Drawing Animals

by Victor G. Ambrus

Ambrus is one of my favorite illustrators. I really admire his linear style especially the tiny hatching done to show the direction of hair or form. This book of his is just one to drool over (or practice by copying the drawings), it's not a step-by-step instruction book. Instead it's a showcase of Ambrus' drawings of animals. Most of them done on location at zoos or wildlife parks, some are of pets, horses from a friend's stable or cattle in the fields. Little notes on the pages describe a bit about his working conditions, his preferred drawing media (graphite and charcoal- he's not afraid to smudge!), and something about the techniques he uses to capture likeness of living animals that are moving around. Basically his advice is: start with large basic shapes, work in the details later. There are also brief paragraphs telling some facts about the wild animals, which I read with interest. He enjoys sketching at the zoo, which is also a favorite activity of mine (one I wish I could indulge in more often). So I could really relate to his comments about dealing with crowds and curious children. It's a book I return to again and again to admire someone else's skill and hope to emulate.

This alternate cover shows a few more of the drawings:

a few more samples:

Rating: 4/5             120 pages, 1990