recommendations for art books

hey does anyone recommend that book by thom taylor? because i live in new zealand id have to order it in, and i only want to do that if it is really good.

so if anyone has it, tell me about it or u can visit my art post and see if u reckon it would be useful to me. i think it sounds good, but u can never tell with the amazon.com reviews, they are too varied. lots say its good, sum say the opposite.

and are there any good books with car pictures in them? or do u guys just use magazines?

asaenz told some very handy books in this thread

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=132106

yea ive seen that, thats why i looked it up on amazon.com....i just need sum1s detailed opinion on it lol or at least a proper review from someone on this site

Do you live near a library? They will usually have many books on drawing and art in general, which I imagine could be of help to any and everyone interested in the rules of proportion, light, shading, etc. Arts and crafts & hobby stores usually have drawing books though they can be cheesy, they give good tips. Hope this helps.

yes i do live near a library but its a silly one, if i requested a book now i would get it in about 1-1.5 years. im not exaggerating. i do get out art books for shading but i think i need sum more on the basic fundamentals of drawing cars

yeah, that is not unheard of some libraries can be notoriously slow. This what some other people have told me, just get a bunch of pictures of cars and draw 'em at various angles. I am sure many people on this board can tell you which books specifically, and I know there is a post in which asaenz lists some that he recommends.

yea ive seen that, thats why i looked it up on amazon.com....i just need sum1s detailed opinion on it lol or at least a proper review from someone on this site

Tuscan_Raider,

Thom's book is good but not as detailed as I would like to see it. I think I mentioned that in my post that is at the top of our forum.

I think it is worth buying but I think some other books should be viewed or purchased to go along w/ it. Lee Hammond writes some good instructional books on drawing and she had one book on Nascar racing which is good.

Here is my recommendation.

Thom's book

How to Draw Life Like Portraits from Photographs by Lee Hammond
A good book about the grid technique and shading, shading is what gives your subject (cars) realism

The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards
A great book, very in depth but will improve your drawing ability.

Edwards' book a serious book that teaches how to draw more freehand and every artist needs that skill, too.

With those three books you will have a lot of info to get started.

alfred

okay than you...i will have to save up a bit lol but sounds good. the michael turner books really really good but kinda advanced, i still cany do ellipses properly lol unless the car is huge

btw, in the works: Ferrari 365 Rosso Corsa GT

Oh, I just wanted to say something about Hammond's book not only does she talk about gridding but she also talks about shading and shading skin tone is very similar if not the same as shading smooth metal objects like cars.

thanks rite cool....i ordered it from the library thismorning so i should get it some time within the next 10-15 years lol
im hopefully visiting the art shop tomorrow so i can look there