Thread by @steve_lieber

1 Art books thread
I thought I'd write about some good how-to books for aspiring comics artists who want to acquire some academic, foundational drawing skills without spending tens of thousands of dollars.

2 I'm not knocking school. It was great for me! But there are plenty of self-taught artists who can draw circles around me. And in my whole career, no one has ever once asked to see my diploma.

3 For a very long time, the gold standard textbook for academic "realistic" illustration was The Famous Artists School books. This was a learn-by-mail course. Most correspondence schools were scams. This one was AWESOME.

4 One great lesson after another, created by the titans of mid-century American illustration. Robert Fawcett, Austin Briggs, Norman Rockwell, and this guy, the founder of the school, Albert Dorne.

5 Let's pause here for a moment to appreciate Dorne's eyebrows, because holy shit.

6 Many techniques in the FAS books are dated, but they explain the principles well. Human & animal anatomy, drapery, linear & aerial perspective, composition, design, everything! All explained with good examples in a variety of styles.

So of course the they're out of print.

7 BUT- they turn up on eBay all the time. You want the binders with the "illustration" course, not the one that's just for artists.

(Plenty of bootleg scans out there, too. )

8 Andrew Loomis's books are nearly as good. Stylistically, he's a little more dated than the FAS books, but he's a thorough, careful teacher of the principles of drawing& illustration. His books were out of print for DECADES. Cost hundreds on eBay. They're finally back in print!

9 •Figure Drawing for All It's Worth
All about drawing people—construction, anatomy, proportion, lighting, gesture, rhythm.

• Creative Illustration
Principles of composition, How to arrange elements in your picture to communicate clearly. Assumes you already know how to draw.

10 •Successful Drawing
Sort of a problem-solving manual, with lots of good diagrams explaining how to accurately describe forms in space and how to light them.

11 Jack Hamm

I recommend several of Jack Hamm's “How To” books. Ostensibly written for younger readers, advanced students & working professionals will still find plenty of useful information. Guy must've hated white-space. Every page is crammed w/ info!

•Drawing the Head and Figure
•Cartooning the Head and Figure
•How to Draw Animals
•Drawing Scenery: Landscapes and Seascapes

DtHaF has some of the best short lessons anywhere on drawing clothes.

13 A newish book that's impressed me immensely is
Framed Ink: Drawing and Composition for Visual Storytellers by Marcos Mateu-Mestre. Never seen any book do a better job of explaining the principles of composition in service of narrative as they apply across all visual media.

14 "Steve, Steve, this is all great for US/Euro comics, but what about young artists with a manga focus?" My friend @Tallychyck recommends the How to Draw Anime & Game Characters series, volumes 1-3. She says:

15 "There’s some cheesy stuff in here, but it is REALLY great for learning to design characters, draw a variety of expressions, draw faces from many different angles, and pay attention to body language and acting."

16 I'll pause here. What books do you folks recommend? And why?

17 Great suggestions in the replies! One more recommendation: Carson Van Osten's "Comic Strip Artist's Kit" is short, but INCREDIBLY valuable. It's all here: sevencamels.blogspot.com/2006/09/comic-…