Birds (Drawing in Color)
Hammond, who runs a successful school of illustration in Kansas,  has been a prolific writer for North Light books since 1994.  This brief volume wisely confines itself to work only in colored  pencil. The author breaks down the subtle shapes of different  bird species into an assembly of easily rendered forms and  explores five elements of shading for creating depth and  realism. The details of beaks, feathers, and so forth are  demonstrated before the student attempts portrayals of kestrels,  parrots, ducks, and finches. Hammond ably packs the teaching of  a much larger volume into a mere 80 pages. This is an excellent  companion to Bart Rulon's exhaustive Artist's Photo Reference:  Birds (LJ 3/15/99).Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.