DragonArt ultimate gallery by J "neondragon" Peffer

At first glance this is a very good looking book and the hard back cover gives it a robust feel. One thing you have to realize from the start is that this is a gallery book and NOT a "how to" book. If you are like myself and are always looking for inspiration for your artwork and appreciate the skills of an excellent artist then this would be a nice addition to your collection. The creatures featured are predominantly dragons however there is wonderful artwork of various creatures from gryphons to elves to wisps. A nice touch is that with some illustrations there are panels showing a quick progression of design from line art, to flat colour, then detailing. J. Peffer gives informative descriptions with most of the artwork in the book and even shows colour palettes she used for a few dragons. Her influence is very manga-esque but instead of the usual "cutesy" styles that you see a lot of she has a very grown up design with vibrant colours that are a joy to look over. The book even comes with a link to download some of the artwork to use as a wallpaper. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys fantasy art and is looking for goodexamples of dragons and other creatures.

Available from Amazon

DragonArt collectors edition

I have bought quite a few of these "how to" guides and I have to say none of the others have thus far been as pretty as this book. The hardback gives it more of a collectors feel but it is much more than that. The introduction goes through basic principles like shapes, shading and 3d effects, penciling and inking, all the way to basic body design and a quick look at features such as hair and feet which is easy to follow. You also have a guide through this process in the form of Dolosus the helpful dragon which is a nice feature for the younger generation using this book.

You are then taken through various character designs in a step by step guide which is well thought out, with additions such as pages on butterfly wings and ruffles and ribbons, giving the reader more handy hints. As a fantasy artist resource it's very good for beginners and has great hints for budding amateurs with regard to features such as Orc tusks or dwarven beards. Also the section on fantasy"fashion" was quite enlightening and certainly pointed me in the right direction for some of my own sketches. After these sections we get to the meat of this tome which is the dragons. To say this is extensive would be an understatement. J. Peffer takes us through a variety of dragon designs,starting with the excellent basics of anatomy, showing a dragon skeleton and going into details such as the variety of feet design and how different geometric shapes give different looks of dragons. The step by step guides are very easy to follow and give great results even if you're just drawing a dragon in profile. The hints and tips are excellent and I produced exactly the designs illustrated in the book and then expanded on them as I experimented with various head features and looks.

The only downside of this book is that the author doesn't talk about digital art or exactly how to achieve certain results. Therefore I'd recommend this book to anyone with a grounding in digital art or already comfortable in a medium such as acrylics or pen and ink. As a book for an aspiring fantasy artist I'd say it is an essential part of anyone's collection which will keep on giving as a reference far beyond its initial read.

Available from Amazon