The best Printmaking books: Reddit reviews

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This. A thousand times this.

I highly recommend Figure Drawing For All It's Worth, by Andrew Loomis.

This will teach you everything from dynamic figure drawing to perspective. This was essential to every comic book artist of my generation and before. Not so much for the artists (and I use that term loosely) today, and it shows.

Measuring! When I was first learning how to draw the figure I measured it constantly. After you do it enough you'll eventually get a feel for it and you'll measure less and less until you don't have to anymore.

I suggest looking at a book like Andrew Loomis' Figure Drawing. He shows you how to measure, even in more difficult poses.

For a simple explanation, the standard figure is about 8 heads high. Obviously, people can vary in height so I would look at pictures of people at different heights and measure how many heads high they are.

If the pose is curving, be sure to measure following the curve.

For arms, the distance from your shoulder to your elbow is the same as the elbow to the wrist, and the wrist (when at your side) lines up with the bottom of the pelvis.

Your legs are similar. The hip to the knee is the same as the knee to the ankle.

This might help with a visual breakdown lol but I hope that gets you started :D

Good luck. Some notes will be expensive, like the red seal $1. I’d recommend getting a copy of this book to help you out, or this one.

As a child I had a ton of interests but I could never pursue them because my parents had 5 kids and money was always very tight. Christmas was a big financial strain so usually we got practical things like clothes or shoes. I’ve always wanted to try calligraphy (here )now that I’ve gotten older but never got around to it.

Thank you for hosting this contest!

There’s a very reasonable costing one that I have I’ll find the link and edit this to show you which one. I like that a lot.

Edit: and have this one and like it - but there’s another one I bought if amazon for about 35 dollars is that is great- I’m not seeing it listed now Of Brigands and Bravery: Kuniyoshi’s Heroes of the Suikoden https://www.amazon.com/dp/907482255X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_H3DVEb2BGNVQ6

No need to apologize! I don’t really practice, to be honest. Most of the time I just wing it, actually! I’ve been hand lettering my illustrations for years so the transition to bullet journaling seemed fairly natural but I also didn’t want to use that same “font” everyone seems to be using in theirs at the moment, so I just kinda stumbled onto whatever it is I’m doing now.

But! If you’re looking for resources, I’ve heard good things about this book but haven’t actually checked it out myself. Also, r/handwriting and r/lettering have great ideas for writing styles if you’re wanting some inspiration for something fresh.

You have an eye for detail! Study anatomy, it will really breathe life into your work. I recommend Andrew Loomis' book on figure drawing. You can also get an ebook of it on Google Play for dirt cheap.

There's a Loomis method for the whole body. His models have easily memorable proportions and are built up over layers so you can see how he gets from each step in his thought process.

Study the 8 head Loomis proportions for ideal anatomy, study Proko construction models for building individual pieces of anatomy, and study a method for building gestures so you can draw people fluidly in dynamic poses. Loomis' mannequin process from Figure Drawing For All It's Worth is an okay way to learn the mannequin, but I personally find Samantha Youssef to have a far better approach with her gesture process.

You then want to draw from life, either from pictures, paused videos, or models in real life. The point of learning a gesture process is to be able to put down drawings that capture lots of information from quickly looking at a person. You should be able to capture the foundation of a person and a pose within 30 seconds of line work and major body masses. It'll look like a glorified stick figure but it'll have so much information for who you're looking at that it provides the foundation for building each form of anatomy.

If you learn a gesture system that let's you put down dynamic pose information within seconds to minutes, then you can go to a public place and observe people moving around to draw them. You can also find local art colleges / art studios that host public drawing classes where they bring in models for you to draw and study while they hold a pose for a long time.

The point is, learn how to build the body parts individually, learn how to set up a loose, quick gesture wire frame that let's you get your whole mannequin down as fast as possible, and then sculpt that mannequin to fit your model with as much detail as you want.

If you only have a small amount of time to practice then spend a lot more time studying. Examine the things you want to improve on for a couple of days without practicing, then spend a whole session trying to draw and paint that out.

Like if you wanted to improve on hands you could study the proportions and characteristics that make hands look like hands one day, then the next day draw and paint out a ton of hands according to the study session from the day prior.

Drawing doesn't actually teach you anything, it let's you work out the ideas you've spent time studying so that you can remember them. If you're drawing from a reference then you're going to get better at drawing that particular reference, but if you study construction models, planes of forms, painting techniques and processes, etc. that are larger than a single reference I find growing is faster.

For example, when I bought Figure Drawing For All It's Worth I read the entire book in one sitting. It took a few hours but when I was done I had a much more robust understanding of what I was missing and that helped me practice with more focus on my weak areas.

Allow me to introduce you to my man Loomis. There are grids in there with front, side, and back views for male and female proportions. I'd recommend getting the book, reading it, and drawing those poses out in 8 headed grids until you memorize the anatomy markers. If you want to understand the three dimensions of an object, then draw all three of the faces. Your brain will bitmap that together when you start drawing things in odd rotations. Then study individual body parts that give you problems.

Friedberg's US Paper Money is considered a good resource, though prices vary over time and the market is hot right now. In addition to seeing auction prices (sold prices, not just listed for stupid prices) on ebay, heritage, etc. should give you a good idea of value. Serial numbers not so much as far as additional value, unless they are fancy, in which case could add a premium.

alphonse is the inking artist -

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pen-Ink-Drawing-Simple-Guide/dp/0997046538/ref=sr\_1\_1?crid=2PUT22JICI8KT&keywords=alphonse+dunn&qid=1652809382&sprefix=alphonse+du%2Caps%2C78&sr=8-1

The best resource I’ve found is Alphonso Dunn. I bought his books and watch his videos on YouTube. He’s the reason I got into pen and ink to begin with

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0997046538/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_api_i_PH5Z0VTP0485ZNCJ9Z3Q

I was given this recently, it's got a lot of techniques. It has almost no history though..

Printmaking: A Complete Guide to Materials & Process (Printmaker's Bible, process shots, techniques, step-by-step illustrations) https://smile.amazon.com/dp/1780671946/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_i_S3JAJDEGE98NBDAS9JM7

If you're interested, get yourself a copy of the Friedberg Catalog. It is THE Bible of US paper money. Don't get hung up over the prices, but do play close attention to the document itself.

Here's an inexpensive version, printed in color.

If you are creating character art from imagination you should learn sketching first, and then move onto painting. Many of the artists you see blocking in silhouettes have already practiced the fundamentals of anatomy and form through sketching. "Figure Drawing for All It's Worth" by Andrew Loomis is a great place to start. Proko also teaches the Andrew Loomis method if you prefer videos.

I agree. The more you draw the better you become. Sara Tepes said in one of her videos that "practice makes progress" ... and that struck a chord in me as I had always believe that 'practice makes perfect" and I had not seen any type of perfection in my drawings. But, the more drawings I made the more I saw 'progress' and my drawing started to become better. So, the morel, is to draw and draw and draw and draw.

I would suggest "Figure Drawing for all it's Worth" by Andrew Loomis. It is probably the foundational drawing book.

You probably won't ever be in a life threatening draw-off, but I do have some resources if you are actually trying to learn.

The best place to start, in my opinion, is with Loomis "Figure Drawing For All It's Worth". He has about 5 pages that you can study and meditate on that will really get you off and running with the figure.

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https://www.amazon.com/Figure-Drawing-All-Its-Worth/dp/0857680986

As the old saying goes, "Buy the book before you buy the note." In other words, pick up a reference guide (such as Friedberg for US paper money) to understand what you want and how much you should expect to pay for it.

I used A Guide Book of United States Paper Money 7th Edition $400 is in range. VF lists for $700

If you don’t have the ability to go to a life/figure drawing class, there are some good books like Figure Drawing For All It’s Worth by Andrew Loomis can be a great help!

No, they are not; they won't be in the US until 2029, I think, which would be 70 years after Loomis' death.

Here's Figure Drawing For All It's Worth brand new on Amazon; just scroll down on the page and you'll see links for the rest. They're about $25 each. Figure Drawing and Creative Illustration are the best of the lot; you can safely skip Successful Drawing, I think, as it's mostly about perspective and there are better books out there on the subject.

Right here is the 2011 edition (It's the one I use and I highly recommend it.)

And here is the sequel that focuses specifically on the proportions of the head and face. Also highly recommended.

I think it's both. As Bill Perkins says (NMA instructor) "don't overrender in the hope of looking good". I've a tendency to do that, probably my inexperience. Thanks for your honesty, it means a lot, I started to draw from the ground-up 2 years and half ago seriously.

I'm currently focusing on texture, volume and line quality with the book "Pen and Ink drawing : A Simple Guide" from Alphonso Dunn : https://www.amazon.fr/gp/product/0997046538/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I'm trying to apply to my favorite medium all the light theory I learned about too.

Maybe studies, time and practice will get me at my dream job and being concept artist !

Hey! thanks a lot. She has like 3 different size pens. I've been recommended that brush pen from various people so I will definitely get that.

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Yesterday I had a sneak peak at her paper and I'll get her some as well. As well as this book. Thank you so much for the suggestions :D

Looking through all these books I felt like I had to mention two very highly regarded figure drawing books as well:

Figure Drawing For All It's Worth by Andrew Loomis

Complete Guid to Drawing From Life by Bridgman

The Loomis art books aren't in the public domain. Titan Books currently has the rights to them, and does legal, affordable, and very good quality editions of all of them. You can get Figure Drawing For All It's worth for under $25 on Amazon.

colour and light

Figure drawing

IMO these 2 books should be in any artists collection

There are several variables that come into play, but you should be able to get 10-15 quality prints in any case, and maybe more. The two main factors are pressure (required to transfer the ink) and abrasion (from cleaning, etc)

Things that affect longevity would be: 1) greater detail = faster degradation. Unfortunately. You can hand-print on thinner paper, and this will decrease the pressure on fragile lines. 2) carving style. If you carve deeply, without a widening base to support the linoleum, it will crumble faster. 3) number of runs. The more you wash and scrub your block, the shorter its lifespan will be.

Check out this complete guide to printmaking for pros/cons and how-to's for many types of printmaking.

I can send you some other good resources when I get home..