Art Book Recommendations

Here are my absolute favorite books about drawing.

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"Steal Like an Artist" book by Austin Kleon on a wooden table with green plant leaves beside it.

Mindset

Steal Like an Artist - Austin Kleon

This is a wonderful book that takes on and breaks down various fears and misconceptions surrounding being an illustrator/artist. It accompanies you on your creative path and helps you free yourself from certain thought structures.

Composition

Cover of 'Picture This: How Pictures Work' book by Molly Bang, showing abstract black and red shapes on a white background, with a plant leaf partially visible on a wooden surface.

Picture This - Molly Bang

In this book, Molly Bang beautifully explains how to build and create an image through the emotions you want to create. What needs to be taken into account and what is helpful in order to convey the feelings to the viewer in the best possible way.

Cover of the book "Constructive Anatomy" by George B. Bridgman featuring sketches of human heads and faces on a wooden surface, with a green leaf in the corner.

Anatomy

Constructive Anatomy - George B Bridgman

A very well-known book and rightly so. Bridgman is known for his hard and edgy approach to rendering human anatomy. In this book he explains all the bones and muscles and how they work. A short basic volume for anyone who wants a different perspective.

Book titled 'Framed Ink: Drawing and Composition for Visual Storytellers' by Marcos Mateu-Mestre on a wooden surface with a plant in the corner.

Framed Ink - Marcos Mateau-Mestre

The author presents various image compositions in detail and explains how to guide a viewer/reader through the image and how to use shapes to your advantage. A fantastic basic work.

Comics: Storytelling and Basics

"Making Comics" book cover by Scott McCloud, featuring an illustration of a person drawing comics at a desk with art supplies, on a wooden table background.

Making Comics - Scott McCloud

A comic about drawing and writing a comic. A great book that introduces you to the craft of comic drawing and writing in a playful way.

Cover of the book "How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way" featuring illustrations of Marvel superheroes such as Thor, Spider-Man, Hulk, Captain America, The Thing, and Dr. Doom, by Stan Lee and John Buscema.

How to draw comics the Marvel Way - Stan Lee & John Buscema

Not as detailed as Scott McCloud's book, but with lots of superheroes and different approaches. If you are looking for an introduction to comic drawing, this book is a great choice.

Color and Light

Book cover of 'Color and Light: A Guide for the Realist Painter' by James Gurney, featuring a prehistoric bird-like creature with vibrant feathers against a textured background.

Color and Light -James Gurney

The creator of Dinotopia explains everything important about colors. This book was groundbreaking for me and I return to it again and again. Be it to answer certain questions, find inspiration or just look at the beautiful pictures. For me one of the best books there is and currently the best about colors and light.

Construction

Cover of "How to Draw" book by Scott Robertson and Thomas Bertling, featuring sketches of futuristic vehicles and environments.

How to Draw - Scott Robertson & Thomas Bertling

This book and its tasks will certainly fill several months of hard work. However, once you're done with it, you should be able to theoretically trace all objects and landscapes correctly and also create your own objects and put them in perspective correctly. As you can see from my drawings, I never did all the tasks in the book. However, I use different basics when drawing every day. It is still on my to-do to work my way through this remarkable basic work.