Gift Ideas: Art Books for Inspiration

Check out our list of amazing artwork books one of which could become a perfect gift for your artistic friends and family members.

e338: The Art of Loïc Zimmermann

e338 is said to combine inspirational artworks by French concept artist Loïc Zimmermann, his expert insight into the professional field and some guidance for digital artists. We believe it’ll enrich the library of any artistic person and help him or her train one’s eye for the beauty of composition, colors, and atmosphere. 

Loïc “e338” Zimmermann is a concept artist, currently working for Luma Pictures in Los Angeles, California. His versatile artworks (2D, 3D, stills, VFX) brought him wide recognition: he was awarded a “Maya Master” in 2009, worked on popular movies like Thor, Percy Jackson, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Wolverine, produced a documentary A Solitary Mann. Check his porfolio to see more works.

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Elysium – The Art of Daarken

This exciting book is a door into the fantasy world of Daarken’s imagination which will charge you with new ideas and itch for creative work. The collection of the artworks includes personal illustrations, private commissions and several unseen pieces for well-known franchises like Magic: The Gathering and World of Warcraft. 

Mike “Daarken” Lim started his career in 2004, working right away for Wizards of the Coast (Magic: The Gathering). Later, his passion for video gaming brought him to BioWare Mythic, Blizzard, Honda, Electronics, Fantasy Flight Games and other studios, and nowadays he continues working as a freelance concept artist. Check his portfolio here.

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Mythical Beasts: An Artist’s Field Guide to Designing Fantasy Creatures

Mythical Beasts: An Artist’s Field Guide to Designing Fantasy Creatures is a compilation of thirty mystical creatures created and explained by thirty talented artists. In their own chapter, each artist covers the history of the creature, the process of its creation (sketch and render) and, of course, the final high-quality illustration. The list includes familiar creatures like werewolf and dragon, legendary Chupacabra and Kraken, exotic Slavic Leshy and Japanese Jorogumo and more.

Cozy Days: The Art of Iraville

The cozy artwork collection by Ira “Iraville” Sluyterman van Langeweyde will warm anyone during the cold winter holidays. Watercolor illustrations of nature, towns, and everyday life might now teach any practical lessons on 3D art production, but will be certainly a huge source of inspiration for environment artists and lovers of cartoonish style. The collection includes portfolio pieces, WIPs, photography, handcrafting sketchbooks and some unknown pieces that may become a reference for your future projects.

Ira Sluyterman van Langeweyde is an illustrator and Character Designer from Munich, Germany, with a passion for watercolors, autumn, nature, birds and cozy things. Check her blog to learn more about Ira’s art.

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The Sketchbook of Loish: Art in progress

The final book in our list not only provides a collection of charming character art but gives an insight into Loish’s creative processes and idea generation, some techniques and tips for character sketching. We all know that in order to become a great 3D artist, it’s necessary to know more than just 3D software. Being a successful artist requires many-sided skills both specific for 3D and general for art, and this book will take you to the border between digital and traditional art.

Lois van Baarle has always been into drawing and started learning digital art in 2003. She has traveled around the world, studied animation at the Hogeschool voor de Kunsten Utrecht (HKU) and never stopped sketching characters and developing her skills. Currently, she works as an illustrator and animator in the Netherlands. Check her artworks here.

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Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse -The Art of the Movie

We couldn’t pass the opportunity to promote one of the best art books of this year for the astonishing animated movie (which is still running in theaters). Hear Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, the creative minds behind The Lego Movie and 21 Jump Street, talk about a fresh vision of a different Spider-Man Universe, with a groundbreaking visual style. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse artbook features a ton of concepts beautiful designs and tremendous work from the most talented team of artists. We also want to take this opportunity and thank the amazing Alberto Mielgo for his contribution to this film. Buy the book! It’s real nice, but it feel like you won’t be able to grab a copy in the next couple of months.

 

80 Level sincerely wishes you the happiest holidays! You’ve been very good to us this year and we really want to thank you for all your clicks and shared, and just kind words. Thank you!

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