educational

No matter what stage artists are in their careers, “it’s necessary to look toward the future eager to learn and to be better every day,” writes artist and best-selling author Marcos Mateu-Mestre (Framed Ink, Framed Perspective Vol. 1 & 2) in his latest book, Framed Drawing Techniques, which is packed with opportunities to do just that. In exquisite and thoughtful detail, Mateu-Mestre lays out distinct approaches to drawing in the book’s chapters—The Ballpoint Pen, Graphite Pencil, The Digital Way, and The Gray Scale—outlining the benefits and challenges of each, and specific techniques that can be applied to one’s work in all the mediums to achieve the greatest results. Alongside his important technical lessons, on everything from depicting reflected light on a character’s hair to how to add rain to dramatize a scene, is Mateu-Mestre’s awe-inspiring artwork, which serves to educate and motivate artists of all levels to discover what incredible storytelling is possible with a single pen or pencil (or tablet).

Are you ready to begin your career as a concept artist in the video game industry but don't know where to start?

The Big Bad World of Concept Art for Video Games: How to Start Your Career as a Concept Artist is book two in the Big Bad series, delving deeper into the subjects and topics explored previously in An Insider's Guide for Students. Going beyond the amateur level, this guide prepares the upcoming professional, or any other artist, for a future in the entertainment industry. Whether you are a graduating student joining the workforce, a young professional who has just broken into the job market, or even an existing professional frustrated with your current situation, receive help figuring out what comes next for a fulfilling career.

Eliott Lilly is a highly sought-after concept artist with over a decade of experience in the video game industry. He has worked for such prominent game companies as id Software, Treyarch, and Activision. He has contributed to several popular franchises, including Rage, Doom, and Call of Duty. Also an educator, Eliott teaches introductory concept art classes to university students.

With his firsthand knowledge of the ins and outs of the video game industry, Eliott Lilly is an exceptional guide who can help prepare you for the rewarding journey toward realizing your ambitions.

How can I be more creative? People from every walk of life have asked this question. Whether the motivation is to find more personal satisfaction in everyday life or to achieve success in the workplace, the desire for creativity, and the struggle to sustain it, is universal. Drawing on his varied experiences as a successful product designer and creative director, as well as a seasoned educator and a working parent, Fridolin Beisert’s Creative Strategies: 10 Approaches to Solving Design Problems uncovers priceless strategies to lead a more creative life—in any industry, at any level—whether you are a student, a teacher, a parent, or a CEO. Beisert’s approaches, cleverly and appropriately titled Pattern Breaking, Planting Limits, and Reality Hacking, to name a few, are revealed through case studies and personal anecdotes that are both entertaining and illuminating, and demonstrate that creativity is a skill that can be learned the same way that we learn how to ride a bicycle: by actively practicing it.

Perspective is a discipline often set aside when it comes to general art study, though it is essential to master in order to produce any piece of art that is and feels realistic. As intimidating as perspective may seem to aspiring artists, celebrated artist and author Marcos Mateu-Mestre takes the mystery out of understanding and applying it correctly with his highly anticipated two-volume collection, Framed Perspective.

In FramedPerspective, Vol. 1: Technical Drawing for Visual Storytelling, Mateu-Mestre equips artists with the technical knowledge needed to produce successful visual storytelling–related drawings: from understanding the basics of the space around us and how we perceive it, to more sophisticated endeavors such as creating entire environments that are believable.

Sure to be one of the most popular books in your art library, thanks to Mateu-Mestre’s thorough step-by-step explanations and awe-inspiring illustrations, Framed Perspective, Vol. 1 will train you to enjoy every curve and slope you see in the world and, more importantly, translate that vision into art with a solid comprehension of depth and proportion—in short, accuracy. Your perspective will never be the same!

Whether you’re an aspiring artist or new to the medium, seasoned instructor and accomplished artist Nathan Fowkes makes drawing portraits in charcoal not only accessible, but also a real pleasure! From stocking the best supplies to using them effectively, and composing a portrait while avoiding common mistakes, How to Draw Portraits in Charcoal by Nathan Fowkes will place you firmly on the path to producing the charcoal portraits you've dreamed of creating. His easy-to-follow tips, in-depth tutorials, and valuable exercises make this guide your first step toward building an understanding and appreciation for every face you draw. This handy book will not only equip you with the skills to capture them in beautiful charcoal fashion but also to transfer those skills to any media.

Do you dream of becoming a concept artist in the video game industry but don't know where to start? The Big Bad World of Concept Art for Video Games: An Insider's Guide for Beginners gives aspiring artists an honest, informative, and entertaining look at what it takes to do just that. Author Eliott Lilly will help you on your journey from finding the right school and how to get the most out of your education, to preparing your portfolio to land that first job. In addition, renowned concept artists—David Levy, Sparth, Stephan Martiniere, Ben Mauro, and Farzad Varahramyan—share their own dos and don'ts to making a career in the video game industry a reality.

How to Draw is for artists, architects and designers. It is useful to the novice, the student and the professional. You will learn how to draw any object or environment from your imagination, starting with the most basic perspective drawing skills.

Early chapters explain how to draw accurate perspective grids and ellipses that in later chapters provide the foundation for more complex forms. The research and design processes used to generate visual concepts are demonstrated, making it much easier for you to draw things never-before-seen!

Best of all, more than 25 pages can be scanned via a smartphone or tablet using the new Design Studio Press app, which link to video tutorials for that section of the book! You have to see it to believe it! An unprecedented technology, connecting printed matter to online digital educational content.

With a combined 26 years of teaching experience, Scott Robertson and Thomas Bertling bring you the lessons and techniques they have used to help thousands of their students become professional artists and designers.

This book is indispensable for anyone who wants to learn, or teaches others, how to draw.

Graphic L.A. is part practical instruction, part guided meditation on the importance of color values and objects in art. The reader is led by the professional instruction of Robh Ruppel; instructor at the Art Center College of Design, Gnomon School of Visual Effects, and Concept Art Academy. He is also a multiple award-winning art director of video games.

By reducing environments down to basic shapes and colors (or “symbols”), Robh builds astounding images. Robh documents the progression of building an image while referencing basic techniques. By using color with surprisingly bold brushstrokes, he produces images of incredible depth with intricate handling of light and shadow. It is a rare exploration into simplicity without resorting to minimalism.

Readers will be certain to take away both a sense of admiration for Robh Ruppel’s work and a greater understanding and appreciation for the importance of color value relationships in all forms of art.

Framed Ink – The ultimate guide to visual storytelling! How to make the audience “feel” the story while they are “reading” the story. Using his experiences from working in the comic book industry, movie studios and teaching, Marcos introduces the reader to a step‑by‑step system that will create the most successful storyboards and graphics for the best visual communication. After a brief discussion on narrative art, Marcos introduces us to drawing and composing a single image, to composing steady shots to drawing to compose for continuity between all the shots. These lessons are then applied to three diverse story lines ‑ a train accident, a cowboy tale and bikers approaching a mysterious house. In addition to setting up the shots, he also explains and illustrates visual character development, emotive stances and expressions along with development of the environmental setting to fully develop the visual narrative.

Spanish born Marcos Mateu Mestre is a visual concept, traditional animation layout, and graphic novel artist whose film credits include titles such as ‘Balto’, ‘The Prince of Egypt’, ‘Asterix and the Vikings’ and ‘Surf’s Up’ amongst others. With an extensive experience of twenty years in feature animation, working mainly for Dreamworks and Sony Pictures, he has also been teaching drawing, illustration and visual storytelling techniques for twelve years. His works as a film maker have mostly included both the design and cinematic aspects of film, taking care of frame composition, lighting and visual continuity of many key sequences in some major productions.

Monet in the Digital Age

Luminair presents a collection of digital life paintings by noted concept designer, Nick Pugh, who has developed this novel approach to traditional representational art. Painting from life, Pugh’s canvas is the laptop computer screen and his palette is the multitude of colors available to the digital artist.

Traveling from his home in California to rural New England, Europe, and South America, he has painted a variety of appealing images that capture the light and emotion of the scenes. For aspiring digital painters, a helpful guide to the process is included. Luminair is a lovely, unique book for artists and those who love art.