A must-have resource combining the experience of a Walt Disney Studios animator with exemplary line illustrations for artists eager to capture the essence, movement, and character of animals.
Former Disney animator offers expert advice on drawing animals both realistically and as caricatures. Use of line, brush technique, establishing mood, conveying action, and much more. Construction drawings reveal the development process in creating animal figures. Many chapters cover drawing individual animal forms, including dogs, cats, horses, deer, cows, foxes, and kangaroos. 53 halftones, 706 line illustrations.
Comprehensive Techniques: Learn essential methods like construction, action analysis, and caricature to understand animal anatomy and dynamics.
Extensive Visual Examples: Features over 700 stunning line illustrations prioritizing visual learning over theoretical explanation.
Versatile Animal Studies: Includes detailed guidance on drawing a wide range of animals, from horses and cats to giraffes and gorillas.
Master Movement and Emotion: Develop the ability to portray lifelike action, mood, and expressions, avoiding static or lifeless poses.
For All Skill Levels: Whether you’re a beginner, student, or seasoned professional, this book offers insightful instruction for every artist.
Expert Advice: Benefit from the perspective of legendary animator Ken Hultgren with practical tips and techniques honed in the golden age of animation.
The Art of Animal Drawing is a timeless treasure for creators passionate about bringing the animal world to life through art!
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1395 reviews for The Art of Animal Drawing: Construction, Action Analysis, Caricature (Dover Art Instruction)
4.6out of 5
★★★★★
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★★★★★
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★★★★★
Jesús Gamboa –
This book is a great start to learn how to draw animals it provides a basic knowledge of 1 group of animals mostly mammals if you want to learn how to draw birds or lizards then get something else but it this is a good start
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★★★★★
Amanda –
Great book for for all the art enthusiasts.
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★★★★★
RatherLiveInKeyWest –
The media could not be loaded.
Cumple con lo solicitado y lo esperado.. Muy completo el libro..
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★★★★★
gregory boardman –
Our daughter is working hard to become a math/science focused teacher for elementary and middle-school age students, and has been doing very well in the classroom and in the field.
However… the girl just could not draw at all — not even stick figures — and she really wanted to learn how to improve her ability to draw so that she might be able to use those skills to help make points in the classroom. That’s an admirable goal; she is trying to do everything she can to help improve her ability to teach.
The pictorial materials in this book began to help her visualize how animal drawings should be conceived, as a build from detailed understanding of the animal itself. By looking through them and then tracing over the drawings, she gained better understanding (and now at least her cats look like cats and not alligators…).
Combined with a few other instructional books like Fast Sketching (Fast Sketching Techniques: Capture the Fundamental Essence of Elusive Subjects) and Drawing Realistic Faces (Secrets to Drawing Realistic Faces), she really has come a long way in the last year.
Highly recommended as part of a learning program.
Helpful(0)Unhelpful(0)You have already voted this
★★★★★
Laura –
A wonderful resource for any artist interested in drawing some well-known animals; such as, horses or dogs. The sketching by Hultgren is phenomenal. This is NOT a book for beginning artist. If you are looking for a drawing book that gives you the step-by-step instructions using circles, triangles, and lines, you will not find that in this book. Other books are available that will give you this type of instruction.
Hultgren comes more from the viewpoint that you already have a fundamental understanding on how to draw. He does offer tips on drawing animals, but it is more advanced than draw three circles, then connect this circle to this circle. He speaks more of the specific elements of different animals; such as, verbally instructing you to divide the animal into three parts – forequarters, belly, and rear – and drawing a dorsal line between these parts. He also provides a section on mood and feeling that I found interesting and personally helpful. Furthermore, sections on the use of line, action analysis, and brush technique are included.
Now to get down to the specific animals Hultgren covers. For me the selection worked well, but it is not all encompassing. It couldn’t possibly be, or else you wouldn’t even be able to pick up the darn book. He offers detailed instruction on the Horse Family, Deer Family, the Cat Family, and the Bear Family. These are the most detailed sections of the book offering instruction drawing the skeletal and muscular structure of the animal. These sections also provide instruction on action, motion, specific body parts, and types of the animal. For instance, the lioness or the draft horse.
The other chapters of the book feature cows and bulls, giraffes, camels, gorillas, pigs, dogs, foxes, kangaroos, rabbits, squirrels, and elephants are not as detailed and do not offer instruction on muscular drawing. Additionally, each animal section offers a short introduction to caricature from 1/2 page to a maximum of 2 pages. I personally enjoyed looking at the caricatures. Not all of them were “typical” cartoon drawing. The final chapter in the book covers composition in animal grouping. It gives the artist the fundamental principals behind animal grouping composition.
This book is one of my favorites because it has really challenged my drawing abilities. I highly recommend this as a resource to those who have a fundamental understanding of drawing. For those of you starting out in drawing, I would recommend you find another resource first before pursuing this book.
Helpful(0)Unhelpful(0)You have already voted this
★★★★★
Schwab –
Dover strikes gold again with their comprehensive animal drawing book, a must-have for aspiring artists and seasoned illustrators alike. This gem provides invaluable insights into capturing wildlife from every conceivable angle, fostering a deep understanding of anatomy and movement. While it demands diligent practice, the payoff is immense as techniques become second nature. A prized addition to any artist’s library, this reference book not only enhances personal skills but also serves as an excellent teaching resource. For lovers of fine instructionals, Dover delivers once more.
A lot of details but a bit excessive with the horse illustration in the first half of the book. Other than that the book has some good lessons on how to draw. I wish the author gave more caricatures examples though.
Helpful(0)Unhelpful(0)You have already voted this
★★★★★
Dew –
Despites of this book originally published in 1993, it’s a very great one and I really appreciate it, considering there aren’t very many artbooks out there focusing on realistic animal drawing. Half of the book is about horse figure drawing – but there’s quite a few tips given by the artist that will give a great start to begginers. Highly reccomend!
Helpful(0)Unhelpful(0)You have already voted this
★★★★★
Amanda –
Me gustó mucho el contenido de este libro, este es un libro de dibujo, abarca linea de acción, construcción y movimiento.Es para mejorar tu manera de dibujar, no es un libro de anatomia, más bien te da tips en como dibujar animales cuadrúpedos, y simios, lamentable no abarca pájaros, pero el contenido que tiene es excelente, y Ken Hultgren explica muy bien, con un lenguaje práctico.
Helpful(0)Unhelpful(0)You have already voted this
★★★★★
Sibir –
Pictures are worth a thousand words. I don’t need to be told beforehand, or as I’m looking through the pages, that this guide was written and drawn by someone with a background in animation. The animals drawn here are full of life and look like they want to leap across and out of the pages. Examples and techniques emphasize realistically rendered animals, though there’s the occasional page demonstrating how to draw caricatures, which look more like what you’d expect from Disney cartoons. In my opinion this guide is not for beginners, but rather for those who already have a grasp of the foundations of proportion, form, and rendering, and are looking for ways to instill more life, fluidity, and dynamics into animal drawings. There’s no step by step handholding or detailed tutorials on the basics of setting up and building on a drawing. The author assumes you already know most of that. I was a lapsed artist who used this book as motivation to get back into animal drawing. I recommend it for intermediate-advanced artists who want to take animal illustration further.
Helpful(0)Unhelpful(0)You have already voted this
★★★★★
Chua –
This book is more than just a how-to — it breaks down movement, proportion, and structure in a way that really clicks. You can feel the animator’s background in the way the author guides you. Whether you’re a beginner or brushing up your skills, this has loads of tips and illustrations that push you to see animals differently. I keep reaching for it again and again.
Jesús Gamboa –
This book is a great start to learn how to draw animals it provides a basic knowledge of 1 group of animals mostly mammals if you want to learn how to draw birds or lizards then get something else but it this is a good start
Amanda –
Great book for for all the art enthusiasts.
RatherLiveInKeyWest –
The media could not be loaded.
Cumple con lo solicitado y lo esperado..
Muy completo el libro..
gregory boardman –
Our daughter is working hard to become a math/science focused teacher for elementary and middle-school age students, and has been doing very well in the classroom and in the field.
However… the girl just could not draw at all — not even stick figures — and she really wanted to learn how to improve her ability to draw so that she might be able to use those skills to help make points in the classroom. That’s an admirable goal; she is trying to do everything she can to help improve her ability to teach.
The pictorial materials in this book began to help her visualize how animal drawings should be conceived, as a build from detailed understanding of the animal itself. By looking through them and then tracing over the drawings, she gained better understanding (and now at least her cats look like cats and not alligators…).
Combined with a few other instructional books like Fast Sketching (Fast Sketching Techniques: Capture the Fundamental Essence of Elusive Subjects) and Drawing Realistic Faces (Secrets to Drawing Realistic Faces), she really has come a long way in the last year.
Highly recommended as part of a learning program.
Laura –
A wonderful resource for any artist interested in drawing some well-known animals; such as, horses or dogs. The sketching by Hultgren is phenomenal. This is NOT a book for beginning artist. If you are looking for a drawing book that gives you the step-by-step instructions using circles, triangles, and lines, you will not find that in this book. Other books are available that will give you this type of instruction.
Hultgren comes more from the viewpoint that you already have a fundamental understanding on how to draw. He does offer tips on drawing animals, but it is more advanced than draw three circles, then connect this circle to this circle. He speaks more of the specific elements of different animals; such as, verbally instructing you to divide the animal into three parts – forequarters, belly, and rear – and drawing a dorsal line between these parts. He also provides a section on mood and feeling that I found interesting and personally helpful. Furthermore, sections on the use of line, action analysis, and brush technique are included.
Now to get down to the specific animals Hultgren covers. For me the selection worked well, but it is not all encompassing. It couldn’t possibly be, or else you wouldn’t even be able to pick up the darn book. He offers detailed instruction on the Horse Family, Deer Family, the Cat Family, and the Bear Family. These are the most detailed sections of the book offering instruction drawing the skeletal and muscular structure of the animal. These sections also provide instruction on action, motion, specific body parts, and types of the animal. For instance, the lioness or the draft horse.
The other chapters of the book feature cows and bulls, giraffes, camels, gorillas, pigs, dogs, foxes, kangaroos, rabbits, squirrels, and elephants are not as detailed and do not offer instruction on muscular drawing. Additionally, each animal section offers a short introduction to caricature from 1/2 page to a maximum of 2 pages. I personally enjoyed looking at the caricatures. Not all of them were “typical” cartoon drawing. The final chapter in the book covers composition in animal grouping. It gives the artist the fundamental principals behind animal grouping composition.
This book is one of my favorites because it has really challenged my drawing abilities. I highly recommend this as a resource to those who have a fundamental understanding of drawing. For those of you starting out in drawing, I would recommend you find another resource first before pursuing this book.
Schwab –
Dover strikes gold again with their comprehensive animal drawing book, a must-have for aspiring artists and seasoned illustrators alike. This gem provides invaluable insights into capturing wildlife from every conceivable angle, fostering a deep understanding of anatomy and movement. While it demands diligent practice, the payoff is immense as techniques become second nature. A prized addition to any artist’s library, this reference book not only enhances personal skills but also serves as an excellent teaching resource. For lovers of fine instructionals, Dover delivers once more.
Marc –
値段が安い割りにはとても役に立つ本だと思います。中の動物のスケッチはラフの線そのまま残してうつすから、その線を参考して自分で描いてみたら非常に助かったと思います。しっかりした絵を描くには骨格や筋肉の知識がないと無理なので、この本にも載っています。この本の魅力的なところと言えば、動物を描くことは実に難しくない、簡単に描ける方法を見せてくれます。英語がわかる人は書かれたポイントや注意点を利用すればいいと思います。（たとえば初心者はどんなミスをしがちなのか、それぽく描きたいならどんな工夫を入れるといいとか）
Sibir –
A lot of details but a bit excessive with the horse illustration in the first half of the book. Other than that the book has some good lessons on how to draw. I wish the author gave more caricatures examples though.
Dew –
Despites of this book originally published in 1993, it’s a very great one and I really appreciate it, considering there aren’t very many artbooks out there focusing on realistic animal drawing. Half of the book is about horse figure drawing – but there’s quite a few tips given by the artist that will give a great start to begginers. Highly reccomend!
Amanda –
Me gustó mucho el contenido de este libro, este es un libro de dibujo, abarca linea de acción, construcción y movimiento.Es para mejorar tu manera de dibujar, no es un libro de anatomia, más bien te da tips en como dibujar animales cuadrúpedos, y simios, lamentable no abarca pájaros, pero el contenido que tiene es excelente, y Ken Hultgren explica muy bien, con un lenguaje práctico.
Sibir –
Pictures are worth a thousand words. I don’t need to be told beforehand, or as I’m looking through the pages, that this guide was written and drawn by someone with a background in animation. The animals drawn here are full of life and look like they want to leap across and out of the pages. Examples and techniques emphasize realistically rendered animals, though there’s the occasional page demonstrating how to draw caricatures, which look more like what you’d expect from Disney cartoons. In my opinion this guide is not for beginners, but rather for those who already have a grasp of the foundations of proportion, form, and rendering, and are looking for ways to instill more life, fluidity, and dynamics into animal drawings. There’s no step by step handholding or detailed tutorials on the basics of setting up and building on a drawing. The author assumes you already know most of that. I was a lapsed artist who used this book as motivation to get back into animal drawing. I recommend it for intermediate-advanced artists who want to take animal illustration further.
Chua –
This book is more than just a how-to — it breaks down movement, proportion, and structure in a way that really clicks. You can feel the animator’s background in the way the author guides you. Whether you’re a beginner or brushing up your skills, this has loads of tips and illustrations that push you to see animals differently. I keep reaching for it again and again.