Make Drawing Fun – Drawing Books for Kids

One of the things I love to do the most is pull out my sketchbook and doodle and draw. I don’t worry (too much) about whether my drawings are amazing; I just draw and enjoy the process. I suppose this is something I learned from my mom who is a prolific artist and has many sketchbook journals filled to the brim with wonderful drawings. A great afternoon for us includes finding a place to sit and sip coffee while we pull out our sketchbooks and draw.

This drawing practice is something we do with the nieces and nephew as well. Every time we visit my parent’s house, at some point the coloring pages and pencils and crayons (etc.) are pulled out. As I’ve mentioned before, the girls have announced to us that they are going to be artists when they grow up. That being said, sometimes the early love of drawing and sketching get thwarted when a child realizes they can’t make things look like they want them to be.

Sometimes they get frustrated because they want to make a cat and struggle to make anything that resembles a kitty. My mom is a former elementary teacher and is great at breaking down the steps to make things. I personally love these books because I’ve learned so much myself! So whether you have kids or are an adult who would like to learn some simple techniques in drawing, these books are for you.

Two of the best drawing books for kids:

Illustration School: Let’s Draw Cute Animals—I love, love, love this artist. She breaks down the steps to draw many kinds of animals. I have personally benefited from practicing from this book. I also really like her books on drawing people and plants. This is the book we pull out when we have company. My husband draws pictures for the little kids and the big kids practice drawing their favorite animals.

Ed Emberley’s Drawing Book of Animals—This is such a fun and whimsical way to learn how to draw. I love how Ed Emberley’s style is so doable for children. And I’ll admit it, I love using this book too because it is just so fun! This book has created many hours of fun in my family.

My three favorite books for creative inspiration:

I just recently discovered these books in an art supply store and immediately fell in love. The first two are by my favorite illustrators–I love that they created these resources!

Avian Friends Guided Activity Journal—Geninne is an incredible artist. (Check out her Instagram to see what I mean!) In this journal, she includes simple exercises to practice drawing alongside her beautiful watercolor birds. I love that many of her bird drawings are simple line drawings so you can color them in. These would make lovely gifts if you tore out the page and framed it.

eeBoo Art Book 2 – Drawing with Melissa Sweet—I love Melissa Sweet’s style and this book is so fun. She takes you through simple drawing techniques like shading and perspective but mostly, the pages are a place to sketch and experiment. This book would be a fun present for a budding artist.

Secret Garden: An Inky Treasure Hunt and Coloring Book—I’m sure many of you have heard of this book, but if you haven’t, it is basically a coloring book for grownups. 🙂 It is filled with beautiful line work with hidden images that pop out as you color them. Here is another book whose pages could be carefully torn out, colored, and framed as gifts. So lovely!

And my favorite drawing resource(s) of all time?!

These books are all fun and interesting, but you might already have a bookshelf filled with wonderful resources at home. If anything, you have a local library that does! What do I mean? Well, my absolute favorite drawing resource happens to be children’s books. As I read to my daughter, I notice how different artists express themselves in a myriad of ways. And in the evenings, I pull out those books and practice copying them to see how they do what they do.

After all, the great artists of ages past (and in our time too) all practiced their skills by sketching and painting from the masterpieces. I love discovering great illustrators in children’s books that have interesting and innovative techniques and have learned so much by simply looking at their drawings and sketching them into my own sketchbook. I highly recommend trying this. So there you go—five books to help you and your kids to learn to draw, color, and create, and many, many more books full of inspiration on your own bookshelves.

What are your favorite drawing books for kids or adults? 

Have a lovely {and creative} day!