The Library has challenged you to read five books this summer, and now we’re asking you to exercise those creative muscles and create your own illustrations of one (or more!) of the books you’ve chosen. This month I’m redesigning the cover of one of my favorite summer reads with the help of a few drawing resources in our collection, and I’m challenging you to do the same!
My all-time favorite summer read is Prodigal Summer, an environmental fiction novel by Barbra Kingsolver that explores, among many other things, the importance of coyotes to the ecology of the Appalachian Mountains. This feels like the perfect book to tie into the summer reading theme Tails and Tales, and to use in my attempt at our creative challenge of making your own illustrations for one of the books you read this summer. If you’re like me and the thought of drawing animals is a little intimidating, check out the resources below to help you get started!
We’d love to see your summer reading challenge creations! If you do the challenge, share your pictures with us on social media. You can find us on Instagram and Twitter (@carnegielibrary) as well as Facebook.
Titles Available Exclusively On Hoopla Digital:
Learn To Draw Forest Animals & Wildlife by Various Authors
Part of the Learn to Draw series featuring all of your favorite forest and wild animals, including a bald eagle, a deer, a grizzly bear and many more.
This inspiring sketchbook is part of the new 20 Ways series from Quarry Books, designed to offer artists, designers and doodlers a fun and sophisticated collection of illustration fun.
Title also available on Hoopla Digital.
Text and illustrations provide step-by-step instructions for drawing dogs, cats and horses.
Title also available on Hoopla Digital and OverDrive.
Imagine having the ability to draw any subject with precision, detail and expression. With Claudia’s help, you can do it! In this book, you will discover how to tap into your powers of observation, strengthen your hand-eye connection and draw the world around you with new skill and accuracy. Just take it one step at a time. Start today, Claudia’s way! Following her masterful guidance, you’ll see the world through new eyes and draw better than you ever have before.
Title also available on OverDrive.
This colorful, fun title provides budding artists with a guide to improving their drawing skills with an emphasis on portraits and animals. The volume is packed with numerous projects that include step-by-step illustrated instructions as well as a completed project for reference. Ideal for supplementing art curriculums or for individual use, this title explores a variety of doodling and drawing techniques and tips to help each artist develop their artistic skills to inspire them to create their own illustration style.
The Inspired Artist series invites art hobbyists and casual art enthusiasts to have fun learning basic art concepts, relaxing into the creative process to make art in a playful, contemporary style. With Draw Every Little Thing, the first book in this new series, you can learn to draw and paint your favorite everyday items. From learning to draw and paint plants, flowers and bicycles to the neighborhood café and the contents of the kitchen cabinet, this contemporary drawing book demonstrates just how easy it is to render the world around you with little more than a pencil, paper and paint.
Title also available on OverDrive.
An expert guide by a well-known teacher and artist offers sound advice on methods and techniques for artists at all levels. Step-by-step instructional drawings of 26 animals, wild and domestic, appear with a text that focuses on understanding animal anatomy and behavior as a key to creating natural, expressive drawings.
Title also available on Hoopla Digital.
Marjolein Kruijt’s deep and abiding love of animals is obvious in this book, which will teach you the technical aspects of drawing domestic and wild animals, such as different breeds of dog and cat as well as long and short fur. In addition, it will help you to capture their inner nature.
Wildlife artist Doug Lindstrand has spent 30+ years observing animals in nature and capturing them on paper. In this book, he distills his expertise into key lessons for drawing any animal in a charming, realistic style. Nothing intimidating here! Starting with easy sketches, you’ll learn to gradually refine basic shapes into lifelike dogs, wolves, deer, sheep, horses, bears, giraffes, owls, eagles, geese and other magnificent creatures. With this classic and time-tested approach, you’ll be able to draw not only the animals illustrated on these pages, but any animal that touches your artistic soul.
This book offers simple step-by-step drawing instructions that help you to learn how to draw your favorite animals.