Reddit mentions: The best children drawing books

Of course! Let's see...

So, this is a weird one, but if you have the room/if you're outdoors, this is the funnest thing in the world to play with! Get one can for each of them and then let them spray it aaaaaall over a nice clear surface. Encourage them to make it all fluffy and then draw their favorite things with their fingers in the foam. You'll be the coolest aunt ever, guaranteed. It worked like a charm when I babysat.

You can't go wrong with Pokeballs, and these ones are soft, so they're great for games of catch with lil' kiddos. Pseaking of Pokemon, this is a nice little pack of stickers and pencils, just silly little favors you can add in both baskets. There's also a really cheap and cute book on how to draw Pokemon that could be fun to do together!

These Dinosaur eggs grow into real dino action figures, which is always fun to watch! I used to LOVE these as a kid. And frankly, these are hysterical and sure to be fun. Finally, here's a dino book that RAWRS!

Great questions! (from both you and your kiddo!). I came across this article - http://www.washington.edu/news/2013/01/08/the-philosophical-child-a-book-for-when-your-child-asks-why-are-we-here/ - which recommends a book for parents, but that doesn't sound like exactly what you're looking for.

In terms of philosophical picture books, the closest thing I can think of would be I Wonder by Annaka Harris. You might also check out the Zen Shorts series, though I don't think any of them really address "nature of reality" type questions directly. Also, while not exactly a picture book, the book Is Nothing Something? might give you some good starting points for discussion. Big Questions for Little People is similar but aimed at slightly older kids. You're Here For A Reason could also be relevant, although maybe not philosophical in quite the way you're looking for.

You could also take "How am I alive?" in a more scientific direction - you might enjoy You Are Stardust and Older Than the Stars, or a simple introduction to evolution such as Our Family Tree. You could also explore simple books about the human body and discuss how her heart, lungs, brain, etc allow her to walk and talk and stay alive - something like See Inside Your Body or Outside-In - or even go into a bit more detail about how she got "in mom's tummy" with a book like Who Am I? Where Did I Come From? or Before You Were Born - or talk about past generations (i.e. mom came from HER mom's tummy!) with a book like Me and My Family Tree

Hope some of that is helpful - of course this is a discussion you can continue as she gets older, and there are lots of great books for older kids that more directly tackle different beliefs and ideas about why we are here.

Try different types of paper, I love how Nicolas Marlet draws on darker backgrounds. Play with more white and different white colored pencils, for those highlights (instead of relying on the white of the paper) white pencils
You can get blending sticks with different thickness, for blending small or larger areas. blending
There are artist gloves, I like to use these because I’m lazy and don’t like to pick up my hand off the paper, and I don’t like my art smudging where I want those sharp crisp edges.
Blacks, blacks, blacks, I love blacks, use different ranges. Go darker, go lighter.
Search for how to protect your drawings, you can spray fixative on them.
This piece looks like you have skill. Don’t sell yourself short as an artist, have confidence. Not everyone has the same taste, if someone doesn’t like something just listen to learn, respect their time to give you a critique. Number one rule - don’t take any bad critiques personally, everyone is different you don't need to change if that is your thing and you like it. Pick up Quentin Blake’s Drawing for the Artistically Undiscovered book. He has such a joy for art and the pencils are great. My favorite part is his On Misteakes section. He writes, “We don’t believe in them. You’ll note, in fact, that the erasers have all been painstakingly removed from our pencils. We did this ourselves, by hand, at our eraser-removal plant because you won’t (can’t) make any mistakes in drawing with these particular pencils. This is not to say you won’t get some drawings that succeed more than others. That’s our next point.” book

Hello! It seems like a lot of people love Charmander, and that includes me! :D I mean, who wouldn't love this adorable guy? My next favorite is Eevee and followed by Cyndaquil! :D

I remember watching the episode where Ash meets Charmander and crying! It was so sad but heartwarming :3 They have it on Amazon with two other episodes :D It's a little pricey for just 3 episodes though ): I just found this... kyaaaa it's in an egg! I had a book like this as a kid. My younger brother and I would spend hours trying to draw our favorite pokemon.

I would REALLY love a postcard because I love love these pokemon and this contest is awesome!! <3 Gotta catch em all!

This! Drawing with the Right Side is a fantastic book and will really let you develop a method and the technique to accurately draw things. I wholeheartedly recommend this book, but there's something I recommend even more: drawing. Just draw a ton and draw some more, draw whatever you want. It doesn't need to be great. If this sounds hard to you, try Quentin Blake's book. It's really great for just getting out there and drawing.

Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain is a fantastic book if you want to draw a picture of the mug on your desk or your mother or something, which is a hard skill to learn, but isn't everything that drawing is. I really recommend also getting Quentin Blake's book and pushing yourself and your boundaries with it. It focuses on making you feel like it's OK to mess up, to try new things, and forces you to create.

An idea that came to mind: one of those giant fuzzy trippy posters, but beware that they come with really shitty markers. You'll need to get a nice set of crayons or markers or watercolors or something so that she can really do something cool with that. Of course, that only applies if she likes art.

In a similar vein if she likes to draw, there's an awesome series of coloring books that started with one called Scribbles that you might want to take a look at.

Checking out a good bookstore and just poking around might be a good idea. Also, thrift stores that aren't giant chains will often have amazing finds if you can think creatively.

I'll second James Gurney's books, his blog and his "In the Wild" video series.

I really like the Complete Guide to Drawing Animals by Gottfried Bammes. It brought together a lot of concepts about anatomy in art that I hadn't really fully understood until I read it. Similarly, I think Sarah Simblet's Botany for the Artist has beautiful and inspiring art.

I'm a big old paleontology nerd, so I have a lot of books on my shelves with fantastic paleoart: Dinosaur Art, edited by Steve White, is a great showcase of modern paleoartists, and Feathered Dinosaurs is full of gorgeous paintings by Peter Schouten. For drawings of dinosaurs of the non-extinct variety, I'm fond of Katrina van Grouw's The Unfeathered Bird.

And I just got a copy of Shaun Tan's The Bird King and, oh man, I really love it. His imagination is incredible. Highly recommended for when you're in a creative rut.

I am already looking on Amazon :)

Some ideas for OP:

http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Let-Pigeon-Drive-Bus/dp/078681988X/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1419580113&sr=1-4&keywords=pigeon

Plus - the boardgame that about the pigeon driving the bus. So cute, and great for social skills.

For your 7 year old: http://www.amazon.com/Book-No-Pictures-B-J-Novak/dp/0803741715/ref=lp_10238950011_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1419580437&sr=1-1

It is meant to read out loud - hilarious!!

These are awesome: http://www.amazon.com/Fiskars-Gel-Pen-48-Piece-Value/dp/B000S161FO/ref=sr_1_1?s=arts-crafts&ie=UTF8&qid=1419580561&sr=1-1&keywords=gel+pens

And should go with this for the 7 year old:

http://www.amazon.com/Boys-Doodle-Book-Pictures-Complete/dp/0762435062/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1419580657&sr=8-14&keywords=doodle

And if you have some tolerance for crafting :) this: http://www.amazon.com/Klutz-Spiral-Draw/dp/B00BEKOAYW/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1419580776&sr=8-9&keywords=spiral+art

Does your little one need jammies? http://www.amazon.com/Leveret-Stars-Piece-Pajama-Cotton/dp/B00P1NL1JU/ref=sr_1_9?s=apparel&ie=UTF8&qid=1419580939&sr=1-9&keywords=pajamas

What about a backpack? This might work for the 7 year old: http://www.amazon.com/Everest-Backpack-Front-Pockets-Orange/dp/B00DQMWN6S/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1419580816&sr=8-5&keywords=kid+backpack

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1. When you wish upon a star (makes no difference who you are, anything your heart desires will come to youuuuuuu)
   
   
2. Disney movie: Frozen. Pixar movie: It's a tie between Finding Nemo and Wall-E. I love Wall-E because it reminds me of when I used to work at Magic Kingdom on main street because the music in that movie is played in Magic Kingdom. Finding Nemo because it's what got me wondering how they made movies. Now because of that movie I have a degree in film making and I'm starting to learn how to draw so I can look into getting an animation degree in the future. And Frozen because, well, Let It Go. lol
   
   
3. ^ From above...Let It Go. I used to work at the Disney store (yup, I got the illness when I got back from my college program and applied at my local Disney store) and they played that song OVER AND OVER along with the rest of the soundtrack and I NEVER got tired of Let It Go. I DID however get tired of the rest of the soundtrack lol
   
   
4. Relevant (there is a "new condition" one a bit down the page it's just a little over $5 with shipping =]
   
   BTW Brother Bear is such an underrated movie. I LOVE Phil Collins (grew up on Genesis) so I pretty much like every song he sung in, which includes Tarzan too.

Because I'm Happy!

This place has become so very special to me. I started out thinking it was a neat concept and hey it's cool to gift and be gifted- who doesn't like that? This place is so so much more. I come here every day since I joined. I wake up and look forward to interacting with everyone here. Some days I'm able to brighten someone else's day with a few kind words or a surprise gift. Some days it's me who needs those kind words and I always find them here.

The internet can be a scary ugly place. Being anonymous on the web turns many into nasty, hurtful humans. For someone with social anxiety like myself that can make it very hard to reach out for the friendship and support every person needs. This place is my safe place and I think it is for many others as well.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0794431550/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=26LEL7B87M80H&coliid=I2CTNAT8XGMKTU

Link- or surprise me I love surprises!

Get him the anti coloring book. I don't know about this new edition but I had the original back when it first came out (I think?) and it was honestly my most treasured thing as a kid. I took it with me everywhere. I still think about it and am grateful that I grew up learning how to be creative rather than just a photostat.

Ahahah I THINK SHE HAS IT!! At her baby shower we had all of the guests bring a book. :) I love Taro Gomi-- I bought my boyfriend's girlchild [she is six] some of his coloring books one holiday or another. THEY ARE AWESOME.

I went from about 80 items to 44!! I was kinda proud, really, because all of the ones I deleted were these trendy nonsense polishes I'd never wear. Now it is mostly creams I can use for nail uhrtsz. <3 <3

AND YAY TUMBLRPALS. I mostly post nonsense but Im trying not to reblog so much as post OC.. >W< <3

AW MAN IT IS A BEAUTIFUL DAY HERE TOO. Going to be nice today and tomorrow, and crummy wednesday-- which is a bit lame cuz Boyfriend and I have plans to go into the city. BUT! thats ok. I told him the weather and he said he'd buy an umbrella which is extra nice of him. UNDETERRED BY INCLEMENT WEATHER TO HANG OUT WITH ME [IN PUBLIC, NO LESS].

I really love coloring in The Anti-Coloring books. Basically, instead of having pages to color, it gives you prompts to create your own pictures. It's really fun to have kids and adults play with it. I love my inner child!

Hope you enjoy it -- thank you! To try an illustration for free you can sign up for our mailing list if you like. The book can be purchased on Amazon.com -- it's currently on sale. 😉🌵

The Drawing Website has a series on how to draw where they break down 3-4 different artists style for head, torso, arms, etc. Bruce Timm is among them.

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Also this book is pretty good: How to Draw Batman, Superman, and other DC super heroes and villains

I have this book which is really good, and this one which is also good.

Quentin Blake also has this website I just discovered which gives tips on how he draws.

Hope this helps and keep posting, I like your stuff.

Edit sorry that first link isn’t working by the looks. It’s Illustrating Children's Books: Creating Pictures for Publication by Martin Salisbury.

If anyone is interested in more free coloring pages:

cactus

aloes

random succulents

more cactus

more random succulents

There are a couple books on Amazon like this:
Succulent Serenity: A Coloring Book

And, if anyone was wondering why I'm posting coloring pages of plants, well, I have to keep myself busy doing something while my plants are dormant.

My kiddo loves to draw anime comics. You can purchase blank comic books and drawing instructions on Amazon

Drawing Chibi Supercute Characters Easy for Beginners & Kids (Manga / Anime): Learn How to Draw Cute Chibis in Animal Onesies with their Kawaii Pets (Drawing for Kids) (Volume 19)

Blank Comic book: Variety of Templates, 2-9 panel layouts, draw your own Comics

I love that drawing style though. One of my high school teacher had a drawing book by Quentin blake and it was the best thing. (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Drawing-Artistically-Undiscovered-Klutz-Quentin/dp/1570543208)

I dont want to ruin it for myself.

Interesting! Thanks for the reply :) One of my favourite books for starting out with drawing is 'Drawing for the artistically undiscovered' which is also aimed at children (age 7-9) - so I'm certainly not against children's books!

Get a real life, NERD!!!

Been trying to learn to draw more effectively, this would be amazing :)

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Below is a great book by Thich Nhat Hanh that I have read multiple times with my daughter that may be helpful to you and your son.

Is Nothing Something?: Kids' Questions and Zen Answers About Life, Death, Family, Friendship, and Everything in Betweenhttps://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1937006654/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

How to draw animals!

Thanks for the contest! Have fun and say hi to the monkeys for me! :P Get your zoo on gurl !

They're great! And I can see the resemblance in the OP. This is the book, if you're interested: https://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Artistically-Undiscovered-John-Cassidy/dp/1570543208

http://www.amazon.ca/Scribbles-Really-Giant-Drawing-Coloring/dp/0811855090

I use this one! It's playful and kooky and as much work as you want it to be :)

Fellow Disney book-nerd here! Here are a bunch of my favorites. Hope this helps!

The Art of Animation

The Illusion of Life by Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas

Walt Disney Imagineering by The Imagineers

The Disney That Never Was

Paper Dreams: The Art And Artists Of Disney Storyboards

Before the Animation Begins: The Art & Lives of Disney Inspirational Sketch Artists

The Fairest One of All: The Making of Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Tale as Old as Time: The Art and Making of Beauty and the Beast

Lilo & Stitch: Collected Stories From the Film's Creators

Magic Color Flair: The World of Mary Blair

Lovely: Ladies of Animation

Coming soon:

Marc Davis: Walt Disney’s Renaissance Man

The Nine Old Men by Andreas Deja

Disney During World War II: How the Walt Disney Studio Contributed to Victory in the War

This reminds me of an amazing graphical book Zoom and its sequel Rezoom:
http://www.amazon.com/Zoom-Picture-Puffins-Istvan-Banyai/dp/0140557741
http://www.amazon.com/Re-Zoom-Istvan-Banyai/dp/014055694X/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_y
Very worth their price.

To save you all time, here are some quick links to the books!

• The newest book: Magical Creatures (get hyped for the new movie)
  
• The original: Harry Potter coloring book
  
• Coming soon: Magical Places (can be pre-ordered)

This is awesome.

You may want to look into the 642 Things to Write About series. I've pasted a link to the original book as well as a couple that are advertised as being for young writers:

https://www.amazon.com/Things-Write-Francisco-Writers-Grotto/dp/1452105448/

https://www.amazon.com/642-Things-Write-About-Writers/dp/1452127840/

https://www.amazon.com/642-Big-Things-Write-About/dp/1452154759/

Yeah, it really sucks 'cause he died as he and Julian(his first son) were starting to get close. But John really loved Sean, when he was alive. He drew for him, recorded with him (Warning: feels ahead), helped him sing Beatles songs, and wrote a song for him.

For closet coloring book lovers: Scribbles by Taro Gomi.

Solved! Sorry, found it by searching through other cases. For those curious, it's the Ed Emberley books

Pokemon Trainer. My daughter is a pokemon fan. I have a "How to draw pokemon book" on one of my wishlists for her. Do you draw? Could you provide sketches of your potential costumes?

Easter baskets!!!!!! I say dinosaur all the wayyy.

1. (For 2 year old)
   
2. (For 2 year old) I see a budding archaeologist in your future!
   
3. [(For 6 year old)] (https://www.amazon.com/Assortment-Pokemon-Sweets-Candies-Noodles/dp/B01J9GX8MW/ref=sr_1_7_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1491840396&sr=8-7&keywords=pokemon+candy)
   
4. (For 6 year old)

This one, released November of this year:
http://www.amazon.com/Harry-Potter-Coloring-Book-Scholastic/dp/1338029991

Pencil sharpener. http://www.amazon.com/Alvin-DUX-Glass-Inkwell-Sharpener/dp/B001BYRKCK


Coloring book. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1338029991/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1452461689&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=harry+potter+coloring+book&dpPl=1&dpID=614QVpS6zaL&ref=plSrch

i have this book. It's called "Zoom" and there is another called "Re-Zoom"
http://www.amazon.com/Zoom-Viking-Kestrel-picture-books/dp/0670858048

http://www.amazon.com/Re-Zoom-Istvan-Banyai/dp/014055694X

Leave it to the Catholics to destroy existence. <-- That would be Dogma!!

I have been eyeing up [this] (https://smile.amazon.com/dp/0439434408/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=14ZNZQWA660NB&coliid=I2EGCFO1HBS4Y7) since u/neongreenpurple sent me a drawing of bellsprout, and then when I tried drawing a few pokemon for a contest the other day =D

Link for lazy