Book recommendations for the pencil artist

[Elankat]

Here is a list of books that come highly recommended. Please feel free to add your own favorites to this thread.

If you are looking for good books for your art library or to put on your Christmas list, here are some that I love.

Colored Pencil

IMO, there are 3 "must have" books for CP:
The CP Solution Book by Gildow and Bendetti Newton - A great general book for textures, still life subjects, and much more!

Colored Pencil Portraits Step by Step by Ann Kullberg - Excellent for people, clothing, some background, light, drama, and general advice.

Capturing Soft Realism in Colored Pencil by Ann Kullberg - Just as excellent as the portrait book, but covers scenic elements. The instructions are incredible and it covers a large number of items like old & new brick, wicker, tennis shoes, etc.

Between those three books, you have step by step instructions on how to render almost all subjects in CP.

The "bonus" book would be Paint Radiant Realism in Watercolor, Ink & Colored Pencil by Sueellen Ross. It is a great book for combining the mediums and decreasing some of the time that pure CP takes.

Anatomy

My library also contains a good anatomy book. Actually, I have two relatively inexpensive ones that, combined, are very comprehensive. IMO, a good anatomy book is essential if you want to draw any portion of the human body.

I'd recommend Atlas of Human Anatomy for the Artist by Stephen Rogers Peck as an inexpensive starter. If you combine it with Arthur Thomson's Handbook of Anatomy for Art Students you will have everything you never (yes, never) wanted to know about anatomy.

Portraiture

If you are doing portraits or faces, I'd recommend The Artist's Guide to Facial Expression by Gary Faigin. It is simply the best and most comprehensive book for facial anatomy that's out there. It's particularly invaluable if you want to portray emotion or don't work from photographs.

How to Draw Lifelike Portraits from Photgraphs by Lee Hammond is another good one. I'm not a huge fan of Hammond's books and this is the only one that I'd recommend. It's a very good beginner's book. I don't have this one in my library, but I will probably add it at some point just to have it.

Even though it is mainly for painters, I'd also have to recommend Chris Saper's Painting Beautiful Skin Tones With Color & Light in Oil, Pastel and Watercolor. If you work in color, the book has wonderful information on skin tones and the use of complementary colors

General Drawing
Nothing is better than JD Hillberry's Drawing Realistic Textures in Pencil and if you ever work with graphite, the book is a fantastic resource.

[Arlene]

super list and I'll definitely add to it in a few days. Anyone else?

[KarenCardinal]

Well, I think LeAnne has hit on some of the best resource books.
Thanks so much LeAnne! :D

I also found the lessons from Bet Borgeson to be a fabulous addition for me. I could never do my works so fast if it weren't for her instructions.
My two favorite are "The Colored Pencil" and "Colored Pencil
for the Serious Beginner" (http://borgesonstudio.com/books/orderbks.htm) I still refer back to those from time to time.

For the basics... which I'm always trying to learn, I love Keys to Drawing (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0891343377/qid=/sr=/ref=cm_lm_asin/104-3915785-6819955?v=glance),
Dynamic Figure Drawing (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0823015777/qid=/sr=/ref=cm_lm_asin/104-3915785-6819955?v=glance), Dynamic Wrinkles and Drapery (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0823015874/qid=/sr=/ref=cm_lm_asin/104-3915785-6819955?v=glance), and Drawing Dynamic Hands (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0823013685/qid=/sr=/ref=cm_lm_asin/104-3915785-6819955?v=glance).
I'd also like to get Anatomy for the Artist (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/078948045X/qid=/sr=/ref=cm_lm_asin/104-3915785-6819955?v=glance). It looks like it would be a great reference book.

[Norma69]

LeAnne - thanks for starting this thread! Most of the books in my library on those reccommended from you and the new members ;)
Will - Check out the Faigin Book

Thanks again Norma

[CindyH]

For combining colored pencil and other media, I love..

Colored Pencil Explorations by Janie Gildow

[Nancy]

Those are great books you listed!! I have all of them except for the anatomy & portraiture ones - I have different books for that.

I'll add a few more that I have:

The Complete Guide to Colored Pencil Techniques by Beverly Johnston - this is a bit on the expensive side and it's okay, but not great.

The Art of Drawing: The Complete Course - I like this book. It also has a section on colored pencils, but you can use a lot of the techniques they teach when you paint in colored pencils too.

Realistic Pet Portraits in Colored Pencil by Anne deMille Flood - This is where I went to learn how to paint animals in colored pencils. I love this book!!! If you paint pets and you want to learn a bit more about it, this is the book!

Colored Pencil Drawing by Sandra Angelo - Very affordable book with plenty of great artwork in it. She teaches some different techniques and a few demonstrations, but she doesn't go into enough detail when she talks about choosing a surface.

[Judy Caudill]

What a good idea--Thanks for the list--I for one will check them out...

[Arlene]

Sandra D'Angelo's book is the one i was thinking of specifically...it's really the best book out there for beginners.

[Gemma]

For Drawing, Sandra D'Angleo has one titled, "So You Thought You Couldn't Draw". I have reccommend this one to lots of people, it's a great book. The thing that is really cool about this book is it's a workbook so all your practising is done right in the book and you can see your progress as you go.

Gemma

[ArtWench]

Since I am a bibliophile in the worst way, I thought I'd add my two cents worth into the mix:

Aside from the books that LeAnne mentioned, I have Creating Textures in Colored Pencil by Gary Greene. This has helped me immensely with rendering metals, glass, wood, & fabric.

I have two Antatomy books which are ancient. The first is still in print, Bridgman's Life Drawings by George B. Bridgeman. I've had it since high school and really have dog eared it! The second is a huge gorgeous book by Jeno Barcsay called Anatomy for the Artist. I got that as a graduation gift and used it extensively as well. The drawings are much more sophisticated and tighter than the Bridgeman; but, both books are excellent anatomy books.

My favorite book on color is Blue & Yellow Don't Make Green by Michael Wilcox. Definitely an eye opener on mixing colors. Though it is mostly geared toward paint mixing, there is a lot of valuable info for the CP artist as well.

And finally, I don't know if it is still in print; but, a great general studio book to have around is Studio Tips for Artists & Designers by Bill Gray. My copy is ancient... I've had it since college, and thus I don't know if it is still in print; but if you see one in the second hand store, snatch it up. It contains all sorts of helpful tips from care of paintbrushes to how to draw in perspective. Some of the items are geared more toward the graphic designer; but, the majority of the book applies to artists as well.

[Roses]

The Artists Complete Guide To Drawing The Head by William L. Maughan This author works in pastel pencils ( CarbOthellos # 645 Caput Martuum Red and # 100 Titanium White) and Strathmore's Charcoal Paper in Velvet Gray only. He used the paper color itself as the middle value. He has multiple photos of sharpening the pencil the way he uses it. His drawings in this book are all based on value and soft edges.

Creative Color Pencil Landscapes by Vera Curnow This is a small book and is out of print. The author takes a reference photo and has three artists paint a picture of it. It shows the crops the artist made, the color pencils they used, and a final photo with closeups of the completed painting. All are of landscapes. Just seeing the vastly different paintings that come from the same photo make this worthwhile to have.

[ann_aurora]

Great CP books, and you can't beat the tried-and-true anatomy and figure study books. It's so interesting to see what different artists focus on, and what they ignore, where they assume people will have problems, and where they don't.

I really like Sarah Simblett's Anatomy for the Artist. It's a big, heavy hardcover book--a DK publication. That publishing house is justfiably famous for its photography work. If you have kids, you may know their Eye Witness series. In Anatomy for the Artist, Simblett not only discusses anatomy in great detail, but her drawings are, in many cases, presented as overlays on photographs, so you can see where the vertebrae are, and the major nerves and muscles, and so on. It really helps me "find" things in photo references. The models are young and beautiful, but simply so, in a natural way, and are from all racial groups. There are great sections on the body in motion that I just enjoy looking at. She also analyzes some very famous paintings and compares the pose, say, of one of Degas' bathers, with a real person in the same pose, which is also very helpful. There are also sections on drawing specific body parts, such as feet and hands, which include helpful exercises. Another interesting feature is her overview of the history of drawing the human form, including how the body has been understood at different times. This book, along with Bridgman's, can keep you going for a long, long time!

I also like Barbara Bradley's Drawing People: How to Portray the Clothed Figure. Clothed and naked are very different, but there are very few resources that focus on the clothed (as opposed to draped) human form. Bradley writes clearly and simply about the structure of the body in ordinary movement, and the way that rhythm is expressed in the movement of clothing over the body. She has excellent sections on anatomical relationships that are much more complete than the "7 to 7 1/2 heads" kind of thing. Best of all is the section on folds and finding the body underneath them. If you, like me, have trouble with "drapery," Bradley helps make it all so much clearer, and fun, too! Her own drawings appear throughout the book, and have such charm and energy that when I look at them, I want to copy them to find out what I can learn from her. It's also a nice bonus that she works with a great variety of people, from babies to elders, of all shapes and sizes, mostly in casual attire, and quite a few drawn at a historical re-enactment site--period costumes.

[Katydid]

Creative Color Pencil Landscapes by Vera Curnow This is a small book and is out of print. The author takes a reference photo and has three artists paint a picture of it. It shows the crops the artist made, the color pencils they used, and a final photo with closeups of the completed painting. All are of landscapes. Just seeing the vastly different paintings that come from the same photo make this worthwhile to have.[/QUOTE]

I love all of Vera Curnow books. They are hard to find, but it is worth looking for them.

[artfulscribe]

Great thread! I see a lot of books that are on my shelves, and some new ones that should be!

Not technically-oriented, but I think every cp artist should have at least a couple of the "Best of Colored Pencil" books that showcase the finalists from past CPSA exhibitions. It's so inspiring to see these masterworks, and it's a good snapshot of how versatile cp really is! In fact, it was one of these books that turned me onto colored pencil to begin with. They're out of print now, but if you keep an eye for them, you can snag a few on Ebay, Amazon marketplace, half.com, etc. They're getting pricey on account of scarcity, but they're worth every penny IMHO. (I wish they still published these !!!)

Roxana

[Roses]

The CPSA is putting out the Best of Colored Pencil series on CD each year. You can order the CD's before each show. It looks like this years CD order time is already closed. The photos are very nice but I would prefer to have them in book form also.

[Bob Ebdon]

A couple from the Walter Foster Library are cheap and good in parts - Colored Pencils by Morrell Wise has some lovely grapes and strawberry, and Colored Pencils Step by Step by Pat Averill, Debra Yaun and Silvester Hickman is really interesting - Pats lanscapes are wonderful, and Debra uses a limited palette of just 8 colours.I have also ordered Cecile Baird's Painting Light with CP - I'll let you know on that one.

One of the best art books I have ever read has not been mentioned - "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" by Betty Edwards. This explains what is really going on when you draw, and is the most illuminating art book I have read.

[oozoo]

Hey I have the "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" workbook, as well, and it's awesome!! It's more concentrated on the projects than the theory, and it gives you space to do the projects right there in the book. I'm about halfway through it.

[Bob Ebdon]

Just wanted to second what everyone has been saying about the Cecile Baird book - I spent a great afternoon reading it through yesterday. She is such a talented artist, but also has a way of putting things so they make sense - the best description of burnishing I have ever see, for instance, with all possibilities included. She uses every technique going - complementary grisaille, solvents, etc - but the most intersting bit for me was how she sets up her still lifes. It seems to me the art of her painting is really done here, in the photograph, the vision is captured - then coloured in. And this is not meant to talk her down in any way, she produces wonderful images, and I really don't care how that is done, whatever works. And of course she improves on the photo too. Anyway, great book, glad I bought it - "Painting Light in Colored Pencil", NorthLight

[alison2]

Hi All,

I'm working through the Betty Edwards workbook too and echo Oozo's thoughts - it's really good and more practical than the main right brain text.

Oh and Bob...I attended two of your coloured pencil days last year at Alston Hall - 1st art course I plucked up the courage to attend and I had a great time and learned a lot. But...do you know what you've started!!!! :D :D

Alison

[stampedinhisimage]

Thanks for all the book recommendations. I am going to scour the used book stores and libraries to try to start an art education. I love the art I have seen created here and maybe there is enought life left in me to learn a new creative outlet for myself!

[Bob Ebdon]

Not sure if this is already covered somewhere - good books? I have one to add anyway - "Drawing From Line to Life" by Mike Sibley - a great artist and an excellent exposition of basic drawing techniques - www.thepencilpoint.com (http://www.thepencilpoint.com)

[christine]

Bob, I believe this is covered elsewhere, I'll track down the link and merge the post.

[marionabrown]

I have checked the links you gave. The book is definitely one to go on my list....and save my pennies for. Perhaps Father Christmas may be kind to me. Thanks for the reference.