ART BOOKS

"Compendium of Watercolour Techniques" by Robin Berry is a comprehensive guidebook for artists of all levels who wish to improve their skills in watercolor painting. The book covers a range of techniques, from basic washes and wet-in-wet painting to more advanced techniques such as lifting, masking, and granulation. Each technique is accompanied by step-by-step instructions and illustrated examples to help the reader understand how to apply it effectively in their own artwork.

The book also includes helpful tips and tricks for working with watercolors, such as choosing the right paper and paint, mixing colors, and creating textures. With its clear and concise instruction, "Compendium of Watercolour Techniques" is an excellent resource for artists looking to enhance their watercolor painting skills.

Featuring a wide variety of mixed media techniques, including drawing and painting, stamping, stitching, ephemera, encaustics, collaging, journaling, and more, The Complete Book of Mixed Media Art is the perfect resource for artists exploring the many ways they can expand their artistic horizons with mixed media art.

Mixed media is all about experimenting with the materials available to you and honing your artistic skills. With this book, you will learn to effectively use paints, papers, fibers, stamps and stencils, found and repurposed materials, and many other materials. The techniques in this book are presented with simple step-by-step examples of how to wield basic art tools and materials to effect both traditional and cutting-edge mixed media concepts. Artists will not only learn a variety of new concepts and techniques, but also discover how to apply them within their own mixed media projects. With so many techniques to choose from, The Complete Book of Mixed Media Art will inspire artists of all skill levels to explore the many ways they can get started with the ever-evolving, ever-popular mixed media art form.

So get ready to get creative! With step-by-step art projects to apply newly learned techniques, bonus creative exercises to get your artistic juices flowing, and more than 500 photos to inspire you, The Complete Book of Mixed Media Art can truly help you develop your artistic style and talent.

"The Art of Spray Paint: Inspirations and Techniques from Masters of Aerosol" by Lori Zimmer is a captivating book that explores the history, techniques, and inspirations of aerosol art. The book features the work of over 20 artists who have mastered the art of spray paint, including Banksy, Shepard Fairey, and Futura 2000.

Through stunning visuals and interviews with the artists themselves, Zimmer offers readers an inside look at the creative process behind these incredible works of art. The book covers a range of techniques, from stencil and freehand spraying to mixed media and large-scale murals. It also delves into the cultural and political significance of aerosol art, examining how it has evolved and thrived in urban environments around the world. With its stunning images and insightful commentary, "The Art of Spray Paint" is an excellent resource for anyone interested in the history and techniques of this dynamic and vibrant art form.

"Bird Art: Using Graphite and Coloured Pencils" by Alan Woollett is a stunning book that offers a comprehensive guide to drawing birds using graphite and colored pencils. Woollett, a renowned artist and illustrator, shares his extensive knowledge and expertise in this beautifully illustrated book, which is perfect for both beginners and experienced artists.

The book covers a range of topics, from selecting the right materials and techniques to creating realistic textures and capturing the unique characteristics of different bird species. Each chapter includes step-by-step instructions and detailed illustrations that guide the reader through the drawing process. Woollett also offers helpful tips and advice on composition, lighting, and color, as well as insights into his own creative process. With its gorgeous artwork and informative instruction, "Bird Art" is an excellent resource for anyone looking to improve their skills in drawing and illustrating birds.

"200 Fun Things to Crochet: Decorative Flowers, Leaves, Bugs, Butterflies, and More!" is a vibrant and inspiring book that offers a wide variety of fun and whimsical crochet projects. Written by a team of experienced crochet designers and artists, the book features over 200 patterns for decorative flowers, leaves, bugs, butterflies, and other colorful and imaginative designs.

Each project is accompanied by clear and easy-to-follow instructions, as well as detailed photographs and illustrations that guide the reader through the process of creating each item. The book also includes helpful tips and tricks for working with different yarns and crochet techniques, making it an excellent resource for both novice and experienced crocheters. With its creative and playful designs, "200 Fun Things to Crochet" is a delightful source of inspiration for anyone looking to add a touch of color and whimsy to their crochet projects.

The Daler Rowney Colour Wheel is a useful accessory which enables you to visualise how colours will blend with and relate to each other by presenting various tones and shades in a circle. Simply select a colour on the outside wheel and then align it with a colour on the inside wheel and the resulting blend appears in the window.

Teaches color relationships by organizing colors in a circle so you can visualize how they relate to each other in a compact, convenient size!. Diameter 5-1/8" (13.0 cm)

Enter a magical forest filled with possibility for intricate tangled designs and bright, meditative coloring!It doesn't take much artistic skill to draw tangles and color inside the lines. But when you complete these fantasy-themed drawings with your own intricate tangle designs and patterns, then color them in, amazing artwork emerges.

In Tangled Fantasies: 52 Drawings to Finish and Color, Zentangle expert Jane Monk explores the fantasy world of mythical and imaginary creatures, hidden doors, secret paths, tangled forests, and more.More than a simple coloring book, Tangled Fantasies invites doodlers, tanglers, and colorists alike to step into the role of the artist with 52 interactive templates--you design the drawings yourself and color them in. Half of the drawings are complete and ready to color; the other half await your creativity and imagination to finish.

If you're new to tangled artwork, there's a primer in the beginning of the book, where the author offers instructional material to acclimate you to the process of intricate tangle art. Tangled Fantasies: 52 Drawings to Finish and Color is different from other tangle books out there, as it's designed to give you, the artist, more control over the finished images. Monk provides the basic outlines of forms in the drawings and you simply fill it in, personalizing the image and background with various tangles of your choosing.Getting lost in the forest has never been this fun, creative, or calming. Delve into your 52 drawings; who knows what you'll come up with!

Learn how to draw anything and everything people, animals, food and everyday objects in an adorable manner.

Kawaii: How to Draw Really Cute Stuff teaches you how to draw anything and everything people, animals, food and everyday objects in an adorable manner. You don't need any specialist tools or materials to start drawing cute stuff: all you need is a biro or marker pen, then you're ready to go!

With artist and illustrator Angela Nguyen, start by learning the techniques of kawaii through quick and easy exercises on the basic shapes, effects and style. You can then dive right into making your kawaii characters, as the step-by-step, how-to sequences inside make drawing cute stuff really simple.

A perfect book for beginners - add cute-appeal to any drawing in no time at all!

Learn to draw 28 different charming farm animals from scratch in a few easy steps

Learn how to draw all kinds of farm animals using this fun and easy step-by-step method. Starting with simple shapes, Susie Hodge shows you how easy it is to develop circles, rectangles, squares and ovals into an exciting selection of animals and birds including sheep, ponies, pigs and piglets, turkeys, hens, cows and ducks. If you have never drawn before this is definitely the book for you, and there is a lot here to inspire more experienced artists too.

Learn how to draw all kinds of woodland animals using this fun and easy step-by-step method. Starting with simple shapes, Susie Hodge shows you how easy it is to develop circles, rectangles, squares and ovals into an exciting selection of animals and birds including rabbits, badgers, woodpeckers, wolves, squirrels and chipmunks.

If you have never drawn before this is definitely the book for you, and there is a lot here to inspire more experienced artists too.

How to Draw Animal Friends provides all the information kids need to begin creating inspired drawings of all their favorite family pets. Aspiring artists begin each drawing with basic shapes, then follow the instructions, step by step, to finish with a realistic rendering of an animal.

In The Urban Sketching Handbook: Panoramas and Vertical Vistas, urban sketcher and art educator Mario Linhares gives a guided tour on how to explore and capture cityscapes, landscapes, and more in drawings from unique points of view.

In this thorough yet accessible book, you’ll learn how to:

Improve your drawing skills and selectively translate what you see for maximum impact

Fearlessly use your sketchbook as a laboratory for experimenting with various points of view and perspectives

Consider the many options for visual approaches with work contributed by a wide variety of experienced sketchers

Featuring eight special gatefold pages that showcase outsized images, The Urban Sketching Handbook: Panoramas and Vertical Vistas will show you how to heighten the visual drama of every subject.

The Urban Sketching Handbook series offers location artists expert instruction on creative techniques, on-location tips and advice, and an abundance of visual inspiration. These handy references come in a compact, easy-to-carry format—perfect to toss in your backpack or artist’s tote.

Discover a unique approach to creating art on location: start with a loose, colorful watercolor sketch, let that layer dry, then add details in ink. The result? Sketches that are more vibrant, dynamic, and fun!

Designer, urban sketcher, and author of The Urban Sketching Handbook: Sketch Now, Think Later, Mike Daikubara is your guide to this exciting method in The Urban Sketching Handbook: Color First, Ink Later:

Start with a detailed overview of the process, from optional light pencil sketch to finishing touches

Follow along several step-by-step demonstrations that apply the approach to a range of subjects, from still life to figures to architecture

Get inspired by an extensive gallery of on-location sketches

You’ll learn how to let watercolor do the hard work of urban sketching and enjoy the spontaneous effects and delightful surprises you’ll see in your artwork.

The Urban Sketching Handbooks series offers location artists expert instruction on creative techniques, on-location tips and advice, and an abundance of visual inspiration. These handy references come in a compact, easy-to-carry format—perfect to toss in your backpack or artist’s tote.

Explore new ways to capture nature in your on-location drawings and paintings through insightful tips and inspiring artwork from 40+ artists from around the world.

In The Urban Sketching Handbook Spotlight on Nature, Gail L. Wong and Virginia Hein share their secrets for getting beyond basic greenery. Presenting a variety of approaches, including detailed examples, quick tips, and “workshop” ideas for practicing the concepts, this book reviews important fundamentals for composition and color and inspires unique treatments and points of view.

There is a story to be told about nature wherever we are. Pack this handbook with your art supplies as you set out to tell your own stories of nature, and discover:

Different ways you can use nature to compose your story and your sketch, whether nature is the main character, the setting, or a frame for your composition.

A variety of approaches to representing the incredible variety of forms, surfaces, and textures we find in nature, including finding shape, proportion, and structure and creating depth.

Tips for finding the character of a place with advice on painting water movement, atmosphere and weather, and quality of light.

Places to find nature in a city, from a venerable landmark tree to a humble dandelion growing in a sidewalk crack.

An exploration of various methods of expressive interpretation, including sketching in monochrome, playing with color palettes, and simplifying shapes.

A gallery of inspirational examples of art showing a variety of different artistic styles and a list of 24 artistic challenges to develop your own style and skills.

Geared toward intermediate and experienced artists, but a great inspirational reference for beginners, The Urban Sketching Handbook Spotlight on Nature shows you the many ways you can bring nature to life on the page.

The Urban Sketching Handbook series offers artists expert instruction on creative techniques, on-location tips and advice, and an abundance of visual inspiration. These handy references come in a compact, easy-to-carry format—perfect to toss in your backpack or artist’s tote.

A good sketch starts with good bones.

The fourth book in the Urban Sketching Handbook series uses drawings and simple steps to explain the often challenging and overwhelming concepts of perspective in practical and useful ways for on-site sketching. Most books are either too abstract or don't provide enough information that relates to what you actually do when you're out in the busy, wide world about to start a drawing. Where do you start? How do you edit what you see to flatten and shrink it onto your paper? How does perspective work?

The Urban Sketching Handbook: Understanding Perspective helps you learn to think like an architect, to draw buildings and spaces by reducing what you see to simple, basic shapes, then adding layers in simple steps, and finally finishing your sketch with detail, tone, and color--in accurate perspective. Full of helpful tips, architect and illustrator, Stephanie Bower even de-constructs sketches to show you how to create them! Once you understand perspective, it will change the way you see the world--you'll see perspective everywhere.

Some of the key concepts explored in this volume are:

Basic Terms

Basic Spatial Principles

Types of Perspective

Building a Sketch in Layers

Special Conditions

Master the challenges of drawing on location with this collection of insider know-how and expert tips and techniques.

Illustrator, architect, and international workshop instructor and Urban Sketcher Stephanie Bower has collected 101 of her best insider drawing tips, hacks, and techniques and shares them in this fully illustrated, portable book. Learn shortcuts to getting your perspective right, determining your composition, and balancing your light and shadow.

This book collects many basic drawing techniques into one handy volume:

How to draw a great line

Using ellipses to draw arches

How towers are like wedding cakes

The importance of your eye level line in sketching

and 97 things more!

The book also features beautiful example illustrations from Urban Sketchers around the globe! Whether you are new to sketching or are an experienced artist, this book is chock-full of useful, practical, and clever tips to take your drawing to the next level.

The Urban Sketching Handbook series offers location artists expert instruction on creative techniques, on-location tips and advice, and an abundance of visual inspiration. These handy references come in a compact, easy-to-carry format—perfect to toss in your backpack or artist’s tote.

In The Urban Sketching Handbook: Drawing Expressive People, urban sketcher and workshop instructor Róisín Curé shows how to make your figures more than just anonymous bystanders by sharing the basics of drawing people on the go as well as how to successfully render poses, faces, and expressions.

Following an essential section on proportion, you’ll find tips, tricks, and examples for surmounting the intimidating prospect of capturing ever-shifting subjects, plus techniques for portraying poses accurately and distilling details that convey personality and emotion, whether individually, in small groups, or in crowds.

Bring figures and people to life on the page and tell an authentic visual story with The Urban Sketching Handbook: Drawing Expressive People.

The Urban Sketching Handbook series offers location artists expert instruction on creative techniques, on-location tips and advice, and an abundance of visual inspiration. These handy references come in a compact, easy-to-carry format—perfect to toss in your backpack or artist’s tote.

A beautifully illustrated introduction to the study of human anatomy by best-selling artist and author, Giovanni Civardi. An approachable and informative guide to studying and drawing the human form by best-selling master artist Giovanni Civardi.

This invaluable addition to Civardi's highly regarded collection of instructional art books illustrates and describes the importance of understanding the inner workings of the human body, to the theory of composing accurate life drawings with pencil and paper.

Begin by discovering the journey artists have taken through the centuries to accurately delineate the human figure. Learn and understand how our bones and muscles play their roles in our shapes, gestures and movement. Every essential aspect of anatomy is supported by photographs and diagrams, along with beautifully drawn examples by the artist.

This comprehensive manual offers the perfect introduction and reference guide to drawing the human form, whether you are an experienced artist or a practised student studying the art of life drawing.

Dive into figure painting with this fresh take on capturing the human form in watercolour.

Painter Leo Crane and art model Roy Joseph Butler explore how to interpret the gestures and movements of the figure through the language of paint. Through a range of exercises, they show how to work with the fluidity and immediacy of watercolour to create lively paintings that are bursting with character and narrative possibility.

With experience in both fine art and animation, they share tips on bringing life to the figure, and encourage you to discover a liberating and enjoyable approach to paint. Packed with techniques, exercises and step-by-step demonstrations, the book covers:

The Figure: Observing the human figure and working with life models.

Watercolour: Materials, tools, techniques and colour theory.

Speed: Capturing movement and painting at speed, with two-minute studies.

Gesture: Poses, sequences and conveying expression.

Story: Creating mood, context, composition and narrative.

Beyond the Figure: Bringing human energy and movement to still life, animals and landscapes.

From the models: Life model case studies.

Paintings by Leo feature throughout to demonstrate the working process through to finished product. With a focus on the dynamic exchange between artist and subject, speed, gesture and story, this book will appeal to artists looking anew at life painting and who are eager to capture the essence of character in movement.