Art Books: Top 15 Recommended
In this blog, you’ll find a selection of good art books from artists and authors. There is no specific order or rank system. Every single book has interested me for one reason or another and influenced me in some way. Hopefully, some might catch your interest as well!
I’ve chosen books with a broad range of difficulty levels, styles and subjects so there should be something here to get anyone started on their artistic pursuits. This is not an absolute “must-have” list by any means but merely a guide for those who are curious about where to begin.
If you’re just starting out in the field of visual arts, feel free to add these titles to your collection – they’re all worth it! It’s also worth noting that some of these are more “art-self help” kinds of books while others are purely technical, but all have great value in terms of inspiration.
Whether you’re looking to develop new ideas or improve your technique, I suggest everyone has a few solid art books on their bookshelf for guidance and study purposes. Some of the most memorable paintings turn out to be copies (or variations) of existing works anyway.
If you like any book featured here or would like to share your own recommendations with us, please comment below!
My Pick of Top 15 Art Books You Ought to Read
1. My 100 favorite modern artists, by Stephanie Manetto Hill
This is a highly recommended art book. If you are wondering who the most interesting 20th-century artists are or what you should invest in at auctions or just want to have an overview of Modern Art, then this is the perfect book for your library. The author describes her 100 favorite Modern Artists and their key works concisely but with insight and wit. It’s a great place to start if you’re new to art history books or trying to find out more about the best investment pieces of the last 100 years. Highly recommended!
2. Dictionary of Color, By Maerz & Paul
This wonderful book is one I never travel without. It’s a must-have guide to understanding color. The first edition of this art book was published in 1930 and the latest version is from 1950, with about 20 subsequent editions since then. It includes 2 sections: One is on how colors work together and what you can do with them; the other section lists thousands of color names and their meaning (Latin, French, German and English ) along with many samples of each color throughout history. Highly recommended if you want to understand composition & color theory better.
3. Art Fundamentals: Theory and Practice, By John A Spencer
For those who are serious about learning Fine Arts Painting more than just getting by, this book is the best place to start your journey. If you want to understand form, design, value structure and color then this book will get you there. These are the best art books for beginners in oil painting. By understanding these fundamentals of art it will enable you to move forward with your paintings with more control and confidence.
4. Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art, by Scott McCloud
This is a great introduction into the world of comics from a master cartoonist. It’s also an excellent reference if you’re trying to draw comic characters from your imagination or from real life. Incredibly useful as an art instruction tool! Highly recommended for those interested in sequential storytelling or graphic novels.
5. Seven Easy Steps to Animate Your Characters, by Wendy Isdell
This is a wonderful introduction book on animating characters in Flash. The author is an experienced hand at Disney, Cartoon Network & Nickelodeon so she knows what it takes to get there! This is a great tool for learning animation basics. Highly recommended for beginners with basic computer knowledge and some drawing experience.
6. How to Draw Cars Fast & Easy, By Mark Montano
Cars are often the starting point for new artists; after all, they’re everywhere! If you want to draw cars but don’t know where or how to start then this book will help you out. It’s got lots of photos, simple instructions and best of all it’s fun to read. It’s also great for learning perspective, composition, shading & rendering which are the essential elements of drawing any subject. Highly recommended for beginners with some drawing experience.
7. How to Draw Cartoons from Start to Finish, By Lee Hammond
This is one of the best art instruction books on cartooning that I have seen in a long time! The author has an engaging style of writing and presents her methods clearly & concisely without being too technical or dry. This book will teach you how to think like a cartoonist so you can create your own characters. You’ll learn about character design, expressions, poses, dialogue balloons, storyboarding and more along with anecdotes from other professional cartoonists. Highly recommended if you want to learn manga or how to draw comics.
8. The Master Guide to Drawing Anime, Masashi Kawashima
This is an excellent book on drawing manga that covers all the basics you need to know. It has a lot of great tutorials and examples from the author’s own drawings! It starts off easy and gets progressively harder to challenge your skills. One thing I like about this book is it also demonstrates ways of thinking and drawing which you can apply to any kind of drawing or subject matter, not just anime drawings. Highly recommended for beginners interested in learning art fundamentals such as forms, design, structure & perspective.
9. How to Draw Lifelike Portraits From Photographs: A Complete Guide, by Nathan Fowkes This is an excellent art instruction book on drawing portraits. The author covers all the basic methods for beginners including an excellent chapter on color theory, skin tones and different hair textures! This is a great book for learning portrait painting or any kind of figure work. Everything is written in clear step by step instructions so you can easily follow along. Everything’s done using charcoal so it is not suited to colored pencils/pastels however if you want to learn using charcoal this is the best book out there! Highly recommended if you like working with graphite which most traditional artists do.
10. Creative Lettering & Beyond: Inspiring tips, techniques & ideas for hand lettering your way to beautiful works of art, By Mary Kate McDevitt
I love lettering especially brush lettering so I was really excited to see this new book on lettering. It’s very inspiring, full of photos and examples from the author’s own hand lettering projects along with tutorials & advice on how to get started! This is a great art instruction tool if you want to learn how to do brush calligraphy or any kind of hand lettering. Highly recommended for beginners who want to explore a new art medium.
11. Drawing for Beginners: Learn How To Draw Anything Fast!, By Mark Willenbrink
This is an excellent book if you like learning by doing; it’s all about drawing mind maps using step by step instructions that are easy to follow! The author uses basic shapes, lines and symbols to create drawings that are fun to follow. If you enjoy drawing & want to learn how then this is the best book out there. Whether you’re a beginner or looking for new ideas on how to be creative, this will help you unlock your hidden potential! Highly recommended if you like learning through visual concepts rather than reading instructions.
12. Drawing Dynamic Hands, By Jack Hamm
This is an excellent book on drawing hands that covers all the basic methods including some advanced techniques not usually found in other books on hand drawing. It’s got lots of examples with clear instructions so it’s very informative and easy to follow along with! I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to improve their hand drawings or artworks containing hands. Overall it’s a great reference if you’re into drawing or painting figures.
13. How to Draw Lifelike Portraits in Charcoal, By Barbara Bradley
This is a great art instruction book on portrait drawing using charcoal. It’s full of detailed step-by-step instructions on how to get the best results when working with this medium! The author explains everything very well throughout the whole book so it’s not overwhelming. She also demonstrates all the different kinds of facial features and expressions you can use for your portraits which is really helpful if you want to add variety and character to yours! I would only recommend this book if you like working in charcoal since most stages are done using it; other than that it’s an excellent instructional guide, recommended!
14. Mastering Manga with Mark Crilley: 30 drawing lessons from the creator of Akiko, By Mark Crilley
This an excellent book on learning to draw manga; it’s full of information and tips along with many examples & tutorials that are easy to understand. The author demonstrates all kinds of techniques used in manga including how to sketch figures, faces expressions, portraying different emotions and layouts. I highly recommend this book if you’re interested in manga or just want to learn more about how it’s done. I hope there will be a second volume in the future since it leaves off at lesson 30 so hopefully, he’ll do another one!
15. Drawing Dynamic Hands: A Gesture Workbook for Artists, Animators Game Designers, By R. Scot Cady
This is an excellent book on drawing hands that covers all the basic methods including some advanced techniques not usually found in other books on hand drawing. It’s got lots of examples with clear instructions so it’s very informative and easy to follow along with! I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to improve their hand drawings or artworks containing hands. Overall it’s a great reference if you’re into drawing or painting figures.
I hope this list of recommended books helps you out if you’re looking to improve your art skills or just want to have some fun! These are all great reference materials that I highly recommend, whether it’s for learning a new skill or brushing up on the fundamentals.
