The Guide to Fantasy Art Techniques [antikvár]

Preface Some guidebooks are written like instruction manuals, giving point'by point information and advice. They can have their merits, but frequently their tone is drily factual and they talk in generalaties or give lists of Dos and Don ts. Often they fail to convey anything of the excitement and even mystery involved in practising a creative art. They have no personality. Yet any artistic field is defined and shaped by its top practitioners. These people tend to be very distinct individuals who have their own philosophies and working methods of which their art is the end product. They may share common aims and approaches to their work but they also tend to be ground'breakers who defy tradition and convention, thus pushing back the boundaries of what is possible. In this book the artists themselves are given the chance to speak. The Guide To Fantasy Art was conceived to present a behind'the-scenes view of the creative processes in fantasy art — in answer to the question: Where Did You Get The Idea? Established professionals were interviewed about their backgrounds and the ways in which they approach their craft. The questions were also designed to provide information and tips which might be useful to the beginner. Fantasy art is imaginative art, depicting worlds which He beyond the grey reality of our everyday lives. It embraces everything from mystic landscapes inhabited by quixotic creatures to the complex technologies of the distant future. It may be scientifically plausible or completely fanciful. Yet it will always contain images designed to startle us by their sheer novelty or strangeness. Where do the ideas come from? And how are they brought to life by the artist? These two ftindamental questions, and many related ones, were put to eight artists who are at the forefront of their chosen fields. The aim was to achieve as broad a conspectus as possible, and the contributors range from traditional oil'painters to airbrush specialists, from commercial designers to model-makers. The result is a series of very different yet complementary insights into the lives and minds of innovative visuali^ers. It adds up to a comprehensive single volume portrait of the fantasy artist and the sources of inspiration which shape him.