Review on 🎨 Quayside Publishing Quarry Books: Master the Art of Drawing and Painting Imaginary Animals by Jessica Lewis

I have always illustrated books and articles. My mother was also an illustrator. However, while working on my own children's book series, I was deeply dissatisfied with my numbers. They are good but too realistic. I just couldn't give up traditional imagery and techniques. I thought the cover of this book was cute and the reviews were good so I ordered a copy. (Given how expensive used copies were, this reinforced my decision. Clearly, few are willing to turn down this book.) When the book arrived, I flipped through it. It looked good. (That's not necessarily good for the books I'm working on.) Well, at first it was a woah moment. The second time I flipped through the book more leisurely, I realized it was a gem. Some of the materials she offers and examples of her products (finished products), especially fabric and woodwork. they inspire. The works of other artists are also based on similar concepts. Two mixed media works caught my attention. I'll be going through my boxes of collage supplies for test patterns. The best thing about this book is that the author had the same struggles as I did creating the whimsical illustrations. And her book offers solutions that make sense. They are great and almost everything is either on my doorstep or already in my kitchen. The basic concept is simple enough for any beginner. In fact, it may be easiest to follow this approach for a beginner without breaking "old habits". This book offers a variety of methods (as well as drawing and painting tools), including common writing tools. no painting material required. It's not "first you copy this, then you copy that, next step, etc." type of book. You can copy their work, but "Draw and Color Imaginary Animals" is designed to inspire your originality from the start. These adorable creatures come from YOUR imagination. The process is a lot simpler than you might expect. Thing is, I think a lot of pros (like me) get attached to certain styles, techniques, and materials. This book brought me back to my roots by making it surprisingly easy to create fresh new sketches and illustrations. "Fresh” is a really important word. That's what I wanted from this book, and it delivers in abundance. This book guides artists of all levels to unique, original, and utterly captivating creations. This is the perfect book whether you work with illustrations, artist magazines, ceramic figurines or fabrics. I could probably write an even longer review, but I can't wait to start painting!