Sketching from the Imagination: Dark Arts

Sketching from the Imagination

by 3dTotal Publishing (Editor)

Sketching and drawing are fundamental to creating great art; the simple doodle is often where the artist first brings their ideas and concepts to life. In Sketching from the Dark Arts , we have gathered together fifty talented traditional and digital artists to showcase work from their sketchbooks, share inspiration, and give insight into how they create imaginative and dark illustrations. Featuring a range of artwork and artists from many fields, from concept design and animation to illustration and comic art, Sketching from the Dark Arts is a collection of beautifully macabre sketches with plenty of useful tips and creative insights—an invaluable resource that will inspire artists of all abilities.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Drawing, Horror

320 pages, Paperback

Published April 3, 2018

About the author

Originally a digital artist’s resource website, 3dtotal has grown into an industry-leading art-book publisher. Renowned for creating high-quality, inspirational, and practical tutorial books with some of the best artists working in the movie, games, animation, and publishing industries, 3dtotal Publishing sets the standard for modern art books.

Reviews

[Dani Nefasto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Muy inspirador ver el trabajo, las técnicas e inspiración de otros artistas.

[Barrita · Rating 5 out of 5]

El libro es muy bonito y bastante grueso, abarca una gran cantidad de artistas (50 y son unas 6 páginas por cada nombre).

Manteniéndose dentro del tema de artes oscuras, hay una interesante variedad de bocetos de estilos muy diferentes y pequeños insights en la inspiración y proceso de los artistas. Hablan de su técnica, los materiales que usan, como han ido definiendo su estilo y como se aproximan desde diferentes perspectivas al tema del arte de matices oscuros.

Los dibujos e ilustraciones van desde retratos tétricos, pasando por criaturas monstruosas hasta toda clase de temas mórbidos, en estilos que van de muy explícitos y terroríficos hasta engañosamente dulces o inocentes, sin olvidar los graciosos y los majestuosos. La mayoría son blanco y negro, escalas de grises, sepias o tonalidades muy oscuras de rojos, verdes y azules, manteniendo una consistente colección de lo macabro.

Conocí bastantes nombres nuevos y es un gran libro para buscar inspiración. El libro incluye referencias para visitar las páginas de las y los diferentes artistas, así que tengo mucho más por conocer aún. Me gusta que casi todos ellos hablan de como desde sus diferentes técnicas han abrazado los errores en el proceso, dejando la perfección de lado, para conseguir efectos más realistas, más viscerales y darle más vida (o muerte, en este caso) a su arte.

Definitivamente me interesa conseguir los libros de ciencias ficción, fantasía y criaturas.

[Ralph · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the fifty artists represented in this book, I found the greatest value in those that shared their backgrounds, inspirations, techniques, equipment and published art, which most of them did. But even amongst those who shared only rough sketches or were reticent about their personal lives, much can still be gained, benefiting and improving one's own artistic endeavors. Appreciated, also, was the range of subject matter, from gothic and Camillesque motifs to more supernatural and Lovecraftian imagery. Personally, I did not enjoy some of the more visceral efforts, but I still found them instructive; besides, as was mentioned in the Introduction, they go with the territory. All in all, an excellent book for illustrators, horror/fantasy fans or those who simply embrace the darkness. I'm looking forward to eventually getting the other volumes in this series about sketching, usually an underserved aspect of art.

[Nela · Rating 5 out of 5]

The "Sketching from the Imagination" series covers many different different genres, but I thought I'd probably enjoy this book the most. I knew a few of the featured artists, so it sounded the most promising.
I loved (most of) the art – from the quirky doodles to the fully rendered paintings, there's so much creative diversity to appreciate.

There's "just enough" text giving a bit of background on individual artists' inspiration and process, but the artwork still dominates every page. I got ideas for techniques I haven't tried yet, and each time I flip through it my hands itch to go sketching.

This is not an instructional book for beginners. There's no step-by-step drawings, nothing that will magically make you a better artist. It's really intended as a showcase of what is possible to achieve through (mostly) monochromatic sketching with different mediums.

[Yasmin Foster · Rating 5 out of 5]

I very much appreciated that we have a variety of styles and mediums. I especially liked that each artist gave information of their materials and techniques - introducing you to new things.
Paper was good quality too. Wasn’t glossy, so you didn’t get glare from the light.

[Louise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really interesting book on various artists and very inspiring.

[Febry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice

[Louise Rosendal von Essen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was spectacular!! I am going to be looking through this over and over again.