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this year, i found it really

this year, i found it really difficult to choose three favourites. too many singularly terrific books came out! but, for what it’s worth, here are mine:

* the silver way (stephen silver) – it’s rare to find tutorial books that go appreciably beyond listing successive steps, but this is one. and not only does it have the right focus (communicating understanding instead of giving recipes), it is also big and full of quality stuff. despite its title, many of the principles apply far beyond drawing characters in ‘the silver way’, but hold true for drawing in general.

* the movie art of syd mead: visual futurist (syd mean & craig hodgetts) – this is a no-brainer. for how impossible it is to find designs not in some way influenced by him, syd mead’s work is way too elusive to get onto one’s shelf. sentury 2 aside, his books are expensive to begin with, and usually sell out quick, driving prices up even higher. this book is both a comprehensive overview over his film work, as well as a normal book price. the perfect remedy.

* norse myths. tales of odin, thor, and loki (kevin crossley-holland, illustrations by jeffrey alan love) – not an art book per se, but an illustrated retelling of norse myths. but those illustrations! jeffrey alan love’s work was published last year in his book ‘notes form the shadowed city’, collecting isolated images with cryptic notes. here, his stark illustrations often cross over into page layout with their big shape compositions, and some big black part of the illustration forcing a text column into white-on-black. as a free bonus, kevin crossley-howard is a real authority on norse myth. ;)

honourable mentions:
* art of horizon zero dawn (gorgeous design, beautiful art!)
* greg manchess’ above the timberline (long awaited!)

cheers parka, and thanks for your tireless work!