In magnificent paintings and step-by-step demonstrations, Patrick Seslar and a group of distinguished wildlife artists reveal how to turn oils, watercolors, acrylics or pastels into creatures with fur, feathers or scales.

What kind of animals will you paint? Seslar covers four factors to consider when choosing. Find out about field sketching and photographic references and how to use zoos, approach scientists and take advantage of other sources for more information. Your research can be an adventure, and your painting will gain immeasurably in accuracy.

Learn about animal habitats. See where you can take artistic license, how to create a moody environment and how to make the subject more prominent by downplaying the background.

Composition is always a question, but Seslar offers answers. You'll see how to use shapes, colors and patterns to move the viewer's eye.

Naturally, to paint wildlife, you must be able to suggest textures. You'll find helpful techniques for representing fur - the two types you'll find on a wolf, the wet, shiny sleekness of aquatic mammals, and how to paint light on a white coat. You'll learn the anatomy of a wing and the feathers that cover it, and how to paint them. Finally, you'll see how to depict the scales of a fish and give them the right iridescence.

Then the step-by-step demonstrations begin. Besides being excellent teaching examples that focus on specifics - how to understand and capture animal behavior, for example - they're also fine paintings in their own right. You'll like the diversity of animals, too: a raccoon, a blue heron, wild mustangs, bighorn sheep, smallmouth bass and others.

Whether you're just starting to paint animals or you're a seasoned wildlife painter curious about how other artists create their paintings, Wildlife Painting Step by Step puts you on the right track.