RESOURCES
ART BOOKS
THE ARTIST'S COMPLETE GUIDE TO FACIAL
EXPRESSION by Gary Faigin
if you ever wanted to know what every single muscle in the face does, this is the book for you.
starts by exploring the structure of the face and its specific muscles, then takes a deep dive
into the six categories of human expressions. everything discussed is clearly demonstrated with its
own illustrations
COLOR AND
LIGHT: A GUIDE FOR THE REALIST PAINTER by James Gurney
the color theory book that Everyone recommends. goes very in depth on different types of light
sources and how light interacts with forms, then color theory and how to build color palettes. told
from the perspective of a traditional painter, so also includes tips on how to mix pigments.
DYNAMIC
WRINKLES AND DRAPERY by Burne Hogarth
so much information on how clothing folds and wrinkles form around the human body. Hogarth has
this
drawing style where he really exaggerates the structures and forms of everything he draws, which i
think works to his advantage in his art books. makes it very clear exactly what he's talking about
THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO COMIC BOOK LETTERING by Nate Piekos
OBSCENELY in-depth guide on how to professionally letter comics. gets right into the nitty
gritty on how to use graphic design software for lettering (Adobe Illustrator is the industry
standard and what Nate uses in his work). covers the tools of the trade, lettering templates,
dialogue, word balloons, captions, sound effects, titles and logos, and taking everything from
proofs to finals
FASHIONPEDIA: THE VISUAL DICTIONARY OF FASHION DESIGN by Fashionary
a visual encyclopedia on various categories of apparel and accessories. geared more towards
fashion designers, it details the anatomy, measurements, and different styles of various apparel,
all using industry standard terms. if you want to deepen your understanding of clothing to add more
variety and specificity to the clothes you draw/animate/whatever, this book is for you
FIGURE DRAWING FOR ALL IT'S WORTH by Andrew Loomis
The Classic Figure Drawing Book. covers proportions, muscles, methods for constructing the
figure, and various poses. only demonstrates "ideal proportions" so you ain't gonna be
seeing any body diversity here,
but it is a pretty thorough book on how to draw the human
figure
FILTH
AND GRAMMAR: THE COMIC BOOK EDITOR'S (SECRET) HANDBOOK by Shelly
Bond
comic editing guide written by Shelly Bond, a long-time comic editor who worked at Vertigo for
over two decades. as a comic creator it's incredibly insightful to see what a comic editor looks for
in a new comic, and what she's thinking when putting together a comics team. also covers the whole
comic creation process: writing, rough art, pencilling, lettering, inking, coloring, and cover and
logo design
FORCE: DYNAMIC LIFE
DRAWING FOR ANIMATORS by Michael D. Mattesi
one of my top favorite art books of all time!!! incredibly useful book for learning how to draw
people that feel alive by understanding how force and motion moves through the body. great
illustrated examples from life drawing sessions. also has an animal drawing counterpart but i
haven't read that one yet
FRAMED INK:
DRAWING AND COMPOSITION FOR VISUAL STORYTELLERS by Marcos Mateu-Mestre
great guide on how to make purposeful and effective compositional decisions for visual
storytelling.
great tips on how to frame the focus of a composition, visually communicate the
dynamics between characters, and effectively use different types of camera angles. great for
storyboarding and comics
HOW TO DRAW NOIR COMICS by Shawn Martinbrough
a book that is indeed all about drawing noir comics. covers drawing tools, the comic creation
process, and establishing moods with heavy black fills. the book does suffer a bit from a lack
of depth in all of the topics it covers, but im a sucker for the noir aesthetic so i like having
this book around
MAKING
COMICS by Lynda Barry
in this house we love Lynda Barry!! this is a book accessible for anyone of any drawing level,
where the focus is on having fun and using pictures as a form of communication. it's structured
similar to her college courses, with various assignments and exercises meant to get your creativity
flowing. a treasure trove for any comic artist who wants to spark their creativity and get their
confidence back
PERSPECTIVE MADE EASY by Ernest R. Norling
superb little guide on drawing in perspective. starts out simple and gradually builds upon its
concepts in an easy to understand way. if you struggle with perspective and want to learn more, this
book is a great place to start
VANISHING
POINT: PERSPECTIVE FOR COMICS FROM THE GROUND UP by Jason Cheeseman-Meyer
another perspective book! doesn't go into the basics as well as Perspective Made Easy,
but it does go into way more complex perspective setups that are helpful for comics. even
teaches you four-point perspective if you wanna go straight to hell
100
TUESDAY TIPS by Griz & Norm
a collection of random tips by Griz & Norm, a married duo who work as feature animation artists.
covers gesture drawing, color theory, stylization, and storyboarding, plus just A Lot More. you can
also see most of their Tuesday Tips for free on their instagram!
PODCASTS
CHECK THE WIRE a now
defunct podcast hosted by Northernlion and Dan Gheesling, they discuss their and others' careers as
gaming youtubers and twitch streamers. great insights on the logistical decisions for their careers,
how to best interact with your audience, and how to navigate such an online career
CREATIVE PEP TALK Andy
J. Pizza's weekly pep talk for all creatives on strategies for cultivating your
creativity and creating momentum in your career. also includes lots of interviews with other
creatives
GRAPHIC NOVEL TK
an incredibly in-depth guide to every facet of the graphic novel publishing industry. if you've ever
been interested in publishing a graphic novel this is an AMAZING place to start
NEGATIVE SPACE "a
surprisingly positive podcast about what surrounds the lives of artists in the entertainment
industry!" discussions and interviews about how these artists approach their careers, professional
work, social media, and personal projects
YOUTUBE CHANNELS
ANOOSHA SYED
if you're interested in getting into picture book illustration, this channel is a good place
to start! Anoosha offers business advice, demonstates her illustration process, and offers
other insights.
also includes old podcast episodes and more casual videos like studio vlogs
BOBBY CHIU
Bobby Chiu is the founder of the art education website Schoolism, and uses his personal
youtube channel to further share artist interviews, business advice, and drawing classes.
it's
shocking how much knowledge is stuffed into this one channel!
DESIGN
DOC
whole channel dedicated to analyzing and critiquing game design, with a decent amount of
focus on visual design. covers such topics as save systems, RPG party chemistry, side
quests, boss design, and collectibles
EMILYENA
speedpaint channel of Emilyena, an artist who draws a lot of cool and expressive
portraits.
watching speedpaints is one of my favorite ways of learning different artists'
techniques--you can learn a lot by analyzing how different people approach the Process
of
Drawing
EVERY FRAME A
PAINTING
altho it is now unfortunately inactive, Every Frame a Painting is the best
channel i've ever found that analyzes cinematography. each video takes a deep look into
the
specific visual techniques and decisions film directors utilize to enhance their
storytelling
GAMES AS
LITERATURE
literary analysis of video games!! deep dives into the narrative elements of various video
games. you know you wanna slurp up all those themes and symbolism
JAMES GURNEY
James Gurney is the author of Color and Light: A Guide for the Realist
Painter, a
very comprehensive guide on color theory, so his youtube channel works well as a
showcase of practical applications of the concepts explored in his book
JOY ANG
Joy Ang is probably most known for painting the title cards of Adventure Time, but
she's
also one of my favorite artists out there. here she occasionally every once
in a
great while shares speedpaints
which i immediately slurp up to absorb as much of her power as
possible
LIGHTBOX
EXPO
"LightBox Expo is an annual event that connects fans with the artists and
creators behind
their favorite films, animation, games, TV shows and illustrations." this
channel shares
some of the very informative panels hosted at this
expo
MASAHIRO SAKURAI
the legendary game director of Super Smash Bros and Kirby fame digs into his treasure trove
of practical game development knowledge to impart bite-sized pieces of wisdom to the
masses. he covers Many aspects of this field, giving people plenty of good jumping off
points to dig deeper into their own research
MIREY'S
another speedpaint channel! Mirey paints a lot of portraits with Nice
Colors--always
interesting
to watch someone who has a nice rendering style
NICHOLAS
KOLE
Nicholas Kole is an illustrator and character designer who more recently
worked on Crash
Bandicoot 4 and the Spyro remakes. he has a really fun style! and it's very
informative to
witness how a working professional approaches his craft thru his speedpaints
SINIX
DESIGN
lots of good tutorials on anatomy, digital painting, and other general
advice. my favorite
is his Paintover Pals series, where he takes art submitted by his patrons
and paints over
them, providing critiques and his thought process on his revisions.
EXTREMELY
informative
STRIP PANEL
NAKED
channel all about analyzing visual storytelling in comics!!! how come i
haven't found any
other channels like this!!! can't overstate how cool it is this channel
exists, it's SO
enlightening seeing someone do the comics equivalent of film
cinematography analysis
SYCRA
very popular art education channel. covers anatomy, design principles,
different approaches
to
learning art--there's tons of knowledge here. tbh i haven't watched his
videos in a while
but it looks like he's still (occasionally) putting out some good stuff
TONIKO
PANTOJA
2D animation education channel! explores the various aspects of
creating animation,
professional career advice, all sorts of Animation Knowledge. plus
his mascot is a cute
puppy
ONLINE COURSES
SCHOOLISM
tons of good art
courses that cover skillsets for various entertainment industry positions,
drawing and painting
courses for both beginners and professionals, and tons more! monthly
subscription is $30, and the yearly subscription ocassionally goes on sale
for $100 off
SVSLEARN
courses focused
on illustration. covers basic to advanced techniques on various traditional
and digital media,
plus a few courses on business practices.
monthly subscription is $25
USEFUL GOOGLE DOCS
ANIMATION/ILLUSTRATION JOB GUIDE career advice, job sites, studio lists, and portfolio advice
ANIMATION JOB HUNTING TIPS what it says on the tin
ANIMATION/VFX/GAME INDUSTRY JOB POSTINGS what it says on the tin!!
ARTIST RESOURCE LINKS job, freelance, educational, and career resources, plus a studio list
COMIC PROGRESS template for tracking comic creation progress
CSP BRUSH MASTERLIST CSP Brush Masterlist
DIGITAL BRUSHES brushes for Clip Studio Paint, Photoshop, and Procreate
HOT ART TIPS lots of Hot Tips on surviving as an artist, including residencies, pricing, and self-promotion
ILLUSTRATION AWARDS LIST awards for books/comics, children's books, illustration, and individual achievement
PUBLIC ARTIST OPPORTUNITIES big list of residencies, grants, and fellowships
QUARTERLY ESTIMATED TAXES quarterly estimated tax info for the USA
RECOMMENDED READING FOR COMIC ARTISTS recommended readings!
STUDYING DESIGN FOR TV ANIM resources for color design, background paint, props, and character design
USEFUL LINKS FOR ARTISTS resources for specific art software, inspiration, drawing references, and more
2019 CTN COLOR PORTFOLIO REVIEW color style portfolio reviewed by different animation industry specialists
BUILDING A WEBSITE
VISUAL
STUDIO
CODE
okay i wanna start this section by warning y'all that i am a huge
amateur when it comes to
making websites. anyways Visual Studio Code is the software i use to
write all my
code--from what i can tell it's a pretty nice free program
LIVE SERVER
Visual Studio Code extension that lets you launch a live, local
preview of your website in
your
browser so you don't have to publish it all online just to check how
your code's looking
MDN WEB
DOCS
Mozilla's resource for learing web development. i've only poked
around it a little bit but
from
what i've seen it seems to explain concepts in a very easy to
understand way
W3SCHOOLS
website with lots of coding tutorials. i mostly use it as a
reference to search up whatever
random coding stuff im in need of
FREE CODE
CAMP
hands-on tutorials for learning coding. i took the (Legacy)
Responsive Web Design
Certificate, and while i forgot like 99% of the stuff i learned it
was a good way to get
acquainted with what html and css is capable of
NEOCITIES
where i originally hosted my site! you can sign up for free and get
one free site with up to
1GB of storage. and if you need more than that, the paid plan is
only $5 per month!
NETLIFY
where i currently host my site! you can host a static site for free,
like with
Neocities, but it also allows you to have a custom domain on the
free plan. slightly
more complicated to set up bc you'll probably host your site's files
on GitHub