DOODLED DOGS and DOODLED CATS BOOK REVIEW - Calling All Animal Lovers!

Doodled Dogs & Doodled Cats

Doodled Dogs & Doodled Cats are two compact, hardcover books that contain fun animal facts and doodling prompts for dog and cat lovers everywhere. Authored by pet enthusiast, Gemma Correll, each book is virtually identical to one another, the only difference being one for dogs and another for cat. These small books, will likely be fun for beginners or the avid animal loving doodler, looking to create cute, animal centered pieces of art.

These 160 page books organized in 4 parts, introduce readers to the words of animals, through pages like “20 Signs you’re a [Dog or Cat] person” and “[Dog or Cat]-toids” and then into various drawing exercises! Later on in the book, readers can play around with templates of animals and can even use all of the exercises into a cat or dog mug. Doodles are present everywhere in the book, not just for the dogs and cats as even author Gemma Correll’s picture in the beginning of the book is in the same doodle style. Doodles give the books an inviting feeling, one that will not overwhelm those who may not be as artistically inclined.

Note: This writer is a dog person but likes cats as well. She has has always been an avid doodler, doodling in the margins of notebooks and in sketchbooks. However, her doodles don’t usually consist of dogs or cats.

Tools

Unlike other art how to books, Doodled Dogs & Doodled Cats won’t require a trip to a local art supply store as readers will likely have the instruments at home already. The book doesn’t require a lot of materials, the book specifies as such. The book does suggest tools like: fineliner pens, brush pens and colored pencils along with the standard pencil but does say that readers can draw with anything they’d like.

Towards the end of the books, for the larger project of making either a doodled dog or cat mug, that project requires more tools like a white ceramic mug but one that shouldn’t break the bank. For those who are looking for a cost-effective art project or prompts, these dog and cat doodle books may be of interest.

Doodling Exercises

In both books, parts 2-4 take us into the real action of the books: doodling! The exercises are fairly simple and won’t take readers hours to complete. Walking readers through how to create cute animals by step by step examples and instruction, with red lines signaliging the next steps, doodles can be created in just 9 steps or fewer. There are a large selection of breeds that readers can chose to doodle, some dog breeds range from a “funny french bulldog”, “dapper dachshund” and “bitchin’ bichon frise”. Some cat breeds to doodle range from “cozy curled-up kitty”, “kitty sitting pretty” and “perky fluffy persian”.

Other doodle exercises include drawing dogs and cats in hats. For any animal lover who finds animals wearing hats adorable, this exercise is sure to be a fun activity. By providing the dog and cat heads in the book already, readers can go wild with whatever headpiece they want to draw! Who wouldn’t want to draw party and cowboy hats on dogs and cats?!

Part 4 brings all these drawing prompts and concepts together. The 10 pages of blank models are just waiting to be doodled on! Readers can use the prompts from previous parts and doodle on these blank models but readers can also go crazy creating whatever comes to mind. One sentiment expressed throughout both books is that each reader has their own style and these books are just guides, to help readers find their own style. Readers should draw whatever comes to mind and let their imagination take them.

Gemma Correll

Author, illustrator, writer and cartoonist Gemma Correll’s work has been featured on publications like Amazon, Hallmark and The New York Times, just to name a few. Originally from the UK and now based in California, Correll specializes in hand-drawn comics, characters and illustrations, just to name a few of her specialities. She brings the same style that she is known from her cartoons and other works into Doodled Dogs and Doodled Cats. Having written animals centered books like “A Pug’s Guide to Etiquette”, and as a self proclaimed pug lover and all around animal enthusiasts, readers are sure to get a education in dogs and cats of all breeds!

Amassing a large social media following on her social media’s, for a better sense of Correll’s quirky (and cute!) work, readers can find her on social media at @gemmacorrell on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Recommend?

Overall, these books are great guides to designing dogs and cats. Whether or not you’re a dog person or a cat person, these are books that anyone can understand and have fun with! The books themselves are compact, so they can be easily carried on the go and won’t take hours to complete. Readers can take out pencils or pens to complete all the exercises in the book in the author’s fun and quirky style. There’s even a bonus project for those who really want to take their style to the next step, in the form of a cat or dog doddled mug.