8 helpful guides for digital artists
There are artists who like videos and there are artists who love books.
In the previous post (here) we gave you a list of helpful and inspiring YouTube channels, so today we are going to share the best books we know about digital art!
First thing we want you to know is about the existence of two great art magazines, ImagineFX and 2DArtist. These magazine focus both on digital and traditional art, sharing guides on programs like Photoshop, Painter, ZBrush and traditional tools. There are two other magazines about digital art, PainterMagazine and Photoshop Creative - though these two are a bit more expensive and much more focused on their software (Corel Painter and Photoshop), while the first two can give you general ideas about art and specific tips and tricks on digital programs as well!
Mind that this list doesn’t have an order of importance, and if we have pro and cons to share, those are written in each book’s description (:
1. Digital Painting Techniques
This is the third volume of the series created by 3dtotal Publishing - you can find all the volumes here.
This book features many illustrations and tutorials done by famous digital artists like Chee Ming Wong, Robh Ruppel and Ignacio Bazan Lazcano. These artists will share their knowledge on concept art, matte painting and digital painting in general.
This book is presented for artists of all levels, from students to professionals. The tutorials are easy to follow, though the theme is quite specific: if you are into sci-fi, fantasy and concept art, well, then this book is for you!
2. Beginner’s Guide to Digital Painting in Photoshop: Characters
Another guide created by 3dtotal Publishing.
This guide is for all those artists interested in creating detailed characters. Two of the featured artists are Charlie Bowater and Derek Stenning.
Despite the title, though, this book isn’t for beginners at all - the artists share tips and tricks, but a basic understanding of digital painting is needed.
The main program used by the artists is Photoshop.
3. The Digital Artist’s Survival Guide
Created by ImagineFX, this is a complete guide for digital artists, be them beginners of professionals, full of advice and inspiring tutorials to paint amazing environments, characters and creatures!
Another great issue created by ImagineFX, Digital Painting is a guide for digital artists who want to learn a bit more of how to paint from life. The book features workshops and video lessons too.
5. Fantasy Art Essentials
If we can say it, this book is our favourite. Not only it contains 228 pages, so more workshops and advices (+ a DVD), but it features both digital and traditional tutorials about fantasy art. So, our blog is about digital art, but this is a hell of a volume with artists like Andrew Jones, Marta Dahlig and Adam Hughes!
6. d'artiste Digital Painting 2: Digital Artists Master Class
The second volume of d’artiste series created by Ballistic Publishing. This book is a must-have masterpiece for digital artists. It features workshops from top artists like Mélanie Delon, Don Seegmiller and Marta Dahling and tips on apps like Photoshop and Painter. The subjects of the book are character and creature design and environment painting.
7. d'artiste Matte Painting 3
Another series from Ballistic Publishing, this time dedicated to matte painting. Have you ever seen those incredible landscapes featured in colossal movies or videogames? This book’s going to explain how top artists David Luong, Damien Mace and Milan Schere can paint such masterpieces.
With this guide you can learn about composition and how to start painting from concept to the final artwork.
Be aware that the three masters of this books have worked for World of Warcraft, Game of Thrones, Avatar, Harry Potter, Sherlock Holmes and many other films!
8. d'artiste Fashion Design: Digital Artists Master Class
Let’s face it: if you are an artist and you need help, you can’t say that Ballistic Publishing is useless. On the contrary, we can say that it presents the most complete series of volumes for any digital artist in need (or any art lover who likes his collections thorough and perfect).
This volume is great for character designers and it features a lot of tips and different approaches to the artwork. That means the reader is able to compare different art styles and be inspired from them!
We hope this list will help you! Good luck!
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