Does Anyone Know Any Good Art Books?

Does anyone know any really good art books on understanding shading?

• I'm a digital artist and I plan on taking my skills to the next level. I feel that the only thing holding me back is my lack of understanding lighting shading completely. I've read a lot of art books on art and I want to know if there is any good books on shading? Like form and shape and getting the shades anything relating to that.

• Answer:

  4KT, Whether you use digital art or paper art as your common medium, you need to learn these steps in the traditional methods. The way I teach shading is to get a box that's about 18' X 18" X18". You cut two connected sides off, so if it was set up like a room, there would be two sides missing. Then you cut off the "roof", leaving a total of three sides cut off. Now, cover what's left with white paper or, even better, white Contact paper. Put the object you want to draw in the box, on it's "floor". Now put a lamp over the top of it, in a darkened room. This lamp is now your "sun". You can move the lamp around so you can approximate the sun at 9am, noon, and at sunset. You can see right away where the shadows are falling. Draw them just like you see them. You can get books that will help you in more technical ways from the library -but do a few basic objects in the box first. Try a ball, a dice or other block, a cone (it could be a funnel), and some more complex objects when you are comfortable doing those. Drawing outdoors will help, as well, but is best done after you are good at the basic objects in the box.