As I wrote, this Three Kingdoms action game franchise has maintained enough “it” factor to keep its fans coming back for more. And it is coming back as well, with a 7th installment recently announced. Some fans remain skeptical. I’m hoping for a reboot of a series that has only touched a fraction of its potential. The subpar story and clunky battle engine could be overhauled without fixing what was never broken to begin with. Ask me how!
Whether you’re new to drawing or an aspiring pro, you can benefit from some quality reference material. This selection of drawing books will get you past sticking points while refining your knowledge of the fundamentals. Along with useful tips and examples, they explain principles of art theory at an ideal level for their audience. Theory is important to know, even for beginners, because it serves as a foundation for more advanced work. Even if you’re just trying to get some reasonable sketches down on paper, you may want to push yourself further at some point in the future. These recommended books promote a solid understanding rather than limited tricks with little potential to build upon later.
The specialty guides focus on my main subject of interest – people drawn in some flavor of realistic style. More books will be added over time as I discover new favorites. Feel free to leave your recommendations in the comments.
Bert Dodson – Keys to Drawing
Suggested for: Beginner/Intermediate
Some books preach from an Olympus far above their target audience. This one sits down with you as a friend. Keys to Drawing guides readers through a progression of exercises with a gentle learning curve and an emphasis on relaxation rather than pressure toward perfection. It emphasizes restating, or drawing new lines alongside wayward ones instead of erasing every mistake – a valuable habit for feeling out form and introducing desirable variation in one’s lines. The sample sketches tend to be loose, rough, and therefore encouraging for beginners to aspire to.
From personal experience learning these same principles in art class – and needing to relax back into that looseness when rekindling my interest in drawing – I’ll attest that they work.
JR Dunster – Drawing Portraits
Suggested for: Everyone
Faces are a real challenge for many. They’re all about placing features on a roundish skull, and the intermediate steps of drawing those features can be non-obvious and baffling. The author’s website is a great resource of its own, featuring a crosshatched style of drawing that promotes an understanding of form. It also sells a companion book with some extra material.
William Maughan – The Artist’s Complete Guide to Drawing the Head
Suggested for: Intermediate/Advanced
In addition to teaching some anatomy, Drawing the Head demonstrates how to capture form by refining shadow shapes which are easier to lay down and adjust than lines that an artist may not know where to place. It demystifies the process by showing intermediate steps in great detail. Even if you’re not into the charcoal-based chiaroscuro technique described in this book, the principles can be simulated well enough with other media.
This book also includes talk about color and some amusing monstrous creatures rendered by combining references.
Andrew Loomis – Various Works
Suggested for: Intermediate/Advanced
Providing a comprehensive and thorough view of drawing the human body, Andrew Loomis’ books are classics for a reason. They’re also out of print. Luckily, you can read them online.
KOEI’s long-running franchise of ancient Chinese beat ‘em up mayhem is a series that people either get or they don’t. Detractors seem loath to find anything redeemable among the downsides. The gameplay is repetitive! The dialog is corny! The storyline never changes!
That’s true, but only to a certain extent. And there are times when a game’s appeal is more than just the sum of its parts, especially when said parts have a charm all their own. An “it” factor, if you will.
I somehow went through childhood without watching this film in its entirety. My brother got it on tape when I was a senior in high school. Like any three-year-old’s preferred entertainment, it stayed on permanent repeat for a while, so it wasn’t long before I finally saw Gene Wilder in all his wacky glory. At first, the movie seemed like an average family film – entertaining enough but nothing truly special.
A few more viewings later, this classic oddity became a favorite. It still is to this day. Chock full of subtleties, snark, and psychedelia, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is timeless in an endearingly dated way. Though best known as a children’s movie, it appeals to a broader audience. Ask me how!