This book is very cute and I like the folk art style. It felt a little lacking though although I can't quite put my finger on what that is. Possibly content, possible direction, it just doesn't feel very strong outside of the instruction and "paint by number" feel to create the creatures and objects in the book.

This was such a lovingly illustrated book, I cannot draw to save my life so seeing this and actually attempting something was really fun (bad end result but as I said I don't have a flair for it!)

Beautiful and cute. The Goldhawks break down the basic understructure of the animals (and mythical beasts and florals) to show how they build up shapes and textures to create utterly adorable drawings. They leave enough to the user so that you naturally end up with a drawing that's more your own than theirs.

I love that the creators of THE CREATURE GARDEN took the time to explain how different mediums effect the outcome of a work, as well as showing it for each creature they offered instructions in. Often in "How to Draw" books, this detail is sort of missed out on and it makes it hard for would be artists to visualize as they attempt to convert a lesson into a different medium. THE CREATURE GARDEN shows animals not only in sketch form but also in watercolor, oil, even digital format. It discusses how important it is to know your medium ahead of time so that you know which things you should do dark to light first, and which you should light to dark first in. Very helpful tips. The book itself is also visually appealing.

A very charming, and educational, work that vividly demonstrates how to draw a wide variety of creatures! The artwork is quite lovely and the instructions are very comprehensive. Ideal for those who like visual instructions and notes when craft making (like myself). Must read for all ages and ideal for educational purposes.

This is a lovely book, and it explains very clearly the steps to first drawing and painting mammals, fish, birds, insects and mythical creatures and then sets them in beautiful botanical settings. The drawings are broken down into shapes - circles, squares, triangles etc - which makes it very easy and provides confidence to the beginner. Once the skill is learnt, it does inspire, with the knowledge that all is possible and one can add their own touch to the designs.
This isn't really your typical how to draw book, as the designs can be included into very satisfying picture set in a lovely background of ones imagination. Make cards, posters and wall pictures, even use as a basic for other mediums. A very satisfying book

Beautiful illustrations with easy to understand tutorials to inspire you to draw your own beasts and creatures. There are fox, narwhals, centaurs, mermaids, and many other fun animals.

This is the cutest little instructional drawing book! These illustrations are so whimsical and adorable. This is a really fun book to help you draw some fun animals and other things. I especially love the mythical creatures and the botanical sections. I think if I really wanted to attempt to draw these myself I would like a few more steps as someone who is not the best at drawing. All in all it’s a sweet book and I love all the colors used and the total look of the illustrations. I also love that this is from a husband and wife team, I think that's really awesome they were able to come out with this great book! I would definitely purchase this for myself if not just because it's really pretty. It would also make a great gift for someone into art or illustrations as well.

The creature Garden: An Illustrator's Guide to Beautiful Beasts and Fictional Fauna By Zanna Goldhawk is such a beautiful colourful book. Throughout this wonderful book it has clear illustrations of Big Cats: Lions, Snow Leopard, Jaguar, Cats, Dogs, Foxes, Horses, Stags, Elephants, Butterflies, Bumble bee's. Ocean life: Whales, Dolphins, Mythical Creatures: Mermaids, Dragons. Botanical: Gardens, Jungle etc. Plus, much more.

This book also has good tricks and tips on how to draw these as well, plus instructions and guidelines on how to draw them from simple shapes. I found this book very helpful and it encourages you to draw thing you may of never drawn before i.e. Dragons, Mermaids etc.

This book will be used in my class with my students to create wonderful pictures of animals etc just by drawing simple shapes. This lesson will be fun and will be a regular art lesson.

Big Thank you to Netgalley for me letting me review this lovely book for a honest review.

Libro ideale per un artista in cerca di idee, sia già esperto che, sopratutto, alle prime armi. Chiaro e preciso nell'esposizione, con belle immagini a complemento.

This is a beautiful book. Aside from the stunning illustrations, it gives a very good insight into sketching and painting animals, plants and mythical creatures. Highly informative, definitely helpful and with a lot of useful tips, it encourages both people who use painting as a hobby, and students of the arts.

There is a lot of information about tools and materials. Moreover, you can understand a lot about the connection between studying an object and sketching/painting it. There is a vast variety of subjects, from mammals to fish, and from plants to mythical creatures. Finally, I loved the fact that there were also little bits of information about the creatures in the book.