Did we read another art instruction book with absolutely no intention of actually following through on the instruction part? Yup, sure did. You all know I buy these books simply to get more of Stephanie Pui-Mun Law’s gorgeous artwork anyways, and we’ll keep buying them until she comes out with a giant compendium (which we’ll also buy)! This is the third volume of the Dreamscapes series, which instructs readers on utilising realistic animal imagery to create magical compositions. The previous volumes were lovely in their focus on mythology and magic, but Law’s shift towards more mundane animals is a smart tactic. Fantasy is great, but without a grounding in reality it can lose all shape and become too much for the eye to handle. By practising basic animal shapes as found in fanciful fish, soaring birds, and personality-driven felines artists can remix these patterns and techniques to make far more meaningful compositions. Paired with Law’s short snippets of folklore from around the world, we are reminded that most cultures imbue “normal” creatures with just as many fantasy traits as their more magical brethren and that these stories are equally entrancing - both to tell and to illustrate! Moving away from human-driven stories takes us back to the folktales that populate much of the non-European canon as well, which is a crucial aspect of broadening any fantasy artist’s or writer’s research, knowledge, and skillset. Adding to the canon that Law has built in the previous two books, this third installation is a crucial volume of instruction that I am glad that she chose to write and illustrate. ( )