Overcome the obstacles to your artistic expression Improving your artwork can be as simple as learning how to trust your eyes. Your Artist's Brain shows you how to portray even the most complex subjects by focusing on what you really see - not what you think you see. Expert art instructor Carl Purcell shows you how to overcome dependency on the "intellectual brain" and listen carefully to the more observant "artist's brain." With Your Artist's Brain, you'll learn visual skills and artistic techniques that will instantly make you a better artist, no matter what your medium. 22 step-by-step demonstrations on key relationships between shapes, spaces, subjects, backgrounds, angles, sizes, values and more Easy examples and fun exercises teaching you how to "see" and design great compositions "Points to Remember" sidebars that allow you to quickly grasp each concept Maximize the power of your artist's brain today and embark on the path to creating better art.

Learn the unique art of crosshatching and create stunning works of art with expert guidance from August Lamm. How to Crosshatch in Pen & Ink begins with a potted history of the artform, and elucidates exactly what crosshatching entails, and where it came from. After a helpful exploration of the materials and media that a crosshatcher may need, there then begins a practical guide to the very basics of crosshatching, approaching concepts such as how to look accurately, and how to depict light, shape, and shadow. Once readers have the essentials under their belt, there are more complicated subjects such as anatomy, portraiture and still lifes to tackle. For each topic, August uses a combination of fine art examples, illustrations and step-by-step tutorials to take the reader through the fascinating and accessible process of crosshatching, from perception to execution. This is the essential, comprehensive guide to this fascinating artform, and will appeal to complete beginners alongside long-time aficionados of the practice.

Originally written for an exhibition Jean-Luc Nancy curated at the Museum of Fine Arts in Lyon in 2007, this book addresses the medium of drawing in light of the question of form--of form in its formation, as a formative force, as a birth to form. In this sense, drawing opens less toward its achievement, intention, and accomplishment than toward a finality without end and the infinite renewal of ends, toward lines of sense marked by tracings, suspensions, and permanent interruptions. Recalling that drawing and design were once used interchangeably, Nancy notes that drawing designates a design that remains without project, plan, or intention. His argument offers a way of rethinking a number of historical terms (sketch, draft, outline, plan, mark, notation), which includes rethinking drawing in its graphic, filmic, choreographic, poetic, melodic, and rhythmic sense. If drawing is not reducible to any form of closure, it never resolves a tension specific to drawing but allows the pleasure of drawing to come into appearance, which is also the pleasure in drawing, the gesture of a desire that remains in excess of all knowledge. Situating drawing in these terms, Nancy engages a number of texts in which Freud addresses the force of desire in the rapport between aesthetic and sexual pleasure, texts that also turn around the same questions concerning form in its formation, form as a formative force. Between the sections of the text, Nancy has placed a series of sketchbooks on drawing, composed of a broad range of quotations on art from different writers, artists, or philosophers.

With instructions and step-by-step projects for creating an array of portaits, this all-inclusive book covers everything about portraiture in the most popular drawing and painting media. Ideal for beginning artists who would like to experiment with different media, The Art of Drawing & Painting Portraits teaches the artist how to create beautiful and realistic portraits in pencil, pastel, watercolor, oil, and acrylic.

This book provides a revolutionary new 3-step tracing technique that beginning artists can use to quickly learn to draw manga characters just like a pro! Every page presents a classic manga pose, from walking and running to jumping for joy, in three different steps: 1. A simple outline of the body 2. The defining elements of the character (like clothes, hair and facial expression) highlighted for easy tracing so you can practice placing them onto the basic body outline. 3. The finished drawing (for inspiration). Popular manga artists Junka Morozumi and Tomomi Mizuna guide you through a series of carefully graded lessons to build up your skills gradually. Each pose and scene has a star skill level, so you can build your way up from 1 to 5! Chapter 1 deals with the basic poses of standing, walking, and running. Chapter 2 presents signature manga poses such as turning around in surprise and being angry with hands on hips. Chapter 3 practices various sitting and lying down poses. Chapter 4 deals with drawing perspective, looking at characters from above, below and diagonal viewpoints. Chapter 5 focuses on 2-person manga poses including the classic prince with a princess in his arms. Chapter 6 lets readers try out the skills they have acquired by tracing and copying a full-page manga illustration containing multiple characters. These six lessons are supplemented by expert tips and easy exercises for capturing the right facial expressions, drawing the clothes and getting the perspective and body proportions right. Beginning manga artists are in good hands with Morozumi, who lectures at art academies in Tokyo, and Mizuna, whose work has been exhibited in the U.S., Europe and beyond. If you've been looking for an easy-to-use guide to drawing manga, The Manga Artist's Handbook: Drawing Basic Manga Characters is the perfect place to start!

In his graphic biography Nick Cave: Mercy on Me, Reinhard Kleist paints an expressive and enthralling portrait of the musician, novelist, poet, and actor. It is, according to Nick Cave himself, "a complex, chilling and completely bizarre journey into Cave World." Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds: An Art Book collects Kleist's moody and expressive portraits of the musician and his band, spanning 30 years of writing, recording, and live performance. Kleist also returns readers to Cave's imaginative world with comic book reimaginings of "Deanna," "The Good Son," and "Stagger Lee." Filled with visual delights, this record-size art book is a kaleidoscopic portrait of Nick Cave's wide-ranging career as a storyteller, musician, and cultural icon.

Former Disney animator offers expert advice-with over 700 illustrations-on drawing animals both realistically and as caricatures. Use of line, brush technique, establishing mood, conveying action, much more. Construction drawings reveal development process in creating animal figures. Many chapters on drawing individual animal forms-dogs, cats, horses, deer, cows, foxes, kangaroos, etc. 53 halftones. 706 line illustrations.

Sarah Raphael (1960-2001) died young: preparing a show for New York, she contracted pneumonia and never recovered. Her work, large- and small-scale, is now represented in all the leading British collections. A major retrospective at Marlborough Fine Arts, London, in 2003, bringing together work from her last seven years, was as amazing as her earlier exhibitions in its brilliance, its formal variety and inventiveness. One breathtaking area of her work which has so far been inadequately displayed is her drawing. There are few modern artists who equal her in assurance and firmness of line. Michael Ayrton said to her when she was fourteen, 'Draw your own hands. If you can draw your own hands you can do anything.' She did, and she could. Her informal portraits of friends, some well-known, some unknown, never flatter except in telling the truth. She did justice to every model, and her sense of setting, the economy of her perspectives, her ability to create presence, continue to amaze the viewer. Even the most seemingly casual sketch, closely observed, reconstitutes an original, sculptural space about it. The lessons Michael Ayrton taught ensured that she is always at least a three-dimensional artist. Most of the drawings are from her notebooks and sketchbooks, and Frederic Raphael draws from over twenty-five years of work, primarily pencil sketches. As William Boyd has written, 'you can tell how good they are, yourself'. She has her own, unarguable authority.

This accessible book explains the significance of relationships between the body and the mark, visual imitation, drawing and writing and visual storytelling, providing a simple guide to these key ideas. For millennia drawing has been conceived as an exploratory activity, mediating between the vision of the drafter and what they are drawing. Drawing reveals hidden relationships, directs attention, scrutinises the material world and provides plans for further action. The book unpacks the key ideas that have shaped the rich, complex and foundational activity of drawing. It presents an unexpected, engaging and authoritative range of illustrated examples of drawings made by culturally and historically diverse people for different purposes, with different media, in widely different times and situations. Educator, author and artist Simon Grennan builds together concepts to create a complete guide to ideas about drawing.

Written by a long-time expert on drawing and painting human anatomy, Classic Human Anatomy in Motion offers artists everything they need to realistically draw the human figure as it is affected by movement. Written in a friendly style, the book is illustrated with hundreds of life drawing studies (both quick poses and long studies), along with charts and diagrams showing the various anatomical and structural components. This comprehensive manual features five distinct sections, each focusing on a different aspect of the human figure: bones and joint movement, muscle groups, surface form and soft tissue characteristics, structure, and movement. Each chapter builds an artistic understanding of how motion transforms the human figure and can create a sense of expressive vibrancy in one's art.

The Lindley Library of the RHS has a collection of some 18,000 drawings and paintings by eminent botanical artists of all periods up to the present day. This book contains a selection of the rarest and most beautiful: flowers, fruit, fungi and other plants from all over the world, by artists such as G.D. Ehret, John and William Curtis, Ferdinand Bauer, William Hooker, W.H. Fitch, Augusta Withers, Margaret Stones and Mary Grierson. All the illustrations are reproduced from the artists' originals.;The book includes a history of the collection and each plate is accompanied by a description of its origin and artistic accomplishment, and a botanical and horticultural account of the plant itself.

Creative Flow is a mindful workbook to treasure, encouraging the use of focused creativity to cultivate beautiful awareness every day. Exploring meaningful ways we can appreciate each of life’s precious moments, this enchanting guide helps us to notice and note, embrace play, and focus again on breathing and simply being.

Author Jocelyn de Kwant invites us all to embrace a beginners’ mind, to add time back into our busy lives using the art of creative mindfulness. Practical prompts entwine with lengthier meditative notes on the joys of doodling and scribbling, and the joy of sensory play and reconnecting with the natural world. This lovingly-illustrated workbook is a timely reminder of the ways in which creative flow can enhance and enrich our lives.

Painting and Drawing the Head combines technical instruction, art history references and thoughts on the day-to-day practice of painting the head from life. The rich text, supported by over 100 paintings, gives a thoughtful account of the process of capturing a likeness. After introducing materials, principles and ideas, it follows the course of painting a head in five sittings, providing unique insight and practical comment throughout: from the choice of ground for the picture, through the set-up, the structure of the sessions, guidance on how to compose and what palette to use, all the way to the later stages of developing a portrait over time.

This concise book contains all you'll ever need to know about perspective drawing. In twenty masterfully organized chapters, from simple to complex, the author explains the basics and not-so-basics of perspective drawing. He includes suggestions on how to make your drawings a lot simpler, drawing methods for observation and space division, a "Remember" section at the end of each chapter in which he summarizes the most important information and principles presented in that chapter, and a "Problems" section with exercises that will help you apply what you just learned.

This great book, devoted entirely to clarifying the laws of perspective, has over 250 simple line drawings, includes 256 illustrations, and leads the reader through every important concept.

With this high-quality sketchbook, experienced and aspiring manga artists can take what they've learned about drawing manga and create their own manga graphic novels. The opening pages of this sketchbook include information on filling the panels, creating drama with angles, using speech balloons, and creating special effects. After that, the book is divided into six sections, each with a cover template and blank, black-framed panels that allow artists to create different manga stories from start to finish. The possibilities are endless!

Learn the skills to set any scene or capture any mood. With this book, your manga drawings will spring to life and leap off the page! Drawing Action Scenes and Characters is most suited to digital artists, but the tips and techniques in this book are applicable to illustrators of all schools and persuasions. No matter where you're at in your development as a manga master, this companion volume helps bring your skills to the next level. Follow along through the forty mini-lessons, created and guided by experts tapping into years of experience in the Japanese animation and entertainment industries. Open new pathways to your visual storytelling possibilities as your characters find themselves in increasingly complex and compellingly rendered scenarios. Tuttle's How to Create Manga series guides users through the process of reaching a professional-looking final drawing through actual sketch progressions, practical tips and caution on common missteps to avoid. Other books in the series include How to Create Manga: Drawing the Human Body, How to Create Manga: Drawing Facial Expressions and How to Create Manga: Drawing Clothing and Accessories.

In February 1972 Henry Moore's sculpture studios in the English countryside at Much Hadham were filled with the preparations for his retrospective exhibition at Florence. In search of peace and quiet, he went into a smaller room overlooking the fields where a local farmer grazed his sheep. The sheep came very close to the window, attracting his attention, and he began to draw them. Initially he saw them as nothing more than four-legged balls of wool, but his vision changed as he explored what they were really like - the way they moved, the shape of their bodies under the fleece. They also developed strong human and biblical associations, and the sight of a ewe with her lamb evoked the mother-and-child theme - a large form sheltering a small one - which has been important to Henry Moore in all his work. He drew the sheep again that summer after they were shorn, when he could see the shapes of the bodies which had been covered by wool. Solid in form, sudden and vigorous in movement, Henry Moore's sheep are created through a network of swirling and zigzagging lines in the rapid and (in Moore's hands) sensitive medium of ballpoint pen. The effect is both familiar and monumental; as Lor

Explores the 'lost kingdoms' with brush, ink and colour. A breathtakingly beautiful quest. In the age of mechanical reproduction, many fail to appreciate intricate drawings made by hand, hands having become mere obsolete instruments these days, compared to the fast precision of the digital camera. Christian Peltenburg-Brechneff's drawings capture what the camera can never capture: the spirit of the places he has rendered. Brechneff takes on the challenge of exploring and translating the architectural and spiritual wonders of the 'lost' kingdoms of the Himalayas with brush and ink and colour washes: Laddakh, Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan, India, Burma, Cambodia and Laos. Brought to life through imaginative investment, Brechneff's subjects become more mysterious, and preciously exciting than ever. They sparkle with subjective life and become rapturously alive in a way that a photograph could never be. The ancient architecture of India - many old palaces and temples - and ageless mountains are already inspired creations, with archetypal import, emphasising that Brechneffs's journey to them is a spiritual journey. The intricate drawings form a visual diary of his travels. Each drawing is dated, and the place depicted named, indicating that the drawing is a documentary as well as personal journal. Peltenburg-Brechneff decodes and maps India's architecture and mountains with the hope of grasping the secret of their creative dynamic, rather than only preserving their dramatic appearance for posterity. Homage is a breathtakingly beautiful spiritual quest.

Citysketch London provides instruction on sketching and doodling various parts of London's culture through more than 100 creative prompts and over 200 illustrations.

Nothing makes a fantasy fan's imagination catch fire like the dragon, one of the most enduringly popular beasts of legend. Now, with DragonArt, readers can learn how to bring these mythical creatures to life, with: More than 30 lessons broken down into simple colour-coded steps, from basic shapes, to details including claws and wings, to spectacular finished dragons and beasts Full-coloured illustrations to captivate and inspire readers A playful, engaging text that includes "historical facts about dragons" Additional step-by-step demonstrations covering other fantasy creatures, such as wyverns, basilisks and gargoyles Extra hints, tips & tricks provided by DragonArt's dragon mascot, Dolosus With the tips and suggestions in DragonArt, fantasy lovers can let their imaginations soar.