Description
Book SynopsisThis complete beginner's guide to painting animals and birds is ideal if you want to learn to paint in watercolour but are short on time. Broken down into 32 quick and easy paintings measuring just 15 x 10cm (6 x 4in), this basic course will teach you all the skills you need to paint domestic and wild animals and birds, in home settings or in nature.
Best-selling author Matthew Palmer shows you how to paint a diverse range of animals and birds, including a parrot, cat, dog, zebra, stag, cow and swan, and teaches you how to paint realistic markings, fur and feathers, and how to create faces filled with character and personality.
Tracings are provided for all the paintings, including the three projects at the end of the book. Simply trace them off onto your watercolour paper and paint with confidence, without the need to make an initial drawing.
Each painting takes just 30 minutes to complete and teaches you a different technique, so by the end of the book you will be equipped with all the skills you need to complete one of the three full-size projects: a King Charles cavalier spaniel, a snow leopard and a hummingbird.
Trade ReviewHere’s an ideal subject for this nicely-maturing series. Matthew presents simple exercises that cover just about every type of animal and coat from hide to hair, fur and feathers (birds are included). Some of the backgrounds are plain, allowing you to concentrate on the subject, others include wider settings that provide context. Nothing is over-complicated, however, and the idea of working quickly on a single idea is never compromised.
Each of the 29 exercises is accompanied by an outline tracing that allows you to get the basic shapes down quickly and you’ll be working at A6 size, so you won’t need to make elaborate preparations or clear a working space. 30 minutes is probably best seen as a target rather than a limit – if you want to spend a bit more time, that’s fine, just don’t get too tied up with details and land up over-working.
-- Henry Malt * Artbookreview.net *
Animals in Watercolour by Matthew Palmer is added to the Ready to Paint in 30 Minutes series and provides 29 postcard-size exercises that cover wild and domestic species and highlight fur, feathers, structure and features along with pre-drawn outline tracings to get you started.
-- Henry Malt * The Artist *
This book is a perfect introduction to painting with watercolours for those with little or no experience. The tracings that are provided make it simple to get started if you’re not confident at drawing freehand, and each of the 32 projects helps you to learn a new painting technique so you can gradually build on your skills as you work your way through the book. Everything is well explained and easy to follow even for novice painters. I hadn’t read any of Matthew Palmer’s books before this one, and I wish I’d discovered them sooner.
-- Dawn Andrews * Amazon Customer Review *
This is my first time trying out one of these books and I was incredibly impressed. Not only were the images great for practicing drawing the animals myself but the watercolour steps were broken down in a way that were easy to follow. I will definitely be trying the other books in the series!
-- Dale Dow * Amazon Customer Review *
Table of ContentsTracings, Introduction 6, Basic painting equipment 8, Basic techniques 10, Parrot at sunset 16, Bird in flight 18, Koi carp 20, Zebra 22, Swan 24
Key features 26
Cat’s eyes 28, Peering tabby 30, Curious kitten 32, Tiger 34, Dog’s eyes 36, Puppy 38, Highland cow’s muzzle 40, Cockerel’s head 42
Textures and markings 44
Penguin’s wing 46, African elephant 48, Lamb 50, Ram 52, Great tit 54
Portraits 56
Drawing a portrait from a photograph 60, Alsatian 62, Rabbit 64, Chimpanzee 66, Meerkat 68
Animals in the landscape 70
Cat on the lookout 72, Sheep in a field 74, Flamingos paddling 76, Penguins 78, Asian elephant 80, Stag in woodland 82, Robin on a branch 84, Stag in winter 86, Giraffe 88, ‘Max’, Cavalier King Charles Spaniel 90, Snow Leopard 92, Hummingbird 94
Index 96
