Instructional & How-To Books

The many people who long to draw—but feel too intimidated to try—will rejoice at the wonderful first entry in this brand-new creative series. Written by arts educator Steven Aimone, it’s packed with solid, friendly, hands-on instruction, as well as inspiring images, and backed by the trusted AARP name. Aimone teaches ...more

illustrated with 12-page color photo insert and line art throughout A revised and expanded edition of the classic drawing-instruction book that has sold more than 2,500,000 copies. When Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain was first published in 1979, it hit the New York Times bestseller list within ...more

A workshop-style book, oriented to the wide community of crafters and artists including those interested in paint, surface design, mixed media, and collage, which explores a wide variety of innovative and experimental paint techniques. Chapters cover composition, abstraction, texture, layering, using found objects, encaustic, integrating text, and adding digital imagery. ...more

An award-winning fantasy artist and the creator of Dinotopia, James Gurney instructs and inspires in Imaginative Realism: How to Paint What Doesn't Exist. Renowned for his uncanny ability to incorporate amazing detail and imagination into stunningly realistic fantasy settings, James Gurney teaches budding artists and fans of fantasy art step-by-step ...more

Millions of people have learned to draw using the methods of Dr. Betty Edwards. Now, in an essential companion to her bestselling classic, Edwards offers readers the key to mastering this art form: guided practice in their newfound creative abilities. Here are forty new exercises that cover each of the ...more

Praised throughout the cartoon industry by such luminaries as Art Spiegelman, Matt Groening, and Will Eisner, this innovative comic book provides a detailed look at the history, meaning, and art of comics and cartooning. ...more

•A best-seller for 35 years • A timeless classic that has taught generations of artists—and will teach generations more When it was originally published in 1970, How to Draw What You See zoomed to the top of the publisher’s best-seller list—and it has remained there ever since. "I believe that ...more

The organization of letters on a blank sheet -- or screen -- is the most basic challenge facing anyone who practices design. What type of font to use? How big? How should those letters, words, and paragraphs be aligned, spaced, ordered, shaped, and otherwise manipulated? In this groundbreaking new primer, ...more

Rings of seahorses that seem to rotate on the page. Butterflies that transform right before your eyes into two warriors with their horses. A mosaic portrait of oceanographer Jacques Cousteau made from seashells. These dazzling and often playful artistic creations manipulate perspective so cleverly that they simply outwit our brains: ...more