Drawing & Painting Fantasy Landscapes & Cityscapes
Rob Alexander
Barron's
Nonfiction, Art
Themes: Locations with Character
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Description
Aimed at the serious artist or student, this book covers the fundamentals behind creating interesting, engaging, and original fantasy settings, from primeval forests to futuristic dystopias and everywhere - or everywhen - between.
Review
Like so many art books, I bought this one because it made me want to create. I may not be quite at the artistic skill level to crank out artwork remotely on this scale, but I still enjoyed it. The author approaches the subject by stressing the need for fundamental artistic knowledge - perspective, proportion, composition, lighting, colors, etc. - before one bends and breaks the rules for fantasy. No one medium was emphasized over any others; traditional oils and ink share equal time with modern acrylics and digital painting techniques, and several featured artists cross back and forth between them. After covering the concepts involved, several images are dissected step-by-step, from sketchwork to final piece. A final gallery shows more of the principle points "in action," as it were. It's an inspiring read for those who dream of making their own fantastic visions a reality, if only on paper or canvas.