Daily Zoo Vol. 1: Keeping the Doctor at Bay with a Drawing a Day

In the spring of 2005 Chris Ayers was busy working as a concept artist in the Hollywood film industry. That came to a crashing halt when he was diagnosed with leukemia on April first. 

After a year-long period of treatment and recovery he started a sketchbook called The Daily Zoo on the anniversary of his diagnosis. Over the next 365 days he would draw one animal each day, challenging both his self-discipline and imagination. Most importantly it would allow him the focused opportunity to celebrate the gift of each healthy day. The pages of The Daily Zoo: Volume One are chock-filled with 365 distinct critters, ranging from curious pandas to sinister hyenas, athletic aardvarks to zealous zebras, and his choice of artistic styles are as diverse as his subject matter. 

Alongside the images Ayers, whose big screen credits include Men in Black II, X-Men 3, and the Alien vs. Predator films, ties in commentary about his cancer experience, the sources of his artistic inspiration and his creative methods. Whether you're a beginning artist or a seasoned pro, this book will leave you inspired to grab the nearest pencil, pen, brush or crayon and start drawing!

Chris Ayers popped out onto this Planet Earth scene on a sweltering July afternoon in 1975. Shortly thereafter he discovered a groovy magic wand made of wood called a "pencil." Through trial and error, and lots of practice, he learned that these nifty little things gave him the means to unlock the worlds of his imagination and give them visual form on paper.

During these early formative years his spongy gray matter soaked up as much as it could about the fascinating world around him, especially in regards to the animal kingdom, dinosaurs, Sesame Street, Star Wars, Disney, art, mythology, monsters in closets, spaceships, Robin Hood, Ray Harryhausen, pirates, extra-terrestrial friends and foes, Jules Verne, Dr. Seuss, Bill Peet, comic book heroes and villains, animation, cartoons...

Fast-forward about twenty years to the spring of 2000. With his Toyota Tercel literally packed to the ceiling, he drove westward from Minneapolis to Los Angeles. He had long dreamt of someday working in the movies and, at age 24, it seemed like the right time in his life to give it a shot.

Fast forward another eight years and he is still driving a Toyota Tercel around the bustling freeways of the City of Angels. His dream of working in the film industry has come true - and then some. Working as a character designer and concept artist he has been involved in some challenging and fun projects such as Men In Black II, Fantastic Four, Incredible Hulk and The Santa Clause 2.

In 2006, on the one-year anniversary of his diagnosis, he started a sketchbook called The Daily Zoo and set out to draw one animal each day for a year. His hope, in addition to being challenging and fun, was that it would help his healing process and give him a focused opportunity to appreciate the gift of each healthy day.