DragonArt
by Jessica "Neon Dragon" Peffer
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Book Reviews of DragonArt
Book Review: A Wonderful Way To Learn How To Draw!
Summary: 4 Stars
As far as drawing can go, this has to be one of the most helpful books out there. I must admit that I am a dragon-obsessed freak, but you don't have to like dragons or fantasy art in order to like this book.
To start off, Neondragon's book is perfectly organized. It's divided into four sections, basics, how to draw dragons, how to draw various details, such as horns and frills, and last we've got the other fantasy creatures. Everything starts out simple and easy, progressively moving on to harder and harder subjects. For example, at the beginning we work on a basic dragon, then we learn how to draw paws, talons, heads, and wings, until you finish off with a western (the kind that has wings and breathes fire) and eastern (the Chinese and Japanese type) dragon. This shows that, instead of jumping all over the place and drawing like there's no tommorow, you get the hang of things before you tackle complicated poses and parts.
So what about the section about making the dragon look unique? Neondragon really includes a lot about making your dragon good, so that you don't have just another winged lizard on your hands. You can learn to draw differant types of horns, scales, tails, and frills. Sometimes it helps to give you a little more inspiratin, and create awesome dragons that no else could ever create. In addition, it even teaches you how to draw feathers and fur for your dragon, or any of the other types of creatures found in the book.
After you've finished drawing dragons, you get to look at the other fantasy critters. You use the skills you learn from drawing dragons to draw the various beasties at the end of the book. This includes kirins (Chinese and Japanese unicorns), sea serpents, and phoenixes. This adds variety to the book, so that you can learn to create things other than dragons.
And what about the instructions? Everything is broken down into simple and easy steps. The current step is in red, while stuff that's already done is in blue. This makes it easy to tell what you have to do next, instead of searching for that tiny line that you couldn't find in other drawing books. There are also tips and tricks along the way, making it a little bit easier to draw that dragon. The only thing that may be of trouble is that it's hard to see the red line occasionally, since there are so many blue lines in the way. But there are only a few places where this happens.
And somewhere in the book, you get a look at dragon anatomy. It helps make your dragon look believable and alive. Neon makes it easy to understand that a believable creature is a better creature. And it's simple to make it look believable. It tells you how you can make your dragon or fantasy creature to look real. Plus, it explains why a creature should look believable.
If you're looking for a helpful and useful way to draw fantasy creatures, you may want to consider picking this book up.
Book Review: A Master artist and tutorial writer
Summary: 5 Stars
Jessica has an innate gift at teaching the tricks of her trade. She has studied her dragons well, even giving us bone structures, musculatures, and all those little hints about making our dragons look realistic. She provides different paradigms for driving the form of our dragons, and helps us to find our own creative approach.
This is one of those books every fantasy artist (or aspiring artist) and lover of dragons (and other fantasy creatures) should definitely have a copy of.
When it comes to how she writes tutorials, this is one of those rare books that flows and reads well. Just like her online tutorials, each step is surrounded by suggestions, and each step doesn't leave you hanging or asking questions. This is a good read in general.
Also, at the time of this writing, she is working on finishing her second book and has already spoken of her third! Also, between her first and second (and third) books, her artistic talent has jumped leaps and bounds. Looking at this book, you wouldn't expect it to get that much better (its beautiful, already) but her next two books are bound to amaze!
Jessica, we anxiously look forward to your next release!
Book Review: A playful perspective on Dragonart
Summary: 4 Stars
As a freelance artist I have perused many art books and I find this one to be quite a catch. Dragonart is aimed more toward the beginner artist then the experienced one, but even I have found a few new ideas to try from this book.
The book takes a friendly laid back approach to drawing. It begins with basic anatomy, the subject that perhaps is the greatest obstacle to an artist, discussing how to properly design your dragon so that it looks pleasing and has a sense of weight and realism. The book then refines your drawing skills with details on drawing those difficult body parts such as hands, paws, wings, and maws. The pages are filled with colorful examples and the text is easy to read and understand.
I recommend this book to other artists, both novice and experienced, who enjoy drawing one of the most inspirational creatures ever to appear from our imaginations. If you are not an artist, but are a collector of dragon books, this one might be a nice touch to your collection.
Book Review: NeonDragon knows what she's doing
Summary: 4 Stars
NeonDragon's beautiful creatures have had my attention for a few years now, and I am proud of how well she did on her "How to" book. I've been drawing for several years, but could never manage dragons quite as well as I wished. NeonDragon's book was very helpful; it broke down the complex and ununiform dragon into simple steps with plenty of colorful visuals. NeonDragon even made it simple to personalize my drawings by giving examples of different horns, body and leg shapes, wings, and all other things that make dragons unique. The parts on other mythical creatures wasn't as in depth, but still held my attention and gave me some ideas. It is filled with NeonDragon's humor and spirit and is a wonderful book for one struggling to make thier dragons look good and believable.Book Review: A Great Addition to my "Drawing Books" Collection
Summary: 4 Stars
Jessica's book is the only other dragon drawing book I would recommend other than my own:
Drawing Dragons: Learn How to Create Fantastic Fire-Breathing Dragons
Although I do find her artwork very cartoony, some of it is undeniably striking and she obviously is a very talented artist. The instructions are easy to follow and she has a fun and homourous tone to the way she writes. I have purchased pretty much every dragon drawing book out there to see how it compares to mine and this is the only purchase I am actually happy with.
If you like this book, you should definitely check out her newest one on Fantasy Characters as well.