Roar!
Author:
James Silvani
What They Say
Even though they lived some 65 million years ago, dinosaurs and other prehistoric reptiles continue to rule today. From movies to comics and cartoons, these ancient, giant beasts are everywhere you turn. Of course, who wants to just read about or watch these dinos when you can learn how to use pencils, pens, markers, and more to draw your very own?
Cartoonist James Silvani combines easy-to-follow art exercises with the latest, greatest dino-facts to help you create fun and cool dinosaur doodles all by yourself. With lessons on old favorites like T-rex and stegosaurus, as well as lesser-known (but still awesome) creatures like the massive argentinosaurus, Draw-a-Saurus has everything the dinosaur fan could ever ask for (outside of their very own pet dino!).
The Review:
When I was a kid I devoured books about dinosaurs. I pestered my parents to buy them for me, I got them from the library, and I read them over and over again. This was back when we believed that dinosaurs had two different brains because they were so large, that the brontosaurus was real and that big dinos like it had to live in swamps because the land wouldn’t support their massive girth. We’re talking pre-Jurassic Park here, folks.
Of course, like most every other child, I drew dinosaurs. And like most other children, I wasn’t terribly good at it. I would have killed for a book like Draw-a-Saurus back then, and thankfully I’m still enough of a kid at heart to enjoy it today.
I actually wasn’t sure how much I would enjoy this book. Random house randomly sent me a review copy, and while it looked cute, how much can one actually write about a how-to-draw-“x” book? It turns out quite a bit when it’s as well written and entertaining as this one.
Silvani does a solid job teaching the reader the basics of drawing these amazing creatures. Each chapter is broken down the same way. It starts with showing how to draw a particular dinosaur, such as the T-rex, from the side, using the most basic of shapes. It then walks you through how to add on to the shapes and connect them together into a coherent image. From there it illustrates how to add details and texture to make the creature look real, including adding color. After that it shows you how to draw it from different angles and different gestures, and finally it presents other dinosaurs from the broader “family” that the main example comes from, such as the Theropods.
Each chapter also includes numerous “Dino-facts” and drawing tips. They also contain a large number of silly jokes and illustrations—many of which made me laugh out loud. The entire book possesses a warm, friendly tone, and one can see the fun that Silvani is having and how much he loves the subject matter. What’s especially cool is that one learns not only how to draw these beasts, but also what we now know about them and what we once thought about them, such as that some dinosaurs had two brains. This is a book that can be enjoyed just as much by parents as their children.
And since I’m basically a five-year-old boy in the body of a thirty-four-year-old man, I decided to try drawing a dinosaur using Silvani’s instructions but with a little twist. I present to you “Triceratops with Tank Cannon I”:
In Summary:
Draw-a-Saurus was a wonderful surprise. Not only does it provide solid instructions on the basics of drawing these magnificent terrible lizards, but it also includes great facts about them and a great deal of humor that both parents and children can enjoy. Recommended.
Content Grade: A+
Published By: Watson Guptill
Release Date: September 9, 2014
MSRP:$18.99