Creative Illustration

by Andrew Loomis

During his career as one of America's most sought-after illustrators, Andrew Loomis (1889-1959) taught at the American Academy of Art in Chicago, and in 1939 he codified his lessons in his first manual, Fun with a Pencil . Four years later it had already been through six printings, and he followed up over the next two decades with a series of even more successful how-to books that remain the gold standard for artists to this day.

Creative Illustration is considered Loomis's magnum opus, which was aimed primarily at the professional-level illustrator. Divided into seven Line, Tone, Color, Telling the Story, Creating Ideas, Fields of Illustration, and Experimenting and Studies, this book is filled with instructions, tips, insider experiences, and incredible illustrations.

Genres: Art, Drawing, Nonfiction, Reference, Design, Art Design, Creative

300 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1947

About the author

William Andrew Loomis was an American illustrator, author, and art instructor.

Reviews

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I had read this instead of wasting my time and money getting a graphic design degree. There is more useful art and design info in this single book than was covered in all of my schooling.

[Parka · Rating 5 out of 5]

(More pictures on my blog)

This is the fourth book of Andrew Loomis that Titan Books have published. The other three are Figure Drawing for All It's Worth , Drawing the Head and Hands and Successful Drawing . All are wonderful reprints, including this one.

This is a huge and thick hardcover at 300 pages.

There are seven chapters in the book covering the line, tone, colour, telling the story, creating ideas, fields of illustration and experiment and study. The first few chapters explain more on the drawing techniques while the later chapters are more on visualising and creating art for display ads.

This isn't a draw-with-me type of book. You should have basic drawing skills, and using the drawing tips and insights provided, you can understand what makes a good drawing and improve yourself. Commentary is lengthy but clear. The illustrated examples are beautiful and even if some of them are dated, the techniques still remain as relevant today.

It's a great book for all who wants to get better at drawing.

[Scott Forbes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book bases a series of artistic observations upon a formalism of Loomis' testimony and invention. He claims, and rightly so in my own opinion, that art is nothing but an interpretation of a subject. He argues against cameras saying that art is preferable to the lifeless unemotional camera, because the public prefers to know what they are looking at, not just looking at it mechanically. They prefer something illustrated, because illustrations can move and communicate more than cameras can, simply by technique. And the technique is the bulk of the book. To his credit, every part of his technique fits Loomis' main formalist method. If you think you know how to draw, read this book. It can teach you a few things that a study of the masters will not. I think Loomis used broad categories in order to get people to really think and review their own work, in their own light, instead of by comparing themselves to another person or a camera, two mistakes that Loomis warns against. He explicitly states never to let your art bend to another person's personality or performance, instead he argues, you could use experiment and study of your own work your guiding principle. This book is a must read. There is a considerable amount of text, for a drawing book, but once Loomis' thesis becomes clear, it opens the way for a lot of drawing work to be done after finishing the book.

[John Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Got me where I am today as an artist

[Darjeeling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Get it here:
https://archive.org/details/andrew-lo...

'Art directors have told me that they use photography only because of the mediocrity of available artists. The demand for good work exceeds supply. Therefore commercial art has had to lap over into photography as the next best bet. Rarely does an art director prefer a photo over a well-executed painting. The difficulty lies in getting the painting or drawing that is good enough.'

'The most colorful and beautiful paintings often come from the restriction of color, rather than the profuse application of it.'

[Rex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally finished this giant textbook on illustration. This is the best textbook not only on illustration but also for the entire visual art universe. Yet it's written in 1947. The pictures in the book might not be updated anymore but since art skills and our visual perception changed very slowly (it relies on genetic mutation generation by generation), you will find this book valuable even in this photoshopsnique epoch. It would be wonderful if there is a textbook just like this one in the 20s of the 21st century. There are way too many uncreative fine art books for watercolor, acrylic, oil, etc that just repeats the skills again and again and again. But then, probably any photoshop manual is more creative than any art books now.

[Anthony Brooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve been wanting to up my illustration work lately and have had this book for years, though I’ve never read more than 20 or 30 pages in. It seemed a good enough time and I couldn’t find a sufficient excuse as to why I would (want to) keep putting it off, so I started reading it. I only have the pdf version with me (which is unfortunate as I have the hardcover version in storage back in the States), so I was left trying to read through some poorly scanned pages and lackluster image scans. For those in a similar situation, the Russian version has much MUCH better scans of everything, so you can look at that for the images at the very least. I ended up reading a bit of both languages to get the pages with left out text, but that’s not so relevant to a review of the book itself.

As for the content of the book and how relevant it is in today’s world, I would say that around 75-80% still holds up in the current illustration market. A lot of the compositional tips are amazing and much more useful than what I learned in art school, though the applications listed in the book and some examples just aren’t what would be accepted by publishers or clients today. The portion about forming a layout from various views and then framing it was something that I hadn’t previously learned and was game-changing, in my mind. Loomis likes to go on little rambles about subjects that can leave you (or at least, me) a bit lost in the thick of it all, especially when it comes to color. I think that this may have been partially due to the scan of the book requiring me to think of what some parts would say rather than simply reading, though. Some of the materials used to illustrate are also a bit outdated, though I suppose it’s never bad to consider/learn new techniques.

The part that I would say was least helpful for me was the section dedicated to forming a concept or brainstorming ideas. The method given in the book for this was very much focused on advertising at the time of publication and really doesn’t apply to a lot of what I do currently as an illustrator. That said, it does still apply to brainstorming as a whole and taking yourself out of the bubble that you’ve potentially put yourself into.

I’m sure that there’s more to cover, though that’s all I can think of at the moment. If you can find a copy of this book online or in person, I say pick it up. It’s worth it either way. Also, if you haven’t, check out the other books by Andrew Loomis on Figure Drawing, Head & Hands, etc. The guy was a wealth of knowledge back in the day and a lot of what he said is still incredibly useful today.

[Bernardo · Rating 5 out of 5]

¡Qué gran libro! vienen condensados como unos 5 diferentes libros de arte e ilustración que te recomiendan en la universidad, además de consejos cercanos y reales del autor, que escribe el libro como para un amigo y el trato es cálido y agradable. He aprendido muchísimas cosas que he ido implementando y continuaré profundizando en mi técnica y estilo. Es un imprescindible para ilustradores.

[Melissa]

http://illustrationage.files.wordpres...

Looks helpful, but I'm afraid there is some nudity in it.

[Natik · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is more for color composition (x and y look nice together in the final image) and not about something we might call "color rendering". I don't know if that's the official term, but I mean it as "how do I make these 2 different local color boxes look like they are in the same lighting conditions or made of specified materials". That part was not really covered :/

[Clayton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whether you choose to read through all the text in this book (and there's valuable, if sometimes dated advice there), or just concentrate on the visuals, "Creative Illustration" is a boon to artists. The only caveat is that this isn't really a beginner's book, nor a "how to draw" book, but more of an explanation of how to approach the thinking process behind your work. So, once you've got some technical skill, a book like this one can help you figure out what to draw and why to draw it in that manner.

[Ibtihaj Al Harthi · Rating 5 out of 5]

لا أستطيع التشديد على أهمية هذا الكتاب لدارسي الفنون الجميلة وخصوصًا الرسم، رغم مرور سنوات عديدة على نشر هذا الكتاب، لا زال الكثير مما يُدرسه منطبقًا على وقتنا الحالي، تعلمت الكثير عن التكوين تحديدًا وطرق بناء رسمة متكاملة وخوض العديد من التجارب قبل الرضى بتكوين واحد من هذا الكتاب، لوميس لا يكتفي ببعض الرسومات فقط لشرح نقطة ما، بل يشرح المفهوم كمشروع ويناقشة من جميع جوانبة، أعتبره مرجعًا مهمًا لجميع دارسي الرسم.

[Daniel Pezely · Rating 5 out of 5]

This crowns the solid foundation of Loomis' others books.

Fortunately, these books are back in print by his estate and in relatively near future will become Public Domain after the copyright expires. Even then, getting the print edition is well worth the price as the reproduction is masterfully done and beautiful to simply view.

Loomis' approach is more representational than abstract yet balanced. He explains this balance and how & when to apply each.

[Payback · Rating 5 out of 5]

A better resource than all of my illustration classes put together. If you have self-discipline enough to learn on your own and don't want to put yourself in debt going to art school for an Illustration degree, this is one of the books you should start with.

[Clarissa Labue-Pham · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book may be over 70 years old but it's still very relevant. I found this to be a wealth of information, I wish I had read it in my twenties. A must have for any artist.

[Shaz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect book for bridging the gap between beginner and intermediate artist.

It will teach you of all the fundamentals with great illustrations and interesting text. Most importantly it will teach you to join together all these aspects into an effective picture. I feel like this is a master artist putting together all he knows about the craft and giving it over to you. There are a few sections which are dated due to the book being aimed at 1940s illustrators however there are some things from them that you can still apply today.

[Suphatra · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I read this book, I realized I don’t need any other art instruction books, ever (well, besides my growing collection of Loomis’ other books!). Creative Illustration covers it all (form, light, tones, layout, perspective, and much more) and gives a thorough explanation of how to create great illustrations, ads, book jackets, posters, etc. The examples from his own work are stunning, and this reprint of the original 1947 book is so glamorous that it could also be used as a coffee table book.

[Mitch B · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite Loomis book. Primarily for it's teachings on value, rhythms and composition. Although a bit messy, it gets you up to speed on about 85% of what you should know about these topics and the rest you can get from master study. One criticism, it's bloated with a lot of either unnecessary material from the 1940's that isn't relevant today. I also don't know why but he has a section on color
but I don't trust it, it should have been it's own book. Otherwise it's a pretty good book.

[Xavier · Rating 4 out of 5]

So much invaluable information. This is a book I will have to return to time and time again to maintain the principals recommended by Loomis. The section on color was a bit overwhelming for me and I skipped over much of the business advice regarding becoming a professional illustrator since my art is just a hobby and I don't see it becoming a career choice. Still, an incredible resource for anyone seeking to improve their artwork and diminish their self-doubt.

[Terry · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is always time to review the basics and study different approaches. This book covers both. If you're a student of form and structure, rendering and how to create strong compositions, this is a good book to spend some time with.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Andrew Loomis es a los dibujantes lo que Platón a los filósofos: sus libros son imprescindibles para tener como base. Sus indicaciones son excelentes para incursionar en el mundo del dibujo. No importa el tiempo que pase, Andrew Loomis jamás pasará de moda ni dejará de necesitarse.

[drawwda · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Holy Grail for illustrators.

[Aleksandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must have for every artist, beginner or advanced

[Annette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book! A discussion and tips for a solid foundation in drawing. Definitely a book for my personal library.

[Sebastián Posada · Rating 5 out of 5]

Todo ilustrador tiene que tenerlo y hacer los ejercicios.

[Maki · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the beset art book full of great instructions and suggestions. No wonder many professional artists recommend it.

[Alice Stockli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best illustration book I’ve ever read

[Mathiwi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Feels like having proper art instruction… a book to read again from time to time !

[Avien Chang · Rating 5 out of 5]

Learned a lot from it! Mr. Loomis delivers his knowledge in a funny way like he's your friend rather than a teacher.

[Gin · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the stepping stones books for illustration. Definitely one of the best leaning books I ever had