The Fantasy Illustrator's Technique Book
Gary A. Lippincott
Barron's
Nonfiction, Art
****
Description
Fantasy illustration is a specialized field. Not only does the artist need a basic understanding of color, form, anatomy, perspective, and composition, but they need to know how to make the unreal, the implausable, and the downright bizarre look like it belongs in reality, if not ours then in a world visible in our mind's eye. Lippincott, a well-known fantasy illustrator, outlines the techniques he uses to create illustrations, from sketchwork to selecting media for finished results, plus a gallery of other artists' renderings to stimulate the imagination.
Review
This is a nice, inspiring book on the subject of fantasy art, with plenty of good advice and practical examples. I think he glossed over the importance of some things, most notably anatomy work when dealing with fantastic beings or beasts, but he wasn't trying to write an all-inclusive guide; any gaps here could and should be filled in by other books in one's artistic library (not to mention personal observation and the requisite practice.) It's fun to page through, and certainly makes me want to create more. Those are the two primary reasons I read books on art, so it gets good marks from me.