Fantasy has its roots in reality A magical realm awaits you—an enchanted world of imaginary beings to inspire a treasure of your own extraordinary drawings and paintings. And your journey begins, oddly enough, with the ordinary things that surround you every day. With Creating Creatures of Fantasy and Imagination, discover how to use your own photographs and other true-life inspiration to make fanciful artwork that beautifully transcends reality. Best-selling author Claudia Nice shows you how to build upon real-life references to draw and paint countless creatures from your imagination, including: faeries and sprites elves, brownies, dwarfs and gnomes trolls, ogres, goblins and gremlins dragons, sea monsters and sea serpents centaurs, fauns, satyrs, mermaids and mermen unicorns, Pegasus, phoenixes and griffins Inside this invaluable guide you'll find complete step-by-step instruction and many captivating examples in pen and ink, watercolor and acrylic, plus the legend behind each mythological creature. Let this book be your entry to the realm of fantasy, where the only limit is your imagination!

Sculpt fascinating creatures! Explore the world of clay and learn to create the dramatically beautiful forms of some of the most fearsome and awe-inspiring creatures your imagination can conjure. Ranging from ferocious dragons to regal griffins to magnificent underwater beasts--they're all here! Inside you will learn simple techniques for creating realistic individual parts of fantasy creatures. Wings, horns and bodies--everything is covered here. Then you will discover innovative ways for assembling those parts to form characters straight from your imagination! From start to finish, you'll learn everything from brainstorming creature ideas to making the armature and building the body with clay to baking and mounting the creature onto a base. Everything you need to know to build your very own mythological menagerie! So immerse yourself in these easy-to-learn demonstrations and practice the skills necessary to create realistic wings, paws, scales, fur, facial expressions, poses and so much more! • 65 step-by-step demonstrations • Create a sculpture from start to finish • Stunning galleries of finished sculptures, including dragons, a steampunk bird, a fiery dog and more

Sketching from the Imagination: Monsters & Creatures showcases sketches and insights by fifty artists from the field of creature design.

The world's best creature designers and concept artists provide a groundbreaking and unique insight into their creative processes and practices.

Delve deep into a magical world of Kev Walker, and learn how to draw 30 fascinating, beautiful and curious creatures that wander through it. A renowned comic book artist and illustrator, Kev Walker will help you master the art of sketching and illustrating a collection of marvellous beasts through his how-to-art exercises, accompanied by his fascinating advice and the techniques used by professionals like himself. From elementals that stalk you at night or the beasts that lurk beneath the water to the sand creatures that wander the lonely deserts of North Africa, there is a whole world of terrifyingly beautiful monsters to learn of and inspire you. Find stunning finished illustrations along with exciting ideas, hints, and practical lessons on how to recreate the monster yourself, including suggestions for adding movement and texture. From there, morph this precious-looking book into your very own sketchbook-journal and record and design your own fierce creations on the interactive pages inside. Stick and paste inspiring photographs and drawings onto the pages, work little sketches onto the plain sheets, and paint the amazing minute details that appear on your own beast's form - this will be your personal and ultimate notebook journaling your dark adventures. With dozens of imaginative illustrations to inspire, discover this captivating bestiary now and create your own inky keepsake of these legendary creatures to treasure and share.

An inspiring collection of drawings and articles exploring the sketchbooks and artistic practices of 50 talented character artists.

Go where no artist has ever gone before. Bizarre terrains, enchanted forests, futuristic metropolises, ornate palaces—these are the places where adventure dwells. In this fun and fiercely original book from celebrated fantasy artist Tom Kidd, you'll learn how to set the scene for epic tales of adventure. Discover where Kidd finds his best ideas, the methods behind his glorious color sense, and how he turns it all into exquisite skies, glittering cities, spectacular rock formations, stormy seas, magnificent forests and other bold, breathtaking vistas. Learn to draw and paint fantastic settings in a way that makes them utterly believable Get imagination-sparking approaches for dreaming up these strange new realms, seeing the world around you with fresh eyes and finding ready inspiration in the most ordinary of places 13 step-by-step demonstrations show how ideas are developed into dynamic color oil and watercolor renderings, with some discussion of digital techniques This book is your ticket to destinations of absolute wonder and bizarre beauty. Thrill your viewers by transporting them to locales so vast and unreal, it will take their breath away.