Keep Going: 10 Ways to Stay Creative in Good Times and Bad by Austin Kleon

Advice about coping. Keeping going, inspiration, exercise, money management, and more.

Show Your Work!: 10 Ways to Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered by Austin Kleon

A discussion of how a creative artist can communicate. Limits (no spam!), the value of teaching, the daily sharing, the way work can mean both the process and the final result.

Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative by Austin Kleon

An informal and lively discussion of some useful advice for creation. You may have run across some of it before, but as he quotes, "Everything worth saying has already been said. But since no one was listening, it all has to be said again."

The Christmas Story from the Metropolitan Museum of Art

On the eleventh day of Christmas, I read this! A selection of their artwork, some quite lovely pieces, follow the Gospel story, and some commentary on the art.

Making Comics: Storytelling Secrets of Comics, Manga and Graphic Novels by Scott McCloud ( Read more... )

Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art by Scott McCloud

The classic analysis of the medium.

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Secrets of Monet's Garden: Bringing the Beauty of Monet's Style to Your Own Garden by Derek Fell ( Read more... )

Chance Encounters: Temporary Street Art by David Zinn

Another collection of his charming artworks, and accounts of how he came to do them, and how it works.

I particularly like the ones where he shows the original inspiration.

Middle-Earth: Journeys in Myth and Legend by Donato Giancola

Artwork based on Tolkien's tales. Many gorgeous oil paintings, and a lot of good sketches. Heavily weighted toward Lord of the Rings, but does include Hobbit and Silmarillion.

The Art of Dragon Magazine: 30 Years of the World's Greatest Fantasy Art

An interesting collection of fantasy art. Tends to the dramatic. Much of it good to excellent. Some themes to organize it, but it's an art showcase, so it was not chosen to illustrate points.