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green_beginning

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Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 7:25 am

Have you got any art books you would recommend to people? Books you open up constantly to dig out reference and advice, or in some way helped you advance your art?

I can recommend the two that are sitting on my desk all the time next to my tablet. I don't think these books have seen their shelves in months.

Master Class in Figure Drawing by Robert Beverly Hale. What I like best about this book is that it's short, straightforward, but it's content is pure art gold. It divides up lessons in figure drawing into sections of the body, portraying the sketches of masters of drawing the human figure. The way he breaks down the figure into simple shapes and shows whats going on under the skin as well, makes this book great as a learning tool for beginners, and a good 'back-to-basics' for the more experienced artist. It's essentially the next best thing to going to a nude figure drawing class yourself.

The Animator's Survival Kit by Richard Williams. Whether you're interested in animation or not, I'd highly recommend this book to anyone interested in portraying characters in motion or even the illusion of motion. While it's great for animators for obvious reasons, I've seen illustration majors and graphic design majors with it on their book shelf. Hell, a painting major went out and bought his own copy after flipping through mine. Why? The content is relevant to more than just animation, particularly the way he discusses art not in the terms of realism but 'believability'. I like the way Williams talks about art to his readers. There's none of the post-modernism drivel, but instead he's straightforward and he goes from simple to complicated. HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone who wants to advance their style.

Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 8:00 am

The Animator's Survival Kit
OOoo I have this one ^^ REALLy great I love the way he speaks about art
you can all most feel passion. As he speaks so honestly about what goes on in animation. I haven't really gone through it all yet...

But I did create my first animation it only took a few hours
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(this is about 3 or 4 yrs old)

I recommend
how to draw Anime & Game Characters
by Tadashi Ozawa.
All the Volumes
(I don't have the last one yet)
I Learned ALL I know From these book and I'm not stupid!!!
I still need to go through them more carefully myself
But you should defiantly include these in your plans to become a better anime artist
These books helped me a lot with body proptions
Hair, Hand, Feet, a Profile,
A volume on just Emotions, (My favorite one)
Excellent perspectives.
It's even helped me in my writing as I take more effort in my character design
(and there even better then I can ever say they are so just get them.......... )

Zukkyun

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Celena Waters

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Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 8:23 am

Ummm... I don't really like art books much, plus they cost a lot. But I have a few that I guess I like. The art isn't that great in them though. I have some other books that belonged to my brother. My favorite of those is "how to draw people of the world in pencil" xd I don't know why really. *is looking through the books* Gaaah the guy that made these books definitely likes clowns.

Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 4:42 pm

I have to agree, I really don't like art books either but maybe that is because almost everyone I've talked to about them expect to automatically draw well or like the book. It gets annoying though I know that is not everyones or even the majority's opinions.

Anyway, I do have a book that I particularly like called Anatomy for the Artist by Sarah Simblet.

Arec_Adelaide

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Lavi Deux

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Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 1:21 am

I'm a big fan of the "How to Draw Manga" books. They're so great because they teach you how to draw in several different styles till you eventually create your own. Here are some that I found more than helpful:

How to Draw Manga, Sketching Manga Style: Sketching to Plan -Hikaru Hayashi, Takehiko Matsumoto, Kazuaki Morita. VERY good with anatomy. Covers both realistic sketching and manga style. Inspiring artwork, and helpful footnotes on each page. It's the best book in my opinion; both beginners and professionals will get something out of it.

Let's Draw Manga: Bodies and Emotions -Tadashi Ozawa. Though it's mainly for learning how to draw women there are some parts for men as well. The book is a tad small page-wise but it makes up for it by teaching you how to draw several full-body poses.

How to Draw Manga: Couples -Hikaru Hayashi. Covers everything from dating to love-making. Many different styles are used. Great for learning how to draw couples.

How to Draw Manga: Girl's Life Illustration File -Kazuko Tadano. Good reference material for drawing girls and accessories. Lots of colored pages and was a fun read.

How to Draw Manga, Sketching Manga Style: Logical Proportions -Hikaru Hayashi. Best for drawing chibis. Learn about different proportions.

How to Draw Manga, Costume Encyclopedia: Kimono & Gowns Hikaru Hayashi, Kimiko Morimoto. Mainly for drawing girls. Very good with learning anatomy and how to draw clothes and folds. Helpful footnotes.

More How to Draw Manga: Penning Characters Go Office. Has a little bit of everything, there are even a few pages on panneling. Great for inking and anatomy.

Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 4:59 pm

my my my my lol you guys already have all of my art books up there XD hahahaha well there you go those are mine as well xD

Tasha9090

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XxBlaze_dragonxX123

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Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 8:28 pm

how to draw manga by ktcoope my first book that made me love anime and drawing it

Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2008 7:51 am

How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way by Stan Lee and John Buscema. Read it. And also any anatomy books by Andrew Loomis.

Madmatica

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qotal

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Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2008 8:11 am

Anatomy For Fantasy Artists by Gleen Fabry

Lee Hammond's Big Book Of Drawing by Lee Hammond

Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2008 7:02 am

Celena the fear of books is the end of knowledge XL
lots of time when I some one sees my drawings they might get excited and ask "where I learned how to draw?" But when I say it's from a book they seem disappointed. It might be the same if answered defiantly I don't know.
But I Think It's Just Plain Sad

heh-heh I'm not aloud to have books of to detailed anatomy
When I'm older I'll get um XP

Zukkyun

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Celena Waters

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Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2008 2:05 pm

Zukkyun

Celena the fear of books is the end of knowledge XL
lots of time when I some one sees my drawings they might get excited and ask "where I learned how to draw?" But when I say it's from a book they seem disappointed. It might be the same if answered defiantly I don't know.
But I Think It's Just Plain Sad

heh-heh I'm not aloud to have books of to detailed anatomy
When I'm older I'll get um XP

I don't fear them I just don't like them much. Who knows, I could run across some better ones someday. sweatdrop But they aren't the easiest things to find in my area for some reason.

Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2008 9:45 pm

"We're born alone...

Im not a big fan of art books, but i do i have a few by Christopher Hart they're like three years old, and i havent touched them since. Im trying to find better art books...more towards the anatomy of people and clothes. but the only problem is that it costs alot.

...and we die alone."