Dreamscapes - Myth and Magic by Stephanie Pui-Mun Law

The introduction by the author sets up a journey through fantasy history where we remember that fantasy creatures are the stuff born from legends, and inspiration is all around us in the present day. Stephanie is an accomplished artist and painter producing vivid and gorgeous watercolours, and in her book she depicts some of the better known legendary creatures and beasts.

She takes us through the tools of the trade giving good advice to the reader and guiding them through the process of finding out what is right for them. She then talks about different techniques and the book has good photos as guides which combined with informative text is easy to follow. The use of salt and rubbing alcohol is covered as well as a section on different paper types which also instructs you how to stretch your paper if needed. I found this latter piece very useful as I have had disasters in the past with paper buckling when I had thought it was pre-stetched, having forgotten how to stretch it it was a welcome section to read.

Blending, glazing, dry brushing and various other vital techniques are covered in the sections prior to getting to the numerous work-through examples. There are ten pieces for you to try in this book and I must say they are quite daunting at first, I was never expecting to get close to the original. Instead I looked at them as exercises to gain experience of the skills I needed to learn to further my knowledge base and progress as a painter. Watercolours are not for everybody and they are widely accepted as being one of the most difficult and unforgiving mediums to use. This is true but if you're prepared to make mistakes, learn from them and try again then this book will certainly help. Thoughtfully put together and giving great advice for would be fantasy artists I can't recommend this book enough, the section on dragons was a particular favourite as I have a keen interest in them.

You can find this book on Amazon

The Explorer's Guide to Drawing Fantasy Creatures by Emily Fiegenschuh

This is a fun and good looking book with the narrator being an exploring creature called Paki who leads you through the various creatures on display. One thing i like about this book is the endless possibilities for creating truly wondrous beasts, with the right reference material only your imagination will hold you back.

From the start the author takes you through the necessary basics like materials, reference of animals, and animal anatomy. Then goes on to the more meaty subjects of perspective, foreshortening, human proportions, and also looks at pencil rendering variations and colour theory.

A nice touch is the Do's and Don'ts which are dotted through the book so not only are you getting tips on what to do there is also what not to do. The section on giving creatures personality is particularly nice as it's something not often seen.

We then get into the examples and Paki takes you through various mythical creatures in a step by step look at building the shapes and details needed. One thing it does not go into is the colouring of the subjects which is left entirely up to the reader, probably as if included the painting section would make the book twice as big. In fact the only one where painting is detailed is the last example of the Lantern Bat. My favourite was the Minotaur as there was a lot of detailing going on with the armour etc.

The author draws on her (clearly) vast portfolio and knowledge of the subjects she has lovingly created to give this book a good deal of depth, and hopefully the reader will take away as much information and help as is given.


You can find this book at Amazon