Imaginative Realism: How to Paint What Doesn't Exist (Volume 1) (James Gurney Art) Paperback – Illustrated, October 20, 2009

After an initial read followed by a 2nd, I promise it’s not hyperbole when I say that this might be one of the best art books ever written. Between the insights into his setup and process, the general advice and practical wisdom on offer, and the brilliant and inspirational artwork he provides on every page, James Gurney has given us a modern classic. It’s a must-have and must-read for any artist of any level. Clear. Concise. Powerful. It may not be a step-by-step book in the traditional sense, but it truly is a manual for a practical approach to ingesting, digesting and creating great art.

Worth every penny.

I have had this book for a while and it has helped me learn how to paint my imagined characters more realistically. As an illustrator in college creating characters that seem realistic are the key to visual illusion in art. It has given me the confidence to draw and reminder anything I imagine. And is very insightful with information that I had not thought about before reading.

The media could not be loaded. If you are a regular reader of James Gurney's blog, Gurney Journey, you would expect nothing less. This book is as good as I expected. He dispenses his knowledge as freely as he does on his blog. Here's what he says about his own book from the introduction:"This is not a book about figure drawing, anatomy, or perspective. It's not a step-by-step guide on how to draw dinosaurs. It's also not a recipe book for a particular paint technique, although all these topics are addressed in passing. What this book contains is a distillation of the time-tested methods that I've found to be most helpful for achieving realism in imaginative pictures."If you haven't got the hint from the title, this book is about making your art real and believable. In every chapter, James Gurney shares with us what he learned when creating his paintings. There are topics on people, dinosaurs, architecture, vehicles, composition and his step-by-steps (not techniques but process). The tips he gives can be applied on other subjects as well.The importance of research is emphasized and the amount of research he does really shows. While creating an illustration on ship wreckage for National Geographic, he talked to survivors to get an accurate account. He found out there's a drummer boy who used his drum as a float and drew that in. He also acted out the various poses of sailors in distress, rather than drawing them from imagination. The result is a painting that tells its story convincingly. The same goes for many of his other paintings.Another interesting read is the story of him trying to design a Dinotopian fire engine. When he presented his concept art to a professional fire engine designer, it was critiqued to have form but not function. There's lack of heat protection for the dinosaur, lack of understanding on how water hose works and a complicated water pump design. The revised concept is a huge improvement in believability that I thought it actually might work.He has provided lots of photos and his own work in the book. You'll get to see how he stages the props for reference, sketches and drafts, plenty of commissioned work (especially from National Geographic), the bird on his shoulder while he's drawing, the lousy-art incinerator he created from mirrors and other entertaining stuff.Imaginative Realism is an enlightening and fun read. Highly recommended to professionals, beginning art students and those who wish to push their art to the next level in terms of depth.(More pictures are available on my blog. Just visit my Amazon profile for the link.)

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James Gurney is the best instructor for engaging an artist's curiosity. Wonderful artist, teacher and writer who makes his ideas and concepts clear, informative and easily understood.

First, let me say that the content of the book is beyond excellent. It surely delivers on its premise, of showing you how to paint what doesn't exist.What I dislike however is that the content of the book is basically lifted straight out of James Gurney's blog([...]). A lot of passages are copied directly from it, and all of the things discussed can be found on the website. Not only that, but the website features much more information then the book does and it's free.Since I have read the entire blog, I was disappointed when I started reading the book.All considered, I don't think I can say "save your money, and go read the blog," since some of the money from the sale of the book will go towards supporting the website.But I would suggest going through the blog once you finish the book.

A really fun book of how the artist works and his ouevre which expands beyond Dinotopia evidently, cool to look at and read, thanks for the book.