How to Paint Easy Animals Step by Step Acrylic

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 · 46 ratings  · 27 reviews

Start your review of Colorways: Acrylic Animals: Tips, techniques, and step-by-step lessons for learning to paint whimsical artwork in vibrant acrylic

Colorways: Acrylic Animals by Megan Wells is a book I from from NetGalley and the review is voluntary. This book gives the reader a list of tools needed then goes into the step-by-step projects of several animals with many accompanying images. They are carefree and fun pictures that remind me of the fun color designs like the pitbull or dog pictures on t-shirts! They are not realistic in color but lovely to look at! I really want this book!

Feb 21, 2019 Max rated it it was amazing

This book is so inspirational! Beautifully styled and very helpful. Usually I use watercolours to paint, but I like to venture out of my comfort zone once in a while. The introduction and basics are clear and useful. I love the step by step tutorials to begin with. When you practise with them and get the techniques down, you can move on to other animals or things. There's also a really interesting technique using paint swatches and other mixed media tutorials that I can't wait to try. The book l This book is so inspirational! Beautifully styled and very helpful. Usually I use watercolours to paint, but I like to venture out of my comfort zone once in a while. The introduction and basics are clear and useful. I love the step by step tutorials to begin with. When you practise with them and get the techniques down, you can move on to other animals or things. There's also a really interesting technique using paint swatches and other mixed media tutorials that I can't wait to try. The book looks so colourful, it makes you happy by just reading through it.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

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Beautiful animals, inspiring photography and easy to follow step-by-step instructions to create Acrylic animal paintings. My favorite Art is the Mixed media Fox, because I have been creating art in mixed media for two years and I absolutely love this kind of collage process. The downside is that the whole book is focused on mammals - cats, dogs and others - I missed a project featuring a butterfly, bee, ladybug or even a bird - my favorite animals. But okay, all of them are very pretty and lovel Beautiful animals, inspiring photography and easy to follow step-by-step instructions to create Acrylic animal paintings. My favorite Art is the Mixed media Fox, because I have been creating art in mixed media for two years and I absolutely love this kind of collage process. The downside is that the whole book is focused on mammals - cats, dogs and others - I missed a project featuring a butterfly, bee, ladybug or even a bird - my favorite animals. But okay, all of them are very pretty and lovely!! Thank you Netgalley for my ARC in exchange for an honest review! ...more

I bought this book on spec based on the cover as much as anything else. Who doesn't want to paint friendly colourful animals during a stressful time like the pandemic. The book itself is large scale and bright with lots of pictures - full scale and closeups - for each of the projects. Each project lives up to the promise of the subtitle with cute whimsical animals painted in vibrant color combinations. I found the book more useful for inspiration rather than instruction as the artist is more inc I bought this book on spec based on the cover as much as anything else. Who doesn't want to paint friendly colourful animals during a stressful time like the pandemic. The book itself is large scale and bright with lots of pictures - full scale and closeups - for each of the projects. Each project lives up to the promise of the subtitle with cute whimsical animals painted in vibrant color combinations. I found the book more useful for inspiration rather than instruction as the artist is more inclined to tell you what she did rather than why or how she did it. If you are a novice artist like me, you may find the step by step instructions too vague, for example, "Look for more places to put the darker value paint," whereas I need more explicit direction like "The light doesn't shine under the giraffe's chin so place the darkest value paint there for shadow." Overall, this is a lovely book to look at and suggests a fun approach to painting animals, encouraging the reader to break out of the normal 'natural' colourways and create a whole new world of colour. ...more

Sep 01, 2020 Beth Butler rated it it was amazing

I actually did every single project in this book save one (which I will do once I obtain some gel medium). Mostly I did them in the order presented, however my daughter did one right from the middle of the book without problems. Each project is broken up into easy to understand steps that are well illustrated. I especially like how the author talked about a different aspect of color theroy in each project. And of course the projects themselves were fun to do because I enjoyed the expressive anim I actually did every single project in this book save one (which I will do once I obtain some gel medium). Mostly I did them in the order presented, however my daughter did one right from the middle of the book without problems. Each project is broken up into easy to understand steps that are well illustrated. I especially like how the author talked about a different aspect of color theroy in each project. And of course the projects themselves were fun to do because I enjoyed the expressive animals. Personally I did not care for the more multi-media projects but that is entirely my own preference. Highly recommend for beginners and intermediate level artists. ...more

Sep 17, 2019 Jennifer rated it really liked it

I've been going through the projects and sketching out my animals on watercolor paper. I noticed that the final picture of the giraffe project has been "flipped" and the giraffe is angled the opposite way from all the other project snapshots, which I felt was a little disappointing. I would prefer a few more details on which supplies to use, particularly with which paint brushes to use. I've been going through the projects and sketching out my animals on watercolor paper. I noticed that the final picture of the giraffe project has been "flipped" and the giraffe is angled the opposite way from all the other project snapshots, which I felt was a little disappointing. I would prefer a few more details on which supplies to use, particularly with which paint brushes to use. ...more

I'ts an enjoyable instructional book for beginners on how to paint animals in acrylic. The subjects are sympathic, the colors are psychedelic, the layout of the book is coloured and joyful, however the result IMHO is more craft than art. One other negative thing, at least for me, the use of the grid method, using that you'll never learn to draw. I'ts an enjoyable instructional book for beginners on how to paint animals in acrylic. The subjects are sympathic, the colors are psychedelic, the layout of the book is coloured and joyful, however the result IMHO is more craft than art. One other negative thing, at least for me, the use of the grid method, using that you'll never learn to draw. ...more

Feb 20, 2019 Debra rated it it was amazing

This was a creative painting book. I enjoyed the artist's style of painting colorful animals, not just the colors you see in the photo.

This book is a great exercise in color theory. I found it unique that each step by step painting is a different example of the color theory. This technique makes it easier for a beginner to understand cool color, warm colors, complements, split complements, triadic, and value. When you are just reading about color theory it is more difficult to fully grasp the c

This was a creative painting book. I enjoyed the artist's style of painting colorful animals, not just the colors you see in the photo.

This book is a great exercise in color theory. I found it unique that each step by step painting is a different example of the color theory. This technique makes it easier for a beginner to understand cool color, warm colors, complements, split complements, triadic, and value. When you are just reading about color theory it is more difficult to fully grasp the concepts and apply them on your own. By painting Megan's examples you progress much more quickly.

Megan also provides tips on how to sketch the animals prior to painting. Some paintings use multimedia as well as acrylic paint.

I received this galley from NetGalley.

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Feb 21, 2019 =^.^= Janet rated it it was amazing

I received a DIGITAL Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

From the publisher, as I do not regurgitate the contents or story of books in reviews, I let them do it.

Colourways: Acrylic Animals teaches artists of all skill levels how to paint vibrant, colourful renditions of animals from around the globe.

Grab your paints, canvas, and imagination because it's time to paint pointillistic pandas, tetradic llamas, vibrant flamingos, and complementary cows...

I received a DIGITAL Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

From the publisher, as I do not regurgitate the contents or story of books in reviews, I let them do it.

Colourways: Acrylic Animals teaches artists of all skill levels how to paint vibrant, colourful renditions of animals from around the globe.

Grab your paints, canvas, and imagination because it's time to paint pointillistic pandas, tetradic llamas, vibrant flamingos, and complementary cows...and that's just the beginning! Each step-by-step project in Colorways: Acrylic Animals shows you not only how to capture an animal's likeness, but also how to use colour to create magical, other-worldly, and whimsical paintings. You'll also learn how to use acrylic paint to add texture and fanciful flourishes, like florals and collage, to your glorious animal subjects.

Colourways is a brand-new series from Walter Foster teaching artists of all skill levels how to create innovative, inspired artwork that's full of colour and imagination. Focusing on creating expressive pieces over realistic scenes, Colorways shows artists how to break the "rules" of colour and let their imaginations and artwork soar to new heights. In the Colorways series, flamingos are green, giraffes boast multicoloured spots, and racoons feature blue undertones.

I am a dedicated artist (as well as a MAJOR book reader) and I always have problems with animals so this book was awesome!!!! I learned so much and I think that anyone who wants to paint an animal could use this book - its lessons could even be applied to other painting "objects" as its lessons re: shading and colour can be applied to people, flowers, trees, etc.

As always, I try to find a reason to not rate with stars as I love emojis (outside of Instagram and Twitter) so let's give it 🎨 🖌️ 🎨🖌️🎨

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I received a copy of Colorways: Acrylic Animals through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Colorways: Acrylic Animals is a really cute and inspiring guide. I loved the art style included, and personally found both the style and the guide to be soothing. I felt like the way Megan Wells explained everything made a lot of sense, and made the idea of getting started a lot less intimidating than it can sometimes be.
This book covers a little bit of everything, which is always a plu

I received a copy of Colorways: Acrylic Animals through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Colorways: Acrylic Animals is a really cute and inspiring guide. I loved the art style included, and personally found both the style and the guide to be soothing. I felt like the way Megan Wells explained everything made a lot of sense, and made the idea of getting started a lot less intimidating than it can sometimes be.
This book covers a little bit of everything, which is always a plus in my book. There are the basics, of course. The tools of the trade, how to create certain effects in paint, and so on. I particularly enjoyed the paint effects sections, but that's just my personal preference.
The book then went on to covering color theory, which is an important, but difficult to explain basic of the art world. From there it moved on to actual projects; taking us step by step through a variety of different projects. It was brilliant seeing a piece slowly come together on the pages. It was educational as well, as intended.
I have to confess that while I adore all animal portraits, I did find myself particularly drawn to this style. I really enjoyed the lighter and freer style. It made everything feel so alive and genuine. I felt like it would apply especially well to pets – as there's nothing better than seeing their endearing personality shining through.

For more reviews, check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks

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Jan 26, 2020 Roger rated it really liked it

Dare to improve your color-mixing skills!

The author offers us 12 projects to create playfully quaint, fanciful, especially in a colorful, appealing and amusing way. Each has step-by-step images along the way, tips, tricks, as well as how to add depth and dimension. And at the beginning of the book a brief explanation of the basics of acrylic painting and color theory is offered.

Megan Wells allows us to explore our own expressiveness in color, she invites us to be daring to improve our color-mix

Dare to improve your color-mixing skills!

The author offers us 12 projects to create playfully quaint, fanciful, especially in a colorful, appealing and amusing way. Each has step-by-step images along the way, tips, tricks, as well as how to add depth and dimension. And at the beginning of the book a brief explanation of the basics of acrylic painting and color theory is offered.

Megan Wells allows us to explore our own expressiveness in color, she invites us to be daring to improve our color-mixing skills, to use a range of values and intensities, suggests color combinations based on their relationship in color wheel, so that oneself is able to create their own palette, balancing hues and creating contrasts, it offers us the basis for a richer and more vibrant color result. The beautiful design of the book, the visual and content quality of Quarto Publishing Group always leaves me satisfied.

My sincere appreciation to the Publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to review the book

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Apr 21, 2020 Jessica rated it it was amazing

Thank you to Netgallery and the publisher for providing me for a digital arc for my honest review.

Inside the book "Colorways: Acrylic Animals" Megan offers us 12 projects to paint along with. Each project includes step-by-step instructional images, as well as helpful tips and tricks. The beginning of the book briefly explains the basics of acrylic painting and color theory.

You can tell Megan Wells really knows her stuff. I loved her explaination of the order of operations. She explained paintin

Thank you to Netgallery and the publisher for providing me for a digital arc for my honest review.

Inside the book "Colorways: Acrylic Animals" Megan offers us 12 projects to paint along with. Each project includes step-by-step instructional images, as well as helpful tips and tricks. The beginning of the book briefly explains the basics of acrylic painting and color theory.

You can tell Megan Wells really knows her stuff. I loved her explaination of the order of operations. She explained painting in a way that really clicked for me. Not even my painting professors were able to do that. I can't wait to apply these tips to teaching my students!

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Beautiful animals, inspiring photography and easy to follow step-by-step instructions to create Acrylic animal paintings. It's an enjoyable instructional book for beginners on how to paint animals in acrylic. The subjects are sympathetic, the colors are psychedelic, the layout of the book is colored and joyful. Beautiful animals, inspiring photography and easy to follow step-by-step instructions to create Acrylic animal paintings. It's an enjoyable instructional book for beginners on how to paint animals in acrylic. The subjects are sympathetic, the colors are psychedelic, the layout of the book is colored and joyful. ...more

Mar 12, 2019 Margaret rated it it was amazing

This book is an inspiration to go back to the basics of painting I learned years ago, with a twist on using color in a new way. I definitely want to try to see what I can create. Great instructions to begin and finish your painting. Given a free copy from Netgalley for an honest review.

Dec 09, 2020 Terri rated it it was amazing

Great ideas and some very good hints given. For trying to free up my art style, a must read.

Aug 18, 2020 Judith marked it as crafting-owned

It's fabulous. Did all the paintings. It's fabulous. Did all the paintings. ...more

Nov 05, 2019 Sherri rated it liked it

This seems like a good instruction to the vibrant acrylic painting. Sketching, colors, and painting. Good photos and step by step.

Apr 04, 2019 Shari rated it really liked it

This is a great book if you are looking to paint colorful animals. Learn how to capture an animals likeness and put paint to paper or canvas and create each animal step-by-step!

May 17, 2019 Fiorella rated it really liked it

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review*

I love animals but I always thought that they were a difficult subject to paint, so this book was perfect for me. I haven't tried any of the tutorials yet, but I understood that you don't need to paint an animal with a lot of details or in a "realistic" way. Even more, I never really tried painting animals because I felt I was bad at drawing them in the first place, so the tips here were

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review*

I love animals but I always thought that they were a difficult subject to paint, so this book was perfect for me. I haven't tried any of the tutorials yet, but I understood that you don't need to paint an animal with a lot of details or in a "realistic" way. Even more, I never really tried painting animals because I felt I was bad at drawing them in the first place, so the tips here were really helpful(and I love the style). The design of the book is cute as hell, I liked the pastel colors and the pictures <3.

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Mar 22, 2019 Jenny Houle rated it it was amazing

Acrylic is, in my opinion, a great place to start learning and building confidence in painting, because if you make a mistake, you can let it dry and then paint over it (not the case in watercolors and definitely not as easy in oil either). This book not only gives great techniques on animals specifically, but it also covers a lot of refreshers and beginner instructions on acrylic painting as a whole, which makes it great for any level of experience. The guides to the specific animals are easy t Acrylic is, in my opinion, a great place to start learning and building confidence in painting, because if you make a mistake, you can let it dry and then paint over it (not the case in watercolors and definitely not as easy in oil either). This book not only gives great techniques on animals specifically, but it also covers a lot of refreshers and beginner instructions on acrylic painting as a whole, which makes it great for any level of experience. The guides to the specific animals are easy to follow in the step by step format created by the author. ...more

Mar 02, 2019 Margaret rated it really liked it

Great inspirational reference with projects starting with grid work to capture your animal look, and moving on to color choices, flourishes, and techniques to complete original, magical, stylized pieces of art. Great book!

Apr 16, 2019 Ryan rated it really liked it

This is a great primer if you have never tried to paint with acrylics. Even if you have painted with other mediums, you will find something in this book that you didn't know, or that will make you a better artist. It starts with small lessons and ideas, and then works it way through full step by step projects that you can copy, play, and learn from.

Megan Wells is an artist, author and instructor and the founder of her art studio, Makewells. Her whimsical illustrations and lettering have led to a devoted following of likeminded creatives. She's passionate for all things Jesus, making things, and teaching others how to express their creativity through art. See more of her work at www.makewells.com and follow along on Instagram - @makewells. Megan Wells is an artist, author and instructor and the founder of her art studio, Makewells. Her whimsical illustrations and lettering have led to a devoted following of likeminded creatives. She's passionate for all things Jesus, making things, and teaching others how to express their creativity through art. See more of her work at www.makewells.com and follow along on Instagram - @makewells. ...more

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