Aaron Pocock - The Fantasy Artroom. Book One, Detail and Whimsy

BOOK ONE

Detail and Whimsy

An all-in-one travelling companion into the world of fantasy art

AARON POCOCK

DOVER PUBLICATIONS, INC.

Mineola, New York

CREDITS

Firstly, to my long suffering wife Katrina and our beautiful children, Niall and Finn For putting up with me, my Arty temperament, my music blaring and the irregular hours.

For Mum, Dad, Nan, and Ricky.

Thanks also to all the followers, backers and well-wishers for helping this book come to life, especially to: Erin Clark, Thorun Ledger, Travis, Mathieu, Justin, Sonja, Ian, Sam, Julia, and Juan for your sage advice.

To David Wyatt, for helping me back onto the path...

To Charles Vess, for allowing me the use of that letter.

To Alexandra, Ida, Lindsey, Freyia, Elandria, and Janna for being such beautiful and generous models, you make my job a lot easier.

To Phish and Marillion, I played you endlessly whilst working on this...

And finally, to Mother Nature, for the endless inspiration; some of us still love you...

Copyright

Text and illustrations copyright 2014 by Aaron Pocock

All rights reserved.

Bibliographical Note

The Fantasy Artroom: Book One, Detail & Whimsy, first published by Dover Publications, Inc., in 2016, is a republication of the work published by The Fantasy Artroom in 2014.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Pocock, Aaron, author, illustrator.

The fantasy artroom. Book one, Detail and whimsy / Aaron Pocock. p. cm.

ISBN-13: 978-0-486-80124-7 (pbk.)

ISBN-10: 0-486-80124-1 (pbk.)

1. Fantasy in art. 2. ArtTechnique. I. Title. II. Title: Detail and whimsy.

N8217.F28P63 2015

743'87dc23

2015029885

Manufactured in the United States by RR Donnelley

80124101 2016

www.doverpublications.com

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Aaron Pocock was born in a large town in the south of England and has been living in Brisbane, Australia, since November 2000.

Art (particularly Fantasy Art) has been a lifelong passion, and it eventually became his day job in 2007. Having freelanced semi-professionally since 1991, Aaron has never looked back.

In 2011, Aaron was delighted to be chosen to illustrate the Australia Post Commemorative Stamp Set Mythical Creatures for Australias Childrens Book Week, a career highlight so far; the set was also produced in a 3D capacity (a first for Australia).

Aaron has illustrated and continues to illustrate childrens books, book covers, and CD sleeves. He works in a fine art capacity as time allows.

AUTHORS NOTE

I often have people asking me how I manage to stay so productive.... The answer might surprise you. I see each and every piece of art I produce, from a sketch to a full-blown finished painting, as a story that wants to be told; Im simply the way it makes itself into the world. I dont become overly attached to them, unless I have a sentimental reason for doing so. Putting a little distance between you and the work might just help your productivity. Being overly precious about what you do can put unnecessary barriers in your way. Step aside, let it flow...

SKETCHING AND DRAWING

This is probably the most important chapter of all. This is where it all starts, where your art stands or falls.

Good drawing is the foundation upon which ALL of your art is built.

So, what is the difference between a sketch and a drawing? Essentially theyre both the same thing, but they both have different reasons for being:

SKETCHING

is most often a quick gestural drawing used to warm up the hand and mind, work out a composition, mp or to hone elements within the composition.

THE FINISHED DRAWING

is far more than a sketch. Its taking everything youve worked out and creating an end product for a particular purpose. It usually involves more concentration and precision when it comes to the actual rendering.

WHAT YOULL NEED

PENCILS

A good selection of pencils for different applications is a must. I find solid graphite pencils are lovely for filling large areas, and theyre capable of making thin strokes when sharpened.

Standard wood encased pencils. My favourite grades are HB, 2B and 4B (HB being the hardest and 4B being the softest).

Mechanical Pencils with a 0.5 lead. Fabulous for making tiny, feathery lines in detailed work. I also use them for precise sketching. Ive been using these for years and thoroughly recommend them.