The Realism Challenge

March 15, 2015

Crilley's (Mastering Manga with Mark Crilley) guide challenges readers to see the beauty all around them by drawing or painting exact duplicates of everyday objects. A brief section on art materials precedes 30 step-by-step exercises. The activities are simple, comprised of just four-to-six sequential parts, but each step is accompanied by a full paragraph of explanation of what precise actions the artist has taken to achieve the result shown. They demonstrate how an artist might depict light and shadow; utilize realistic color; and how to accurately represent varied textures, transparent artifacts, reflective surfaces, and other manufactured products. For extra inspiration, readers may see the author's hyperrealism techniques in action in his popular time-lapse YouTube videos. VERDICT Those with modest artistic skills can greatly improve their ability to draw and paint realistic objects by following the tips and tricks detailed here.

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