Create & Learn Collection

A handy, accessible, and beautifully illustrated artist's guide to using light and shade to push character designs to a professional level. This shorter-form book from 3dtotal Publishing, from our new series Create & Learn Collection, takes readers through clear and simple methods to achieving top-quality lighting in their drawing and digital paintings. The invaluable content is written and illustrated by professional artists, including an in-depth introduction by Kenneth Anderson (aka Character Cube), a character designer and illustrator based in Scotland, UK, who specializes in the creation of characters for animation, gaming, and traditional publishing. After covering the fundamentals of light and shade, he explores the ways lighting and shading can be used to describe form, push character stylization, and enhance storytelling. This is followed by eight invaluable tutorials from global artists, including Iranian concept artist Taraneh Karimi, Serbian illustrator Ognjen Sporin, and Italian character designer Isabella Agosti. They cover a range of topics, including 'Controlling tonal structure of a character with light and shade', 'Using light within a character design', and 'Using light and shade in a stylized 3D character'. With a compact format and short, clear tutorial steps, this book is ideal for those wanting a quick reference guide or more relaxed approach from a tutorial book. It's an ideal gift for an artist friend just discovering their digital-painting skills, or a must-buy for artists wanting to discover how the professionals create spot-on lighting and shade in their designs.

This beautiful photography-filled book will inspire and inform printmakers of all abilities, with step-by-step projects from popular linocutting experts. This shorter-form book from 3dtotal Publishing, from our new series Create & Learn Collection, takes readers through a clear and simple guide to achieving top-quality prints with the linocutting technique. The invaluable content is written and illustrated by professional artists, including an in-depth introduction by Gareth Barnes (aka Spindle Printer), a printmaker who works from his home studio in Leeds, UK. His work is inspired by history, folklore, the natural world, and vintage illustration, and he sells his work at print fairs around the UK. He discusses the materials used for linocutting, followed by techniques from start to finish, including carving, prepping paper, tips for mixing colours, and pressing and drying. All accompanying by stunning photography of the process in action. We then have specific projects from global artists, including Dutch printmaker Esther van Dam, Anna Hermsdorf from Germany, and Mary Ann Testagrossa from California, USA. Their tutorials include simple and more advanced version of multiblock prints and reduction prints, as well as a jigsaw print and the technique of reprinting a pattern on fabric. Photographs accompany each step of each process, alongside clear written instructions from the artist. With a compact format and short, clear tutorial steps, this book is ideal for those wanting a quick reference guide or more relaxed approach from a tutorial book. It's an ideal gift for an artist friend just discovering their printmaking passion, or a must-buy for linocutters wanting to discover how the professionals create their stunning prints.