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Imaginative Realism: How to Paint What Doesn't Exist

Imaginative Realism: How to Paint What Doesn't Exist

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  • Create Date：2021-04-06 14:54:16
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：James Gurney
  • ISBN：0740785508
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Summary

From the award-winning artist， learn to see and shape the world in a way you never before imagined。

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 the techniques that won him worldwide critical acclaim。 This groundbreaking work examines the practical methods for creating believable pictures of imaginary subjects， such as dinosaurs， ancient Romans， alien creatures， and distant worlds。

Beginning with a survey of imaginative paintings from the Renaissance to the golden Age of American illustration， the book then goes on to explain not just techniques like sketching and composition， but also the fundamentals of believable world building including archaeology， architecture， anatomy for creatures and aliens， and fantastic engineering。 It concludes with details and valuable advice on careers in fantasy illustration， including video game and film concept art and toy design。

More than an instruction book， this is the ultimate reference for fans of science fiction and fantasy illustration。

"Gurney's Imaginative Realism is a gold mine for artists who want to create images that sing with authority and delight the viewer with rich otherworldly visuals。" --Erik Tiemens， concept artist， Star Wars: Episodes II and III

"Imaginative Realism is an indispensable， flawless reference for vision makers in any discipline to create their own imaginative realms。" --Frank M。 Costantino， ASAI， SI， FSAI， JARA， cofounder， American Society of Architectural Illustrators

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Reviews

Shaz ，

good book showing all the different ways to get reference for drawing things that don't exist。 Great art but I feel like it didn't help me that much。 good book showing all the different ways to get reference for drawing things that don't exist。 Great art but I feel like it didn't help me that much。 。。。more

Akbar Hasan ，

This book is such a multi-faceted one; it's something that is instructional， motivational， exciting， playful and always thought-provoking。 I found myself getting ideas bounce around in my head as I kept reading and I enjoyed that。Some background before I brought this book: I followed James Gurney's blog for a year or two and found it to be （and still find it to be） an excellent place to learn about art。 When I learnt that he released a book， I felt like I owed him to buy the book as a return for This book is such a multi-faceted one; it's something that is instructional， motivational， exciting， playful and always thought-provoking。 I found myself getting ideas bounce around in my head as I kept reading and I enjoyed that。Some background before I brought this book: I followed James Gurney's blog for a year or two and found it to be （and still find it to be） an excellent place to learn about art。 When I learnt that he released a book， I felt like I owed him to buy the book as a return for the excellent content in his blog posts。 And boy， did this book deliver。 I don't consider myself going into the illustration/fine art field but I found this book to be so useful because you can translate it to whatever kind of creative work that you create。 One of the most important lessons I learnt from this book and about imaginative illustration in general is that you've got to observe life as best you can （and in a creative manner）。 Seeing all the maquettes， the lighting set ups， the material used by Gurney so he could produce such brilliant paintings reminded me that you need to do this in whatever art your producing if you want to create something imaginative （but was realistic）。 I kept thinking about films and about Christopher Nolan's determined approach of using practical effects and giving his actors the setting/backdrop they can work with rather than using a green screen。 And that's so important， it's so important to enrich your art and give it the feeling of authenticity to the viewer/reader。 I also found the act of building up the scene naturally with models， careful lighting， maquettes， etc。 to resonate with my own thoughts about the artistic process。 Basically， the art does get better if you do it from observation。 The art does get better the closer you are to the subject whether by experience or by observation。And finally， the paintings Gurney shows off in this book are just drop dead gorgeous。 Found myself enjoying studying them， and the painting examples he uses to showcase what he's talking about are really effective in demonstrating the written content。 。。。more

Vikas ，

If you are a national geographic magazine reader you would have already come across hundreds of this authors illustrations， recreating history， capturing those actions in time that time itself forgot。 The book covers architecture， people， dinosaur， background composition， and his step by step process of approach into converting a vague idea into a refined art work（ of course lots of background research， reference study involved）。 Time tested methods like the "windmill principal"。It is a fun and If you are a national geographic magazine reader you would have already come across hundreds of this authors illustrations， recreating history， capturing those actions in time that time itself forgot。 The book covers architecture， people， dinosaur， background composition， and his step by step process of approach into converting a vague idea into a refined art work（ of course lots of background research， reference study involved）。 Time tested methods like the "windmill principal"。It is a fun and informative read， one can read it as a book or browse like a magazine， exercise for training eye and hand for observational drawing， and to stimulate that imagination part in the brain。 Recommended for both professional and beginner artists 。。。more

Roya ，

I Highly recommend this book to who wants to be an artist in any levels。It's a good reference book。 I Highly recommend this book to who wants to be an artist in any levels。It's a good reference book。 。。。more

Amanda ，

Best book I've ever read on art。 I would have rated it 100 stars！ Best book I've ever read on art。 I would have rated it 100 stars！ 。。。more

Maryana Gudyma ，

Gurney se acaba de convertir en uno de mis pintores favoritos。 Sus explicaciones de cómo crear realismo imaginativo es maravilloso。 Este libro es pura inspiración， y ver sus cuadros son una auténtica magia。 Recomiendo el libro tanto a artistas como aquellos que simplemente les guste el arte y quieran hojear sus pinturas。

Antonia ，

Some thoughts:James Gurney has a talent for teaching art。 I used to watch his plein-air painting videos and I wanted to read a book of his too。 'Imaginative Realism' explains some traditional techniques for the visual development of stories which have stood the test of time。 Helpful examples from great illustrators of the past are given next to Gurney's own work。 Some thoughts:James Gurney has a talent for teaching art。 I used to watch his plein-air painting videos and I wanted to read a book of his too。 'Imaginative Realism' explains some traditional techniques for the visual development of stories which have stood the test of time。 Helpful examples from great illustrators of the past are given next to Gurney's own work。 。。。more

Michaela Vondráčková ，

I don't know why I did not buy this book that looooong time ago when I first heard about it。 Must-have for all artists that want to create different fantasy creatures， people， whatever you can think about - from their own imagination。 There is something from everything， references， colors， thumbnails， so many good pages， so many good informations！ Only one thing I can't appreciate enough are pages dedicated to dinosaurs， cause they are really out of my interest， but maybe I will find on those pa I don't know why I did not buy this book that looooong time ago when I first heard about it。 Must-have for all artists that want to create different fantasy creatures， people， whatever you can think about - from their own imagination。 There is something from everything， references， colors， thumbnails， so many good pages， so many good informations！ Only one thing I can't appreciate enough are pages dedicated to dinosaurs， cause they are really out of my interest， but maybe I will find on those pages something interesting and helpful in the future。 Anyway。 Don't wait。 Order tha book！ It's totally worth the money！ 。。。more

Aimee Dan ，

Possibly the best art book I've ever read， really explains things well， I learned so much from it！ Possibly the best art book I've ever read， really explains things well， I learned so much from it！ 。。。more

daisy ，

RTC！

Theresa ，

Learned many artistic techniques in this fascinating and beautiful book。I agree with his statement that goes against the modern concept that an artist should develop a unique personal style， "The artist … should try to study nature as faithfully as possible and portray it with as few mannerisms and conventions as possible。 Those stylistic mannerisms will make your pictures look dated in the future， and the more you can avoid them， the more timeless your work will be。" （I'll personally add that " Learned many artistic techniques in this fascinating and beautiful book。I agree with his statement that goes against the modern concept that an artist should develop a unique personal style， "The artist … should try to study nature as faithfully as possible and portray it with as few mannerisms and conventions as possible。 Those stylistic mannerisms will make your pictures look dated in the future， and the more you can avoid them， the more timeless your work will be。" （I'll personally add that "style" will come with experience） 。。。more

Danny ，

Maybe the best， most thorough， well written and exampled art instruction book I've yet seen。 James Gurney is an inspiration and this book is going to change my art making for sure。 Maybe the best， most thorough， well written and exampled art instruction book I've yet seen。 James Gurney is an inspiration and this book is going to change my art making for sure。 。。。more

Klay ，

💯

Katelyn Jenkins ，

GET THIS BOOK。 Please。 With sugar lumps on top and all the shaved coconut and pistachios you will ever NEED。 To be a creative， thinking about fanasty become particularly common， but rendering it out on paper let alone in paint can seem to be a daunting endevor。There is no other peice of literature as comprehensive on the topic of painting what does not exist - whatever the cost， this is a staple， chicken soup for the technical。

Molly ，

This is one of those books that you can read and then revisit again and again just to flip through。 Gurney is the king of preparedness， and it shows in his stunningly realistic worlds。 Get ready to be blown away the effort that goes into it， but also the incredible payoff。 Nothing is by accident。This book doesn't just show you how to make up creatures from your imagination， it gives you instructions on creating his level of lifelike creatures with shape， dimensions， flesh tones， and habitats tha This is one of those books that you can read and then revisit again and again just to flip through。 Gurney is the king of preparedness， and it shows in his stunningly realistic worlds。 Get ready to be blown away the effort that goes into it， but also the incredible payoff。 Nothing is by accident。This book doesn't just show you how to make up creatures from your imagination， it gives you instructions on creating his level of lifelike creatures with shape， dimensions， flesh tones， and habitats that make sense。 You'll learn about making physical models and dioramas， staging them and lighting them， keeping files of reference materials， expanding your range by limiting your palette， where to find real-world inspiration for fantasy art， plus an absolute barrel-load of Gurney's work throughout his career。 。。。more

Mya ，

Really nice as a reference book/guide to have on your shelf， or just to flip through and enjoy the paintings。 I did not overly enjoy so much focus on dinosaurs or machines though， unfortunately。 And what I gather from this is "to draw something really good you must reference reference reference FUCKING REFERENCE EVERYTHING"。 I honestly almost never do， which might explain why my art has been stagnating for 10 years now。 Something that gave me hope is the author saying it took him 3 months of res Really nice as a reference book/guide to have on your shelf， or just to flip through and enjoy the paintings。 I did not overly enjoy so much focus on dinosaurs or machines though， unfortunately。 And what I gather from this is "to draw something really good you must reference reference reference FUCKING REFERENCE EVERYTHING"。 I honestly almost never do， which might explain why my art has been stagnating for 10 years now。 Something that gave me hope is the author saying it took him 3 months of research and painting for a particular detailed piece。 That sounds so mind-boggling to me， someone who has maybe spent 12 hours top on a piece。 Here rises the hope that if I spent more I could astound myself with the results。 The problem is。。。I spent 12 hours tops on a painting in my life :'D not sure how to do MORE。 What this doesn't say is how to power through the fatigue and being already fed up with a piece after 10 hours。 I am left kinda with a feeling of shame for not having referenced stuff in my xy years of artistic endeavor。 And I have never ever done master studies， another apparent MUST as a training technique。 While it does give me good insight into which ways to improve， I feel regretful of not knowing this before。 Having liked this， I have to say that I don't precisely agree with the author's endnotes in the afterword。 "Forget about style"， he says。 "Those stylistic mannerisms will make your pictures look dated in the future， and the more you can avoid them， the more timeless your work will be。" Obviously， he is a proponent of realism and I do in a way agree with not sacrificing learning realism and the proper techniques in favour of just developing your style but I really don't think it is an end goal for me personally。 Ridding my art of my personal features in order to closely follow nature。 In case he meant "don't skip learning the proper techniques just because you're lazy to reference and call these shortcuts your 'style'" then yeah， I agree。 。。。more

Emily ，

I really got a lot of use from this book。 It has a few chapters that really were easy to understand but so different than a lot of other art books。 While the book does have emphasis on a few techniques I did not find helpful for the mediums I use it still was useful I learned quite a bit from it。

Darkvine ，

I am more of a sketcher， so perhaps not the most practical art book to me but it is a great insight on how a professional fantasy， science fiction， and palaeological illustrator goes to work。

Cassie ，

PHENOMENAL。 There is so much valuable information in this book。 Essential for any artist’s library！“Capture the epic， not the incident” （Page 55）。*Some nude figures

Bree ，

Now I know why Gurney's paintings are so amazing; the amount of research and preparation he does for a painting is stunning。 This isn't a "How to Draw" beginner's book， but is a "How to Be a Better Artist" guide。 I think you would need some basic drawing foundations （self taught or otherwise） before delving in to get the most out of it， although there are excellent principles for beginning artists to apply to their drawing habits， as well。 Now I know why Gurney's paintings are so amazing; the amount of research and preparation he does for a painting is stunning。 This isn't a "How to Draw" beginner's book， but is a "How to Be a Better Artist" guide。 I think you would need some basic drawing foundations （self taught or otherwise） before delving in to get the most out of it， although there are excellent principles for beginning artists to apply to their drawing habits， as well。 。。。more

Melanie ，

I have to say I was expecting a bit more of this book。 While it wasn't particularly bad， I was hoping to see tips and step-by-step examples。 What I got were texts of James Gurney talking about his own art and the creative process it took him to finish them。 This wouldn't be a bad thing if they weren't so specific to that specific piece of art and if they weren't all already finished and ready to ship。 It would have been a lot more helpful if he had included more samples of unfinished work and sk I have to say I was expecting a bit more of this book。 While it wasn't particularly bad， I was hoping to see tips and step-by-step examples。 What I got were texts of James Gurney talking about his own art and the creative process it took him to finish them。 This wouldn't be a bad thing if they weren't so specific to that specific piece of art and if they weren't all already finished and ready to ship。 It would have been a lot more helpful if he had included more samples of unfinished work and sketches， so that we could make a comparison of his works as they were being done。Still， this book has gorgeous illustrations， with a lot of depth and details。 It's worth checking out。 。。。more

Francine ，

It's a very impressive book。 Got a lot of ideas about drawing。 REALLY LOVE IT！！ It's a very impressive book。 Got a lot of ideas about drawing。 REALLY LOVE IT！！ 。。。more

Mario Russo ，

In this book Gurney sums up his approach to imaginative realism， references， maquettes， techiniques and more。 For some one who reads his blog， this book do contain a lot of things already posted there。 But of course with more detail and also some sample of Gurney's commissioned works are worth checking out。 In this book Gurney sums up his approach to imaginative realism， references， maquettes， techiniques and more。 For some one who reads his blog， this book do contain a lot of things already posted there。 But of course with more detail and also some sample of Gurney's commissioned works are worth checking out。 。。。more

Ching ，

It`s impressive to know 'centuries ago' doing an imaginative illustration an artist need to stay in a library， consult experts， make maquettes， install sandbox， hire models， light， photograph and to do pein air paintings。 Thanks for Google， Photoshop and Zbrush saving us from all these above。 But this book is still a perfect one to show the classical painting methodology It`s impressive to know 'centuries ago' doing an imaginative illustration an artist need to stay in a library， consult experts， make maquettes， install sandbox， hire models， light， photograph and to do pein air paintings。 Thanks for Google， Photoshop and Zbrush saving us from all these above。 But this book is still a perfect one to show the classical painting methodology 。。。more

VeeDawn ，

Very informative book by an excellent artist。A favorite quote: "I have a little wooden plaque 。。。that says '100%。' It reminds me to put the full measure of effort into every painting and to avoid the temptation to do it the easy and comfortable way。 The harder I've tried to reach that 100 percent goal on a given painting， the happier I've been with the results。 The paintings that have gone into the gallery flambeau are the ones I tried to pull of without doing the preparations first。 。。。 Arnold Very informative book by an excellent artist。A favorite quote: "I have a little wooden plaque 。。。that says '100%。' It reminds me to put the full measure of effort into every painting and to avoid the temptation to do it the easy and comfortable way。 The harder I've tried to reach that 100 percent goal on a given painting， the happier I've been with the results。 The paintings that have gone into the gallery flambeau are the ones I tried to pull of without doing the preparations first。 。。。 Arnold Bocklin。。。said， 'Nothing in art is created without effort， and the painter's ideas don't come to him on wings while he dreams， either。 The one may be more talented than the other， of course; but without untiring diligence， single mindedness， and a combative spirit， there can't be any good result。 All this talk about 'inspiration' is nonsense。" 。。。more

David Walz ，

Pretty cool insight on a way to do some fantastic type artwork， though I would say a lot of it is a little bit niche in that a lot of it is specific to oils。 I think Andrew Loomis's Creative Illustration is a little better for broad concepts that cross multiple mediums。 It's easier to apply to other mediums， anyway。 Still an informative read with lots of neat pictures。 Pretty cool insight on a way to do some fantastic type artwork， though I would say a lot of it is a little bit niche in that a lot of it is specific to oils。 I think Andrew Loomis's Creative Illustration is a little better for broad concepts that cross multiple mediums。 It's easier to apply to other mediums， anyway。 Still an informative read with lots of neat pictures。 。。。more

Eszter ，

Interesting techniques but not as helpful as expected。

Bùi Hà ，

One question that I have been curious of is how novel writers or artists could create such lively characters， especially non-existent characters。 I have thought that imagination in writing and drawing might relate to innate skills， and therefore， without those skills， we couldn't be creative。 This book is the answer to my curiosity I have had so far。 As the book demonstrates so clearly， creativity starts from daily life。 In this book， Gurney has talked about his process of producing "dinotopia"。 One question that I have been curious of is how novel writers or artists could create such lively characters， especially non-existent characters。 I have thought that imagination in writing and drawing might relate to innate skills， and therefore， without those skills， we couldn't be creative。 This book is the answer to my curiosity I have had so far。 As the book demonstrates so clearly， creativity starts from daily life。 In this book， Gurney has talked about his process of producing "dinotopia"。 He shows that creative creatures don't just appear。 They are a product of mixing of his real life experiences， carefully researches anatomy， and basic drawing skills。 He shows the photos of his studios with full of instruments。 He takes examples from his own products and talks about his thought processes and his methodologies behind them。 He demonstrates that creative products doesn't come from nowhere or from genius。 Creative products are from daily ordinary sketches ， realities， and experiences。The drawing in the book is also great。 I could immediately recognize the style from book covers of the America journals of 1980s。 The pictures appear tranquil; the color is bright。 For art enthusiasms， I think the pictures themselves worth the book's price。 Sometimes， I was just immersed in the picture for a while before I suddenly realize that I have watch them for a half of hour。This book is definitely for people， who are in love of arts and are wondering how creative products are created。 If you happen to be curious of the process （and love to look at colorful picture like me）， this short book （around 200 pages with lots of pictures） might be a good book to relax your mind。 。。。more

Vanessa ，

This book completes the other （Color and Light）。 It has a lot of art， examples and it explains well the process of creating an object/sculpture in order to create a painting after （ the figure that is represented on the book cover）。 He explains that we can paint the imagination by creating it first， then it's a matter of setting the light correctly on the studio and paint what you just sculpted or composed on your table。If not， this and the other book are amazing to keep as a collection， because This book completes the other （Color and Light）。 It has a lot of art， examples and it explains well the process of creating an object/sculpture in order to create a painting after （ the figure that is represented on the book cover）。 He explains that we can paint the imagination by creating it first， then it's a matter of setting the light correctly on the studio and paint what you just sculpted or composed on your table。If not， this and the other book are amazing to keep as a collection， because of the amount of full page art。It might be a little overwhelming for beginners。 。。。more

Sue Clancy ，

Da*m good resource book！ I'm sleeping with it under my pillow at night。 Da*m good resource book！ I'm sleeping with it under my pillow at night。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Imaginative Realism: How to Paint What Doesn't Exist

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Imaginative Realism: How to Paint What Doesn't Exist&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Imaginative Realism: How to Paint What Doesn't Exist&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0