This week we’re running a contest for the new Draw Star Wars: The Clone Wars book, so it seemed like a great time to review it as well. Klutz provided us an extra copy, and here’s a look at what padawan artists can expect!
Edited by Bonnie Burton, Draw Star Wars: The Clone Wars is a nicely produced book, from the embossed cover to the full color illustrations inside. It’s appropriately spiral bound, making it easier to open the book to a specific page and copy, trace, or draw without worrying about the spine. The spiral binding also supports a clear plastic pencil case that’s included atop the front cover. Inside you’ll find literally all the tools you’d need to get started with drawing: three double-ended colored pencils (so you get six colors in all), a nice Star Wars mechanical pencil, a Star Wars marker for inking, and a white block eraser. The tools are good quality, too, adding to the value of this book.
The book itself begins with some drawing basics that are common to lots of “how to draw” guides. It advises you not to hunch over the drawing like Count Dooku, but rather to sit upright and draw from a reasonable distance like Obi-Wan. You’ll also see the process of drawing broken down into four clear steps: 1) stick figures, 2) shapes, 3) basic details, and 4) detailed details. It’s simple stuff, but it really comes together and is invaluable advice for beginning artists or for kids wanting to draw their favorite Clone Wars characters. In between the regular instructional pages, there are even pages of tracing paper that encourage you to draw in the book. It’s all very hands on and application-centered.
This guide is full of colorful illustrations of the Clone Wars characters, featuring lots of renders from the TV show. The real art feature here, however, is the collection of drawings from artist Grant Gould. He provides loads of illustrations of the characters and tech of Star Wars, with lots of in-between drawings that show how the final art comes together. As a fan of Grant’s work, I found the most fascinating part of the book to be his step by step pages that show how is masterpieces are built.
At just under 100 pages, Draw Star Wars: The Clone Wars is a great book for fans of the TV series, as well as for anyone interested in getting into or bettering their drawing. It’s presented in a great and accessible way that makes it perfect for fans and artists of all ages.
