Beginner's Guide to Digital Painting in Photoshop: Characters

by Derek Stenning, Charlie Bowater

Beginner's Guide to Digital Characters is a comprehensive guide for artists wishing to create convincing and detailed characters. It features established artists such as Charlie Bowater (concept artist at Atomhawk) and Derek Stenning (freelance concept artist and illustrator, with clients such as Marvel Entertainment and Nintendo) who share their industry experiences by covering such aspects as posing characters, choosing the correct costumes, conveying emotions, and creating suitable moods. Conclusive step-by-step instructions make this an invaluable resource for artists looking to learn new skills, as well as those pursuing the next level.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Drawing, Game Design

224 pages, Paperback

First published March 17, 2015

Reviews

[Josh Storey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great for tips and tricks and learning some of the ins and outs of Photoshop. Not so great for basic painting/sketching/character drawing techniques. So the "Beginner" they mention in the title isn't someone who's a beginner painter. It's someone who's a beginner digital painter. Still, I think I learned more from this book than I have any other art book baring maybe Hogarth's Dynamic Figure Drawing.

[Oscar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Frustratingly short on actual techniques and more of a "learn the basics of composition, lighting and anatomy". The last few chapters ask different artists to work up a character concept and you'll find some great tidbits within.

[Oghday · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I believe most people will prefer using tutorials to learn digital art in a piecemeal format as they go, this book does offer a great foundation.

The actual technical Photoshop explainers are great but I'd say getting insight from professionals on their workflow and the ideas behind character design are what really makes this book shine.

I would recommend immediately practicing what you've learned for each chapter to instill the knowledge into your memory. Wish I had done more of that myself but, you live you learn.

[Annabel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wish there was more diverse art but pretty good information and love the visual step by step breakdown that balances out the text.

[Mia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just what I was after

[WinterStars · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very comprehensive. Even if the art itself is by masters the principals taught in this book are all the same no matter your skill level.