Claudia Nice North Light Books Nonfiction, Art ****
Description
Fairies, elves, trolls, dragons... where does an artist find inspiration to draw them? Nice offers tips, suggestions, and numerous finished
paintings explaining how to create imaginative creatures from everyday ones.
Review
As a fan of Nice's work, I was happy to see a fantasy art book from her. More than half of it is devoted to humanoid creatures, mostly fairies,
which aren't my favorite fantasy beings but are nevertheless well done. Some of her proportions looked odd; centaurs are tough to draw in the best
of circumstances, but hers still bugged my admittedly overpicky eye, as did most of her attempts at dragons. Nice focuses mostly on the details,
with few whole-picture exercises to show how they might work in a scene. I enjoyed it on the whole, even if I wish she'd spent a little more time
on nonhuman creatures.
Claudia Nice North Light Books Nonfiction, Art *****
Description
Using these two media, the artist describes how to create realistic textures and effects. Both natural (fur, trees, weather) and manmade (fabric,
metal, glass) surfaces are covered. Each page is covered in full-color illustrations, annotated with text.
Review
Watercolors and I don't get along very well. I can never get them to do what they're supposed to. Still, I find myself turning again and again to
this book. Why? Because it's wonderful! Clear illustrations and easy-to-follow text make this an immensely helpful reference for any artist. Myself,
I prefer pen, but I have dabbled in colored pencil and acrylics. Much of her information is useful no matter the medium. I have even successfully
transferred a few of her techniques to pen with colored pencil! (Yes, colored pencil works differently than watercolor, but it's still a transparent
medium. Someday, I hope to try the same experiment with watercolor pencil... but I digress.) One warning, though, to any attempting to follow her
instructions to the letter: any technical pen nib finer than OO is a real pain to use! She likes to use 3x0 and 4x0 technical pen points, which I have
never gotten to finish a line, let alone a drawing. It's possible I'm doing something wrong, but if I'm having trouble, any beginner might. Otherwise,
her advice is sound.
Claudia Nice North Light Books Nonfiction, Art ****
Description
Claudia Nice shows how to sketch pets and people, from he own cats to the familiar faces of Santa Claus and his elfin helpers, with many sample
projects and sketches, using pen and ink with watercolor. Many full-page projects are described, and templates are provided.
Review
A thin paperback, this book offers many nice projects, but on the whole her larger books will tell you anything this book does, plus more. This
is most valuable as a book for project ideas, as here she focuses on completing a specific picture, with templates to help the new artist out.
Claudia Nice North Light Books Nonfiction, Art *****
Description
A noted pen and ink artist, Claudia Nice explains how to use this versatile medium to render various subjects, including animals, people, nature,
buildings, and more.
Review
I always find Nice's work inspiring. This book shows the reader/aspiring artist in great detail how she uses pen and ink (as a wash or in a
technical pen) to create many textures and moods. The text and illustrations are both very helpful. A great book for anyone who wants to learn more
about pen and ink art!
