Beaumont - How to Draw Fantasy Art

Credits

Thanks to the following artists materials brands that appear in this book: Copic [Copic is a trademark of Too Corporation in Japan], Derwent, Faber-Castell, Letraset, Staedtler, Winsor & Newton.

Picture credits: The Kobal Collection (Art Archive): 114 (Figure 6); Shutterstock: 29, 53 (Figures 15, 59 (Figures 2 and 3), 62 (Figures 68), 68 (Figures 17 and 18), 75, 76, 84, 89 (Figures 3 and 4), 92, 106, 114 (Figure 5), 115, 116, 126.

This edition published in 2013 by Arcturus Publishing Limited
26/27 Bickels Yard, 151153 Bermondsey Street,
London SE1 3HA

Copyright 2012 Arcturus Publishing Limited/Steve Beaumont

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1956 (as amended). Any person or persons who do any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

Art Director: Peter Ridley
Designer: Mike Reynolds

eISBN: 978-1-78212-887-8
AD001931EN

Skeleton soldier from the 1963 fantasy feature film Jason and the Argonauts, created by Ray Harryhausen.

As a child, I liked nothing better than losing myself in a sci-fi or horror movie or a pile of superhero comics. My favourite films were the ones that featured creatures created by Ray Harryhausen and included Jason and the Argonauts, One Million Years BC and Golden Voyage of Sinbad, in which, for me, the animated characters rather than the actors played the starring roles.

These stop-motion model animation (dynamation as it became known) movies had a huge impact on me, as did the work of Jack Kirby, the legendary comic book artist, and Frank Frazetta, whose work I still regard today as the best in fantasy art. Indeed, I believe that had I not been impressed by Jack Kirbys art work and wanted to copy it, I may never have picked up a pencil and started to draw. Unfortunately my passion for fantasy art, sci-fi and comics was not shared by the teachers at my school, who considered it to be a futile pursuit.

It was my dream to go to art college and learn to draw to a professional standard, but a series of events shattered those dreams and I never did get that opportunity. However, my love of fantasy art did not die and I continued to watch fantasy movies and read superhero comics, which inspired me to create my own fantasy art. I believe art college is a good place to develop your skills as an illustrator and education is paramount, but I do not think that it is the only path to success in illustration. My own experience has shown me that determination, a love of drawing and continuous practice will get you there in the end. Indeed, the purpose of this book is to encourage others to develop their fantasy art drawing skills, whether they have been lucky enough to have had an education in art or not.

Drawn by Steve Beaumont, aged 6.

This book is an entry-level guide to fantasy art. For the most part all you will need is a decent set of pencils, an eraser and some good-quality paper, as most of the exercises in this volume were produced with exactly those materials. All the exercises can be executed with varying levels of success depending on how much work you are prepared to put in. It all comes down to practice and attention to detail, which in turn comes from being observant and willing to learn. I wasnt born being able to draw the way I can now (as you can see from my childhood drawing ); my skills developed over time and required practice, imagination and a lot of resolve. I am now a freelance artist producing illustrations, concept art and storyboards for the film, television and video game industries, and I have illustrated a number of graphic novels. The tutorials in this book are based on fantasy art classes that I teach at Swarthmore Learning Centre, Leeds (UK).

Although the purpose of this book is for you to have fun discovering the possibilities of fantasy art, it may also awaken talents that could lead to something more. Whatever the future holds, I hope that the book will inspire you to pick up a pencil and create some wild imaginings too.

Steve Beaumont

Centaur from the 1974 film The Golden Voyage of Sinbad , created by Ray Harryhausen.

Artists use a wide variety of materials. Some choose to work in watercolours, some prefer oils or acrylics, while others decide to use inks, pencils or pastels. I suggest that you test all these mediums because only by trying them yourself will you find the right one for you.

To get started, you only really need a decent set of pencils and some high-quality drawing paper, but I will recommend some other basics that you may enjoy using. Its best not to go for the cheapest materials as you often get what you pay for in terms of quality.

The items I have presented here are by no means the only brands available, but they are the ones that I use on a regular basis and, indeed, that I used to create the drawings contained within this book. All of the recommended materials are available to buy on the Internet, if you do not have an art store near where you live. Good sites in the UK, where I buy my materials, include http://www.cultpens.com/ and http://www.artifolk.co.uk.

In this section I will also look at how to use these materials, showing some useful techniques for the exercises in the book.

These are the tools that form the foundation of all the fantasy art you are going to create, whether you are devising a drawing to be inked, coloured or to be rendered purely in graphite. Most of the exercises in this book were achieved using a basic pencil, an eraser and some good-quality paper.

There is a huge range of pencils available, and it is worth trying out a few to see which you prefer. These are a few of the most common ones:

Pentel Clutch pencil: This is available in a number of lead weights and thicknesses and it uses lead refills, meaning there is no need to sharpen it. This is great technical pen for fine detail.

Wolffs Carbon: Provides the depth of tone of charcoal with the smooth finish of graphite.

Derwent Water-soluble Graphite: A pencil-shaped stick of pure water-soluble graphite, which can be used as a conventional pencil, broken into chunks to create broad sweeping strokes or for subtle washes.