"A wonderful addition to any beginning or intermediate artist's library, not only those interested in fantasy. It's thoughtful, detailed, and filled with explanations of vocabulary terms and drawing materials, both in describing what they are and how they’re used." — BECL Book Reviews Do you love to create imaginative artwork? Would you like to add depth and richness to your creations? Could you use fresh inspiration? Here is the book that will help you brush up on your skills and add new tricks and techniques to your repertoire. Sketching, line art, watercolors, mixed media, composition, rendering methods ― The Fantasy Artroom is your all-in-one traveling companion into the world of fantasy art. These step-by-step demonstrations offer easy-to-follow methods for drawing trees and landscapes; forming dwarves, witches, mermaids, centaurs, and other characters; and putting them all together into enchanting compositions. Introduce a new dimension to your drawing, line art, and watercolor images with this richly illustrated guide and its helpful exercises, tips, and suggestions. "This book is magical!" — The Sheepish Reader 'n' Writer "A well organized, beautiful, and instructional book. Readers that are interested in expanding their art skill, particularly in dealing with fantasy worlds and creatures, will find much of interest here." — Sharon the Librarian

This richly illustrated guide presents new tricks and techniques for sketching and creating line art as well as working in watercolors. Step-by-step demonstrations offer easy-to-follow methods for drawing landscapes and characters.

Outstanding refresher course in creative thinking presents more than 300 methods and techniques for helping artists find a new angle for an existing style or get past a creative block.

Vast collection of prompts, ideas, and insights provides a reading companion for students as well as amateur and professional visual artists, helping them find better ways to organize, manage, and develop inspiration.

Over 300 illustrations offer first-rate examples worthy of study accompanied by a brief, well-constructed text. Topics include foreshortening, light and shadow, heads, drapery, other aspects of figure drawing.

NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • One of the most remarkable true-crime narratives of the twenty-first century: the story of the world’s most prolific art thief, Stéphane Breitwieser. • “The Art Thief, like its title character, has confidence, élan, and a great sense of timing."—The New Yorker A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The Washington Post, The New Yorker, Lit Hub "Enthralling." —The Wall Street Journal In this spellbinding portrait of obsession and flawed genius, the best-selling author of The Stranger in the Woods brings us into Breitwieser’s strange world—unlike most thieves, he never stole for money, keeping all his treasures in a single room where he could admire them. For centuries, works of art have been stolen in countless ways from all over the world, but no one has been quite as successful at it as the master thief Stéphane Breitwieser. Carrying out more than two hundred heists over nearly eight years—in museums and cathedrals all over Europe—Breitwieser, along with his girlfriend who worked as his lookout, stole more than three hundred objects, until it all fell apart in spectacular fashion. In The Art Thief, Michael Finkel brings us into Breitwieser’s strange and fascinating world. Unlike most thieves, Breitwieser never stole for money. Instead, he displayed all his treasures in a pair of secret rooms where he could admire them to his heart’s content. Possessed of a remarkable athleticism and an innate ability to circumvent practically any security system, Breitwieser managed to pull off a breathtaking number of audacious thefts. Yet these strange talents bred a growing disregard for risk and an addict’s need to score, leading Breitwieser to ignore his girlfriend’s pleas to stop—until one final act of hubris brought everything crashing down. This is a riveting story of art, crime, love, and an insatiable hunger to possess beauty at any cost.

The New York Times bestselling novel from Garth Stein–a heart-wrenching but deeply funny and ultimately uplifting story of a dog’s efforts to hold together his family in the face of a divisive custody battle. Enzo knows he is different from other dogs: a philosopher with a nearly human soul (and an obsession with opposable thumbs), he has educated himself by watching television extensively, and by listening very closely to the words of his master, Denny Swift, an up-and-coming race car driver. Through Denny, Enzo has gained tremendous insight into the human condition, and he sees that life, like racing, isn't simply about going fast. Using the techniques needed on the race track, one can successfully navigate all of life's ordeals. On the eve of his death, Enzo takes stock of his life, recalling all that he and his family have been through: the sacrifices Denny has made to succeed professionally; the unexpected loss of Eve, Denny's wife; the three-year battle over their daughter, Zoë, whose maternal grandparents pulled every string to gain custody. In the end, despite what he sees as his own limitations, Enzo comes through heroically to preserve the Swift family, holding in his heart the dream that Denny will become a racing champion with Zoë at his side. Having learned what it takes to be a compassionate and successful person, the wise canine can barely wait until his next lifetime, when he is sure he will return as a man.