As the residents of the mythical lost city of Atlantis will tell you, it is never pleasant to experience a sinking feeling. This is especially true when that sinking feeling Is experienced while looking at a drawing that has taken many hours to complete. Perhaps your drawing bears little resemblance to your original idea, or maybe it looks flat and lifeless, or maybe you just ran out of space on the page. I hope that this book will help you avoid making those mistakes by showing you how to plan your drawings.
How to Draw Mythical Creatures introduces a collection of well-known and lesser-known mythical creatures and then shows step-by-step instructions for drawing them. The creatures are grouped into three broad categories: Peaceful; Fierce and Very Dangerous. Extras at the end include Monster Lettering and a collection of Mythical Creature types as they might appear and behave at school. Each creature is briefly described and the completed illustration shown before the planning stages are revealed. Pages are framed with Creature Celtic borders.
Marc McBride’s illustrations first received widespread attention when they accompanied Emily Rodda’s ‘Deltora Quest’ series and continued with his follow-up books which include ‘Deltora Quest Book of Monsters’, ‘How to Draw Deltora Dragons’ and ‘How to Draw Deltora Monsters’. Like these others, ‘How to Draw Mythical Creatures’ is rich in detail and colour. Young readers and artists will be familiar with many of the mythical creatures and will enjoy recreating them. There’s enough of an explanation for readers who are less familiar with the creatures to intrigue them and perhaps encourage further research and reading. Recommended for primary-readers and anyone who loves mythology and drawing.
How to Draw Mythical Creatures Mark McBride
Scholastic 2010
ISBN: 9781741694000
review by Claire Saxby, Children’s Author
www.clairesaxby.com
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