Learn Botanical Illustration with Color from Artist Wendy Hollender

Natalia: Me perfecto, mi mucha auda para impesar dibujar

Mexico on Nov 28, 2023

C: I found it disappointingly basic for what I was hoping for, but it is OK for beginners. I didn't think much of the artwork either, I've seen far better botanical drawing with coloured pencil. However it was nice to find an American artist who favoured Faber-castell pencils instead of raving over the American brand Prismacolor (cheaper but very poor quality). I found the Ann Swan book far better for what I wanted.

United Kingdom on Jul 20, 2023

Marilí PersianiMarilí Persiani: Di tutti i libri per imparare il disegno botanico che ho acquistato questo è senz'altro il migliore. Contiene infatti molti esercizi step-by-step spiegati con estrema chiarezza. Molto soddisfatta.

Italy on May 26, 2023

José F.: Livro que nos ajuda a perceber melhor o papel do ilustrador botânico. Técnicas, cuidados a ter e formas de representar.

Spain on Apr 30, 2023

Amazon Customer: Botanical Drawing in Color by Wendy Hollender, is well written, informative and has lovely illustrations on how to create naturalistic and realistic drawings.

United States on Sep 16, 2022

Waldblume: Dieses Buch zeigt Wege auf, wie wir, Geduld und Übung vorausgesetzt, botanische Porträts in Farbe malen können.

Die Autorin arbeitet mit einem Set von 20 Faber-Castell-Polychromos-Farben. Es ist also von Vorteil, diese 20 Farben (oder ähnliche) zu haben, wenn man den Anleitungen folgen möchte, insbesondere für Kapitel 7, wenn es um die Farbtheorie-Übungen geht. Mir gefällt diese bewusste Reduzierung, komme ich doch selbst mit meinem großen Buntstift-Kasten schnell durcheinander.

Für Anfänger sind die Beispiele meiner Meinung nach zu fortschrittlich, für Fortgeschrittene wiederum enthält das Buch zu viele Basics und schwarz-weiß-Zeichnungen für Schatten, Tonwerte, Formen. Erst mit besagtem Kapitel 7 geht es dann wirklich um die Arbeit mit den Buntstiften (Seite 64!). Das hat mir persönlich nicht so zugesagt, denn es gibt viele Zeichnen-Bücher, aber wenige, die sich auf Buntstifte konzentrieren. Hier hätten mir persönlich eine andere Schwerpunktsetzung und noch mehr farbige Beispiele besser gefallen. Dafür gebe ich aber keinen Punktabzu, denn wenn man noch kein anderes Zeichnen-Buch hat, ist es natürlich von Vorteil.

Englisch-Kenntnisse...

Germany on Apr 08, 2020

R: Wendy Hollender does beautiful work, and she is also a wonderful teacher. I love how she really starts with the basics, and gives great advice to beginners. This book really makes botanical illustration accessible, and does a great job of explaining her process. Sometimes books by experts can seem preachy. She manages to write about her process and technique without coming off that way. I have learned so much by reading this work and working through some of the exercises. I have departed from her techniques somewhat, but still find this book extremely useful. I'm sure I will refer to it over and over.

United States on Jun 03, 2019

C. Meyer: I purchased two books on Botanical art (the other was Ann Swan's Botanical Portraits with Colored Pencils) and I must say that, while both books are excellent, Wendy Hollender's book really hit the mark for me. I especially like that Botanical Drawing in Color is just what it says it is - only more! If you are interested in developing your skills in this medium, you need look no further. Wendy gives you clues and secrets she has obviously learned over her lifetime...she is a valuable resource. This book is a full course that will develop your talent and deepen your interest in this beautiful and creative work. I am working (slowly, as Wendy says) and not skipping anything! The financial investment is minimal; some colored pencils some watercolor paper (the best 100% cotton, of course) and a place to work and you're good to go! Well, it's a little more than that, but you couldn't have a better workbook than Wendy Hollender's book. If you want to learn this art, buy this book. Look her up at her website, [...],
where she also sells some of the tools of the trade.

United States on Jun 26, 2014

John Morgan: Wendy Hollender has a unique and somewhat old-fashioned approach to colored pencil. Unlike most authors, she does not favor using a zillion colors or equally many layers. This is a good thing. The emphasis on so many layers/colors is both off-putting and not terribly helpful. Most readers of colored pencil books do not have the weeks or months of time that some artists take to complete a piece. There are other books that stress that 95% of all effects can be achieved in 3 layers or fewer, and I believe it. Perhaps the best advice on the books is her 20 pencil palette. All of the images in the book can be produced with only 20 polychromos pencils. I believe this is the only colored pencil book on the market that makes use of only 20 pencils. For a semi-beginner like myself, restricting attention to 20 pencils is the best advice I got. Instead of pursuing just the right color, I learned how to blend and layer my limited palette in myriad creative ways. Moreover, as a commenter notes below, her advice is a bit ahead of the game. While Prismacolor pencils have long dominated the market, offering rich, creamy feel at lower price, their decision to outsource production to Mexico has...

United States on Sep 04, 2013

Ginny Mapes: As an artist, I always encourage my students to look at the real object, if possible-- be it a flower, leaf, plant, bird, or animal. I do want them to use their "artistic eye" and really study what they are seeing. This gives them a scientifically accurate frame of reference on which to base their drawings. Author, illustrator Wendy Hollender does the same thing in her book, Botanical Drawing in Color: A Basic Guide to Mastering Realistic Form and Naturalistic Color. She is the coordinator of botanical art and illustration at the New York Botanical Garden, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and the National Tropical Botanical Garden. In her book, she gives readers step-by-step instructions. Each lesson increases in complexity to build your skills. She describes form first, color second. She wants the reader to feel comfortable with the use of color before she introduces color theory. She wants the reader to feel comfortable with the process of drawing before she introduces perspective. She has many lessons marked with a green art nouveau style leaf. The lesson will require you to do something other than just reading the text. Each lesson is like an exercise to warm the reader/artist up....

United States on Nov 24, 2011