Review - Kawaii Kitties by Olive Yong
There are many books, courses and even websites dedicated to Kawaii art. Let's take a look at one of my favorite books, Kawaii Kitties by Olive Yong.
They say that the cat is the most popular pet and in this book Yong shows you how to draw and color seventy-five Kawaii cats. She begins with a small introduction to Kawaii art, including it's history and it's characteristic style. Next, she discusses both traditional and digital tools for creating your own Kawaii cats.
Before it's time to draw the kitties, following Yong's step-by-step instructions, she discusses body types and how she divides the cat's body in to shapes, from the head and ears to the body, legs and tail shapes.
Yong next covers how to draw Kawaii faces, concentrating on where to place the features on the face. She discusses her facial expression directory, containing several of her favorite Kawaii expressions.
Now it's time to talk about color. Yong discusses the popular color palettes for Kawaii art. A Kawaii cat image can be just a drawing without any color fill but usually Kawaii animals have certain common color markings. Yong gives several head and body marking combinations.
Finally, it's time to practice what you have learned, as you work your way step-by-step through the 75 kitties. Yong has divided the Kawaiis into sections based on different activities.
Playtime is the first section, with 10 cats in their favorite poses. For example, one cat is playing with a big ball, another is in the familiar pounce position and another is lying on his back while playing with a toy fish.
In the Daily Activities section, there are 18 Kawaii cats. There is a cat playing in a box and a cat eating. Another cat is sleeping on a pillow and one is proudly standing next to a dead mouse.
The Being Curious section has 7 curious Kawaii cats. One cat is playing inside a fishbowl, another is checking out a book and a third is playing in a paper bag.
Playing Dress-up is a fun section containing 13 Kawaii cats dressed in various costumes. One cat is wearing bunny ears and another is wearing angle wings. A third cat is a mermaid and we also have a Santa cat.
In the Sharing The Love section there are 7 lovable cats. Two are hugging and another pair is holding a candy heart.
In the Discovering Breeds section, we have 11 Kawaii cats but with added details that are characteristic to certain breads. The Sphinx cat has the larger than normal ears. The Japanese Bobtail has the characteristic short tail. The Siamese cat has the well known dark face coloring.
Bon Appetit is another fun section containing 10 Kawaii cats morphed in to some favorite foods. One cat has become a macaron and another is a cupcake. A third cat is a cappuccino and another is an ice cream cone.
Olive Yong is a comic and illustration artist living in Malaysia. Among her favorites are webcomics, Kawaii art and animating her Kawaiis. You can find her on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/bichi.mao.
They say that the cat is the most popular pet and in this book Yong shows you how to draw and color seventy-five Kawaii cats. She begins with a small introduction to Kawaii art, including it's history and it's characteristic style. Next, she discusses both traditional and digital tools for creating your own Kawaii cats.
Before it's time to draw the kitties, following Yong's step-by-step instructions, she discusses body types and how she divides the cat's body in to shapes, from the head and ears to the body, legs and tail shapes.
Yong next covers how to draw Kawaii faces, concentrating on where to place the features on the face. She discusses her facial expression directory, containing several of her favorite Kawaii expressions.
Now it's time to talk about color. Yong discusses the popular color palettes for Kawaii art. A Kawaii cat image can be just a drawing without any color fill but usually Kawaii animals have certain common color markings. Yong gives several head and body marking combinations.
Finally, it's time to practice what you have learned, as you work your way step-by-step through the 75 kitties. Yong has divided the Kawaiis into sections based on different activities.
Playtime is the first section, with 10 cats in their favorite poses. For example, one cat is playing with a big ball, another is in the familiar pounce position and another is lying on his back while playing with a toy fish.
In the Daily Activities section, there are 18 Kawaii cats. There is a cat playing in a box and a cat eating. Another cat is sleeping on a pillow and one is proudly standing next to a dead mouse.
The Being Curious section has 7 curious Kawaii cats. One cat is playing inside a fishbowl, another is checking out a book and a third is playing in a paper bag.
Playing Dress-up is a fun section containing 13 Kawaii cats dressed in various costumes. One cat is wearing bunny ears and another is wearing angle wings. A third cat is a mermaid and we also have a Santa cat.
In the Sharing The Love section there are 7 lovable cats. Two are hugging and another pair is holding a candy heart.
In the Discovering Breeds section, we have 11 Kawaii cats but with added details that are characteristic to certain breads. The Sphinx cat has the larger than normal ears. The Japanese Bobtail has the characteristic short tail. The Siamese cat has the well known dark face coloring.
Bon Appetit is another fun section containing 10 Kawaii cats morphed in to some favorite foods. One cat has become a macaron and another is a cupcake. A third cat is a cappuccino and another is an ice cream cone.
Olive Yong is a comic and illustration artist living in Malaysia. Among her favorites are webcomics, Kawaii art and animating her Kawaiis. You can find her on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/bichi.mao.
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