Creatures and Characters: Drawing Amazing Monsters, Aliens, and Other Weird Things!

by Timothy Young

A professional artist and animator shows kids how to unleash their imagination on the page. Using pencil or ink, learn how to draw all kinds of strange creatures, from classic monsters to mythical beasts and abominable aliens. With dozens of process drawings as examples, this children's book illustrator demonstrates creative techniques such as doodles, sketches, and scribbles, and shows children not just how to draw, but how to be creative.

48 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 28, 2017

About the author

Timothy Young always wondered as a child who made the toys he played with, who wrote and illustrated the books he read and who made the cartoons he watched. He grew up to be one of the people who got to do all of them.

Aside from being an author/illustrator he has also designed toys, worked in animation and built puppets. He has also illustrated books for other authors.

His career highlights include being the Head Model-Maker for the Penny cartoons on the first season of Pee-Wee’s Playhouse, designing and building Muppets for Jim Henson Productions and sculpting the very first Simpsons character toys. He has been the design director for two toy companies and worked under contract with dozens of others.

Tim has visited hundreds of schools and libraries and finds that doing presentations with students is one of the most fun and rewarding things he get to do. He loves passing on what he’s learned to kids like himself.

Reviews

[Mat · Rating 4 out of 5]

My family loves this book. Not being terribly artistic I do not have a great frame of reference when it comes to kids' are books. Yeah, I played around with those step by step guides that were so popular when I was a kid, but that was nearly 30 years ago. Unlike those books which just show how to create a single impact, Mr. Young's book seeks to educate his audience about the fundamentals of art and strives to show them how with a pinch of skill, a dash of imagination and some basic art supplies anyone can create their own world.

All Four of my children have read this book with book with gusto.

I received a copy of this book from the author as part of a library building campaign at the school where I work. While I am extremely thankful for the author's generosity, it has not impacted my review in any way.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book made me feel like someday, I could learn how to draw!