As someone with both a son and a partner who are both fine artists, and as someone who does a bit of 'hobby' paointing, I was really very curious and excited to take a look at James Gurney's Imaginative Realism. I was not at all disappointed. Unlike other books that show how to sketch what you see, carve out shadow and light with the techniques of the author, Gurney gives a really great rundown on how to see what is in front of you in order to paint it more realistically. I have particularly been partial to his work with National Geographic and his renditions of Ancient Egyptian culturre and reconstruction of earlier temples, tombs,etc. Not just painting from imagination, James Gurney does the homework about how people, places and things should look as well as the drape of fabric, gesture, expression and he does it in a way that helps artists keep those things in their heads and put it on the canvas.

I was very impressed with his understanding of texture, technique to make a piece look more period, and the use of architectural marquettes and the effective lighting of these in order to really add the idea that you could step into the painting. Whether you are painting what you envision might have happened in history, or thinking up an alternative one to put on canvas, this book really was a pleasure. I spent hours just going through the picture and graphic rich pages. This one is definitely one for the shelf of any fine, graphic, or computer artist.

Being a huge fan of Dinotopia, I was extremely excited to learn how the creator imagined up all those wonderful characters and settings and I was not disappointed.

The tone of the book is not overly academic and the author is not condescending. In fact, the writing style is rather conversational and has a "do what you feel most comfortable doing" approach while explaining how he approaches his various projects.

The book is broken up into the various sections, each building on the prior:

* Tradition: He offers a basic overview of art through the ages along with the process and influences of some great artists.
* Studio: What items one might need in her personal art studio along with lighting equipment, mediums, and tools.
* Preliminary Sketches: How to warm up your imagination, how and why thumbnail sketches can be helpful along with storyboards. He also dips into perspective and how to play with broad spectrum color.
* History & Archeology: This section explores how art tells stories and how we can use history, along with perspective, to capture these stories.
* People: Drawing people can be tricky, because it's simple to draw two eyes, a nose, a mouth, and limbs, but the key is to bring out the expressiveness of character through facial expressions, posture, and costumes. This chapter also delves in using tools such as live models, photographs, maquettes, and setting to amplify these types of drawings.
* Dinosaurs: When people think of dinosaurs, snarling frightening reptilian beasts come to mind, but Gurney challenges us to think of them in a broader perspective, such as going about their daily business (i.e. scratching an itch). Not only that, but placing them in uncommon settings or offering them uncommon elements, such as clothing. He even discusses the benefits of sculpting your own miniatures.
* Creatures & Aliens: What would a book on painting what doesn't exist be without a section on all things far-out? But this chapter does more than explain how to imagine an alien, it broaches the subject of mythology (mermaids), the preternatural (human hybrids), supernatural (skeleton pirates), and fantasy (animal characters and cyborgs).
* Architecture: Building a city is involved. There are four steps (one of which involved sculpting a maquette) and plenty of time invested, but the end result will be nothing short of magical because although the city might exist nowhere besides your imagination, it might be enough to fool the mind into thinking it does exist somewhere tangible.
* Vehicles: Gurney offers valuable advice when he says "start with the familiar." He then elaborates by explaining how to mold various objects into a vehicle or exaggerating its features to create something entirely new, but realistic.
* Plein-Air Studies: Our world is rife with settings and people and animals which can be sketched on location and then transformed into something fantastical. Gurney explains where and how to look, paying especially close attention to colors and shapes.
* Composition: This section discusses how to arrange everything you've learned in the previous chapters into a powerful image with the most impact through tonal values and shape placement. There is even a section which discusses eye-tracking, or the movement of one's eyes as they look at something, and how to exploit it in your artwork.
* Procedure: In this section, Gurney gives the general run down of how to proceed with a painting--the first section which could be seen as a "stey-by-step." It continues by explaining how to combine all the elements into a finished piece of art.
* Careers: The final section is a nice tack-on for anyone interested in developing an art career. It has sections for paperback covers, movie, video game, toy, and theme park design.

When I finished, I was blown away by how much art education was packed into such a short book. A majority of the chapters expresses the benefits of creating a maquette, or small sculpted model, when developing a character or scene. This might be overkill for some people, but it helps one think three dimensionally. And there were plenty of other tidbits peppered throughout which made me stop and say, "That's a great idea!"

It's important to note that this is not a typical "step 1, step 2" how-to-paint book. It's main goal is to offer advice and tips for bringing out your own creativity and developing your own artistic skills, so having a strong foundation in traditional art techniques would be helpful.

I should start by saying that I am neither an artist nor a student of the arts. I am simply someone who enjoys fantasy imagery and characters to the point where I will purchase "How to" books to dabble with drawing and digital paint type programs. I had no real expectations with his book, except maybe just another step-by-step approach to some of the images shown. This book is a great deal more than that. It is not at all useful really for a quick here's a dragon, here's how to draw and color that dragon approach, but it offers a certain depth that ranges from not only setting up a proper studio but delves into things like taking inspiration from simply viewing others and has a certain charm in the language, obviously from the author's personality.

For a paperback, this book is real quality material. The pages are thick, the colored images are rich and vibrant, lacking that sort of washed out or quickly thrown together feel other similar books might have. The various sections in the book flow together in a way that actually makes it an enjoyable read just to get an insight into an artist's approach to his craft. The kind of stuff covered in this book is well beyond me, but what is provided is rather remarkable, and I know even as an amateur is going to pick up a few things to dabble with right away. He talks about nature as we know it and applying to rather unnatural or fantasy creatures in way that makes them believable. I am also a fan of fantasy literature and movies, and I sometime wonder how different some of the movies I have disliked in the genre might have been better if they took this sort of here is how to make it fit, make it natural approach instead of throwing out some of the unbelievable "animals" I have ever seen. I should also mention I almost never, ever read books that use a 1st person point-of-view, but again in this case, the way the he talks about his experiences, his thought process to the actual end product was interesting to the point where I enjoyed his perspective thoroughly.

I can't say if this is the kind of thing that a true student or artist would appreciate or not. And even though it is not a quick, here you go follow these steps to create one image book, again there is so much information provided here in a digestible, not a textbook type feel, that you're going to walk away with some sort of insight that will be useful for your own work or help you appreciate the process even more than you already do.

James Gurney's Imaginative Realism is truly and impressive book and a work of art in and of itself. This isn't your average "how to draw such and such" type book. This is historical and methodical, referring even to the masters of the field and various methods. There are even chapters detailing the studio and various media.

This book is interesting whether or not you want to perform any of the techniques involved. The illustrations and images are grand and the text is enjoyable. This book takes the reader into the world of the creator and tells his story all the while instructing the interested artist in the ways and methods of creating realism in the unreal.

This book has been my introduction to James Gurney and I have to say it is a very impressive first impression. This is clearly a very talented individual, not only in his art, but in writing, as well. I am truly impressed.

Imaginative Realism is a guide deep into the world of painting surreal characters being taught by a renowned artist. Before going much further it is important to note this book is not a "how-to" guide or tutorial book, it is more on the specifics of why you do something. You can go to any bookstore or search on Amazon for a slew of "how-to" books about digital and traditional painting, but will find very little on the specifics.

Sometimes its a good idea to know why you do something as it lets you expand on the concept, even if you take it in a new direction. The things I learned from this book have been both inspiration and process, which I am now using in my own work. I have found much of whats contained within this books pages is information most people go to art school for. Now I am not saying its a complete substitute, but if you (like me) didn't attend school you will be sure to pick up priceless techniques and processes.

I highly recommend this book even if you aren't into sci-fi art/fantasy art. The processes alone make this book a 5-star!