I want to give this a 3.5, or maybe a 3 for teaching and a 4 for the writing in general.

The instructions are good, right up to the penultimate step, which could just as well read, "Then a miracle occurs!" Any reader needing the step by step instructions to get the basics onto paper is going to need a whole lot more help getting a drawing from the "basic dragon-ish shape" stage to the "majestic killing machine" stage. She does go over the concepts needed, but the aspiring artist will need to do a WHOLE lot more practicing than the early sections of the book suggest to be able to put them into practice.

My nephew, 11, who generally draws stick figures with fangs and claws, borrowed this book from his school's library. He was highly disappointed that his first attempts didn't produce a glorious flying creature of death. On the other hand, I expected the miracle step, so was pretty impressed when I produced a cartoonish figure that did, indeed, resemble a dragon. If he hasn't returned it, I'll probably play around with it some more :)

The writing is what really sold me on this book. The author unselfconsciously loves dragons and fantasy art, and clearly wants to share her enthusiasm. That alone made the book a lot of fun to read. I doubt I'll put in the practice needed to rival the cover art, but it is a lot of fun to find a recognizable critter showing up under my pencil :) ( )

Such a great book! I drew some dragons the same day I got my hands on this book. She has a fun way of doing the tutorial with her own little dragon guide throughout the book. I loved her step by step process she showed with red lines on top of black for the process sketches. There was a lot of great information here for me seeing as how I am still very much a beginner. My only complaint is that there wasn't thicker and more to the second portion of the book which covers the other fantasy creatures. Those creatures only received 2 pages each where the dragons got the entire first half of the book. But I suppose this really is a 'dragonart' book so that might not even be a valid gripe. Either way I adored the book and have found it very helpful with its tips. ( )