I have had the great pleasure of working on a new product for North Light Books. It’s a CD composed of 3 individual books on drawing. It’s called Realistic Drawing Secrets and will be available for purchase in January 2009. Carrie Stuart Parks and Rick Parks (the authors of Realistic Drawing Secrets) will show you how to draw even if you’ve never before picked up a pencil. They have spent years traveling across the nation teaching composite drawing and forensic art courses to the Secret Service and FBI agents, as well as interested civilians.

Making these CDs is a really cool process: With this CD we took the Parks’ 3 books (Secrets to Realistic Drawing, Secrets to Drawing Realistic Faces and Secrets to Drawing Realistic Children) and combined them all into one file which we then saved onto a CD. The CD is interactive, with bookmarks and links–just click on the topic of your choice, and BAM, there you are following a step-by-step demonstration on how to draw a realistic cow skull, or your sister, or a flower.

We have a few other CDs available right now from other great North Light authors. You can find Discover Acrylic Painting With Lee Hammond (Z4817), Watercolor for the Fun of It (Z4821), and Discover Drawing With Lee Hammond (Z4818) available at www.artistsnetwork.com. If you try one of these CDs, let us know what you think!

Scape Martinez, author of the upcoming GRAFF: The Art & Technique of Graffiti (February 2009), is all about public works and celebrating the communal nature of graffiti–legally. In fact, while he was drawing and painting pieces for the book, he was also putting together ideas for a huge public works project he’s working on in San Jose, California–the Roosevelt Multiservice Community Center. He’s just sent me what I hope are the first of many “in progress” shots. Enjoy!

Roosevelt Community Center Public Artwork by Scape Martinez

Roosevelt Community Center outside

Roosevelt Community Center Public Artwork by Scape Martinez

So, Hellboy 2: The Golden Army was released on DVD last week. Has anyone purchased it yet? I’m thinking about it, but I had somewhat mixed feelings about the latest Hellboy installment.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the chocolate-eating, evil-fighting demon from hell, and the artistry was amazing. (You can always count on Guillermo del Toro for creative creatures and first-rate animation.)

However, I thought the plot left something to be desired. Some aspects were interesting (Prince Nuada and Princess Nuala’s fatal connection is a fun twist), but by and large, I thought the storyline lacked subtlety and wasn’t particularly creative. Yes, of course environmental issues are important, but don’t hit me over the head with them, OK?

Still…it’s a fun movie, and I’ll probably cave in soon. If you haven’t already, check it out and see for yourself. In the meantime, are you interested in drawing your own hellish creatures? Check out Hell Beasts by Jim Pavelec.

You’ll soon be drawing fiends that’ll scare your sister and send shivers down your spine!

David Okum’s new book Manga Martial Arts contains over 50 basic lessons for drawing the world’s most popular fighting styles, including boxing, judo, karate, kickboxing and tae kwon do. Besides learning how to draw multiple fighting styles, you’ll also learn the guiding principles and traditions behind them. With expert advice on drawing battle and fight scenes, you’ll soon discover that the pen is truly mightier than the sword.

IMPACT has teamed up with AintItCoolNews to give away ten signed John Howe “Wandering Fire” posters and free copies of the new book Forging Dragons. Just pick your cast for the new Hobbit movie and it could all be yours.

Get contest details here!

Hello everyone,
Let me introduce you to my new hero, Captain Fantastic Faster than Superman, Spiderman, Batman, Wolverine, Hulk and the Flash Combined.
 

You guys have boring names like Brian, Jennifer and Chris. You should try to be more like this guy. I’m thinking of changing my moniker to something like, “The Claw” or “Even Better Than Captain Fantastic Faster than Superman, Spiderman, Batman, Wolverine, Hulk and the Flash Combined.” The ball’s in your court folks.

IMPACT author and artist David Okum will be at the Waterloo Regional Children’s Museum in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, for the “Get Your Warhol On” art show and sale. The “Get Your Warhol On” exhibit will feature work from artists who used the work of Andy Warhol as their inspiration. Okum will be there drawing and signing books.

Click here to learn more in this exhibit.