In this collection of techniques and tutorials, all aimed at the novice artist, the reader can explore the many different avenues of creative art available. From the relaxing and enjoyable pastime of drawing, to the versatile, vibrant medium of oil painting, each discipline is clearly explained through a series of tutorials that build in complexity. In addition to the tutorials, there is advice on tools, materials and techniques, plus plenty of tips throughout.

An award-winning fantasy artist and the creator of "Dinotopia," James Gurney instructs and inspires in "Imaginative Realism: How to Paint What Doesn't Exist." Renowned for his uncanny ability to incorporate amazing detail and imagination into stunningly realistic fantasy settings, James Gurney teaches budding artists and fans of fantasy art step-by-step the techniques that won him worldwide critical acclaim. This groundbreaking work examines the practical methods for creating believable pictures of imaginary subjects, such as dinosaurs, ancient Romans, alien creatures, and distant worlds.
Beginning with a survey of imaginative paintings from the Renaissance to the golden Age of American illustration, the book then goes on to explain not just techniques like sketching and composition, but also the fundamentals of believable world building including archaeology, architecture, anatomy for creatures and aliens, and fantastic engineering. It concludes with details and valuable advice on careers in fantasy illustration, including video game and film concept art and toy design.
More than an instruction book, this is the ultimate reference for fans of science fiction and fantasy illustration.
"Gurney's "Imaginative Realism" is a gold mine for artists who want to create images that sing with authority and delight the viewer with rich otherworldly visuals." --Erik Tiemens, concept artist, "Star Wars: Episodes II and III"
""Imaginative Realism" is an indispensable, flawless reference for vision makers in any discipline to create their own imaginative realms." --Frank M. Costantino, ASAI, SI, FSAI, JARA, cofounder, American Society of Architectural Illustrators

Build your watercolor skills with confidence using this beginner-friendly workbook which includes 25 projects on premium watercolor paper! This easy-to-use watercolor workbook is filled with unique and beautiful flower and nature sketches that are ready for you to watercolor-no drawing skills required! Each page is specially designed with simple step-by-step instructions so you can easily and confidently paint each project and create artwork that matches the quality of the author's example. Watercolor Workbook features- An introduction to fundamental watercolor techniques Easy-to-follow instructions, including suggested paint and paintbrush materials, so you can start painting today Projects presented on thick, premium watercolor art paper - no color bleed-through Flower art including poppies, wild roses, sunflowers, buttercups, dandelions, and more Artist and author Sarah Simon, a.k.a. @themintgardener, has taught thousands of people how to paint with watercolor. Her first book Modern Watercolor Botanicals provides everything you need to know about t

How to Draw Almost Everything Volume 2-a follow-up to the popular book How to Draw Almost Everything, part of the Almost Everything series from Quarry Books-shows how easy it is to draw even more cute illustrations. Learn to draw each illustration in easy-to-follow steps. Just follow the arrows to complete each step. You'll also find helpful tips and ideas for drawing variations. Start with basic shapes, such as circles, triangles, and squares, then add special details to personalize your illustrations. Draw animals, people, everyday objects, patterns and borders, and holiday and seasonal themes, along with warm-ups and special lessons. An inspiration gallery offers fun ideas for adding illustrations to everyday objects or creating one-of-a-kind notes, cards, and gifts. Each book in the Almost Everything series offers readers a fun, comprehensive, and charmingly illustrated visual directory of ideas to inspire skill building in their creative endeavors.

Create your own chibi world with fun and adorable step-by-step drawing exercises, including over 60 fantasy creatures and characters featuring different accessories, clothing, facial expressions, and poses. These fantasy creatures and animals will make you squeal with delight! Chibi is Japanese slang for "short," and the characters in Cute Chibi Mythical Beasts & Magical Monsters live up to this description with their cute roly-poly bodies that make them extremely lovable and huggable. Phoebe Im, creator of Bobblejot, has a cute and easy drawing style that is made accessible through this how-to book for artists of all levels. Cute Chibi Mythical Beasts & Magical Monsters features easy-to-follow instructions to help you enjoy the world of chibi, incorporating dynamic expressions and poses to challenge your skills. Along with the step-by-step instructions, there are inspiration pages with fun accessories and clothing, facial expressions, and different poses as well as a digital workshop to guide you on how to make quick drawings on your phone or tablet. Learn how to draw these fantasy creatures in cute chibi style: Gnome Troll Mermaid Fairy Golem Cyclops Big Foot Unicorn Dragons (various species) Vampire Zombie Chimera Pegasus Phoenix Loch Ness Monster Griffon Cerberus Sphinx Werewolf Practice and expand your drawing skills as you create adorable chibi beasts and creatures with this fun and accessible book.

Learn how to paint birds in watercolour without even trying! Using a simple ten-step process, learn how to draw a basic outline starting with simple shapes, then add washes of colour and fine details to complete your work. Arranged in three chapters based on skill level, this book features 25 lovely projects, each showing you how to paint a bird in ten steps. There are paint swatches for every bird, showing you the colours you need to mix for each step and the finished painting serves as a reference to guide you. It couldn't be easier! Also included is a useful techniques section at the beginning, and clever painting tips from the author throughout the book. With birds as diverse as an Atlantic puffin, a barn owl, a hummingbird and a bald eagle, there is plenty to choose from and practise with, to develop your skills.

Perfect for children, parents or anyone else keen to try their hand at face-painting anything from tigers, aliens and sharks to unicorns, rainbows and superheroes.

Drawing can improve your mood, release endorphins and make you happy – but for many, the fear of the blank page, combined with a lack of confidence and know-how, can be daunting.

In her new book, Molly Egan encourages you to sketch like no one is watching! Once you stop caring what people think – just like when you were a child – your creativity will flow. Filled with drawing prompts and tutorials, Molly will help you to unleash your creativity and embrace your own unique style. Build your skills by revisiting the basics, such as shape, perspective and pattern, then learn how to draw from photographs and from real life, sketching people, nature, buildings, landscapes and more.

Small enough to put in your bag, yet big enough to make impactful art, this fun title will reignite your passion for being creative.

The definitive, comprehensive guide to botanical painting, covering basic botany, plant groups and a scientific approach to the subject. Drawing on her experience as a botanical art teacher, Christina Brodie takes you on a holistic approach to botanical art and expertly covers botanical terminology, drawing and painting techniques in a wide range of media, dissection and examination of plants, fieldwork studies, microscope work and tips on presentation. Through step-by-step projects and with clearly explained techniques, learn to draw and paint flowers, fruit, leaves, stems and roots, trees, fungi, ferns and horsetails, seaweeds and other algae, mosses and lichens with remarkable precision and stunning detail.

Julia Kay's Portrait Party is an international collaborative project in which artists all over the world make portraits of each other and share them online. After years of exchanging portraits, tips and techniques within the group, in Portrait Revolution these artists are now sharing their art, their words, and their inspiration with everyone who is interested in or would like to get started with portraiture. Here you can find information on using different media, how to handle difficult portrait issues, and more. Portrait Revolution showcases 450 portraits by 200 artists, in a wide variety of media from oil painting to iPad art, watercolour to ballpoint, linocut to mosaic. There are a range of styles from realistic to abstract and interpretations by multiple artists of the same subject.

Following in the successful paw and hoof prints of "The Daily Zoo: Volume One" comes another exotic menagerie of creative fauna from Hollywood artist Chris Ayers. "The Daily Zoo Year 2 "offers more furry and feathered friends along with continuing reflections on his life as an artist and cancer survivor. And, as with Volume 1 and perhaps more so, regardless of your artistic experience, this book will leave you inspired to grab the nearest pencil, pen, brush or crayon and start drawing ... for fun and perhaps as a way to bring healing!

The Channel Islands have charmed visitors for centuries, and this collection of intricate illustrations is a celebration of the islands' unique appeal. Featuring a range of picturesque vistas from Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney and Sark, scenes include sandy beaches, walking trails along cliffs and beautiful inland valleys, to scenic towns and defensive castles that have remained relatively unchanged for centuries. Each stunning scene is full of intriguing detail sure to fi re the imagination and make you reach for your colouring pencils. There are absolutely no rules - you can choose any combination of colours you like to bring these wonderful images to life. Suitable for children. If you love the Channel Islands, then you will love colouring them in!

Best-selling author Christopher Hart goes 'manga chic' with this guide to drawing the edgy fashions found in the popular Japanese genre. Packed with tutorials, his stylish drawing bible offers many enticing projects for aspiring artists, from creating classic outfits worn by popular manga characters to depicting the newest trends emerging from Tokyo. Chris explains how to draw eyes and hairstyles as well as figures, body types and poses; mix and match movement to the image, and design complementary colour schemes, add a sense of movement to the image and design exciting wardrobes for all seasons. He demystifies topics that typically puzzle beginners, from capturing the creases and folds of clothing to drawing patterns on fabric. A troubleshooting guide covers common problem areas so fans will quickly learn how to transform their basic manga characters into compelling fashion plates.

Presents guidelines and step-by-step projects for decorating ordinary household items and features. The text introduces the materials and equipment needed and covers the basic techniques, from preparing surfaces and cutting a stencil to protecting the finished work with varnish. The main part of the book takes elements of the home in turn: walls and floors; furniture; accessories and fabrics; and outdoor spaces. Also included are ideas for borders and alternative applications for each motif, together with a section on materials and techniques.

How do you find time in your busy day to get creative? Why, with 15-minute Art Painting, of course! Explore the pure joy of paint with fifty 15-minute projects inspired by nature. From leaves and houseplants to flowers and fungi, 15-minute Art Painting encourages you to explore painting in a relaxing, free and fun way. Each project can be completed in no more than six steps and will include practice pages, colour swatches and helpful hints to make light work of the artwork. Although Hannah will provide a brief introduction on how to sketch out your paintings, the book will also contain traceable templates, so you can fully focus on the process and pure joy of painting.

In this follow-up to the best-selling The Master Guide to Drawing Anime, manga master Christopher Hart focuses on some of the most popular characters of Japanese anime: the dynamic and beautiful women and girls. Aspiring anime artists will learn all the ins and outs of creating these stunning heroines, schoolgirls and fantasy characters. Basic templates make it easy to draw the head, hairstyles, clothing, body proportions and more. Tutorials on creating scenes and multiple characters take the drawings to the next level. All of these topics and more are covered with Christopher Hart's trademark easy-to-follow steps with helpful techniques and tips.

'Kimon Nicolaides' The Natural Way to Draw is a sure bet . . . will improve your technique no end' Artists & Illustrators This essential guide to drawing by renowned art teacher Kimon Nicolaides is valued by both early students of art and accomplished artists alike. Consisting of 64 exercises, The Natural Way to Draw offers in-depth studies to be completed over the course of a year. Extensively illustrated with reproductions of the work of the Old Masters (including Rubens, Titian and Raphael) to the work of Van Gogh and Picasso, as well as the work of his students, these exercises help you begin to look at people and objects in a fresh way that will be the foundation of your drawing. Concentrating on mastering the key concepts of drawing that will make a drawing come alive, Nicolaides teaches how to convey gesture and action, expression and feeling in your work. Regarded as an inspiration to a generation of devoted young artists, The Natural Way to Draw captures Nicolaides' concrete system of art teaching.

Revered among artists - including the great Norman Rockwell and comics superstar Alex Ross - for his mastery of figure drawing and clean, realist style, Loomis's hugely influential art instruction books have never been bettered. Hailed by the American Academy of Art as "one of the most brilliant contributions that figure drawing has ever received" Loomis's books are packed with beautiful examples to help you master anatomy and capture the human form at any age, in movement and at rest. For the first time, this attractive box set collects two of Loomis' most popular works to create the ultimate guide to drawing the human body. This set is perfect for students, amateur artists, and professionals alike.

An interactive doodle book of fairies and other fantasy characters from the best-selling art-instruction author, which pairs illustration tips with drawing, designing, colouring and crafting activities. For years, Christopher Hart has given readers the tools and techniques needed to learn how to draw and cartoon. With the Doodletopia series, Hart offers us a chance to practice and perfect our artistic skills. For this latest title, Hart returns to the lush, gorgeous and mystical subject of fairies. Doodletopia: Fairies provides aspiring fantasy artists and fairy fans with activities to stimulate their creativity. After covering the basics of rendering these characters, Hart sets us loose to interact with the book's many exercises and challenges.

Experience the soothing power of adult coloring with these intricate animal tangles created by New York Times bestselling illustrator and master of the abstract Zen style Angela Porter! Zentangle, a fun and relaxing art form that emerged in the last decade, is often referred to as a meditative practice. Its free-form style, abstract images, and repetitive patterns unite to form elaborate illustrations. This method has been said to increase mindfulness and aid in relaxation, while simultaneously expressing creativity-an ideal remedy for stress. Recently, the form has inevitably made its way into the adult coloring book world and has been helping colorists unwind ever since. Based loosely on the Zentangle method, Angela Porter's Zen Doodle Designs embraces this style in both the creation of the designs and the coloring of the finished illustrations-only the latter is up to you! Bestselling author and master Zen illustrator Angela Porter takes you on a relaxing journey with this beautiful collection. Featured are forty-nine soothing designs for you to color, each incorporating intricate florals, beautiful swirling and circular patterns, and other aesthetically pleasing, geometric shapes. The pages are perforated and printed on one side, making it simple for you to remove and display your finished works. So sit down, relax, and break out your colored pencil box along with Angela Porter's Zen Doodle Designs-it's the perfect way to have some fun and decompress!

BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND! Beverly Johnson's book is packed with scores of fun exercises that will really motivate young beginner artists who are just getting interested in drawing for animation, comic book art, or just for pleasure. In a series of beginner-friendly exercises, she explores how to conceptualize wonderful, convincing characters and shows how to translate ideas into great professional-looking drawings. The book is organized into key chapters associated with what makes engaging, three-dimensional characters. Read the advice, work your way through the exercises and you will get to the end with a portfolio bursting with wonderful creations. This book demonstrates how to create diverse characters with strong personalities, unique mannerisms and interests; how to understand their motivations, find their passions and make them come alive. Split into 75 easy-to-follow and fun exercises, Bev leads the young reader through the techniques and skills needed to create their very own characters.

Colored Pencil Step by Step, from the acclaimed Walter Foster Artist's Library Series, is filled with information that will help artists of all levels learn all about drawing with colored pencil. This colorful, comprehensive guidebook explores drawing and layering colors, plus a range of styles and techniques for creating your own works of art in colored pencil. Three renowned colored pencil artists guide you step by step through 11 vibrant lessons, demonstrating a variety of special techniques and tricks along the way. Whether you're a novice or an accomplished artist who has never experimented with a colored pencil, this book will provide the instruction and inspiration you need to master this versatile medium.

Drawing on the success of her breakout book Conscious Creativity, artist Philippa Stanton dares you to throw away technique and open the door to free creative movement with this hands-on workbook. Acknowledging the power of chance and experimentation, this is a safe space in which to scribble, sketch, tear, scratch, fold, weave - anything that Philippa's playful prompts inspire you to do. There are no rules here: choose an activity at the back of the book or start at the beginning; pick an exercise on light and shadow, paint your own colour chart or build a collage of found items, whatever makes your creative juices flow. Packed with simple suggestions to open our eyes to the beauty of ordinary things, this workbook draws on themes including randomness, colour, texture and the senses to encourage us to connect with things we might not normally notice. Breathtaking original photography acts as a catalyst to inspire us to take a chance with new ideas, follow up coincidences and find new ways of expressing our creativity. Prompts encourage you to take risks and express yourself impulsively, from drawing random spontaneous lines on a page to writing a not to a stranger to creating a textured collage out of sticky tape and other found objects. Conscious Creativity: The Workbook is a liberating place to be random, get things wrong and make a beautiful mess.

Lettering enthusiasts of all levels will love learning easy ways to develop and adapt hand lettering skills and techniques to a variety of digital platforms in Digital Hand Lettering and Modern Calligraphy. Popular Instagram lettering artist and workshop instructor Shelly Kim (@lettersbyshells) offers lettering enthusiasts at all levels step-by-step instruction, along with ample photos and lettering examples. Start with lettering essentials that show how to create different styles of brush lettering with the right tools, how to connect letters to form words, form flourishes, and more. Then turn that unique calligraphy into lettering that you can use over and over again, just by digitizing it. Discover several options for creating digital lettering, each one clearly outlined and explained. Become familiar with tools and techniques that make the process fast and enjoyable. See how far you can take your digital lettering with fun projects for creating cards, name tags, adding foiling and more. In this book you'll learn how to: Produce loose, bouncy lettering that adds style to any project Design meaningful quotes by learning a quick trick for great compositions Create digital files that give you numerous options for adding color and changing the shapes and sizes of letters Make a custom digital lettering brush that you can use for unique calligraphy Letter on a tablet and learn the basics of Procreate and Apple Pencil Use your lettering for great projects that incorporate digital and hands-on techniques Get inspiration from stunning gallery pieces by Karin Newport of @ipadlettering and Myriam of @halfapx Digital Hand Lettering and Modern Calligraphy will guide you to the future of lettering!

This handy, practical and inspirational little book is perfect for the pocket or art bag. It shows watercolour painters of all levels how to loosen up their paintings and maintain spontaneity by painting simple watercolour studies in no more than 10 minutes. Written by popular artist Hazel Soan, the book is arranged in three parts: the first section explains all about the equipment you will need; the second section covers techniques and shows what can be achieved with watercolour in a short time span; the third section looks at various subjects that are ideal for painting quickly. All the essential techniques are covered, focusing particularly on maximizing brushstrokes and exploring colours, and there is useful advice on deciding what to include and what to leave out. With helpful chapters on painting a wide range of subjects - people, landscapes, seascapes, buildings, gardens, flowers and still life - this little guide is ideal for quick reference when working in the studio or out in the field.