While this book was incredible and smart, I just did not feel as incredible or smart enough to start my drawing journey here

There are so many things to unpack! Firstly, this book has an obsession with HB and H pencils (and those are the worst in my opinion), but that's not why I am giving it such a low rating. I also need to say the the last chapter - with wild animals, is a tad bit better than all the rest.

So here's a list with why I did not life this book:
- first of all, there is not much of difference between the step-by-step projects. The subject you draw is different, but very rarely do you learn something new - hence, kinda useless.
- secondly, this is draw by the numbers! "Use HB to do that, then use 2B to darken that" and so on! If this is a book for beginners, they do not learn that much - they don't learn a base or techniques or why you are changing pencils like that, if it's a book for more advanced, then why are you doing drawing by the numbers?
- I think this book should've focused on techniques and creating a base, not tiny details. Give people different techniques, not the same thing over and over!

I think a drawing book should teach you first of all independence! By following these projects, you barely learn anything and you will probably only be able to draw the projects in this book.

Dull and uninspiring.

Step-by-Step Studio: Drawing Lifelike Subjects is an excellent guide for learning how to draw flowers, landscapes, and animals in pencil. The book is not really suited to a complete beginner as some of the steps seem to leave a fair bit out in the tutorial projects. But anyone with a bit experience should manage it very well. Tools, materials, and relevant techniques start the book off, followed by the tutorial projects. These start with a basic outline drawing that gradually builds up to the finished lifelike drawings. It offers a good variety of projects and the resulting drawings are very good. Definitely a good investment for any budding artist.

Enjoyable instruction book on drawing! This book starts with instructions on how to draw and shade different objects such as types of fur or hair. There are step by step instructions on drawing specific flowers, then it moves on to landscapes and animals. This was very informative and helpful in learning to draw or honing skills with the tips.

Wow, very well done illustrations that my depictions were even able for my husband to notice the difference!
The directions and illustrations were easy to follow from step to step.

I definitely would recommend this book to anyone looking for a great artistic book.

I received a free advanced copy from NetGalley and these are my willingly given thoughts and opinions.

A great book if you want to improve your drawing skills of various subjects
Artists Diane Cardaci, Nolon Stacey, Linda Weil, and Diane Wright present "Step-by-Step Studio: Drawing Lifelike Subjects. A complete guide to rendering flowers, landscapes, and animals" which was published by Quarto Publishing Group - Walter Foster. This is the second publication of the book that was already published in 2009. It begins with information about "Tools & Materials", "The Elements of Drawing", and "Basic Pencil Techniques" before the book is divided into four chapters. Chapter 1 deals with "Dogs & Puppies" and was done by Nolon Stacey and contains five projects, e.g., Golden Retriever, Shih Tzu Puppy, or German Shepherd. Diane Cardaci is the creator of "Chapter 2: Flowers & Botanicals". She included nine projects such as Tulips, Water Lily, or a Landscaped Gate. Chapter 3 deals with "Beautiful Landscapes" and was done by Diane Wright who included projects such as a House Portrait, Honey Creek, or a Venice Canal. Linda Weil is the author of "Chapter 4: Lifelike Animals" and presents the Asian Elephant, a Tiger Cub, a Zebra, as well as other animals.
The extensive information, e.g., about hair, eyes, or paws of dogs, about the anatomy of the flower, or about textures are extremely useful. The instructions and tips are helpful for artists to learn and improve their skills. In spite of the fact that all the example in this book are done in the black-gray-white range, the examples and tips can be also applied by artists who want to use colored pencils or a similar medium. The drawings might be too difficult for beginners by I highly recommend this book for advanced artists who want to work on their sketching skills.
The complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley free of charge. I was under no obligation to offer a positive review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
#StepbyStepStudioDrawingLifelikeSubjects #NetGalley

Rating: 4/5 stars.

“Drawing Lifelike Subjects” is an updated entry in the Step-by-Step Studio series of art books. This book was contributed to by Diane Cardaci, Nolon Stacey, Linda Weil, and Diane Wright.

I am a beginner visual artist with very little talent and experience, but I love trying new mediums. The introduction was great, going over a lot of basic information like materials, and different techniques that are referred to throughout the book. I just wish that there were more exercises for beginners to practice their technique, and more information about the sketching stage of pencil drawing, including how to properly do guide lines.

What I liked about this book was that it does not just skip a bunch of steps to get to the finished product like a lot of art books do. There are enough steps and detailed instructions to be able to recreate the drawings, with varying amounts of success based on the reader’s artistic skill and talent. I loved how the book was divided up into four main sections, with each contributor focusing on one type of drawing, their forte, and expanding on it. Every section was very streamlined in this way, allowing the reader to go in-depth and try out different techniques and example drawings in each subject.

I tried out a lot of the drawings myself, and my favourite section was the Dog chapter. There are drawings suitable for all levels of artistry to try. I will be checking out more art books from this series in the future. I recommend this books for beginner to advanced pencil artists, no experience required.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book on NetGalley and have provided an honest review.*

This book is for anyone that is wanting to draw real life pictures of people. How to shade, use the different pencils, and create life like pictures. Each step is simplified so you will know how to do it before going on. The illustrations are wonderful and will make you want to begin drawing pictures.

A really easy to follow guide on how to get started. Rather than worrying about all the detail, keep it simple and build on it. A good selection of different subjects offered in simple to follow stages.

Four excellent artists present their mini tutorials on animals (he first section is entirely dedicated to dogs and puppies, while the last one treats with a exotic animals), flowers, landscapes. Beautiful artwork, Recommended for the ambitious intermediate level artist.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I don't believe that this book is for beginners, at least not certain subjects, like drawing animals. However, it's a great guide and I think especially useful for its subjects of how to draw landscape elements, textures and simplifying objects.

This is a great drawing book. It gives step by step instructions as well as gives the reasons to draw things in certain ways. There are lots of examples in the book.

I like the instructions to draw different subjects: animals, flowers, houses and again animals. Would have been nice if there was a chapter about human subjects. That’d be even nicer.

All of the books in this series are similar and use a standard formula, but this is one of the better ones. It's got great step-by-step drawing instructions of objects like dogs, puppies and flowers. They are very lifelike and detailed, and it goes into materials, shading techniques and so on. Like most by this publisher, parts are written by other artists they employed and may be recycled (I'm not sure as sometimes some of the artist authors credited have been deceased for a while so they may just plug in relevant parts that were written in the past). It's a great guide though.

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for review.

Fantastic reference with wonderful drawings in pencils. The artwork is masterfully done and inspiring.. Step by step instructions on how to create contrast. The instructions have really Excellent techniques and I only can wish I could achieve such beautiful artwork. This is a wonderful reference for anyone that loves drawing and I highly recommend it.

I received this book from NetGalley for an honest review.

Step-by-Step Studio: Drawing Lifelike Subjects
A complete guide to rendering flowers, landscapes, and animals
by Diane Cardaci; Nolon Stacey; Linda Weil; Diane Wright
Quarto Publishing Group – Walter Foster

This book is beautiful! The lifelike images and the detailed drawings, and the clear and concise instructions make this one of my favorite drawing tutorial books, even for beginners! The book starts out letting the reader know what tools and materials they will need then some basic techniques for drawing exercises.

Chapter one is all doggies and puppies! There are instructions and images on how to draw fur of different types then various features of the dog. Then the book gives five very detailed step by step exercises for different adorable canines!
Chapter two has flowers and botanicals. There are directions for drawing various parts of flowers, stems, etc. Then there are nine step by step projects to accomplish!

Chapter three tackles landscapes! There are directions to draw the sky, grass, various trees, foliage, wood, rocks, and clouds. Then six unique and beautiful landscapes are presented in detailed step by step instructions!
Chapter four has wild lifelike animals! There are some tips on drawing from life, using sketchbooks, and fur patterns. Then seven wonderful wild animal tutorials using pictures and directions, all step by step.

This really is a terrific book for step by step tutorial learning! I like them best myself. I don't get overwhelmed and can do bit by bit. At the same time my mind is learning to make sense of the pieces, the form, and shapes.
I want to thank the publisher and NetGalley for letting me read this book.

This is the second book in this series I have read. As someone who has recently taken up art again this is extremely helpful. It does go through the standard basics of equipment and shading techniques but then goes onto step by step descriptions of how to draw dogs and puppies, botanical drawing, landscapes and then realistic animals. For me the dogs and puppies section was the best written and easiest to get good results from. The other chapters, particularly the botanical and landscape sections left too many big gaps between the steps leaving me feeling a bit lost, or challenged is a more positive way to look at it! Still a very useful addition to a library if you are developing your drawing skills.

A great book to guide you through drawing various subjects with pencil.

This book is a really handy resource. The first section deals with the equipment needed to get started and the methods used , including the drawing of shapes, shading and even the best way to hold the pencil for various effects.

The book then moves through the drawing of dogs, flowers, landscapes and animals. Each section has valuable advise about how to draw various textures including fur, wood and skin as well as how to use shapes to structure your picture, add contrast, add background and use of proportions.

This is a really good book for anyone wanting to start drawing with pencil or someone looking to improve their skill.

What wonderful drawings with just pencils. Great inspiring pictures. Step by step makes you wonder how with different strokes you can bring out contrast. Good techniques and subjects. It will take your drawing to the next level.

Drawing Lifelike Subjects is a tutorial and technique guide for rendering landscapes, flowers, and animals aimed beginning to intermediate artists. Previously published in 2007-2008 in several other volumes, this second edition is due out 2nd March 2021 from Quarry on their Walter Foster imprint. It's 144 pages and will be available in paperback format.

This volume has a similar format to the other familiar (and beloved) volumes in the series. The introduction covers tools, materials, some texture techniques, and some general drawing info (very basic). The following chapters contain the tutorials, arranged thematically: dogs & puppies, flowers & botanicals, landscapes, and lifelike animals. Each of the tutorials contains step by step line drawing from basic outline to finished drawing. I felt some of the steps hopped over a lot of intermediate refinement, but all-in-all they're followable and clearly illustrated.

I could see this booklet, bundled with a drawing set, being a superlative gift for a young artist up to adult age. The drawings are detailed enough to look quite professional, but not so extremely advanced that they would frustrate a keen beginner.

Five stars. I love that there are high quality tutorial books available from this classic art-publishing imprint.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.