The Art of Animal Character Design
If you're a fan of animation, of design, or of beautiful art in general, then listen up, because this book is for you.  There are a million books out there, collecting and presenting the art of a million flavors.  If you're like me, you've taken countless art books off the shelf, opened them up, and found disappointment that the interior artwork is no match for the beautiful cover that lured you in the first place.  Or the artist loudly publicized on the cover turns out to have only a small portion of the book dedicated to his or her work.  Or the book turned out to be a seemingly random mishmash of images, devoid of any instructional or explanatory text.     But every once in a while, you find a book that you crack open, and within the first couple pages you know without a doubt that you'll be bringing that book home with you.  For me, David Colman's The Art of Animal Character Design was one of those rare books.  Unlike the disappointment I've so often found in other books, here is a book jam-packed with beautiful designs, sparkling with character and personality.  Here is a book focused on a single strong artist flexing his artistic muscles in a variety of design styles.  And best of all, here is a book that isn't afraid to not only present these incredible drawings to us, but to actually take the time to teach us the "why" and the "how" of what he's doing.     David clearly likes to draw, and he clearly likes to teach, and if you can bring this book home and spend some time with it, you'll find that he's clearly terrific at both. --Shanw Kelly- co founder of AnimationMentor.comTHE ART OF ANIMAL CHARACTER DESIGN  By David Colman.  Recommended. Signed!  From a top character designer who's worked for Sony, Cartoon Network and Disney, this is a lively and appealing collection of drawings and sketches of animal characters. David also explains how to design characters using observation, design mechanics and your own imagination.    Much more than a sketchbook, this is a thorough how-to guide to the art of animal drawing. His technical versatility ranges from the hyper-realistic to the purely fanciful. His expressive and engaging characters remind us of Claire Wendling's work. Handsome oblong format. Signed by the artist.  David's Doodles, 2007 --Bud Plant Book Catalog