Yzabel / June 29, 2020

Mini Chibi Art Class: A Complete Course in Drawing Cuties and Beasties – Includes 19 Step-by-Step Tutorials! (Volume 1) by Yoai
My rating: ★★★★☆

Blurb:

In this highly portable mini version of Chibi Art Class , renowned anime artist Yoai teaches you the art of chibi, step by adorable step.

Chibi is Japanese slang for “short,” and popular Instagram anime artist Yoai (@yoaihime) shows you how to draw these adorable doll-like characters in Mini Chibi Art Class . Chibis are mini versions of Japanese anime and manga characters and are defined by their large heads and tiny bodies, both of which contribute to their kawaii , or cuteness, factor .

Here, you’ll learn how to create chibis’ signature bodies, facial features, and props, including dreamy eyes, fun clothes and shoes, vibrant hair, colorful accessories, and lively backgrounds. You’ll also learn how to color and shade your vertically challenged characters for optimal cuteness. This book also features 19 chibi tutorials with simple step-by-step illustrations and instructions , inspiration galleries, blank body bases for you to start your own chibi drawings, and uncolored chibis for practicing coloring and shading.

​Mini Chibi Art Class is part of a series of adorable mini versions of Race Point art reference books that include Mini Kawaii Doodle Class and Mini Kawaii Doodle Cuties .

Thanks to this take-anywhere crash course , soon you will be enhancing your notebooks, stationery, artwork, and more with your own unique chibi world. Mini Chibi Art Class is now in session!

Review:

[I received a copy through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.]

I don’t draw chibi a lot, and the few I’ve drawn so far are, in hindsight, not so great, so I thought a book like this could help me get back to them, correct, and become better at it.

This “Mini Chibi Art Class” involves several step-by-step guides, relying on examples to follow (because “just draw whatever comes to your mind, using this or that base” would be cool, too, but not necessarily when coming out of the blue for training purposes). It also includes information about materials, references for eye styles and expressions, and ideas for inspiration. All in all, things I can definitely use again later, when I want to go back to drawing chibi.

I would recommend getting the paper version rather than the digital one, though—the latter is good as well, but if you’re anything like me, a physical book will work better for art reference and tutorials purposes.