Customer Reviews
Professional artist recommends this book! 
2008-07-02
This is one of the, if not THE most solid animal book there is. Packed with drawings (as all of Jack Hamm's books are)...very clear. It's the book I'd recommend first for someone who wants to learn to draw animals. I'm a professional working in animation and this is a book that all of my coworkers own.
Decent, but there are better alternatives 
2008-05-22
While Jack Hamm is quite well-respected, I have to recommend The Art of Animal Drawing: Construction, Action Analysis, Caricature (Dover Books on Art Instruction, Anatomy) for anyone considering this book. While this book does have a lot of useful information (like demonstrating the position of the ankle in different animals), some of Hamm's drawings are lifeless, stiff, and sometimes downright awkward-looking. This is most likely due to the use of taxidermy models (in some cases photos of taxidermy models) as the base for his drawings. This is most evident in some of his more exotic animals where the faces look malformed.
Even by looking at the images provided here, there is a bit of a difference in the feel his sketch images when compared to his finished ones. This is more pronounced in the book itself when you see the book in its entirety. The poses for the finished animals are routinely a little bit unnatural looking, just like how the lion on the front is, if you look at him long enough.
Hamm's instruction itself is valuable, but the images he presents with them are not always the best. I have personally found copying the images in a drawing book to be a good study to understand an animal and get an idea of what it is and how it moves, and that is where this book falls short. Basically you end up copying a copy.
I would not hesitate to recommend this to someone looking for a couple of animal drawing books, but if you're only going to buy one, Hultgren is the way to go. I speak as someone who owns both. This book has some useful information in it, but Hultgren is the one I carry around with me. In conclusion, it's a good book, but not the best.
fair shape 2008-05-15
The book was in fair shape. A little disappointed because it was less than advertised condition. But not enough to make an issue of it. It was OK.
Good Basic Guide 
2008-04-25
Helpful when you must insert animals into a painting or drawing; well put together and a good variety of animals.
Great Book 2007-05-13
Every artist should own this book, it has great instructions, and illustrations, of animal structure, shapes and design
Jack Hamm's credentials are impeccable 2006-12-22
"How to Draw Animals" by Jack Hamm
Jack Hamm is incomparable when it comes to drawing instruction. His book on drawing animals, like his book on cartooning, is one of the very best on the market. Children have no difficulty understanding Hamm's lessons, so the reader should not feel that his book his only for adults.
well pleased with purchase 2006-11-04
An extremeely useful book, in fact, just what I was looking for
Get Jack Hamm books 2006-09-13
If you like to draw, you can't go wrong with Jack Hamm books. They are economically priced, and each of them is a wealth of reference and how-to-draw information. I have all four of his books I know of. In addition to this one: Drawing Scenery: landscapes and seacapes; Drawing the Head & Figure; Cartooning The Head & Figure. Be advised that the style of the drawing in these books is dated, that is a bit old-fashioned, when fashion comes in to play. But the material is great.
Timeless Advice for the Beginning Animal Artist 2006-07-12
This is a great book for learning how to draw animals, as advertised by the no-nonsense title. A junior high school art student would probably find this book challenging, and advanced art students can still glean nuggets from this richly illustrated book. For the price, this is a tremendous value compared to glossy, full-color texts that don't cover as many different kinds of animals. This book has been around for a while, but its effectiveness has not diminished, unlike some others of the author's titles.
Slim, clear & detailed- GREAT for beginners. 2006-04-15
Great for beginners, intermediates & up. Created in 1969, it's *still* a bestseller today. This is an *amazing* work in detail & scope. If you thought Drawing the Head and Figure was packed with information, wait till you see this slim, detailed book(!).
Entirely black & white- mostly pencil, sometimes ink- It begins with a general comparison between popular animals & types (pages 1-19)- which really makes this book shine for those who don't draw animals often. This section includes a few skeleton structures, as well as comparative standard basic shapes & actions. These 1st 19 pages may be the BEST in the book. Hamm then proceeds to detail specific animal types. He gives us the simple basic shapes for all popular species, as well as a wealth of construction hints, tips, and tricks for those involved with drawing from memory. Yet- this book is *only* about mammals: No insects, birds or reptiles here...
As expected, popular animals get more attention then others. Check out this crazy-detailed index listing(!): aardvark; aard-wolf; african elephant; american tapir; ant-eater; antelope; apes; arabian camel; arctic fox; armadillo; baboon; bactrian camel; badger; barbary sheep; bear; beaver; bison; black bear; blue persian cat; bobcat; bonnet monkey; boxer dog; black macaque monkey; black rhinoceros; brindled gnu; brown bear; brown capuchin monkey; buffalo; bull; bull eland; bulldog; calf; camel; cape buffalo; cape hunting dog; capped langur; cat; cheetah; chimpanzee; chinchilla; civit cat; clouded leopard; cocker spaniel; couger; coatia monkey; cottontail; cow; coyote; deer; diana monkey; dingo; dog; dromedary camel; duckbilled platypus; elephant; ermine; european bison; european brown bear; eyra; fawn; fox; foxhound; gaur; gazelle; gelada baboon; german shepherd; gibbon; giraffe; gnu; goat; golden cat; gopher; gorilla; great ant-eater; great dane; green monkey; grizzly bear; gray fox; greyhound; ground hog; guinea pig; hamster; hippopotamus; horse; house cat; impalla; indian rhinoceros; irish setter; italian goat; jackal; jack rabbit; jaguar; kangaroo; koala bear; kodiak bear; kudu; lemur; leopard; leopard cat; lion; llama; longhorn steer; lynx; malayan bear; malayan tapir; mandrill; maned wolf; mangabey monkey; margay; mink; mole; mongoose; monkey; moose; mountain lion; mouse; mule deer; ocelot; okapi; opossum; orangutan; otter; pampas cat; panda; panther; patas monkey; pig; pig-tailed monkey; polar bear; pole cat; porcupine; proboscis monkey; pronghorn antelope; puma; rabbit; raccoon; rat; red fox; red-fronted gazelle; rhesus monkey; rhinoceros; roaring monkey; sable antelope; saiga antelope; sea lion; seal; serval; sheep; shrew; siamese cat; siberian husky; silver-backed fox; silver-gray fox; silver tabby cat; skunk; sloat; sloth; sloth bear; snow leopard; south down sheep; spotted hyena; squirrel; squirrel monkey; striped hyena; tamandua ant-eater; tapir; tasmanian wolf; thylacine; tiger; two-toed sloth; virginian fox; wallaroo; walrus; wart hog; weasel; white rhinoceros; whitetail deer; wild boar; wild bull; wolf; wolverine; woodchuck; yellow-tailed howler; and zebra. Whew!!! Great book!
