Useful Reference Books and Materials

This is a listing of books I have found useful over the years. I plan to expand this list as I pick up new books in the near future.

Drawing: The Head & Figure - Jack Hamm - 1983
Jack Hamm lays out the fundamentals of rendering figures and form in this indispensable guide. Very handy for learning to quick sketch, observation of your subject, and basic layout principals.

Drawing & Painting Fantasy Figures: From the Imagination to the Page - Finlay Cowan - 2003
A pretty good basics book for the beginner. I find it helpful to go back now and then to refresh on things that my habits have somehow neglected to include.

Dynamic Anatomy - Burne Hogarth - 1990
You really can't beat Hogarth's take on geometric anatomy. It helps to lay everything out in building blocks rather than one large, confusing lump. I enjoy Hogarth's approach to anatomy a great deal.

Dynamic Wrinkles and Drapery - Burne Hogarth - 1995
Another Hogarth book. This one focusing more on how things interact and react to the structure of the human form. Very helpful.

Quick Study Academic - Muscular System - BarCharts, Inc.
No more than a laminated sheet that details the muscular system of a male figure in biological detail. If I remember correctly I picked this up in a College Bookstore. It was probably intended for Anatomy or Biology classes, but it works great to get a quick look at how the body fits together in relative realism. (www.quickstudycharts.com, www.barcharts.com)

Quick Study Academic - Skeletal System - BarCharts, Inc.
The same as the Muscular System sheet. I bought them as a pair, but I don't use the skeletal one all that frequently. It would be handy to tackle some undead skeletons or some such thing though.

Thunder Lizards: How to Draw Fantastic Dinosaurs - Steve Miller (Brett Booth) - 2005
Although not a scientifically sound reference (is there one for dinosaurs really?), this book is more than helpful to get the basic feel of the big beasties. I use this a lot for fantasy creatures such as dragons to get a good start on anatomy and skin texture.

People and Poses: Comic Artist's Photo Reference - Buddy Scalera - 2006
This book is simply amazing. Sure you can collect your own reference photos or even hire a model, but this book is a great compilation and can teach a young artist the whats and whys of how to build your reference library. Buddy knows comics and how they are made. This is a huge asset, but not as huge as the CD Rom that comes with the book. It holds 1,000+ images for reference. Not too shabby. You can pick this one up at www.Impact-books.com.

Albinus on Anatomy - Robert Beverly Hale and Terence Coyle - 1979
Another very useful insight to anatomy on various levels. My only issue with this is it is mostly working from another artist's illustrations. The upside to that is that the artist was extremely talented and knew his stuff. Overall a very useful reference to have.

Downloaded a nice set of Andrew Loomis ebooks here: http://www.placidchaos.com/AM/index.php/2006/02/21/andrew_loomis
Why are they so great? Well, Loomis is considered one of the modern greats in illustration, and the information he imparts in these books is priceless to any illustrator, painter, or artist making use of traditional or digital impersonations of traditional art.
You'll get:
Creative Illustration - Andrew Loomis - Viking Press - 1947
Drawing the Head and Hands - Andrew Loomis
Figure Drawing for All It's Worth - Andrew Loomis
Fun with a Pencil - Andrew Loomis - Viking Press - 1939
The Eye of the Painter (and the Elements of Beauty)
Successful Drawing

Color and Light: A Guide for the Realist Painter - James Gurney - Andrews McMeel Publ., LLC - 2010
This is my new best friend. Honestly, I didn't recognize James Gurney's name at first, but he is the creator and illustrator of Dinotopia. Who doesn't love Dinotopia? I mean, really, come on. It's awesome and his paintings are so life-like. I had to pick it up and thumb through the pages. When I did, I was amazed that he was talking to me. I'm an artist who grew up doodling and perfecting pencil work, but never really understood how to 'see' like a painter. Well, James can teach you that if you check out his book. Love it!

Definitions of 'Art' Words

This Post will serve as an Art Word Dictionary for easier reference to words every artist should know by heart. I did a couple searches for an Art Word Dictionary and came up fairly empty so I hope this will be useful to others as well.

Anatomy - The structural make-up of a figure. This is how the person or creature is put together. Where do their arms go? How do they connect? What connects them? Anatomy has to look believable. Reference is necessary as often as possible to help sell this element of your piece. Guesswork on Anatomy will only cheapen your piece and leave the viewer wondering what it is about the figure that bothers them so much.

Composition - The basic organization of objects within a piece. This is your layout. How the various different parts of your piece are arranged and how they interact with one another along lines of proportion and space. Composition is dependent on a certain element of balance and symmetry too. How the whole of the piece reads when viewed has everything to do with how each part is placed. Sometimes a subtle shift of even one element can change the entire composition.

Contour - The outline of a form. Usually referring to a curving or irregular figure. Also could be the actual line representing the outline. Could also be the general form or structure of something.

Critique - This is a critical viewing and commentary on a piece of art. Critiques should be sandwhiched or weighted toward the positive giving at least one, preferably two, positives to every negative comment. Constructive criticism is not bashing, it's helping.

Hue - another word for color.

Local Color - essentially the color your eye tells you to expect of a thing. (I.e. A tree is supposed to be a brown trunk with green leaves. Brown and Green are the local colors of a tree.)

Monochromatic - Using any Shade, Tint, or Tone of one Color.

Perspective - The artistic technique of forcing depth and dimension into a two-dimensional piece to create the illusion of a three-dimensional view. This is achieved by making use of vanishing points, horizon lines, point-of-view, curved lines, and certain cinematic effects such as the mimicry of a fisheye lens.

Primary Colors - Red, Yellow, and Blue.

Secondary Colors - Orange, Green, and Violet (purple is a crayon). Created by mixing two Primary Colors to form a new color.

Shade - Color + Black.

Tint - Color + White.

Tone - Color + Gray.

Value - The lightness or darkness of a color. Often associated with the Tint, Tone, or Shade of a Hue.