HOW TO DRAW AWESOME STUFF

Holmes delivers a step-by-step guide to drawing various oddities.

The work begins with some drawing fundamentals, including shading, types of pencils, and the use of kneaded erasers; then comes the “awesome stuff” promised by the title. Early entries include “An Awesome Flower,” which appears to be of unearthly origin, a “Baby Head Spider,” which is literally the body of a spider with a baby’s head, and a “Cat Crab,” a fierce-looking creature with a crab’s body and a cat’s head. The Cat Crab begins with a simple circle for a head; by Step 4, a claw shape is being refined; by Step 8, the monster is in full form. Occasionally additional tips are included, such as advice on using charcoal (“Charcoal can be messy, so make sure to work on a surface that can be easily cleaned or covered”). Aside from such practical concerns, whimsy is the name of the game. A shark with sunglasses, a man with lobster hands, and the more abstract “Nightmare Face” number among the more memorable subjects. The book engagingly tackles many such bizarre grotesqueries, which helps to distinguish it from other drawing guides. Who would want to draw a normal crab when they could learn how to draw a Cat Crab? The initial crash course in technique may prove challenging to the complete novice—those who have never worked with the subtleties of shading may find that it is not as easy as it looks. Nevertheless, for a book that caters to a range of abilities, the subject matter has more than enough to offer. The beginner may not expect to exactly replicate something as complex as, say, the “Polka Dot Lady,” yet the book provides an encouraging place to start.

A welcoming guide to drawing more than just the average still life.