Color and Light: A Guide for the Realist Painter (Volume 2) (James Gurney Art)

Somewhere between a realists reference bible and a magicians bag of tricks. A mix of theory, technique, common sense and science. Color and Light is broken down into chapters which can easily be skipped through at will. Each chapter has a header and a brief synopsis of the chapter. While there is no need to read this book from cover to cover you will most likely have a difficult time refraining from doing so. An extremely informative and yet entertaining read. Regardless of your skill, education (or lack thereof) there is truly something for every artist in this fine tome. I know it will be in my studio for years to come. Illustrations and photos are plentiful, used only where necessary and not redundant. The image and print quality is also superb. Mr.Gurney proves to be as skilled in writing and teaching as he is at his oil paintings and illustrations. Also see his second book Imaginative Realism: How To Paint What Doesn't Exist. Don't let the cute green alien on the cover fool you, this is NOT just a book for fantasy and sci-fi artists. It is another fantastic bag of tricks from a modern master that will help you become less dependent on reality and more free to create from your inner vision.

Color and Light is the latest book from James Gurney and it's fantastic. It is a very accessible guide that's filled with interesting and useful information on color and light. It's fortunate we have so many colors today at our disposable, and now with this book, something to help make sense of them. The book talks about color in a very practical sense, as you would see them in life. The lessons are observations of light and colors from James Gurney's years of painting experience. He brings his points across with his own beautiful paintings as examples, clearly explaining why and how he uses colors. It amazes me the amount of work James Gurney has created over the years, and this book is filled with them, from his plein-air to Dinopedia paintings. There are lessons on sources of light, light and form, understanding the color wheel, how light reacts with surfaces and other elements, and visual perception. You'll learn interesting things like why the moon looks blue, when happens to light when it travels through green canopy, tips on mixing colors, and a whole lot more. There are lots of tips and techniques included. The book is also well researched and I enjoy reading the history of color as they were used in the past by other artists. It's really a no-brainer to pick this up if you're into creating art, or even if you just want to check out the beautiful paintings in the book. Highly recommended reference. And you should also check out his other book Imaginative Realism: How to Paint What Doesn't Exist . (There are some pictures of the book on my blog, just visit my Amazon profile for the link.)

Absolutely loved studying alongside James Gurney's book. The concepts covered in his book (which are also covered on his youtube channel, *cough cough*.) are written and explained well, allowing anyone with some basic painting knowledge to start applying the principles he shows in his book, regardless if you are actually a realist painter (I believe the sections on color choice in specific environments are especially good). If you are on the fence about buying this book, it is well worth it. The book comes in a large format, with excellent printing. My only complaint is that I could not buy a hardcover version. Anyone reading this review, NEVER give up on art! You will win!

Am I totally a fan girl or this artist? Maybe, but this book genuinely is one of the greatest and simple color theory books on the market. Pretty much every page is a new lesson and it does a good job staying concise and clear. Tried to show pages I found really interesting and informative. Definitely a recommended purchase if you’re a serious artist.

I was reading it on Kindle unlimited and wanted the printed version for reference. The printed version , to me, is superior and worth the extra cost.

This book did not disappoint, in fact it is one of the best books I have ever read so far. Art is a subjective process where you rely more on a hunch and instinct to get things looking good. To find an artist who is conscious enough to explain all the workings of color and light is not easy since it is like putting a formula to emotions. Chapter 1 Tradition In the first chapter, the author wastes no time and delved right into how the great masters did it in their time with the limited pigments and how they made up for the limitations with skill. Chapter 2 Sources of Light In the second chapter, the quick basics of light is briefly explored from direct sunlight to window light. In the later part of the chapter, James Gurney gives accurate descriptions on rare occasions where there is a hidden light source or light sources that emits from objects. Chapter 3 Light and Form The third chapter covers all the lighting from each direction and all the various types of shadows. Chapter 4 Elements of Color This is where it gets interesting. There are some articles and books on Color that are either too technical or too brief. In this chapter, we are introduced to the basics of color and there is a sub-page on the history of color wheels that is very enlightening. You must be thinking, "Color Wheels again.." but I can assure you that most of your questions about how the wheel came to be and other variations of the wheel is all covered here. Chapter 5 Paint and Pigments After the introduction to color, we get right into traditional paint and pigments. Here, the techniques for color mixing and pallete arrangements are introduced. You can't help but feel that the author is being very generous with his knowledge really. He also briefly covered a warm underpainting in this chapter. Chapter 6 Color Relationships The 6th chapter is a prelude to the coming chapter. It is basically a demonstration that color information changes depending on the adjacent colors that is placed next to that color. It is all about color relationships and how the warm and cool colors differs from each pallete. Chapter 7 Premixing The core of the book lies in Chapter 7. It covers the all important color picking or in the traditional sense, premixing. It teaches the reader how to restrict their color pallete in order to create more harmony in a painting. Chapter 7 Premixing In this chapter, gamut mapping and masks is covered with examples of how it would look like in an actual painting. Chapter 8 Visual Perception Next, there are some exceptions when it comes to all the rules of colors and here it is covered in the Visual Perception chapter. Tricky situations like moonlight color and color constancy is covered in depth. Chapter 9 Surfaces and Effects The final chapters are filled with techniques to render all other forms of effects like scattering, hair, caustics, motion blur and highlights. Chapter 10 Atmospheric Effects Finally, the rest of the book covers all the atmospheric effects of sunlight and certain materials like snow, water, rivers and underwater. If you are expecting to be spoon fed with palletes and sure fire methods of handling color then you are mistaken. However, after going through this book, you will be armed with an understanding of color like never before ..more at [...]

Overall this seems like it’s an amazing book, just by flipping through the pages. I’m excited to study from it. Straight out the box, there are some damages to the book, and Amazon did not include any packing protection in the box to prevent that. Hopefully they start doing something to prevent book damages in the future, considering books aren’t cheap.

Here I am an artist with three art degrees... and I never learned most of this information! My main degree was in painting and Illustration!!!! Honestly the most I learned was about cool and warm color and value - that's IT! This book is easy to grasp, pithy and organized in such a way that you can go right to the area you are interested in without having to scan the entire book. I learned more about how to use color and paint light in the hour I ravenously scanned through it than I did in all those years of college. If you wish to learn anything about painting you must have this book! It may seem such a simple subject, but how to set up a palette is one of the MOST confusing things an artist learns. Many times you just pick up a palette that someone else used and wing it until you get comfortable with it. Mr. Gurney actually takes so much of the mystery out of how to choose your palette of colors and how to work with what you have in that palette. This section ALONE is worth the price of the book! Also he explains how our vision works so we can be aware of it and make better choices in how we render color and light in our images - as well as how to pay attention to depth of field! I especially loved the comparison of a photograph and a painting from observation and how much you miss in the photo. Again, this information alone is worth the price of the book! If you are and artist looking to learn how to render an image realistically and believably, this book MUST be in your library. Mr. Gurney has taken information from many divers sources that would take another person years to gather if you could even find these out of print books and information, and he has put it all in a well-organized and easily read book that is so deeply appreciated for its clarity. Thank you, Mr. Gurney, for all your hard work. This book should become and textbook in any painting class!

I've always been struggling with color theory & lighting and this book gave me a very broad insight! My art improved significantly after implementing everything I learned from this book, a must buy for all artist!

Aun no he terminado de leerlo entero y ya puedo asegurar que se trata de un grandísimo libro. Tienes que saber de qué se trata aun así, pues no te enseñará técnicas de dibujo, estilos o trucos. Sin embargo sí que te enseña algo imprescindible que muchas veces los que aprendemos por nuestra cuenta a dibujar ignoramos, que es la teoría de color, de cómo la luz y los colores reaccionan ante cualquier tipo de objeto y situación. Una cosa importante del libro que destacaría es que te explica los motivos de cada cosa, no se limite a decirte qué color tienes que poner, sino que intenta dar sentido al motivo de que sea así, y por tanto ayuda a aprender, no simplemente memorizar. El libro está desarrollado desde un punto de dibujo más tipo óleo en su mayoría, pero que eso no te eche para atrás si no es tu estilo, pues al final la teoría es la teoría, sea en el estilo que sea. Muy recomendable.

This book has received high praise across the board, and deservedly so. Among all of its excellent qualities, the singular fact that the author went back for a thorough re-examination of the study of colour makes this book a must-read for all those interested. For just one example, if you are into art in any practical capacity, you probably have already come across debates on the types of colour wheel in use. The chapter, "Rethinking the Color Wheel", is an informed and useful piece to compare with the contents of those debates. Now, that is only one chapter, but it shows that Mr. Gurney is an artist to whom we would do well to listen.

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Livro perfeito, ele é grandão cara não esperava, mas é ótimo para estudos. Recomendo super