The Kew Book of Drawing Flora and Fauna: 20 Stunning Step-by-Step Tutorials

by Joy-Louise Robinson

Learn to draw stunning flora and fauna in easy steps with popular author and teacher Joy-Louise Robinson (@Felicityandink).

Discover 20 delightful projects including flowers, insects, birds and small animals, endorsed by The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Whether you are a beginner looking to learn, or a more experienced artist looking for new ideas and a fresh approach, this stunning book is designed to make drawing simple and enjoyable – and will give you results to be proud of. Joy-Louise’s distinctive and much-loved 'bohemian botanical' style of art is inspiring to look at, but made achievable through her carefully structured step drawings and clear instructions. This complete guide to drawing contains:

• A brief overview of the small amount of equipment required: simply grab paper, pens and a pencil
• A drawing warm-up section that will encourage you to experiment with mark-making and motion
• In-depth tips and techniques in each section, from drawing accurate petal edges to creating realistic feathers and fur
• Simple, easy-to follow steps, with each new step added in a different colour, making it easy to identify which lines to add
• A suggested colour palette for each project as an optional coloured finish to your line drawings
• A progression of skill: the projects build in difficulty to develop your skills and confidence as you learn
• Professional insights into digitizing and then combining your individual drawings into larger pieces of art.

So whether it’s a cheerful daisy, glossy beetle, majestic magpie or snuffling hedgehog, it’s never been easier to create your own beautiful array of flora and fauna.

THE ROYAL BOTANIC GARDENS, KEW is a world-famous scientific organization, internationally respected for its outstanding collections and scientific expertise in plant and fungal diversity, conservation, and sustainable development in the UK and around the globe. Kew’s extensive collections include 200,000 botanical illustrations assembled over the last 200 years.

128 pages, Paperback

First published February 7, 2025

Reviews

[Marc · Rating 5 out of 5]

A few months ago, I was taking photos at the library of the "New Books" section to use on the Friends of the Bladensburg Library page (https://www.facebook.com/FriendsofBla...) when I spied this book. I wasn't looking to borrow any books at the time, much less a drawing book. But it looked interesting and my plans to start drawing the flora in my own backyard had resulted, thus far, in nary a line (nevermind an actual drawing). I've read/borrowed/attempted numerous drawing books over the years. I often finish reading them, but I rarely do all or even most of the actual exercises. I'm not entirely sure why that is. But this book ended up being perfect for me. It was incredibly easy to follow, I liked the subject matter, and the pacing was fabulous, coupled with the right balance between text and visual explanation. Robinson builds on the techniques as you work through the book and she offers a couple different options on certain exercises, as well as providing finished versions in both black-and-white, and in color (with possible color suggestions provided). I only attempted each once and I did everything in ink, but I actually did them ALL. It was fun and challenging.
Results here: https://www.instagram.com/p/DUjnPeeD2...