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5th out of 17 books
—
12 voters
My rating:
add to my books
Imaginative Realism: How to Paint What Doesn't Exist
by
James Gurney
An award-winning fantasy artist and the creator of Dinotopia, James Gurney instructs and inspires in Imaginative Realism: How to Paint What Doesn't Exist. Renowned for his uncanny ability to incorporate amazing detail and imagination into stunningly realistic fantasy settings, James Gurney teaches budding artists and fans of fantasy art step-by-step the techniques tha...more
Paperback, 224 pages
Published
October 20th 2009
by Andrews McMeel Publishing
(first published 2009)
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(More pictures at parkablogs.com)
If you are a regular reader of James Gurney's blog, Gurney Journey, you would expect nothing less. This book is as good as I expected. He dispenses his knowledge as freely as he does on his blog. Here's what he says about his own book from the introduction:
This is not a book about figure drawing, anatomy, or perspective. It's not a step-by-step guide on how to draw dinosaurs. It's also not a recipe book for a particular paint tec...more
An interesting insight into how an artist creates fantastical worlds.
This book isn't really a tutorial book on drawing, but much can be learnt from it. You will gain endless tips from it's study and it will fill you with ideas and inspiration.
I think essentially Gurney breaks down the fear of stepping away from the'copying' of life and photography, supplying the reader with techniques which free them to put down their imagination with confidence.
Some of the s...more
This book isn't really a tutorial book on drawing, but much can be learnt from it. You will gain endless tips from it's study and it will fill you with ideas and inspiration.
I think essentially Gurney breaks down the fear of stepping away from the'copying' of life and photography, supplying the reader with techniques which free them to put down their imagination with confidence.
Some of the s...more
This book...well, read Parka's review if you like the kind that actually tells you about what the book covers.
tl;dr: My mind exploded after reading this book.
This volume blew me away, even though the cover was dog-eared and damaged after its journey from the States to where I live. This is not just for fantasy artists: what Gurney shares in this book can be applied to any form of image-making in any medium. Anyway, where was I? Get this book if you are even remotely inter...more
tl;dr: My mind exploded after reading this book.
This volume blew me away, even though the cover was dog-eared and damaged after its journey from the States to where I live. This is not just for fantasy artists: what Gurney shares in this book can be applied to any form of image-making in any medium. Anyway, where was I? Get this book if you are even remotely inter...more
Angela Sasser
rated it
Recommends it for:
aspiring artists
Shelves:
illustration-resources,
ang-s-favorite-books
"There is no line between fine art and illustration; there is no high or low art; there is only art, and it comes in many forms."
I knew I would love this book the moment I read this line from the section "Art in the Twentieth Century" detailing the shift from demand for original art to printing and publication. There is a progressive attitude here that treats all forms of art as a means to an end, tools to aid in the expression of a vision. Leave all your doubts...more
I knew I would love this book the moment I read this line from the section "Art in the Twentieth Century" detailing the shift from demand for original art to printing and publication. There is a progressive attitude here that treats all forms of art as a means to an end, tools to aid in the expression of a vision. Leave all your doubts...more
This book provides great insight into how an excellent painter works. What didn't appeal to me was that an essential part of his process for virtually every painting was first building a maquette (small model) and working from that. There is tons of information about working with clay, foam, etc. This doesn't interest me, as I prefer to go more purely from mental imagery rather than from models.
Anyone who is seriously interested in art needs to have this as part of their studio reference book collection. James Gurney (creator of Dinotopia) puts "imaginative visual art" into perspective and practice. Many artists get caught up in trying to create worlds of their own without wanting to draw from life; Gurney explains that this is 100% necessary if you want to create your own worlds. You must create color studies of landscapes (from life), you must draw figures (from life), you ...more
This book has some great practical advice. I like that he actually delves into the practicalities of working in a studio and working on doing commercial illustration. The cover is ridiculously embarrassing as well as some of the sections on the alien characters. However the rest of it is great.
This book inspired me to seek training in sketching, hopefully to build a capability to convey ideas (satire?) While learning how the author approached painting what doesn't exist, the reader gets some really cool, pretty illustrations.
Based on Gurney's excellent art blog, this is one of the most useful art guides I've ever come across, with practical advice on many aspects of planning and creating realistic representations of imaginary or historical subjects.
Beautiful book filled with lots of great ideas and tips. Not really a step by step how to, but it's very inspiring and Gurney offers quite a bit of techniques for any artist to try.
Highly recommended. My review can be found on my reviews blog.
James Gurney did a fantastic job writing this book. It was informative and inspiring. Many of the tips he gave could be easily used in a variety of mediums. I highly recommend it to my fellow artist friends.
Granted, this is an excellent source for painters who want to hone their craft, but you don't have to be one to enjoy Gurney's artwork and comprehensive approach.
Will have to post more of my books in the future, but this is one I'm currently reading. Great book and full of material that you won't normally find in your typical art book.
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Born June 14, 1958 in Glendale, California. Raised in Palo Alto, the youngest of five children of Joanna and Robert Gurney (a mechanical engineer). Earned a B.A. in Anthropology in 1979 with Phi Beta Kappa honors from the University of California at Berkeley. Studied painting at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena,California, where he met his wife Jeanette. In 1984 they moved to the Hudso...more
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