Laws Guide to Nature Drawing and Journaling
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-05-28 11:55:58
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：John Muir Laws
- ISBN：1597143154
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
The ultimate guide to nature drawing and journaling。 This is the how-to guide for becoming a better artist and a more attentive naturalist。 In straightforward text complemented by step-by-step illustrations， dozens of exercises lead the hand and mind through creating accurate reproductions of plants and animals as well as landscapes， skies， and more。 This book provides clear， practical advice for every step of the process for artists at every level， from the basics of choosing supplies to advanced techniques。 While the book’s advice will improve the skills of already accomplished artists， the emphasis on seeing， learning， and feeling will make this book valuable—even revelatory—to anyone interested in the natural world， no matter how rudimentary their artistic abilities。
Ways to use your journal to enhance curiosity， creativity， and sharpen your naturalist’s eye。
Simple techniques to improve your visual memory and help you draw what you see。
Lessons on how to use graphite， pen， watercolor and gouache for fast field sketches。
Lessons on how to draw wildflowers， trees， mushrooms， mammals， birds， reptiles， amphibians， insects， landscapes， seascapes， and skies。
Paperback， 8。5 x 11， 368 pages， with full-color and black-and-white illustrations throughout。
Ways to use your journal to enhance curiosity， creativity， and sharpen your naturalist’s eye。
Simple techniques to improve your visual memory and help you draw what you see。
Lessons on how to use graphite， pen， watercolor and gouache for fast field sketches。
Lessons on how to draw wildflowers， trees， mushrooms， mammals， birds， reptiles， amphibians， insects， landscapes， seascapes， and skies。
Paperback， 8。5 x 11， 368 pages， with full-color and black-and-white illustrations throughout。
Reviews
Kate
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Excellent reference。 Might buy my own copy。
Kathryn Kreyenbuhl-gardner
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Mr。 Laws is a fabulous human being。 https://johnmuirlaws。com/biography/ Mr。 Laws is a fabulous human being。 https://johnmuirlaws。com/biography/ 。。。more
Ilias
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This is a really interesting book because it ranges from what questions to ask while nature journaling to different scientific nomenclature to how to draw a variety of very specific animals。 I didn't read the whole thing; I don't really draw！ Many animals; I'm just not there yet！ But I really enjoyed the whole， like， first half。 The notes on color theory were very interesting。 I skipped all the water color sections， because again that's just not something I'm looking at right now。 But there was This is a really interesting book because it ranges from what questions to ask while nature journaling to different scientific nomenclature to how to draw a variety of very specific animals。 I didn't read the whole thing; I don't really draw！ Many animals; I'm just not there yet！ But I really enjoyed the whole， like， first half。 The notes on color theory were very interesting。 I skipped all the water color sections， because again that's just not something I'm looking at right now。 But there was a lot of information on all sorts of art techniques， some of which was fun and helpful， and I had a really good time with the parts where he laid out different varieties of scientific note taking， from extremely rigorous to pretty casual。 It was really good to just read a variety of styles and then pick and choose what was interesting to me！I read probably sixty percent of this book， but with that caveat， I really liked it！ An upstanding example of the genre！ 。。。more
Tiffany
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This is the nature journaling bible。
Cassandra
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It's a lovely set of suggestions for the budding observer。 The ideas for using journaling to just sit and observe and focus on a thing and appreciate it are very detailed and inspiring。 The first half of the book covers the types of things you can journal about， John Muir Laws own approach and standard science approaches。 The second half focuses on sketching animals， landscapes， and other parts of nature。 It starts with a general section that briefly describes what to practice， like underlying s It's a lovely set of suggestions for the budding observer。 The ideas for using journaling to just sit and observe and focus on a thing and appreciate it are very detailed and inspiring。 The first half of the book covers the types of things you can journal about， John Muir Laws own approach and standard science approaches。 The second half focuses on sketching animals， landscapes， and other parts of nature。 It starts with a general section that briefly describes what to practice， like underlying shapes and drawing from the shoulder。 。。。more
Ash
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Opened a whole new world of nature journaling for me and in that I have found what is probably my favorite hobby。 It’s a combination of the two things I love - nature and art and you cannot find a better book and teacher on this topic than John Muir Laws。 This is the best book on nature journaling out there。
Emma L C
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Definative guide for anybody who is interested in nature journalling and wants to become more present with their natural environment。
Tait Sougstad
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Stop wasting your time trying to cobble together bits and pieces of nature study skills from the internet- just buy this book right now。 It has reams （literally， it is about the size of a ream of letter-size paper！） of comprehensive training on。。。Well， what is it on？ Nature drawing and journaling？ I think the title by necessity collars the scope of this book， which is nothing other than an elevated way of being; a way of being more present and engaged， more curious， more awed at the wide world; Stop wasting your time trying to cobble together bits and pieces of nature study skills from the internet- just buy this book right now。 It has reams （literally， it is about the size of a ream of letter-size paper！） of comprehensive training on。。。Well， what is it on？ Nature drawing and journaling？ I think the title by necessity collars the scope of this book， which is nothing other than an elevated way of being; a way of being more present and engaged， more curious， more awed at the wide world; of cultivating disciplines that train the eye， the hand， the mind。Drawing and journaling in this book are tools to that end， but appear only later in the book。 You don't get to "How to draw a bear" until you first spend a lot of time pondering wonder and curiosity。 And then， "How to draw a bear" is not presented as， "Draw these lines to generate a generic bear whenever you want。" Rather， it is a lab to apply the specific skills in the previous foundation chapters on drawing skills。 "Remember how we talked about framing lines and negative space before？ This is how it applies to the shape of a bear。 Because， if you are field sketching a bear， you probably want to do it quickly。"Trying to figure out what to put into your nature kit？ This has it all， down to his favorite brushes and pencils， but also thoughts about how much you want to pack。 In everything， Law's focus pushes past the details that are so easy to get lost in， down to the goal: How to I get more out of my walks and hikes。 Have a pack， ready to go， light enough to not be a burden or distraction， so that the path of least resistance is to take it and use it every time。 Think watercolors are pretty？ Great。 Pack them if you are going to use them。 It's not about pretty pictures- it's about observing， pondering， and enjoying。I have not yet read every page of this book， but it will be a reference for the rest of my life。 I spent some time this weekend sketching flowers， then put the tools in my bag so I can get them out whenever I want。 A non-photo cyan pencil is high on my list to purchase。 When I'm ready to get high-quality colored pencils or watercolors， you better believe I'll start with whatever he suggests。Most of all， this has just been a pleasure to read。 His love of life shows through on every page。 The illustrations and examples are gorgeous， training on every page。 I was amazed at how easy it was to start making magnified details and annotating interesting things in my sketches。 。。。more
Susan smith
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WOW sooooo comprehensive - it's basically an instructional book on drawing and watercolor painting - just about anything you'd want to know how to draw/paint in nature - so well done - thank you for this amazing reference book WOW sooooo comprehensive - it's basically an instructional book on drawing and watercolor painting - just about anything you'd want to know how to draw/paint in nature - so well done - thank you for this amazing reference book 。。。more
Robin
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Fantastic resource， well worth the price。
Kat
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This is such a helpful， comprehensive guide。 I feel that if I keep practicing， I’ll actually be able to achieve similar results to those shown here。 Definitely going to reference this book often！
loafingcactus
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I've seen so many reviews of this amazing book and I haven't seen anyone mention the two page preface， which is unfortunately。 Laws writes that he has dyslexia。 This disability has shaped his career choices and he notes that good disability engagement from his family， his high school and college instructors， and the access to a good student disability office all facilitated his success。 There's an unfortunate theme in our culture of disability being sidestepped that can be summarized as "I don't I've seen so many reviews of this amazing book and I haven't seen anyone mention the two page preface， which is unfortunately。 Laws writes that he has dyslexia。 This disability has shaped his career choices and he notes that good disability engagement from his family， his high school and college instructors， and the access to a good student disability office all facilitated his success。 There's an unfortunate theme in our culture of disability being sidestepped that can be summarized as "I don't see you as disabled" which also means that the accomplishments of disabled people are often hiding right in front of our noses， such as this book。The book is packed full。 Every page could be an entire essay or YouTube video or more， and often is over on the author's blog and YouTube channel。 This is how the reader knows that two pages on disability is really something to pay attention to and a message the author intended to share as much as how to proportion the legs on a bear。 The book is all about the tools needed to experience the world in the most engaged way possible。 In a 20 point list of how to think like Leonardo Da Vinci， one of the points is collaboration。 Collaboration is discussed in the book。 Sometimes it seems like the author is collaborating with nature itself， such as the example in the book "Little Poppy， This Is Your Life。"Most of the lessons in the book I have heard from others。 How to observe。 How to work with proportions。 But the way Laws puts everything together is unique， and this book is so special because it IS such a "book of everything。" Anyone working to develop better awareness be it through meditation and or through social action （human are animals too。。。 everything in this book can be applied to observing them）， a budding naturalist or a developing painter， this book is about a way of engaging that applies to every person。 。。。more
Becky
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Inspiring and informative。 What more could I need？
Leah Markum
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This book is in high demand at my library。 Art books in general get checked out a lot， especially bird and botanical arts books， especially Laws Guide to Nature Drawing and Journaling。 I haven't completed all the exercises yet， but I've done enough for an overall impression。Few art books encompass most nature subjects。 This one and many others have a lot of birds， sure。 There's a clique for nature people who are foremost bird people。 I don't specialize in birds， but I don't want to exclude them This book is in high demand at my library。 Art books in general get checked out a lot， especially bird and botanical arts books， especially Laws Guide to Nature Drawing and Journaling。 I haven't completed all the exercises yet， but I've done enough for an overall impression。Few art books encompass most nature subjects。 This one and many others have a lot of birds， sure。 There's a clique for nature people who are foremost bird people。 I don't specialize in birds， but I don't want to exclude them either。 This book， like many art books， also has a lot of flowers。 I'm a plant person， and after the bird people I've always felt like the next big nature people clique are the garden people。 I'm not a garden person， but wild plants flower too， and flowers are fun to draw and paint。 One section in this book includes landscape elements like water， rocks， and clouds， which are also often in many nature art books that don't specialize in birds and blooms。 But this book has more， and this is where it becomes unique。 It includes bears， lizards， frogs， ladybugs， caterpillars， spider webs， bark， leaves， and branches。 After all， journaling isn't about picking the stereotypical picturesque， it's cataloging everything。Other than nature subjects， Laws Guide also spans many mediums。 There is graphite， colored pencil， watercolor pencil， water-soluble pens， water color， and gouache used in various exercises。 Something I additionally appreciate is the use of the white colored pencil and the white gel pen for accents in the fur and feathers。I'm not keen on Laws's subject style， but considering this is a book on journaling and not a general art improvement book， I don't see a point in evaluating his style。 Journaling is meant to be simple and loose。 I do， however， like Laws's composition style。 For instance， a hawk will be on a branch with a rectangular offset backdrop instead of a full background， and then notes placed in the quadrant of the page that's diagonal from the backdrop。 It's artsy， but functional and not time consuming。 It also makes me think of the days of naturalist explorers， so it has an adventurous feel。I'm not ecstatic about this book in the way that I am about other five star art books。 This book is less about feeling empowered by it's beauty and excellent teaching style， but more about fulfilling an important niche and doing so effectively， so I'm excited all the same。 It's a 4。5。 。。。more
Jenny Preston
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I'm so inspired。 Im not sure I can actually accomplish such a beautiful nature journal but I feel equipped to give it a good try。 I'm so inspired。 Im not sure I can actually accomplish such a beautiful nature journal but I feel equipped to give it a good try。 。。。more
Kristin
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Absolutely inspirational and phenomenal resource on nature journaling。 Tons of examples， gorgeous illustrations， and， through it all， emphasis on thinking， noticing， questioning， making hypotheses， drawing conclusions。。。which leads to a greater awe of nature。 My 5 year old and I have started a weekly nature journal and we both love asking questions about our discoveries。 I am buying this today， if I can find it！
Jamie
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So comprehensive and the drawings are so beautiful。 I love just flipping through this book。
Shane
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Probably essential reading for whom it is essential reading， but might be of interest for those who might not think it of interest。
Raynell McClellan
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I love this book！ My kids have started keeping nature journals and I thought it would be cool for them to learn some drawing techniques。 So far they really like this book。
Annie Kate
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Laws is filled with wonder at the beauty of nature and encourages us to notice and give thanks。 Drawing is not to produce a pretty picture but to record， to be in awe， and to wonder。Although this author is not obviously a Christian， he reminds us of God's great gift to us in nature， the gift that shows us who he is， that answered Job's questions， that preaches without words to the whole world。 How can we ignore it so blithely？ This book will be part of our homeschool as we deliberately set out t Laws is filled with wonder at the beauty of nature and encourages us to notice and give thanks。 Drawing is not to produce a pretty picture but to record， to be in awe， and to wonder。Although this author is not obviously a Christian， he reminds us of God's great gift to us in nature， the gift that shows us who he is， that answered Job's questions， that preaches without words to the whole world。 How can we ignore it so blithely？ This book will be part of our homeschool as we deliberately set out to explore the other book of God， his amazing world。 。。。more
Toby
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This is an excellent guide for new and experienced artists。 It provides very good instruction on drawing specifically for nature drawing such that you could use this to get started making some excellent sketches/pictures when out and about。 One of the best， most comprehensive and most approachable drawing books I've seen。Of course if you want to draw anime or castles， this won't help much。 This is an excellent guide for new and experienced artists。 It provides very good instruction on drawing specifically for nature drawing such that you could use this to get started making some excellent sketches/pictures when out and about。 One of the best， most comprehensive and most approachable drawing books I've seen。Of course if you want to draw anime or castles， this won't help much。 。。。more
Alfred Baudisch
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This is probably the best drawing book out there。 I finished reading it， but at the same this is not really "finishing reading" and shelving it， it is a book to always have at hand when you are drawing。 This is probably the best drawing book out there。 I finished reading it， but at the same this is not really "finishing reading" and shelving it， it is a book to always have at hand when you are drawing。 。。。more
Anieta
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There are many books for nature journalists， but most are examples of what the authors have done。 Some learn by seeing another's work， but John Muir Laws goes much further。 He provides the how to: how to describe and "see" the weather， the animals， insects， birds。 And then he provides step-by-step instruction on how to draw the creatures and plants among us。 This book is worth far more than the price; it is a textbook that is fun and easy to read。 John Muir Laws says he is dyslexic; the notes co There are many books for nature journalists， but most are examples of what the authors have done。 Some learn by seeing another's work， but John Muir Laws goes much further。 He provides the how to: how to describe and "see" the weather， the animals， insects， birds。 And then he provides step-by-step instruction on how to draw the creatures and plants among us。 This book is worth far more than the price; it is a textbook that is fun and easy to read。 John Muir Laws says he is dyslexic; the notes copied into the book show that。 Perhaps that is part of what makes him such a great teacher！ And knowing he learned it encourages the reader to try。 Besides that the book is just plain fascinating， easy reading， with something new to learn on every page。 And it is written for colored pencil， water color， pencil， ink。。。。whichever medium the reader wishes to learn to use to track the world around them。 I am reading it for the second time。 。。。more
Ann
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A thick book covering all aspects of nature drawing and journaling from what to take along on your trek to how to capture nature in all of its forms。 Interestingly as a side note， this artist struggled with dyslexia and has met with great success in his field。
Heather
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Okay， I'll admit it - I haven't actually read every single page in this book yet - I wanted one more to round off my 2016 reading challenge。 I just got it for Christmas but I have already perused it multiple times， used it as reference， and look forward to integrating its excellently rich content and learning from it more into the future。 I am definitely a beginner nature journalist but I think it is fair to say the material could be beneficial to artists of all levels。 John Muir Laws is a great Okay， I'll admit it - I haven't actually read every single page in this book yet - I wanted one more to round off my 2016 reading challenge。 I just got it for Christmas but I have already perused it multiple times， used it as reference， and look forward to integrating its excellently rich content and learning from it more into the future。 I am definitely a beginner nature journalist but I think it is fair to say the material could be beneficial to artists of all levels。 John Muir Laws is a great teacher， explains a wide variety of techniques in an approachable way， and his art is amazing。 。。。more
James
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A necessity for any budding naturalist and good for children and their parents。 The curiosity kit is a fun concept。Every profession has its recommended methods of keeping records and while I've admired the journals of naturalists and ornithologists， I've never considered the underlying principles。 This book covers this in great detail， not just the how to draw， but also the what and why behind your records。 Even if you have no intention of keeping a journal， if you enjoy nature hikes， using the A necessity for any budding naturalist and good for children and their parents。 The curiosity kit is a fun concept。Every profession has its recommended methods of keeping records and while I've admired the journals of naturalists and ornithologists， I've never considered the underlying principles。 This book covers this in great detail， not just the how to draw， but also the what and why behind your records。 Even if you have no intention of keeping a journal， if you enjoy nature hikes， using the observational techniques and questions suggested in this book will add some insights to your strolls。The how to draw sections concentrate on vegetation and animals， mostly birds and flowers， with some landscape and larger animals thrown in。 Laws gives excellent advice on watercolors， pencils and pens， specifying specific brands， colors and tools， you'd be off to a good start with these suggestions and with the drawing instructions you can create some decent illustrations。 For those of us who live in coastal California， the plants， critters and landscapes are old friends， down to the more olive and browns that dominate our locale。While outside of my normal artistic endeavors， this book has enough useful info that I may buy it anyway， I would then add a star to this review。 。。。more
Betsy
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What a tremendous resource for those wanting to learn how to draw the things they see in nature！ This is not a "kid's book，" but is accessible to anyone with some drawing savvy and the desire to learn more， perhaps age 10 and up。 It's hefty， chock full of inspiration and instruction， and could serve equally well as a nature study how to and an art how to。 What a tremendous resource for those wanting to learn how to draw the things they see in nature！ This is not a "kid's book，" but is accessible to anyone with some drawing savvy and the desire to learn more， perhaps age 10 and up。 It's hefty， chock full of inspiration and instruction， and could serve equally well as a nature study how to and an art how to。 。。。more
Nancy Lewis
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Really beautiful illustrations。 I can only hope to use the suggested techniques to refine my current journaling abilities。
Tutankhamun18
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