Drawing Realistic Pets from Photographs Paperback – August 20, 2005

Having avoided my innate desire for the arts for close to 30 years due to perfectionism issues, I finally decided I had to kick it in the butt and began borrowing books from the library on drawing and painting. I loved Drawing Realistic Pets so much that I bought my own copy. Basically, I had lost all the training I'd gotten from the few art classes I took way back when.But I have found not all books on drawing and painting are good at being practical and useful on teaching you simple techniques to get the ball rolling. Drawing Realistic Pets gave me the fundamental information I needed, like basic tools, how to blend pencil strokes for the right effects, effective use of an eraser for highlighting effects, equipment, supplies (it may sound foolish to a beginner but there are lots of subtleties in the differences between pencils). What especially helped me was a technique I had been taught many years ago but forgot--using a light grid to help you better draw your picture to proportion. I did 2 drawings of a face--one without the grid and one with and there is a night and day improvement between the two. Well worth the money. I love this book.Even when not drawing, the many dog drawings in this book (among other animals) have a tranquil effect on me, like listening to Bob Ross as he paints. 8-)

I have some old photographs of a dear old friend no longer with me. There will never be any other photos and some of the ones I have are pretty sad quality. I wanted to remember "Buffy" with some fun drawings using what photos I had blowing up little photos into large wall size with greater detail. This book helped tremendously. Using the grid method really does work and allows me to "blowup" photos that would suffer from physically enlarging the photo by converting them to a drawing. And it had a side affect I liked. Buffy was suddenly back in my life and I realized I still remembered details of her face and body I hadn't caught in the photos. I can't really say I have turned into an artist but I think I could do much better using this book if I did the one thing this book doesn't do, make me practice. The more I spend time actually drawing the better it gets. No your first attempt at a drawing is not going to work unless you are really an artist already. The book really offers the chance to draw from photos but it will not happen over night, it is not a miracle book. But practice over and over and over some more and you will really create some wonderful drawings of pets whether still with you or not. And you can start to even change those drawings with different expressions and posses. It is truly a fun adventure and this book provides the missing piece.

I haven't drawn for about 10 years. I took a few art classes in high school but didn't practice much. This book helped me so much. I had never used grids before and they really helped me get the right proportions for my drawings. My first drawing was a huge improvement over my previous attempts. I wish there was a little more detail on taking your drawing to the final step with lifting out color. But overall I think this is a excellent book for beginners. i wish I had it when I was younger. I'm inspired to start drawing again.

i like how this book simplifies how to draw pets from photos without making me feel like i am a child. detailed and descriptive just enough so i can make the pictures resemble my dog and not just a dog. i am excited to use to draw my pug puppy and a few of my friends dogs. i wouldnt exactly call myself an artist but i have sold some work but when i started to try to draw my pug i just couldn't get his face balanced to where i could look at the drawing and say, "that's hugo!" (hugo - my pug) i have only browsed through the book but i did find helpful info that i was looking for. i would reccomend if you are interested in really capturing a pets likeness.

I got this book when I bought Lee Hammond's "How to Draw Lifelike Portraits from Photographs". Both proved to be incredible resources.Hammond is very good at explaining how to draw -- both through words and illustrations. This book is no exception. She gives step by step drawing lessons for many types of animals (birds, fish, other small animals, dogs, cats). Some drawings are better than others, but the lessons are excellent for all drawing. My focus was on cats and dogs (as those are the animals I own), but the other drawings and lessons she included made me want to try those as well. This is the best resource I have seen for drawing pets out there. Highly recommended.

I've been an artist for 40 years, but have never been good at drawing or painting animals. People, oik, but not animals.This book takes you through the basics through the completed drawing. Her technique is vastly different than any I've ever been taught. Imagine using mechanical pencils for art work!! But it works, it's easier and it's even less expensive. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has the desire to draw animals. I hope this comes out in DVD form like some of her other books have. I'll buy it!

A wonderful book and shows you how to draw animals. It takes you from the beginning of a drawing to the finish. It informs you of the tools you may want to help you draw and how to use them correctly. The book covers shading, blending, drawing pet noses, eyes and fur and much more. For me, it covers the topics that I feel I need to know something about.

I like this book, I could draw pets in a more sketchy way and in different mediums but I wanted my graphite work to have more detail with animals. Lee Hammond doesn't disappoint in giving the instruction in a way everyone can understand whether you're a newbie to drawing or wanting to improve detail work or technical skill. The exercises help you reach those goals, as well. Just don't draw after taking Ambien unless you have a great sense of humor!!!