Fantasy Art Tutorials and Resources
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The FARP bookshelf, at 'FARP'

 
 

Fantasy Art Tutorials in the FARP Section

Book recommendations
   On Writing Well by William Zinsser
Zinsser's book is not only another excellent guide for composition but a discussion of the development and adoption of modern language. Anyone interested in historically accurate voicings would do well to read this book.
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   A Kick in the Seat of the Pants : Using Your Explorer, Artist, Judge and Warrior to Be More Creative
This man really isn't as violent as his titles are. He's just... very zealous? (Sylver)
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   Realms of Tolkien : Images of Middle-Earth
With over a dozen artists, this book provides a great diversity in the way Tolkien's works are visualized. From the intense detail of Alan Lee and Ted Nasmith to the graceful brush strokes of Cor Blok, this book is a must-have!
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   Beowolf: A Verse Translation
his is a version of Beowolf just coming out this August. Perhaps it will be worth looking into.
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   Atlas of Human Anatomy for the Artist by Stephen Rogers, Peck
I practically live by Peck's "Atlas of human Anatomy for the Artist. e's a bit long-winded and scientifically technical, but if you're erious about accuracy, you'll know the figure down to the tiniest bone. ince bones are the base, it's the best place to start. He's got bones, uscles, joints and limbs from every angle, plus this description of exual differences, a section on age, race, varieties of physique, some hotos, beautifully rendered bone drawings, "Agents of Expression", and n and on... --Jennifer, Gallery 33
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   Adobe Photoshop 5.5 Classroom in a Book
Designed to instruct you on the variety of tools available in Adobe Photoshop 5.5 that will help you produce sophisticated graphics for the Web and print. Each lesson provides step-by-step instructions for creating a specific project. Softcover. CD-ROM included.
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   The Elements of Style by William Strunk & EB White
The definitive language manual. Unlike the Harbrace handbook, which is a hefty tome, Strunk's Style is flimsy, thin: a short read. Strunk took pride in the smallness of his book - in writing he was a master of clarity and presence, and this book is especially strong in its discussion of those areas.
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   The Encyclopedia of Fantasy
This huge volume is the first comprehensive encyclopedia of the fantasy field. Not only does it describe the genre authoritatively, but it redefines it, offering an exciting new analysis of this highly diverse and hugely popular sphere of art. With more than 4,000 entries and over one million words, this volume covers every aspect of fantasy--literature, film, television, opera, art, and comics
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   J.R.R. Tolkien : The Hobbit and the Complete Lord of the Rings
As far as i'm concerned this is THE work other Fantasy writers have to measure up to. Even though the story in terms of action and plot turns is a little bit outdated; the first thing you have to remember is the year it was written. Those were different times and there were other factors and circumstances that might have influenced the author.
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   Draw 50 Horses
Arabians, Pintos, Morgans and Clydesdales: jumping, bucking, rearing, grazing and kicking -- all are in this collection of 50 drawings.
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   Draw 50 Flowers, Trees and Other Plants
By Lee J. Ames P. Lee Ames, Paperback, 1st ed., 64pp. The draw "50 flowers, trees and other plants" shows aspiring artists how to draw with ease by following the step-by-step methods.
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   The Artist's Handbook
A fully illustrated, highly detailed practical guide to painting, drawing, and printmaking. Another top-flight, how-to book from Dorling Kindersley, in the format--and the class--of The Photographer's Handbook. More than 1,000 photographs, drawings, paintings, etc.
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   The Languages of Tolkien's Middle Earth By Ruth S. Noel
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   Greek Gods and Heroes
A book recounting the heroes and gods of greek myth. It is supposed to be very good.
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   A Whack on the Side of the Head : How You Can Be More Creative
This book helped me out years ago to get rid of blocks such as "it has to be the wrong answer or it's the right answer" thinking. I recommend all of this author's books. (Sylver)
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   Pencil Sketching, 2nd Edition (Paperback)
The complete, classic guide to the art of pencil sketching. So many art books give long-winded descriptions of what to do, and even how to do it, yet they fail to capture the essence of what makes a drawing good. Wang concentrates on simple elements and rules of thumb, providing a wealth of wisdom in a few words and pictures.
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   Castles : Their Construction and History
This book has detailed floor plans and scale dimensions!
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   What People Wore : 1,800 Illustrations from Ancient Times to the Early Twentieth Century
One great guide to different costumes from various countries and through the ages.
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   Celtic Knots: Mastering the Traditional Patterns (Celtic Design)
A new step-by-step guide to the most popular form of Celtic design by Aidan Meehan, who is well known as a teacher and practitioner of Celtic design. Artists, designers, calligraphers, and craftspeople everywhere will find this book invaluable. Celtic knotwork is the single most widely appealing form within the rich repertoire of Celtic design. Aidan Meehan's new book provides step-by-step instruction for anyone who wants to master the traditional methods of freehand Celtic knot design and then progress to designing fresh knotwork patterns and variations
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   The Art of Michael Whelan by Michael Whelan
Award-winning artist Whelan has illustrated the work of almost every major author in speculative fiction. Here are featured all the artist's major recent paintings, as well as a series of 25 never-before-seen works produced especially for this book. Over 100 full-color reproductions.
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   Adobe Photoshop Handbook
Covers Mac and the Windows versions of Adobe PhotoShop. Tips and tricks you will not find in the user's manual. Includes full color art, step-by-step techniques and more. Adobe PhotoShop has become the industry standard in image-manipul
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   "Fantasy Art Techniques" by Boris Vallejo, Foreword by Isaac Asimov.
I'd recommend this book even to those who seem to dislike the subject matter and style of Boris' work. Only a fool would deny that the technical execution of these paintings is superb. The artist takes you through the creation process, complete with illustrations, tips and step-by-step descriptions. If you want to succeed at painting in oils, look this one up and read it.
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   Sketching With A Pencil: For Those Who Are Just Beginning
Hamilton explains, in a fine text accompanied by many simple sketches and finished drawings, how to sketch. He succeeds in encouraging development of competence and increasing satisfaction for amateur artists using the simple materials of paper, pencil, and eraser. Concentrates on fundamentals: how to hold a pencil and compose a drawing; and creating the illusions of depth and distance.
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   Knotwork And Spirals: A Celtic Art Workbook
Let the therapeutic power of Celtic art enter your world. Follow the ever-changing directional flow of the spiral as you reflect on the experiences of life, death and rebirth. Reproduce intricate knotwork designs as the past, present, and future commingle into an endless tapestry of life. Dozens of patterns some adapted from manuscripts and stone crosses, others from rough sketches that are gradually refined are presented in a workbook format by an acclaimed Celtic artist
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   The Story of Art by E. H. Gombrich
E.H. Gombrich's The Story of Art is one of the best introductory books on the history of art available today. The combination of Gombrich's insight into various art movements (particularly his discussion of Impressionism and Cubism) and the inclusion of many quality reproductions make this book exceptional.
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   "Colored Pencils for All : A Comprehensive Guide to Drawing in Colour " by Michael Warr.
A Comprehensive Guide to Drawing in Colour
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   Inside Adobe Photoshop 5.5
In Inside Adobe Photoshop 5.5, Gary Bouton's learning methodology is set up to give you hands-on experience with Photoshop's features, using either the imagery created in the book or the user's own. Gary goes well beyond simply reviewing the features and grounds his readers in the most practical and useful aspects of Photoshop-the real-world uses of this powerful program-before delving into the more complex, arcane, or esoteric uses of the program. Each chapter includes a balance of textual... read more
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   On Writing by Stephen King
The collected thoughts of a very successful author. While some of his suggestions are only loosely related with the craft itself, his book remains a rich resource nonetheless. This book contains a much more thorough discussion of tone, voice, diction, and rhythm than has been provided here.
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   "The Encyclopedia of Oil Painting Techniques" by Jeremy Galton.
I just love this series. Same as "The Encyclopedia of Fantasy and Science Fiction Art Techniques", featured on the FARP main page, this book is wonderfully presented and enlightening, and it will inspire you.
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   THE WRITER'S BLOCK : 786 Ideas to Jump-Start Your Imagination.
Here's the first book on writer's block that's packaged in the shape of a block. (3" x 3" x 3") With 672 pages and more than 200 photographs throughout. Next time you're stuck, just flip open THE WRITER'S BLOCK to any page and you'll find an idea or exercise that will jump-start your imagination.
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   Creating Characters: A Writer's Reference to the Personality Traits That Bring Fictional People to Life
Well-organized, examines many angles of a character. This book will help you dig into your characters to make them stand out, to make them more interesting and believeable. This book is more useful to a story writer than many story writing books.
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   The Illusion of Life : Disney Animation
Written by the ultimate Disney insiders, this "bible" of animation has become a legend in itself. This volume seeks to explain the process that makes Disney's animation unique--what sets the work of the Disney studios apart from other animation products. Here are original sketches of best-loved Disney characters, how memorable movie sequences were made, and anecdotes about working with Walt. Full-color throughout. National ads/media.
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   An Introduction to Acrylics (The Dk Art School)
The DK Art School series provides all the fundamental techniques both adult and juvenile artists need. At the heart of each book are twelve projects that explore the methods of the great masters. Each specially commissioned painting is broken down in step-by-step color photos that show every stage of its creation. Lists of materials, subjects, and techniques complete each volume. 300 color photosAn Introduction to Acrylics (The Dk Art School)
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   Eyewitness: Cat
Same story. This goes more in depth than the Zoobook on cheetahs. Also quit interesting to read!
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   Eyewitness: Eagles & Birds of Prey
I have to admit, childrens books seem to be your best bet for nice musculature studies. This particular book goes quite a bit more in depth than the Zoobook on eagles.
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   Drawing in Perspective.
Booknews, Inc. , June 1, 1995. Translation of a German work (1993, Ravensburger Buchverlag Otto Maier GmbH) intended for graphic artists. After coverage of vanishing points, points of view, and perspectives, presents a systematic survey of one-, two-, and three-point perspective; shadows; reflections; and computer-aided drawing. Abundantly illustrated. No bibliography. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.
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   History of Art by H. W. Janson, Anthony F. Janson.
This one I have read. It has amazing art work from every period of time. It is a wonderful book to learn history of art from.
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   The Animator's Workbook
An award-winning animator offers a complete course on the principles and techniques of drawn animation, covering every aspect of the process. In clear text and step-by-step drawings, he shows how to capture movement, expression, and emotion. Full-color illustrations.
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   The Artist's Complete Guide to Figure Drawing: A Contemporary Perspective on the Classical Tradition
If you are serious about taking a traditional approach to figure drawing and want to produce artwork of the finest quality, this is the book to look at. If you just want to learn to do quick sketches then you might look elsewhere, since the approach discussed is time-consuming and painstaking.
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   Color Mixing Bible
144pp by Ian Sidaway. All You'll Ever Need to Know about Mixing Pigments in Oil, Acrylic, Watercolor, Gouache, Soft Pastel, Pencil, and Ink!
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   Drawing Dynamic Hands
A reference work for artists providing a system for visualizing the hand in an infinite number of positions from a multitude of angles. Drawings show anatomical structures, actions, functions, movement and foreshortening.
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   Dynamic Figure Drawing
Figure drawing is the most essential--and the most difficult--of all skills for the artist to learn. In this book, Bruce Hogarth, one of the founders of the School of Visual Arts in New York, introduces his own revolutionary system of figure drawing, which makes it possible to visualize and accurately render the forms of the human body from every conceivable point of view. 300+ drawings & diagrams.
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   The Artist's Complete Guide to Facial Expression
A wonderful, unique resource for any artist depicting human heads and faces. As a professional who needs to recreate realistic human expressions in the computer, I keep it by my desk. Every step, from initially designing the head to every muscle involved in a pose, is explained and illustrated in detail.
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   Oil Painting for the Serious Beginner
"Oil Painting for the Serious Beginner : Basic Lessons in Becoming a Good Painter" by Steve Allrich. This author is one great teacher. He's very helpful, thoughtful, clear and logical. The chapters flow like a river, with over 100 illustrations to accompany the text. I personally learned quite a few things from it.
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   The Big Book of Drawing and Painting the Figure
The latest addition to the popular Big Book series, this volume will inspire every artist, working in every medium, who wants to include human figures in his or her artwork. Over 500 full-color illustrations.
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   Harbrace College Handbook, revised 13th edition, John C. Hodges editor
This is a typical college composition text. It's an excellent tableside reference for any question you might have concerning the language's structure, certainly
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   Exploring Colored Pencil
Angelo's newest book excels in every way possible: instructive, beautiful, and enjoyable to read. Angelo is an excellent teacher. Example: each section has 3 sets of exercises, one for each level of artist (beginner, intermediate, and advanced). All exercises are open-ended and offer as many opportunities for learning as you are willing to pursue. I also have two of her videos ("Realistic Colored Pencil Textures" and "Drawing Your Loved Ones: Pets") which are excellent as well. I'm ordering her older book (Colored Pencil Basics) today!
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   The Copyright Handbook
Writers, publishers, journalists, editors, librarians and anyone who works with words needs to understand copyright law. The Copyright Handbook provides step-by-step instructions and all the forms necessary to protect all kinds of written expression under U.S. and international copyright law.
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   Patent, Copyright & Trademark: A Desk Reference to Intellectual Property Law
Nolo is recognized for its attention to legal accuracy and clarity, and in Patent, Copyright & Trademark...the reputation is deserved.
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   The Copyright Handbook : How to Protect & Use Written Works
Providing forms and step-by-step instructions on such topics as transfer of copyright ownership, works for hire, fair use, and infringement, an updated edition offers copyright law guidance for writers, publishers, and educators.
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   The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain
The classic drawing-instruction book that teaches how to draw better from what you see.
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   Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain
Edwards uses the latest in brain research to explain how anyone can learn to draw more accurately and creatively. This edition contains a new illustrated section in color, several fully revised chapters, new sample drawings, and a new section on handwriting.
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   Affirmations for Artists
Sounds intriguing, worth a try. (Sylver)
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   Creative Whack Pack
It's not what you think! It's "An illustrated deck of 64 creative thinking strategies to enhance every player's creativity. Complete instructions are included with cards." (Sylver)
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   100 Keys to Great Acrylic Painting
100 Keys to Great Acrylic Painting by Judy Martin Hardcover Spiral edition
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   Complete Guide to Drawing and Painting
Hardcover, 288pp, covers Pencils, Charcoal, Pen and Ink, Watercolor, Oil, Acrylic, Pastels...
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   Voice and Style by Johnny Payne
Another resource for study-prone authors. The entire book is on the subject of voice, and it should be able to answer just about any question that arises.

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   Aliens and Alien Societies (Science Fiction Writing Series)
Whether you're a writer or a reader of science fiction, this how-to guide provides thought-provoking analyses of the ways in which aliens and alien societies can be portrayed convincingly. It's almost as fascinating as the many classic SF texts it analyses.
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   How to Tell a Story : The Secrets of Writing Captivating Tales
This book by Peter Rubie and the late Gary Provost is filled with the kind of hands-on advice you'd get from very good writing instructors. More clearly than in many other books, Rubie and Provost explore the nature of character, objectives, and obstacles, and demonstrate that plot and structure derive from character and conflict. While the book is primarily intended for writers of fiction and nonfiction narrative, the principles can also be used by screenwriters and playwrights, and in fact most of the authors' examples are taken from films.
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   The Writer's Guide to Character Traits
This book goes into a lot of detail about character traits. Very interesting book to help you develop your characters. It helps to understand why people do the things they do.
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   Something in My Eye by Michael Whelan
Michael Whelan's Art is incredible, and this book is simply beautiful. If you're wondering where you've seen this guy's artwork before, he did the cover of the paperback for Tanith Lee's Red as Blood which is in this book, as well as other art you may recognize. Fantastic!
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   Graphic Artists Guild Handbook of Pricing & Ethical Guidelines
First published in 1973, the Graphic Artists Guild Handbook has become the essential source for fair prices and practice. Assembled by the national organization for graphic artists, this 10th edition contains the latest information on business, pricing and ethical standards for nearly every discipline in the visual communications industry, from advertising to publishing to corporate markets.
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