Archives: Walter Foster Books
Whether you are completely new to cross stitch or already skilled in the craft, Cross Stitch Celebrations: Bundle of Joy! teaches you how to create highly giftable personalized keepsakes for a new baby. This step-by-step guide includes all of the basics you need to learn the art of cross stitch. Following a brief introduction to tools and materials and an overview of basic cross stitch techniques, you will be treated to:
- 20+ charming patterns that reflect baby and nursery aesthetics
- A range of mix-and-match fonts, border designs, color schemes, and baby animal motifs
- Techniques on how to compose a DIY design
- Tips for framing and displaying finished projects
Create the perfect personalized gift for every new parent and grandparent in your life. With the ability to mix and match, the possibilities are endless!
Whether you are new to cross stitch or already skilled in the craft, the Cross Stitch Celebrations series teaches you how to create personalized pieces that celebrate life’s major milestones. Including all of the basics you need to start stitching, and with the ability to mix and match the fonts, border designs, color schemes, and motifs featured inside each book, you can create custom cross stitch in no time!
Explore 35 step-by-step how-tos and more than 100 additional tips and tricks for creating a variety of manga characters, animals, and scenes in The Art of Drawing Manga.
With 144 pages of in-depth instruction and hundreds of reference images, The Art of Drawing Manga is suitable for all manga artists and enthusiasts, regardless of age. From learning the basics of drawing archetypal characters with intriguing personalities to creating action-packed poses and even drawing entire manga scenes from scratch, this is the ultimate guide to creating all things manga. Perfect for manga fans who already have some drawing experience, but also suitable for motivated beginners, this book shows how to draw people and animals, develop intriguing characters, create eye-catching poses and scenes, and write stories and dialog for a manga book.
- All instruction is easy to follow, so you can quickly learn to draw different faces and expressions, hairstyles, clothing and accessories, animals (both real and fictional), heroes, villains, sidekicks, and so much more.
- Step-by-step instructions make the drawing process approachable for aspiring artists who already have some background in drawing.
- Projects range from simple and easy chibis to more detailed scenes with multiple characters in action poses.
- Also included are tips for developing your own style, while looking to common styles for inspiration.
- Templates at the end of the book allow for easy practice of character faces and poses.
With everything you need to start in the world of manga, The Art of Drawing Manga is your ultimate guide to creating your own characters and developing your own original manga books and stories.
The Collector’s Series offers approachable, step-by-step art instruction for a variety of mediums and subjects, such as drawing, oil, acrylic, watercolor, cartooning, calligraphy, and more. Perfect for beginning artists, each title features artist tips for drawing or painting anything and everything from people, animals, and still life to flowers, trees, and landscapes.
Through a collection of 12 detailed, full-color patterns, aspiring and established embroidery artists will discover how to employ the art of thread painting to create a range of popular birds and waterfowl from around the world, including North America, the Amazon rain forest, and Europe.
Thread painting is the name for using single strands of embroidery floss to create lifelike images with beautifully blended gradients of color and detail. Fortunately, the process is not as hard as it sounds! After learning a bit about how to create gradients and blend colors, anyone can create incredible embroidered masterpieces.
- A primer on embroidery materials, setup, and thread painting techniques
- Patterns that indicate where each color should go and when the gradients should begin
- For each project, step-by-step instructions and reference images of the finished piece
Explore the basics of color theory and color mixing, and then apply your new skills to create your own beautiful floral watercolor paintings, step by colorful step.
Color theory and color mixing are essential topics for all artists to know, and Contemporary Color Theory: Watercolor Flowers covers both in an easy-to-follow way with simple, actionable steps that any artist can do. Learn how to:
- Mix paint colors
- Avoid “dirty” mixes (those that look too brown, for example)
- Create your own color wheel
- Create neutral colors and pastels
- Mix vintage colors
- And much more
This book is ideal for all skill levels and ages, and while it focuses on watercolor, the same tips and techniques can be applied to other media as well, including acrylic, oil, and gouache.
Once you’re familiar with color theory and feel comfortable creating your own color mixes, dive into the step-by-step painting projects. Each project is done in the style seen on the author’s popular Instagram account (@thewhimsicalcreative) and features beautiful, romantic florals painted in watercolor. Learn how to paint floral wreaths, bouquets, and different types of leaves and plants.
Contemporary Color Theory: Watercolor Flowerscombines the essential topics of color theory and color mixing with watercolor painting projects for a comprehensive book that’s perfect for beginning and aspiring artists.
With the instructions and supplies in How to Draw Squishy Cats & Cute Kitties, you can draw cats in all kinds of cute positions and situations, including sitting, snuggling, sleeping, and swatting. Whatever your skill level, you’ll enjoy the easy step-by-step tutorials focusing on everything from different degrees of cat fur floofiness, adding color to line art, and more.
This fun-filled kit includes everything you need to get started:
- 64-page drawing instruction book
- 32-page sketch pad
- 3 graphite pencils
- A double-tipped pen
Whether you want to draw your favorite feline friends or just love adorable characters, How to Draw Squishy Cats & Cute Kitties is the purrrfect choice.
From selecting the appropriate tools, such as pens, nibs, brushes, inks, and papers, to learning optimal hand positioning and understanding the intricacies of lettering angles, heights, spacing, and strokes, The Complete Book of Calligraphy & Lettering will help lettering enthusiasts swiftly master their craft.
Step-by-step lessons, practice templates, and a range of stunning alphabets demonstrate the breadth of artistic achievement that comes with practice and dedication. Four professional artists guide you through traditional calligraphy techniques, as well as an introduction to contemporary hand-lettering art forms, such as brush lettering and mixed media, for a well-rounded approach to the craft.
Additionally, a short section on Chinese brush lettering and several mixed media lettering projects inspire creativity and demonstrate how calligraphy and lettering can be used in wider artistic contexts and projects. Including practice templates for several featured alphabets in addition to mixed media "bonus" projects designed to inspire artistic creativity, The Complete Book of Calligraphy & Lettering will inspire lettering enthusiasts of all skill levels to strengthen their existing skills and delve into new, lesser-known variations of the trend.
Keep your hands busy and your mind playing and free of stress with A Happy Book of Little Gifts to Make.
From professional artist Sarah Hand, the author of Art Makers: Papier-Mache, this book features easy-to-follow step-by-step projects, creative inspiration, and prompts—all designed to be done at home using affordable, accessible materials. Best of all, the projects are small-scale, so they are portable, giftable, adorable, and fun!
A Happy Book of Little Gifts to Make includes varied projects done in all kinds of materials, from papier-mache and paper to crayons, paint, and paint pens. With this book, you can learn to make sweet and whimsical:
- Dioramas
- Papier-mache creatures
- Pop-up cards
- Cotton dolls
- And much more
Throughout the book, find tips for having fun and relaxing as you create, plus creative inspiration and prompts so that you can use this book as a starting point for art projects you devise on your own. After a stressful year (or decade?), everyone needs to have fun and let loose, and what better way than with art that can be created at home and with materials you already have?
The small size of the projects makes them manageable even for beginning crafters and artists, and kids will love working on the projects too (possibly with a little adult help). The delightful and heartwarming art appeals to artists of all ages and skill levels, including beginning crafters, DIYers, crafty families, and more.
Grab your paper, paints, and more and then set up at the kitchen counter to start your stress-free creative life with A Happy Book of Little Gifts to Make from a professional artist and instructor.
The latest addition to the Artist's Library series, Creative Cartooning is a must-have resource for beginning and intermediate artists who want to develop expertise in the art of cartoon drawing. With its contemporary approach to an ever popular and continually evolving art form, Creative Cartooning is an easy-to-use, pencil-drawing guide that offers cartoonists and cartoon-artists-in-training a range of essential information to get started–from providing an overview of the basic tools and materials and directions for understanding character construction, to learning how to use a drawing pencil to express emotions, render gestures, and add personality. Creative Cartooning provides a comprehensive approach to learning the basics, including drawing different body types and head shapes; mastering facial features; rendering hands, feet, props, and costumes; and much more. Plus, artists of all skill levels will find it easy to navigate through this book thanks to straightforward instruction and myriad step-by-step drawing projects featuring a variety of cartoon and illustration styles, including quirky characters, funny animals, talking objects, and more. Creative Cartooning is filled with fun, as well as inspiration, artist tips, and helpful drawing techniques, making it the perfect resource for learning to draw polished, professional-looking cartoons. Subject matter includes: Basic Cartooning Techniques; Mastering Heads, Bodies, Hands and Feet; Drawing Facial Features and Expressions; Rendering Gestures; and Cartooning Animals and Unique Characters.
Drawing: Dogs & Puppies teaches artists everything they need to know to achieve realistic pet portraits in graphite pencil. From choosing the right drawing paper and tools to understanding how to blend and shade, Drawing: Dogs & Puppies features valuable information for learning to draw. Aspiring artists will learn about composition, value, and contrast, as well as how to render various fur textures; expressive eyes; and realistic noses, ears, and mouths.
The book opens with an introduction to the basic drawing tools and materials, including pencils, erasers, supports, and blending tools. With simple step-by-step projects that start with basic shapes and progress to detailed, realistic final drawings, readers will learn to draw a variety of canines, including:
- Labrador puppy
- Great Dane
- Pug
- Beagle
- Terrier
- Dachshunds
- Border Collie puppy
Designed for beginners, the How to Draw & Paint series offers an easy-to-follow guide that introduces artists to basic tools and materials and includes simple step-by-step lessons for a variety of projects suitable for the aspiring artist. Drawing: Dogs & Puppies allows artists to develop their drawing skills, demonstrating how to start with basic shapes and use pencil and shading techniques to create varied textures, values, and details for a realistic, completed drawing.
Calling all drawing and doodling enthusiasts! Filled with dozens of creative prompts and ideas, Doodle Menagerie: Unique Horns & Unicorns invites you to take a fun and fantastical journey through the world of unicorn mash-ups.
If you’re ready to take your creative talents to imaginative new heights, Doodle Menagerie: Unique Horns & Unicorns is just for you. This book offers tons of drawing, doodling, and coloring prompts and ideas for creating unique unicorn mash-ups. Mix and match the characters with a variety of colorful, patterned horns and manes to create a rainbow of magical unicorn creatures, including:
- Koala-corns (unicorn + koala)
- Uni-clucks (unicorn + chicken)
- Corn-dogs (unicorn + dog)
- Uni-pigs (unicorn + pig)
The combinations are endless! Whatever your age or skill level, you will enjoy creating giggle-worthy artwork using a range of mixed media.
The Doodle Menagerie series includes loads of silly creatures to draw, doodle, and mash up in order to create even more fantastical critters. Learn to work with crayon, colored pencil, marker, watercolor, and even collage to create outrageously cute drawings designed to make you laugh out loud. Follow along with the step-by-step projects or design your own silly mash-ups from scratch.