A closer look at the art techniques of Patrick Woodroffe

by Patrick Woodroffe

From the "...This is not a 'how to do it' book; it is a 'how I did it' book. It does not pretend to be a comprehensive technical guide. No doubt real artists - people trained at art schools, people who know what they are talking about - will tell you that much of the information in this book is not only out of date, but also out of touch with the methods and materials mainly in use today. I admit to being a little old-fashioined, a bit of an old woman in fact, obsessively tidy, painstakingly neat. I am certainly in no position to set myself up as any kind of authority, being taught only by reference books and bitter experience, but there are certain processes and tips which I am sure are completely my own and therefore worth passing on. Anyway, I hope this book will succeed in conveying at least some useful information, and also - through the illustrations themselves - perhaps I may communicate something of my own vision of how things should be, so that this book, like all my others, may be seen to tell it not 'how it is' but 'how it could be'."

Genres: Art, Nonfiction

127 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

Patrick James Woodroffe was an English artist, etcher and drawer, who specialised in fantasy science-fiction artwork, with images that border on the surreal. His achievements include several collaborations with well-known musicians, two bronze sculptures displayed in Switzerland and numerous books.

Reviews

[Mansour S منصور السدحان · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is not a how-to-do book, as it's been cleared by the author in the introduction. Which is a good thing. How-to-do art books are never practically satisfying anyway, and besides, you need a huge volume to explain the techniques used by Patrick Woodroffe! This book is a tour into the challenges/solutions, techniques and fine touches that Patrick implies to achieve the perfection you see in his art. It's a good read for today's young digital artists, not in a grumpy "in my time things were better" way! Instead, to appreciate how having it hard results in giving it a thought before doing it. If you already appreciate Patrick's art, then you'll double that appreciation after knowing the amount of effort, dedication and talent that went into making it! Some of Patrick's techniques are considered old fashioned way back in his time, 1980s! This is because Patrick is concerned about the actual art piece itself, as well as the reproduced copy for commercial purposes. This book is joy to look at, it can be looked at as a showcase for the whimsical, fantasy, sci fi art of Patrick Woodroffe regardless of the text. A particularly interesting chapter is the last chapter, there you will learn how Patrick mixes painted elements with the real world without the convenience of digital imaging, and creates art pieces that rivals the best of today's digital art!

[Jussi Peritalo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative Look Into the working methods of the multitalented Woodroffe.