Following the success of Fantasy Workshop, Fantasy Creatures and Manga, the ImagineFX team have turned their expertise to Sci-Fi art for digital artists who want to progress to the next level. With reference to creative painting programs (including Photoshop, Illustrator and Corel Painter), the book explains, with the help of step-by-step instructions, Q&A's, screen grabs, how to progress from basic 'pencil' roughs to first stage line art and, ultimately, finished colour art. Creating all sorts of amazing Sci-Fi characters, futurescapes and stunning scenarios using the very latest expert techniques, you’ll soon be able to design your own digital paintings and first-class Sci-Fi art. Other titles in the Imagine FX series: Fantasy Workshop (9781843404729), Fantasy Creatures (9781843406020) and Manga (9781843405788), available August 2011. Word count: 25,000

Everything you need to know to create Sci-fi art With reference to creative painting programmes including Photoshop, the book explains, with the help of step-by-step instructions and screen grabs, how to progress from basic 'pencil' roughs to the finished colour art.

Following the success of Fantasy Workshop and Fantasy Creatures, the ImagineFX team have turned their expertise to Manga Art for fantasy artists who want to progress to the next level. With reference to creative painting programs (including Photoshop, Illustrator and Corel Painter), the book explains, with the help of step-by-step instructions and screen grabs, how to progress from basic 'pencil' roughs to first stage line art and ultimately finished colour art. Creating all sorts of amazing Manga characters, scenes and close-ups using the very latest techniques, you’ll soon be able to design your own digital paintings and firsst-class Manga art. Other titles in the series: Fantasy Workshop (9781843404729) and Fantasy Creatures (9781843406020).

Master the skills to create your very own manga! Expert manga artist Mark Crilley guides you to another level with this powered-up drawing book. Complete your Crilley collection with this third installation, which elevates the instruction to focus on drawing methods to help you create distinctive and detailed professional-level manga art. Through 40 in-depth step-by-step demonstrations not covered in other Mastering Manga books, Mark reveals his secrets for adding color, how to draw manga-style animals, ways to use photo reference, his preferred art supplies and how to fix character inconsistencies. The book is broken down into three sections: • Characters and Styles. Learn how to draw characters in every manga style--elegant Shojo, angular Dark Fantasy, action-packed Shonen and cute cartoon. Includes non-human characters like animal familiars (realistic or chibi) and aliens. Break-out lessons focus on anatomy, hairstyles and all genres of clothing, from classic anime uniforms to fantasy costuming. • Poses and Action. Make your characters bold, memorable and full of vitality. Get the most out of your poses by learning how to create natural, standing and dynamic running poses, plus sword fights, romantic Shojo interactions and stances for animals, manga monsters, chibi cuties and mech a robots. Advanced lessons include how to convey a sense of motion, tips on body language and how to effectively using foreshortening. • Finishing Touches. Elevate your art with Mark's professional instruction on completing your comic. These final lessons include page layouts, logo design, how to place a character in a setting, correctly using dialogue and speech bubbles, advanced costume design (fantasy armor, wings, and more) and how to create attention-grabbing cover art. "Manga is all about fresh concepts and fascinating characters. You've got ideas. You've invented new characters. There's a whole world waiting to see what you've come up with!" --Mark Crilley

Learn how to create beautiful manga art from pencil sketch to finished painting, with this comprehensive guide. As the popularity of Manga art continues to soar, manga and comic book artist Lisa Santrau shows beginners how to create subtle and beautiful manga pictures using pencil and watercolors—the simplest of art materials. Lisa explains the materials and tools needed and then explores the fundamentals of how to draw manga—from color theory and breaking down drawings into basic shapes, to body proportions and faces for both classic manga and chibi manga figures. You will learn how to sketch, how to create depth in your work with shading, and a range of watercolor techniques including washes, wet-on-wet and layering, as well as special techniques involving masking fluid and an innovative “film” technique for creating texture and patterns. The exercises that follow the basics explore a wide range of techniques including manga poses, hair and eyes, then learn about backgrounds, textures, gradients and more. Finally, there are twelve step-by-step painting projects to perfect your manga art skills, with downloadable templates if you want to skip the drawing and get straight to the painting. The projects are varied and fun, and comprise: Sweet chibi girl on a slice of cake, using the dry technique Fresh steampunk chibis against a bright background, using the wet-on-wet technique Chibi sorcerer’s apprentice in a flying teacup, with a galaxy background Chibi Harry, aka a world-famous wizard, teaching you character design Young girl framed by a romantic floral design, using a monochrome palette Sailor boy in a symbolic sun circle, created with masking fluid Girl in a kimono backlit by a window with flowers, using the white of the paper Historical heroine in a voluminous ballgown, using the film technique Melancholic schoolgirl against a fluorescent background, again with the film technique Silhouette in the evening sunset, using the wet-on-wet technique Food overload boy in the land of plenty, featuring surface textures Girl’s face with expressive eyes, exploring cool versus warm colors This easy-to-follow book by the creator of the popular Mechanical Princess comics, contains all you need to successfully paint your own watercolor manga art.

Easel Does It: Manga Art takes a subject with which Western audiences may not be too familiar and explains, in lucid and easy to follow text, and logical step-by-step diagrams, how to draw in this exciting and innovative style. An introduction explains the comparatively recent origins of manga in Japanese culture, and its current impact on artists and animators in the West. A section then follows with precise instructions on the various materials required, and the range of techniques the manga artist will need to perfect, such as sketching the saucer-shaped eyes, small nose and mouth, and androgynous body; and building up layers of color to create areas of light and shade, and adding detail, with colored markers. The remainder of the book is devoted to ten individual projects, each one focusing on easily-recognizable manga characters. The projects start off with instruction on drawing basic figures such as a young girl and boy, progress through characters in combat, and then turn to the creatures, monsters, or robots which inhabit typical manga landscapes. The final projects look at perhaps the most popular use of manga characters in comic strips, and also posters.

The sketching stage is integral to any piece of art -- it forms the foundations that everything else balances on. Sketches can often provide interesting insights into the processes and thinking behind the finished piece as well as showing off technique and skill. An artist's sketchbook is sacred and personal -- often thought of like a diary -- filled with uncensored thoughts, emotions and unique flourishes that are special to them. The freewheeling excitement in sketches -- where artists don't hold back, don't over-think, don't censor -- is hard to beat. 'Sketchbook' is about captured moments bursting with creativity, straight from the minds of the finest illustrators around the world. Whether made by pencil or stylus, sketches may be loose and generous or precise and economic, but all reveal something about the pure fun of creation.