How to Draw Inky Wonderlands: Create and Color Your Own Magical Adventure

Johanna Basford most recent publication is a hands on introduction on how to draw basic line art elements like those in her wonderful whimsical coloring books. It is a practical guide showing the strokes to create simple motifs useful for adding your personal touch in her books or creating your own coloring designs to embellish greeting cards, thank you notes or anywhere a simple motif will enhance a communication. The book is separated into 3 sections: Garden, Ocean, and Forest. Each section shows step-by-step how to for objects found in those environments. My only disappointment is that the pages are not numbered nor is there an index. The Garden Section shows how to draw leaves, blooms, flowers, insects, etc. Also included are borders, bouquets, garlands and spherical motifs. The Ocean introduces simple fishes, and more complex ones, boats, undersea flora - seaweeds and coral, flotsam and jetsam, and found objects such as pirates treasure and shells . Also included are underwater critters: crabs, jellyfish, and a fantasy lobster. The Forest Section continues with more items found on the forest floor: fallen leaves, ferns, wildflowers, pine cones, acorns, mushrooms and toadstools. More bugs are included - beetles, a dragonfly, etc. And of course a beautiful tree complete with a sweet bird and a lantern to light the way. The final elements include a secret door, a wise owl, a page of birds and another of branches for them to perch on. Interspersed throughout the book are lessons on symmetry, transfer, and how to create patterns. Several motifs are included from the floral borders, ocean ribbon motifs, woodland garlands and lovely intricate borders to frame your creations, including a circular frame. There is plenty of room to practice throughout the book and students are encouraged to complete these pages. For those of us who love Johanna’s books for coloring- there are plenty of completed designs as well as finishing your own work. The US and UK versions are printed on heavy stock encouraging the use of dry media - pencils, pens, pastels and limited use of paint pens with care. The judicious use of wet media such as markers and watercolor should be reasonably tolerated. Johanna offered a fun free 10-day course when the book was introduced which included small parts of the book - but there is so much more included than she was able to cover in the school. This is not a comprehensive book teaching an old-style art class full of rules and heavy duty theory, but a fun hearted approach that shows almost anyone can learn to draw. Practice and patience are necessary but drawing is not a talent but a skill and this book helps you get over the fear of starting. On a final note Johanna has created some hidden resources to accompany the book - but you have to buy it to find where to look.

ANYTHING Johanna Basford releases is a automatic buy for me and this how to is no exception, I love the way she explains things and her bonus videos she has made for all with the purchase of this book are exceptional (and listening to her soft, soothing, lilting voice is an extra bonus lol). If you are looking to learn more about coloring, drawing or just being creative you Must buy this book. All her coloring books are amazing and her story book "Ivy and the Inky Butterfly is hands down one of the BEST! If you haven't tried any of her works, please do so and just have FUN!! Happy Creating!

I've never pre-ordered anything, nor have I taken an art class online given by a favored artist, but I took a chance doing both and I'm just so glad I did! To all of you not enjoying the 10 day course offered with it at the start, there aren't words for what you're missing. Half the experience is seeing Ms. Basford demonstrate the techniques described in the book. For a beginner, looking for somewhere to start in the overwhelming world of art, I would highly suggest this book. Even without the extra videos, you'll get so much from it. If you ever get the chance to see the videos that paired with it, definitely do it. Repeatedly even, it really helps. The artist is delightful, skilled, and a grand teacher. I'm not the only one whining on Day #6 that it'll be over in four days when we want it to go on forever. It's a shame a clone of her doesn't come with each book! This was actually my first book by Ms. Basford and is my first attempt to take up art again since I lost most of my vision. I chose it because it showed basic steps I thought I could handle, while gradually teaching me how to do more complicated things. Going leaf by leaf, scale by scale was the pace I needed. Having her cheer her fans on live was a gift that I just can't describe to those of you not getting it. I'll be following her books and classes in the future while catching p on the past books I have still to color. My coloring wish list has grown massively with her books and supplies. I may not yet know exactly what my art style is, but at least she's given me the confidence to at least try some things. I just received Daler-Rowney A4 Layout paper from the UK and you'd have thought I won the lottery the way I reacted. If you buy this book, you're going to quickly become a paper snob. Be warned! It's not a bad thing, though. Just means you're becoming an artist. Thank you so much for all you've done for us, Ms. Basford. ~Hex

This is a wonderful book. Great drawing lessons with wonderful, useful patterns.

This is an adorable book with an easy-to-follow method of drawing a lot of really cute doodles and drawings. Plants, flowers, fish, bugs, borders....lots of things to fill pages and pages with drawings. I often doodle during phone meetings as a way to keep my focus and this will give me lots of new things to draw! My only complaint is the binding, I opened the book flat to draw in it and the binding broke completely in half. I've owned the book less than 24 hours and drawn on only one page and pages are already coming loose. I feel like the quality of the manufacturing is letting the author down. I can of course still use the book, but the loose pages are going to end up getting bent and possibly lost so it's a bit of a bummer. It's still a worthwhile book though; I will probably order another copy to gift to my niece. I saw a review that mentioned a bad odor - my book doesn't smell bad at all.

I purchased this book in conjunction with an online 10 day class by Johanna Basford on how to draw the way she does. It was so nice to have the partially drawn pages to complete with my own drawings rather than having to start with a completely blank sheet of paper. The directions were so easy to follow. This is not just another coloring book but does have lots of completed aspects that can be colored while learning the technique. I have included two examples that I completed. The ocean picture was partly done and I just filled in the middle with more sea weed and fish. The leafy beetle is an example of doing images that are symmetrical. I would definitely recommend this book.

I love all her work! Now I thought this one was tracing the design over the faded lines before coloring it but it's actually a guide to help u draw the shapes on your own. That works too!

Johanna Basford is a wonderfully talented artist with a generous ,joyful spirit. Her enthusiasm as a creative helps to enable anyone to draw. This stand alone book is a charming tutorial for creating your own coloring page, greeting cards, or illustrated journals (the possibilities are only limited by your imagination) I was fortunate to subscribe to her free ,two week Facebook daily lessons drawn (pardon the pun) from this book. Johanna shared lovely stories from her life that inform her growth as an artist and encouragement with techniques to overcome challenges common to artists during the Facebook posts. With Johanna’s lovely voice in my ear , I look forward to years of developing this easy to follow style for years to come. Thank you ,Johanna

Gut verpackt und entspricht meinen Erwartungen

Questo libro per chi ama questo tipo di tratti nel disegno è spettacolare. Va bene per i principianti e consente anche di disegnare il libertà ricercando anche il proprio stile. E' esteticamente molto bello e spinge a considerarlo un pezzo da collezione. Io le esercitazioni le faccio su un mio quaderno per lasciare intonso il libro.

Un joli livre, les fans des ouvrages de Johanna vont être ravis, comme moi d'apprendre à dessiner ses fleurs, poissons, ses ornements, ses oiseaux etc... le tout très bien expliqué... et très facile à suivre même pour ceux qui ne savent pas du tout dessiner .. vous serez étonnés des résultats !... Le papier est de très bonne qualité ... je recommande !

This is the best book in the world on drawing. I have almost all of Johanna's books and would enthusiastically recommend them to all... She's such a great soul for sharing her method and giving an insight into her process... Also check out her Inky Art School series on YouTube

O livro é um passo a passo para fazer desenhos de flores, borboletas e etc no mesmo estilo da autora, o que não impede de você desenvolver o seu próprio estilo. O material do livro é muito bom, as folhas são grossas, há páginas com espaço para treinar os desenhos. A introdução do livro traz algumas recomendações de como usá-lo e também de materiais que podem ser usados nos desenhos. O livro está dividido em três seções: jardim, oceano e floresta. Acho o livro ideal para quem, como eu, está começando a fazer desenhos... é uma boa fonte de inspiração!