Yokai Bestiary: How to Draw 40 of the Most Popular Japanese Ghosts, Ghouls, and Goblins

Learn how to draw a bestiary of supernatural creatures from Japanese folklore, and discover their origins as you go.

Yokai is a Japanese term for mystical beings that encompasses a range of supernatural phenomena, including demons, monsters, ghosts, and shapeshifters. Sometimes cute, sometimes frightening, but always enchanting, the creatures are often at the center of popular anime and manga stories. In Yokai Bestiary, learn how to draw 35 types of yokai while learning the folklore behind them.

Created for artists of all skill levels, this step-by-step drawing book shows you how to block in major shapes, provide proper shading to give dimension and depth to your drawings, and draw small but culturally significant details. Among the yokai types, you’ll learn to draw:

• Kitsune, fox demons with multiple tails
• Kappa, reptile-like spirits with a turtle’s shell on their backs
• Tengu, monsters with bird-like characteristics
• Kodama, tree spirits
• Nekomata, cats with two tails
• And many more!

With both drawing instruction and Japanese mythology to engage your mind, Yokai Bestiary will transport you to a fantastical land of beasts and spirits.

Lance Red is a fantasy illustrator and character designer living in Michigan. He provides detail-rich illustration assets for the game and book-publishing industries as well as private commissions. He has also recently started sharing more of his process with an education focus on his Patreon, which includes creating artwork for tabletop games, adventure books, conventions, and more as well as teaching budding artists through online library programs.