Suggested GAD Reading

To start off the new year/semester, I thought I'd let you guys know of a couple of really good art resources for character creating. I've had these books/magazines for a while, and they are pretty helpful.

ImagineFX:

The first one I want to mention to you guys is ImagineFX. Its a magazine that the school store usually carries, although I would suggest ordering the back issues online(its a difference of about $10, the magazine usually runs $17 at the school store, because the school store always provides us with the best prices...) and you can maybe find the ones I show online(or possibly an ebook pdf) to buy.

They are really good resources because they come with awesome dvd's that have brushes, textures, 3D models, Figure Drawing Models, Video Painting Tutorials, etc. They also have guides in the magazine about how to paint, techniques etc.

  This one on the left was the first issue I bought. It has some really cool stuff.
Just FYI it is hit or miss with the quality of the magazine. They have cool ones like these or they have "Pin-Up Art" "Manga" or "Horror" issues.
Here are some scans of pages from these issues.

Blogger apparently hates logically laying out images.....








The Art of Game Characters:

This book is a good visual reference of all types of characters from video games. It even splits the characters up into genres(Anti-heros, Femme Fatales, Cute Characters, etc) However, it is rather dated(it doesn't have the current generation characters) and still assumes that most video game players and developers are men(A quote from the book: "Sexy an Sassy: Women in a Boys World...If you consider that most games are made by young... males with the idea to sell to more young males."). Regardless, it shows a pretty good cross section of all types of game characters with many good references, and even interviews with game artists and their opinions about the characters they've created.

This book also has a counterpart called "The Art of Game Worlds", which I also have and highly recommend.
Here are some good images from this book:

Other Great Books:
Mechanika: The guy who designed most of the machines and vehicles from the new Star Wars Trilogy (Doug Chiang) shares his insight on creating cool sci-fi machines. Although I personally hate the new Trilogy, with a passion, its still a good reference.
Video Game Art by Nic Kelman: I bought this for 7 dollars from Half Price Books before I was even accepted to Ringling, and while it also has a ton of pages featuring great art from video games(pre-2008) including Characters and Environments, it also has a very detailed and accurate history of video games in the back. Its laid out in a very efficient way, talking about each individual element in a video game, from characters to villians to environments, and goes in depth talking about each one.

Listening to:
GZA/Genius - Liquid Swords
N.W.A. - Straight Outta Compton
Them Crooked Vultures

Playing:
L.A. Noire(PS3)
Mortal Kombat(Genesis)
Shinobi III(Genesis)