The Art of Sam Yang

by Sam Yang

Genres: Art, Nonfiction

216 pages, Hardcover

Published December 13, 2024

Reviews

[Héctor Iván Patricio Moreno · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me gustó escuchar de primera mano las experiencias de un artista que cada vez es mejor. Sus ilustraciones son de verdad inspiradoras, bonitas y reflejan algo raro que hasta que me lo contó en su libro lo pude notar: sus dibujos son una mezcla de un manejo increíble de la luz, del color, de la anatomía humana, de las expresiones y de los entornos, con mucho conocimiento y práctica, pero estilizados para evitar el realismo extremo.

Me quedo con algunas ideas de lo que un artista (algo que yo quiero ser en mi propio campo) puede hacer para mejorar:

1. Evitar pensar que lo sabes todo y que no puedes aprender más cosas.
2. Inspirarte en el trabajo de otros y buscar cosas específicas por las que respetas su trabajo, ser muy preciso en qué es lo que te gusta del trabajo de alguien
3. Descomponer las habilidades complejas en partes más pequeñas que permitan que las practiques por separado
4. Conocer profundamente tu campo y practicar para cada vez conocerlo mejor

Es un libro bonito físicamente, inspirador para los artistas y visualmente agradable.

[Yow Jiljean · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Art Of Sam Yang is super inspiring and heart-warming. It touches on the technical and emotional aspects of art. Being a fan of Sam’s channel from the start, seeing his artworks, stories and advice printed into such a high-quality book makes me proud. I can feel his authenticity in wanting to make the art community better, he has inspired me to improve no matter what.

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Some lovely quotes from the book:

‘But that’s the beauty of art - we’re never really finished.’ - pg 9

‘Just like a skyscraper, the stronger your foundation, the higher you can go.’ - pg 31

‘Don’t just have random goals, either - be precise about them and change your routine to act on them.’ - pg 89

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I am happy to have contributed to his success and I wish him the best.

Thank you Sam!

[Kaylee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very high four stars. This entire book is basically wallpapers.

I’ve never read an art book from/about a certain artist and their work particularly, and it’s a beautiful experience. I’ve watched SamDoesArts for a while now, and his videos are super entertaining and informative. He’s one of my favorite YouTubers, and I always get inspired by his content and art. Despite being more of a traditional artist myself, I learn a lot from Sam’s online content and digital art, and I really like that this book has many of his most often repeated tips and tricks scattered throughout.

Sam definitely draws in a niche; almost every piece in the book is a slightly stylized young woman with a beautiful colorful background. But I think that’s part of the reason I love this art book. There are pieces of other subjects occasionally, and we know Sam is capable of drawing basically anything, but he draws mostly in this niche because that’s what he enjoys. I find that very inspiring, since it’s always good to move outside your comfort zone, but you really should create because you enjoy it. It feels like there’s a quiet message in this book about drawing what you love because you love it, while of course also breaking out and practicing new things.

It definitely doesn’t hurt that basically every single page is wallpaper material. I love seeing pieces from when Sam was younger, and watching his unique style develop. I would have even liked more of these, to be honest; the older art section felt a bit too quick. I also enjoyed the lessons on lighting and faces; they were nicely organized and easy to follow, while not making it feel like a ‘how to draw’ book. Seeing notes on completed pieces about what Sam was working on or thinking while making it was also really interesting. I enjoyed seeing behind the scenes of the thought process that goes into making these gorgeous digital paintings.
My favorite part was the galleries, though. There were several pieces that made my jaw drop or needed an extra minute of staring to fully appreciate. I will definitely be using them for inspiration later on.

This book offers exactly what it says it will, delivers, and gives some free lessons (on art and life) while it’s at it. What else is there to say? I highly recommend this to any artist who likes Sam’s style, needs some inspiration, or just wants pretty pictures in a book because ✨ colors ✨:)

[Alice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mlle Alice, pouvez-vous nous raconter votre rencontre avec The Art of Sam Yang ?
"Dès que je repère un nom à consonance asiatique, j'ai tendance à vérifier s'il est coréen. Ce n'est pas le cas de Sam Yang, qui est né en Chine et a grandi au Canada, mais j'ai tout de suite eu le coup de foudre pour ses oeuvres et je remercie Akileos de m'avoir envoyé son livre."

Dites-nous en un peu plus sur son histoire...
"Toujours sur le même modèle que le précédent, l'artiste nous présente ici son travail, son parcours et donne des conseils à ceux qui voudraient se lancer..."

Mais que s'est-il exactement passé entre vous ?
"Comme je viens de lire un autre livre de cette collection, la comparaison est inévitable. Sam Yang nous parle un peu de lui puis de son parcours mais il se livre beaucoup moins que Kelogsloops. Ce dernier m'avait beaucoup touchée alors qu'ici, je ne peux pas dire en refermant l'ouvrage que j'en sache beaucoup plus sur Sam Yang. Pour autant, je respecte sa façon de faire et son envie, ou non, de partager autant de choses avec nous. Et c'est d'autant moins gênant que ses créations, elles, débordent d'émotions. J'avais déjà précisé que j'y étais plus sensible qu'à celles de Kelogsloops et très vite je comprends pourquoi. Les visages qu'il peint sont tous extrêmement expressifs, chaque oeuvre me touche et me transmets instantanément ses intentions, l'humeur du personnage me contamine. Je pourrais écrire toute une histoire à partir de chacune de ses réalisations et je trouve ça assez fabuleux. Je comprends que je ne me suis pas trompée quand il explique à quel point les expressions du visage sont importantes pour lui et à quel point il a travaillé dessus. Son autre obsession, la lumière, est la touche supplémentaire qui apporte encore un peu plus de profondeur à ses illustrations."

Et comment cela s'est-il fini ?
"J'ai vraiment adoré me plonger dans cet ouvrage. Cette collection, de manière plus générale, est une véritable réussite et je pense que chacun des livres qui la compose ferait un magnifique cadeau de Noël."

http://booksaremywonderland.hautetfor...

[Mariam Butt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've only recently gotten into art books, but I'm so glad I've added this to my slowly growing collection. This book is so so gorgeous. If you've watched any of Sam Yang's content, this is the perfect book with which to treat yourself.

The book itself takes us through Sam's drawing journey and shows us some of his sketches from his childhood; it later progresses to artwork we may have seen on his social media, but also art that didn't make the cut. There's something about this that makes the entire book seem honest and full of integrity.

There were several gallery sections which were full of Sam's art. They're gorgeous, nothing more to say about that. If you're unfamiliar with Sam's art style, think of a blend between Disney and anime (it's awesome). However, the bits I found most useful and interesting were when he spoke about creating characters. His knowledge of lighting and expressions is something I aspire to. If he ever publishes another book, I hope to see more of SamDoesTeaching!

Even if you're a traditional artist, Sam's art and tips for creating compositions and characters still have resonance. And if you don't know about him, he's known as SamDoesArts - 10/10 recommend

[natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This art book is beautiful and I know I will be referencing it throughout my art career. Sam Yang is a talented artist and online art mentor.

I only knocked off one star because it was not nearly as educational as I think it was marketed to be. The “educational” sections were more like “you should learn xyz” as opposed to “here is how you do xyz” or even “here are some exercises for practicing xyz.”

Of course, I don’t expect him to share everything, or even anything, except I feel that it was sort of marketed to have instructional content, and anyone who is familiar with his Youtube or Patreon knows he is an exceptional educator. I would have even been happy with some of his existing Gumroad tutorials just copy / pasted into the book so I could have a pretty physical copy.

That said, gorgeous book and if you’re looking for a pretty art book with lots of directional advice, this is a great option.

[Alexa's Blog · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so much more than showing Sam Yang's art. Here we got to learn his life story and how he went from realism art to animation digital art. I was very surprised by reading that, in China, animation is considered childish art. Moreover, we got to go deep into Sam Yang's art and realized that every character is very personal for him and have a background story.

Also, this book felt like an introductory art class.

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finished The Art of Sam Yang tonight. It was excellent. The book included information on his upbringing, his artistic journey, offered drawing advice, and most of all was inspiring, uplifting, and encouraging. The artist is only 25 years old. I look forward to his work just getting better and better.

[Rissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

STUNNING addition to my art book collection! Sam’s voice, experience, and expertise shine in this! Well done Sam!

[Demi]

To say I'm inspired is an understatement. I needed this book.