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Learning to draw is a lifelong journey, but there are plenty of resources to gain inspiration and help you meet your creative goals. Luckily, the drawing and illustration experts at My Modern Met Academy are also happy to share their knowledge. At the end of their online art courses, each instructor shares a few of their favorite drawing books to help students continue to learn and grow.
Since we’ve been celebrating drawing this month with our Drawing Challenge Bundle class bundle, we’ve decided to share some of these drawing resources with the world. When you enroll in the bundle, you’ll receive three of our popular drawing courses—Portrait Drawing for Beginners, Architectural Illustration for Everyone, and Write Out Your Future: Hand Letter an Inspiring Phrase. With a special price of $95 for all three courses, you’ll get a discount of over 20% off what you’d pay if you purchased each separately.
Whether you are interested in drawing people, animals, or architecture, there’s a little something for everyone. These books, which are helpful for both beginners and advanced artists, will hold a place of pride on your bookshelf and become valued reference material for years to come.
Scroll down to see all the suggestions from our instructors, and then head over to My Modern Met Academy to sign up for in-depth drawing lessons today.
Anna Sokolova
Anna Sokolova is a talented illustrator who teaches Animal Portraits in Colored Inks: Tell a Visual Story That Conveys Emotion. Drawing is the foundation of her work, and she enhances her illustrations with colored inks to great effect. In particular, Sokolova finds inspiration in animals and the natural world. Her resource list is the perfect guide for any artist looking to incorporate new elements into their artwork.
- Atlas of Animal Anatomy for Artists by W Ellenberger and Francis A Davis
- Animals: 1,419 Copyright-Free Illustrations of Mammals, Birds, Fish, Insects, Etc by Jim Harter
- The World of Ornament by A.Racinet, A. Dupont-Auberville
Demi Lang
As our resident expert in architecture drawing, Demi Lang‘s list is filled with resources to help you draw the urban environment. From a detailed look at perspective to inspirational pen and ink drawings, these books are valuable tools for anyone who loves sketching buildings.
- Urban Drawing by Phil Dean
- How to See It, How to Draw It. The Perspective Workbook by Matthew Brehm
- Pen & Ink by James Hobbs
Margherita Cole
Drawing 101: Learn the Building Blocks of Sketching is a great course for beginners, and instructor Margherita Cole has put together a wide-ranging list of drawing books to help get your creative journey off to a good start.
- Draw 50 Animals: The Step-By-Step Way to Draw Elephants, Tigers, Dogs, Fish, Birds, and Many More… by Lee J. Ames
- Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards
- Cartooning Made Easy by Margherita Cole
Melissa de Nobrega
If you want to master the art of drawing the human figure, artist Melisssa de Nobrega has an excellent list of resources. As the instructor of our class, Portrait Drawing for Beginners: Learn How to Draw Anyone You’d Like, her list rightly focuses on mastering the ins and outs of drawing anatomy.
- Drawing the Head & Hands by Andrew Loomis
- Human Anatomy for Artists by Eliot Goldfinger
- Anatomy for the Artist by Sarah Simblet
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