once you've mastered the basics the possibilities are endless, you can then change and adapt your animals to how you want them to look. giving them different facial features, or even changing the shape of their body parts. You can see my attempts below.


Priced at £12.99 this is a book that is fun and inventive. Suitable for kids and adults, it gives you the skills to really make your animal drawings come to life!

10 comments:

  1. I'm not very good at drawing animals, this book would be great for me!

    #readwithme

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  2. This books looks ideal for me lol! I'm rubbish at drawing animals and when my daughter asks for me to do one i'm terrible. Will be good for both of us lol x #readwithme

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  3. This looks good and nicely laid out-my daughter loves to draw with me and I'm always looking for helpful books that will give her ideas alongside my own.

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  4. Oh this looks so sweet! Bit advanced for my boys who are still at the circle with arms sticking out where ears should be!

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  5. Oh this looks so sweet! Bit advanced for my boys who are still at the circle with arms sticking out where ears should be!

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  6. Oh I love this, as someone is is rubbish at drawing I love how it breaks down the animal into easy sections #ReadWithMe

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  7. Oh this looks great - do you think it's suitable for a six year old? I may be adding it to LP's Christmas list. :)

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    1. my 7 year old has been using it so I would say yes :)

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    2. Yay! Thanks! That's one for the list then. :)

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  8. I really like how they break down the animals into shapes. This is a really great book for children or adults even! animals are so hard to draw!! Thanks so much for hosting #readwithme x

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