Book Review – Drawing Dragons and Those Who Hunt Them
Author: Christopher Hart
Publisher: Watson-Guptill Publications
Binding: Paperback
Publication Date: 2007
Learn how to draw dragons and dragon hunters. Even if that’s not your thing you can look at some nice drawings and colorful pictures and read about the world in which Christopher Hart’s dragons live.
The subject matter of Drawing Dragons and Those Who Hunt Them by Christopher Hart, is self-explanatory. Except that calling this a drawing book is an over simplification. A drawing book is what I was expecting. There were definitely drawing tips, and there were beginning drawing pointers. But this book was presented as almost a field guide to dragons, describing a past where dragons did really exist. My guess is that this approach was intended to inspire passion and excitement in more advanced drawers, to pull them into the realm of fantasy drawing.
The “mythology” of the world that wove its way through the book was rich and interesting enough to keep this book appealing to me, even though I don’t have an artistic bone in my body. I am definitely not of the gifted artist target audience of this book. But the book still catered to my fascination with dragons. This book has a home on the bookshelf of not only the drawing lover but also the dragon lover.
Great care was taken to discuss the anatomy of the dragon and other background elements important to knowing the subject matter. I have previously read elsewhere that drawing fantasy creatures can be considered just another form of wildlife art. That makes sense. Understanding the anatomy of a creature, mythical or otherwise, would make it easier to draw, and that seemed to be the approach taken here.
The pages and the illustrations were colorful, well captioned, and informative. I did take exception to the portrayal of dragons as one-dimensional hunting and killing machines. The point of view of the author seemed to be that this was “the depiction” of dragons and “the way” that dragons should be properly drawn. Technique is one thing, but originality and thought outside the box is also a key talent in any creative endeavor. While the reader gets a solid lesson on hunting and killing dragons, there’s no mention whatsoever of good dragons, of dragons who don’t live to hunt and kill humans, etc. There are many other forks in that road, and none of them were acknowledged in the slightest. There are also other legitimate depictions of dragons. Take for example the Eastern, or Chinese, dragon. It looks much different than the stereotypical medieval dragon. So there is not a specific way that dragons “should” be drawn.
Exploring some of these other creative options would have moved away from the field guide feel that the book was trying to portray, which was as significant a theme in my eyes as the drawing subject matter itself. Also, I think the author was trying to lay the foundation for as vivid a world as possible so that the reader would understand the subject matter. Again, I’m no artist, but I imagine that technique is better for learning than using a strategy of “here is a dragon, draw it!”. We learn what they eat (humans), how they live, how they breed, how their firebreathing works (which was a very neat description by the way), etc. Within the framework of this alternate history Earth that works very well. But it’s not the only path that one can take in regards to dragons.
Not to be left out of the ecology of this world, the book does contain some lessons about drawing the humans who shared this world with the dragons, dragon hunters, merchants, etc. Some of the best drawing advice of the book, of portraying strength, action, perspective, and energy that gives life to an otherwise flat drawing, came out of this section. So the people were not relegated to an afterthought. No book of fantasy art could be complete without a section on fantasy warrior women. “Drawing Dragons and Those Who Hunt Them” is no different, although to their credit the women are not as absurdly skimpily dressed as many in fantasy art. No dragon hunting wearing chain mail barely large enough to make a chainmail handkerchief in this book. For those who want a good look at their fantasy girl artwork, fret not because they’re not exactly wearing full plate mail either.
I rate this book a worthwhile book for both the artist and the dragon fan. There are some very nice drawings and pictures for those who just like to have the pictures to admire. There is good content for those who are looking for advice about the drawing end of things. However, this does not seem to be a beginning drawing book. Some previous understanding of drawing principles seems to be required. The colorful artwork and the format of the page might make it appear that this book is intended for a child or beginning artist, but the principles discussed do seem to be more advanced. So if you know an artist and you’d like to expose them to fantasy art and dragon drawing, this would be a good book. But if you’re looking for a “beginner” drawing book this one is not the one that you’d want to start with.
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