How to Draw Japan

About this book

> 100 SUBJECTS. 6 STEPS EACH. 600 STEP-BY-STEP DRAWINGS. THE ANCHORS NEVER MOVE — THE BEETLE BUILDS ITSELF. > > A rhinoceros beetle with a horn like a carried sword. A purple emperor flashing over the oak tops. A cicada louder than August. A spider in a web like stained glass, and a snail carrying its whole diary in one spiral. > > Insects frighten beginning artists — too many legs, too many wings, too much detail. This book removes the fear by removing the guesswork: one fixed blueprint — centre line, ground line, head-top point and half-width locked from Step 1 to Step 6 — while every creature is built from one of twelve body plans (beetle, butterfly, moth, dragonfly, cicada, hopper, the three-part ant-and-bee plan, spider, snail, grub, mantis, water strider), its dividing structure, the feature that gives the creature its name (horn, jaws, tails, glow, web, eye-stalks, pollen baskets), and its detail. Nothing moves between steps — so the creature you start is the creature you finish. > > Inside: 20 beetles · 20 butterflies & moths · 20 dragonflies, cicadas & singing wings · 20 ants, bees, spiders & garden hunters · 20 snails & the small water world. Every subject is named in English, Japanese and romaji — this book is also a walk through the words of Japan's beloved insects. > > And after every subject: a practice page. Trace the faint design, then draw your own version in the empty frame. 100 subjects, 100 practice pages. > > Every drawing in this book is an original drawing of a creature in its general natural form — no character, no trademark, no copied field-guide plate — so every creature you invent with this system is completely yours. All you need is a pencil and an eraser.