Ten-Step Drawing: Animals is another installment in the Ten-Step Drawing Series. This one focuses on learning to draw 75 different animals that range from small beetles to elephants to dogs. I think kids will love the step-by-step instructions that start off small and easy and increase in details. It will help beginners gain confidence in their drawing skills.

I received an advance reading copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I was not obligated to write a positive review.

I like this book but I must say I felt they cheated to fall within the ten steps. For example, the elephant goes from a head and feet in steps 1 and 2 but in step three it magically has a tail with no mention of it in the step-by-step directions.

For most animals, by step 5 you have an basic identifiable animal. The additional steps usually take it from basic clip art level animals to something really cute. I feel like those first 5 steps are where you're asking "is it really this easy" and the final 5 steps are where you realize "Um, nope I'm going to have to practice this a bit".

Complete list of animals in this book:

Wild Animals: Cheetah, Bald Eagle, Lemur, Hippopotamus, Giraffe, Elephant, Lion, Chameleon, Armadillo, Crocodile, Rhinoceros, Meerkat, Gorilla, Giant Panda, Antelope, Kangaroo, Zebra, Tiger, Chimpanzee, Koala, Platypus, Dung Beetle, Anteater, Sloth

Aquatic Animals: Blue Whale, Common Seal, Goldfish, Great White Shark, Lobster, Turtle, Crab, Orca, Seahorse, Penguin, Octopus, Polar Bear, Blue Tang, Jellyfish, Dolphin, Walrus, Hammerhead Shark.

Woodland Animals: Fox, Snail, Bumblebee, Deer, Frog, Wolf, Raccoon, Red Squirrel, Moose, Ladybug, Beaver, Grizzly Bear, Owl, Skunk, Bat, Butterfly, River Otter.

Farm Animals and Pets: Cow, Donkey, Rabbit, Sheep, Dog, Budgerigar, Guinea Pig, Camel, Goat, Snake, Horse, Mouse, Duck, Llama, Cat, Chicken.

Ten-Step Drawing: Animals
By Heather Gilmour

I have a few books on how to draw animals of various kinds but loved this one that has 75 animals divided up into four sections: Wild Animals, Aquatic Animals, Woodland Animals and Farm Animals & Pets. Each animal is neatly presented with easily followed diagrams and also has a tiny bit at the top about the animal. I can see this in my library OR as a gift to give to my granddaughters. I can also see doing some of the drawings and then giving them to children to use as coloring pages…well…children OR adults ;)

Thank you to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing for the ARC – This is my honest review.

5 Stars

Ok so my first mistake was assuming that "ten steps" = ten lines. I kind of feel like this book is cheating a bit because each of these steps often includes a lot more than one line or shape. Each step might have multiple pieces to it, and for me that kind of defeated the purpose.

I don't know why I thought this would be easy...maybe because the description made it seem so. And even the steps themselves seem easy. But you can't just say "draw a flat ovalish shape" and have the results come out looking like the illustrations in this book. Well perhaps someone out there could, but me...not so much.

Another thing I've always struggled with in drawing is perfectionism. Art is much more subjective and unless I'm copying or tracing an image, it will never look like what I see in the illustration or picture. And what's in my head never translates to paper.

Aside from that, I knew from the very first animal that this book was going to be too advanced for my skill level. Let's take a look at the first animal in the book.


I'm not quite sure what I expected, but it wasn't this. Sadly, Ten-Step Drawing: Animals was quickly DNF'd. Have you tried Ten-Step Drawing: Animals? What did you think? Let me know!

This is a great little book. I’ve used it lots to draw on my iPhone, and iPad and too add a little something personal to cards and letters.

What a lovely find; Ten-Step Drawing: Animals by Heather Kilgour. This book would be great for someone who is just starting to draw or someone who wants to broadened their artist skills. This would be great for schools etc in the Art lesson to create brilliant pictures of animals and then to add them to your creation.
I found this book well illustrated tutorials of Wild animals, Aquatic animals, Wildlife animals, Farm animals to your lovely pets. You will find 75 of these to draw, it breaks down each subject into 10 simple steps; All you need is a pen or pencil and a piece of paper! You will find handy prompts throughout this book that will encourage you individually.

Highly recommend this book especially for Schools or groups. I will be using this book for my art classes and I know my pupils will love drawing these.

Big thank you to Netgalley for a Digital Advance Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Ten-Step Drawing: Animals by Heather Kilgour makes drawing the animals you know and love easy! I’m a big fan of animals, I mean I got engaged at the National Zoo, but I wouldn’t call myself artistic.


I love how this book has a vast variety in animals from pets all the way to aquatic animals. I love the color and detail on every page. Kilgour makes each step easy to follow. She makes it feel like anyone can draw and create. This is the perfect gift for any animal lover or someone who wants to learn more about drawing and creating.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Quarto Publishing Group – Walter Foster,
Walter Foster Publishing and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.

A useful and fun guide to drawing all kinds of animals that beginning artists will enjoy. It reminded me of an updated version of the classic drawing book "Drawing Made Easy" by E.G. Lutz.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for a copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book.
It really is a fabulous guide to drawing animals. weather you want to polish up on drawing and improve skills you already have or learn a new skill this is prefect .

The steps are easy to follow, simple but really effective, the end results are brilliant.

The range of animals are really varied , covering wild animals, aquatic animals , woodland animals and farm animals and pets.
I liked the fact the animals were in different positions, running , flying, sleeping etc

My favorites were the chameleon and the seahorse, i am now an expert at drawing both of these!

The book has easy to follow instructions for a variety of animals, including but not limited to aquatic animals, farm animals and pets, etc. The instructions are easy to follow, and offers color suggestions for coloring in the animals after drawn.

I’m an expert in animal drawing now that I’ve read the fun and beautifully illustrated TEN-STEP DRAWING: ANIMALS. Includes easy-to-follow instructions for sketching 75 different animals through 10 simple steps per creature. It really is that easy and all you need is a pencil or pen and paper! I found it meditative to go from one animal to the next ... cheetah to hippo to panda ... and wow were the results amazing! 5/5

Thanks to Quarto Publishing Group – Walter Foster and NetGalley for the review copy. Opinions are fully mine.

#TenStepDrawingAnimals #NetGalley

These books were helpful for very young artists who are learning to draw very specific animals in very specific poses. This should appeal to young artists who like animals, and who are learning the basics of animal drawing.