Art, it is a long journey. It is full of many, many small paw steps of practice. But, once in awhile we take a great stride or hop forward. Sometimes we nearly pounce a new revelation. While it can take a long time, having the right books—moreover using the right book in the right way—can help you gain the strength to wrestle larger artistic prey.
Veuillez excuser le désordre, er, excuse the mess and scarcity right now. We are still setting up, but hopefully soon will have some excellent references to learn from. Keep practicing, and most of all have fun!
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The Cadillac of anatomy books. Beautiful descriptions and full color photographs help you understand both the large masses and small nuances of the human form. Has several translucent vellum overlays which do a great job illustrating how bones and muscles represent themselves under a real figure. Provides a great starting point for beginners and is still useful for the experienced.
This is a staple reference book for anatomy, covering everything from skeleton to skin. It includes detailed, mostly readable descriptions on how the various parts of the body fit together, including where muscles attach to bones. Thankfully, it is full of illustrations to cover all this as well. Atlas is a good indexed reference for when you get confused about a joint or muscle and want to quickly find an example.
This book is an excellent reference for muscles. They painted a model with the superficial muscles of the body and then took over 200 pages of photographs with all sorts of poses and angles. There is no better book out there for seeing exactly how the muscles stretch, compress, and fit around and into each other. I highly recommended taking tracing paper and practicing by following the flows of one muscle group into another—it really helps memorization!
Nowadays, what drawing library would be complete without the Vilppu Drawing Manual? Revered by animators, it instructs artists on how to breathe the life of rhythm and flow into their drawings. It is very deceptive, seeming like it might be easy at first. But, expect to spend many, many hours going over just a few pages at a time. This is one of those books which teaches basic skills that take a lifetime to master.
A classic book for learning the basics of animal anatomy. Ken Hultgren was an animator on Bambi and provides excellent methods for building the structure of our four-legged friends. Also covers various techniques from sketching out patterns to caricature of the critters. A good starting point.
For those familiar with Vilppu, Weatherly was a student of his. What Vilppu does for the human figure, Weatherly does for animals, applying the same ides of gesture and construction. The more you pour over this book, the more life your underlying drawings will have wether you simply sketch them out or render them to an inch of their lives in acrylic.
This classic is a great beginning book on learning the fundamentals of anatomy and form, especially geared towards those of us who like cartoons. It teaches how to make up figures from simple shapes and put them in perspective. As a bonus, it also goes over many fundamentals of animation. This information can help liven up a still-image piece as well! It is a great stepping block up to other books like Vilppu or Weatherly.
Lastly, this is a fun book. Actually a children's book, it is absolutely delightful for a reference. It includes tons of photos of, well, animal faces. Each animal the book contains has about two-dozen pictures each, wonderfully illustrating the variances and individuality animals have among their own species. If you enjoy character design, get this book. Consider it a treat.
Perspective is one of those things that is easy to learn but very hard to master. Nothing encapsulates that more than this book. For under $10 US you can not afford not to get this book. It is thin (only 94 pages) but it will take months to pour over the information it contains. This book covers all the basics of perspective and then goes into various tricks and methods to help intuitively get the right perspective every time.
It is hard to classify this book. Does it belong under beginning drawing? Or perhaps it should go in composition. Rapid Viz teaches a visual shorthand for sketching out ideas quickly and accurately. It is under perspective here because of how much it covers properly constructing shapes and shadows. If you practice the exercises outlined in this book, you will be able to rough out compositions in no time.
It might seem odd to include a book on filmmaking in a library focused on drawing. However, if someone who can draw well also masters composition, they will be a force to be reckoned with. Shot by Shot goes into great detail about how to set up a frame to both create a pleasing balance, draw the viewer's eye where you want it to go, and when to break the rules when going for a particular effect. If you spend the time and sift through the technical filmmaking details, you will find gems of composition knowledge.
A cinematographer from the Film Noir period, John Alton talks about the principles of how to balance lights and darks in a composition. Includes many great tips on keying a composition to focus a viewer exactly where you want them to go. Because the author is from the black and white film era, this book is a wonderful primer on how valuable value is in a drawing over hue. If you can get a great composition in black and white, it will not matter what colors you use, letting you concentrate on using them for effect.
What can be said about this book that has not already been said a thousand times before? If you are interested in drawing, a little wet behind the ears, or have never touched a pencil before in your life, this is the place to start. Right Side is considered to be the beginners art book. Many artists got their start here.
A classic book that teaches how to draw from life using a very structured exercise schedule. It is a wonderful resource for learning to "see" like an artist and draw contours as well as learning the all-important gesture. This book is a good companion to Right Side of the Brain, to either learn in tandem or afterwards. Be prepared to spend a lot of time with this book, but once you are done you will certainly notice the difference.
Have you ever mixed two or more colors and the result was totally different than what you expected? This book is for you, in fact for all of us that work with mediums of color. It goes into detail about warm and cool hues of the same range, including getting a little into the physics and science of color to help you understand how pigments mix with one another. Not part of our fundamentals, but a valuable thing to understand.