Narrowing this down to just 10 was so difficult so let me know if you’d like a Part II to
this video because there are so many more amazing books I could mention.
These books have shaped who I am as an artist, they have taught me so much, they have inspired
me and they have given me the confidence to create.
Some you’ve probably heard of but I hope there will be a few on this list that are
new to you and that have the potential to spark something really special for you and
your art.
Mindset If you follow me on Patreon, you’ll recognise
these first few from a video I made this time last year where I shared not just books but
all the classes, videos, artists, and other resources that have made an impact on my creative
journey.
So I’ll leave a link to that below if you’re interested- it’s in the $5 tier and you’ll
get access to around 70 other bonus videos.
But here I’m going to go a bit more in-depth about each book and I have many more to share
as well.
I’m starting with this category because I genuinely think that mindset is the most
valuable asset to any creative . Technical ability is something that can be learned by
anyone, but something that we might not all think to work on is the commitment, perseverance
and in my opinion courage that it takes to be an artist.
Being able to be wrong, make mistakes, to recognise where your abilities aren't matching
your expectations and to keep going anyway, gradually building your skills as you go.
It’s not easy.
So, ultimate artist’s survival guide.
You can see how much value I got from this one by the amount of gems I bookmarked to
come back to.
I have mentioned this before I’m sure but this is Art and Fear; Observations on the
Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking by David Bayles and Ted Orland.
This book presents the really authentic, relatable and pervasive fears of all people who create
things; ‘Fears About Yourself’, talent, perfection, imposterism- which I feel like
I made up but you know what I mean; ‘Fears About Others’, criticism, approval, acceptance,
and hurdles we face around ideas, studying, reference, competition… it’s all in here
in this relatively short, and infinitely re-readable book with just down-to-earth… measured and-
lived-in?
Is that the right word?- like well- practiced solutions and- I don’t know- a level of
understanding that is enough to make you feel not alone in those fears and make you feel
capable of working past them or if nothing else, working in spite of them.
I can already tell I’m gonna get passionate in this video.
The next book genuinely transformed my relationship with my art- and possibly even with my self.
This is Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert; Creative Living Beyond Fear and in this book, Gilbert
gives us a really sincere and honest look at her journey as an author, the struggles
of self-doubt, and she almost personifies her art, her creativity, into its own living
thing to be nurtured and respected and understood.
This book led me to a much gentler approach, and a much less demanding approach to how
I work and it’s given me a new perspective on the purpose of what I do.
I really learned to love my art and the artist in me.
Also just wanted to squeeze in a special mention to Daring Greatly by Brené Brown that does
a great job of illustrating the power of accepting and harnessing vulnerability and courage in
whatever you choose to take on.
Making anything takes bravery and these books, or the things you learn in them, are like
the first building blocks in feeling capable of taking on whatever challenges you come
across.
The final mindset book before we get to Technical Art Skills, Career and General Inspiration,
is this one.
Mindfulness and The Art of Drawing by Wendy Ann Greenhalgh.
I have talked about this book and it’s principles in-depth in
a past video.
That video goes into so much more detail so I’ll leave a link to it below if you want
to know more about the transformative effects of finding your creative flow and being present
in the act of artmaking rather than getting lost in thoughts and speculation and self-criticism.
If through the first books I mentioned you learn to commit to making art regardless of
how things might turn out, this book teaches you to enjoy the process as you go.
Fundamentals So.
Now you know you *can* make art, let’s talk about how.
It’s impossible to narrow down the infinite number of skills that go into the catalogue
of knowledge that makes up a good artist, so the books I’ve chosen for this category
each do their own bit of multitasking.
In Anatomy for the Artist by Sarah Simblet, we learn the importance of the elements that
make the whole, how gaining an understanding of the mechanisms, the core of a thing, can
help us better represent what we see on the outside.
I think that one thing that we take for granted is the way that that build-up of knowledge
compliments any and all work we do.
Like instead of focusing on learning to draw a realistic apple and seeing that as success,
instead getting a better understanding of colour, texture and light in a way that will
not only result in a more informed apple painting, but a better painting of anything you might
work on in the future.
Another thing this book does is, in these Masterclasses at the end of each section-
study the work of masters in ways that teach us about more than the body.
Things like composition, movement, colour, form, even just the skill of observing and
studying masters is something we can pick up from this book.
I very rarely draw people, a knowledge of human anatomy isn't a pivotal part of my creative
process, but there are so many lessons in this book that transcend that and I really
think it’s worth a read- even if it's just something you pick up here and there like
I do.
Also, if you do draw people, there are some great references for bodies in here; could
do with different body shapes and sizes but some great poses and lovely detailed photos
to study and work from.
That, I would say is more of a deep-dive into one topic with complimentary subjects coming
up wherever relevant.
The next art fundamental book is more of an overarching collection of broader art topics.
So it’s not going so much in depth but it gives you a sweeping view of all of the very
basics which I think makes a great foundation, a really handy jumping off point so you can
at least identify what you know, what you don’t know, what you’d like to look deeper
into and what skills or techniques you think could benefit your own unique style of work.
So this is Drawing & Painting: Materials and Techniques for Contemporary Artists and it
does everything I was just talking about.
With a little bit about colour theory, observational drawing, perspective, composition, figure
drawing, and even themes in art the main thing this book does is look at different techniques
for different mediums and then display them in action in the work of other artists.
So the technical stuff may be a bit superficial as there's just so much to go over, but each
thing is touched on enough for you to get to know the basics and to figure out *if*
you want to look deeper into a particular topic and where to start if you do.
Now while I was looking into this, I found this book that’s either just come out or
is about to come out.
It’s called The Artist’s Manual and it’s by Rob Pepper and it looks like it covers
absolutely everything you could possibly need to know to get started with art.
I’m just looking at the contents here but there’s the fundamentals; line, shape, colour,
composition, perspective… then it goes into all different materials and equipment from
paper, canvas to pen and ink, to sculpture, different types of paint, we’ve got photography
and digital art, even street art and performance art, and it looks like it goes into those
categories with more detail in different techniques like wet-in-wet painting, cartoon comic strips
in drawing, all sorts.
There’s even a section on selling, exhibiting and storing your work.
This I think does what I was talking about earlier, obviously not enough space to go
into each thing in complete detail but a great starting point.
So I’m definitely buying a copy of this and if I do make another one of these videos,
I’ll let you know my thoughts on this book in more detail.
Oh!
Also, can’t mention an art book video without mentioning Teoh Yi Chie.
He’s a fantastic urban sketcher with a channel here on YouTube that I’ll have listed below
but he also has a blog with the most comprehensive list of art books out there.
He has read and reviewed all the best art books on all different topics and whenever
I’m shopping for new books I visit his blog to see what he’s said about it- and I think
he also does video reviews on YouTube.
So I’ll leave all his links below.
Career Now, we’re talking art career books.
Can’t talk about this without having The Graphic Artist’s Guild Handbook To Pricing
and Ethical Guidelines on the list.
Pricing your art and your work in art, commissions and things, is so daunting.
This book demystifies the business of art; Copyright, Taxes, Contracts, Negotiation,
Marketing, and then it goes into almost every type of paid art job you can think of from
web design to packaging design, billboards, greetings cards, book illustration, and you
get essential information about best practices in those industries and then a price breakdown-
so actual numbers collected from lots of different artists working in those fields- that illustrate
the types of fees you should be expecting to charge for that work.
They update the information in these books every few years to stay on track with any
changes in the market.
And I refer to this pretty much every time I enter into a new project with a client.
I’m not necessarily looking for an exact number to charge, it’s almost just a sort
of validation that art work has value and that you should be paid fairly for your time
and your efforts.
This one was actually sent to me by my wonderful subscriber Polo and this is How to Be an Illustrator
by Darrel Rees.
The format of this book is great because it covers, in a really logical order, the elements
of a career in illustration; from building and presenting a portfolio, to job-hunting
and interviews, pricing, self-promotion, agents, but each of the topics is supplemented by
interviews with professionals; some art directors and buyers but mainly working illustrators,
a lot that you’ll maybe have heard of, and I find that any question that pops up while
I’m reading this book is later answered in this interview section and answered by
a person with direct experience in what they’re explaining.
This book is like having a mentor guide you into and through a career in illustration.
Inspiration Let’s talk about creative block.
Actually, let’s not.
We’ve all been there, we know what it’s like.
That frustration, exasperation, at wanting to create but feeling almost physically incapable.
Wanting to shake yourself and ‘just do it’, and forcing yourself to sit in front of a
blank piece of paper and feeling… just as blank.
We don’t need to talk about that.
But we will talk about this Creative Block.
Get Unstuck, Discover New Ideas, Advice and Projects from 50 Successful Artists by Danielle
Krysa who also has a couple of great classes on Skillshare.
This book was another gift, this time from lovely viewer Shawna, and Shawna, if you only
knew how often I reach for this book…
So this like the last one has this interview format where an artist answers questions on
their process, their techniques for battling block and finding inspiration.
It’s the kind of book that you can just flip to any page at random and pick up something
new.
You have the voice of this other artist who has felt how you’re feeling and is living
breathing proof that getting past it is doable.
Another great thing this book does is that, peppered throughout are these ‘Creative
Unblock’ projects so this very practical way to get yourself out of a rut.
This is the kind of thing that should be on or around your desk at all times, read a page
or two and find that igniting spark to get creating again.
Slightly similar and yet another gift this time from Carolyn- you guys really spoil me
with these gems and I hope you know how much they've transformed my creative life- this
book is actually more directed at younger artists but I think the lessons and insights
in it are priceless no matter how old you are.
In Artist to Artist, 23 illustrators talk about their art, their thoughts on art and
creativity, and their stories, their journeys into their dream career.
They each have different perspectives and like jewels of wisdom, it’s genuinely such
a magical book and you can’t help but be inspired by the words and the images.
Bonus: Colour Alright and for number 10, we’re actually
talking about 2 books.
These books don’t have a specific category- I guess it could be colour- but the main thing
about these books is that they’re just stunning.
It doesn’t even make sense but when I look at these books my mouth starts to water.
If you’re interested in colour at all, you need these in your life.
The first is this Werner’s Nomenclature of Colours by Patrick Syme and from what I
understand, when this was originally published, pre-photography and way before colour photographs,
a geologist called Abraham Gottlob Werner had put together a book in 1774 to describe
colours, to create a consistent resource or classification for artists or scientists to
refer to when describing colour and then in 1814 a painter Patrick Syme expanded on this
list added way more colours and added coloured swatches of each colour.
How many times am I gonna say colour?
A lot probably.
So you end up with these beautiful charts of poetically named and described colours
like Pistachio Green found on the Neck of an Eider Drake or a Ripe Pound Pear and Red
Lilac Purple which is found in the Light Spots of the Upper Wings of a Peacock Butterfly.
It’s just infinitely inspiring and a pure work of art and fascination and commitment.
I read that to get the swatches into each book, and to have them consistent across all
copies, huge pieces of paper were painted with each colour and then cut down into these
little squares and glued one by one into the charts in each book.
I have to thank my wonderful art friend Dr. Oto Kano for this one, who sent this along
with some lovely other goodies, and she has so many fantastic videos about colour and
watercolour so please go show some love, I’ll leave her links below.
And finally, the Secret Lives of Colour by Kassia St. Clair.
If the last book does a beautiful job of identifying each colour, this one takes it further by
telling their stories.
Really beautifully written, you learn about key times each colour has come up in history,
symbolism to do with it, the elements that make it up and sometimes just really interesting
associated facts.
It’s quite hard to describe so I’ll just read this intro to Black to give you an idea.
[Book Quote]
Capacious is another word for like spacious or roomy- I googled it.
But yeah, there is just this wealth of such varied information here, it is so much more
than learning about colours and it's impossible to read a single page of this without bursting
with ideas as soon as you put it down.
So that’s my list.
Definitely made me wanna re-read all of them.
Everything I mentioned will be listed below- they will be affiliate links so any purchase
you make, I’ll get a little commission so thanks in advance if you do.
And, as I said, there are soooo many more of these that I could mention so let me know
if you ever want a Part II to this.
Otherwise, thanks so much for joining me today and I’ll see you soon for the next one.
Bye!