Some people claim they’ve had encounters with aliens but, having never seen one, Steve Barr, author of Draw Crazy Creatures, had to make a wild guess as to what one would look like. Check out his idea of what makes an Awesome Alien so out of this world cool and try your hand at learning [...]

We are only one day away from the unveiling of the newest, bound-to-be blockbuster movie: Star Trek Into Darkness. I know many of us are already sitting on the edge of our seats, anxiously anticipating J.J. Abrams’ latest thrill-seeking installment to the Star Trek franchise but – hold out, we must. So to tide us [...]

Check out this awesome Dragon Turtle in William O’Connor’s Dracopedia The Bestiary (May 2013). The Dragon Turtle is able to reach titanic sizes of more than 100 feet (30m) in length, and was a terrible threat to the sea creatures within its range in the southern Pacific Ocean. It seeks out unique hunting opportunities, snatching [...]

The kraken has been a scourge of the seas ever since man first set sail. More than 200 feet (61m) in length, this giant sea creature was able to attack and destroy vessels up to the size of a galleon. At one time, it is possible this giant squid was of such massive dimensions that [...]

Our very own Tom Nguyen is featured in the hilarious commercial for the San Marcos Texas Comic Con (à la SNL’s Underground Festival sketches). Watch the commercial below and check out Tom’s books Incredible Comics with Tom Nguyen and Incredible Comic Book Women with Tom Nguyen. You can also try a free comic book woman demo here.

Check out this great video interview with cartoon artist Chris Hart, who spent some time in the studio with us at ArtistsNetwork.TV. Chris has built up a reputation for being one of the industry’s best artists and instructors. In this interview, he talks about how he got started with drawing by being challenged by friends, [...]

Chris Hart joins ArtistsNetwork.tv this week to share easy step-by-step lessons on how to draw figures and faces. His playful personality and friendly teaching style make the two most important “P’s” (perspective and proportion) fun and achievable, so you can draw with accuracy and success! In each of his new videos. Chris shares his most [...]

Valentine’s Day is coming up, and there are few things more romantic than a first date. One of my favorite lines in a song (Sweet Avenue, by Jets to Brazil) is “This day could someday be/an anniversary” and it captures all that nervous hope and anticipation. Such a heady feeling! Can you capture those feelings [...]

  Now you can enjoy your exclusive content from Dracopedia: The Bestiary by William O’Connor!   Click here to access your exclusive bonus content!  

William O’Connor is back with a fantastic new title, and if you’re anything like us, you’ll be excited to get your paws (or tentacles, we don’t judge) on Dracopedia: The Bestiary, ASAP! There are some great, unusual mythical creatures and fantastic beasts included, with everything from the Kraken to the great Yeti. But O’Connor didn’t [...]

Are you interested in learning about more traditional art forms? Like watching videos so you can follow along at home in real time? Want to explore something new with the new year, and add to your repertoire of art skills? Now’s your chance: You can enjoy a FREE Trial Weekend at ArtistsNetwork.tv! Learn from the [...]

Do you know the best part about drawing dragons? It’s the fact that there are so many possibilities and choices you can make. Rather like snowflakes, no two dragons are alike, so you can draw a dragon with wings, without wings, with diaphanous wings, leather wings, big wings, small wings, two wings, four wings, with [...]

Nothing makes me feel more awesome than seeing a book I edited on the shelf at a store–or so I thought, right until I saw Mastering Manga With Mark Crilley sitting on one of my niece’s laps on Christmas Day. “Where’d you get that?” I asked. “It’s one of my presents,” she replied, and proceeded [...]

This is a pretty awesome date on the calendar, yes? And to celebrate, IMPACT and North Light Books are having a pretty spectacular sale. Get titles like Ink Bloom at $5.40 if you order today, and Creating Comics from Start to Finish is just $5.00! There’s more, too, with some titles less than $2! You [...]

A while back, we brought you this fabulous demonstration on How to Draw a Minotaur, by Emily Fiegenschuh, taken from her book, The Explorer’s Guide to Drawing Fantasy Creatures. The minotaur is fascinating enough that it’s also featured on the cover of Wreaking Havoc, a great resource from four of IMPACT Books’ favorite gaming artists [...]

We’re having a sale! Check out the North Light Shop for up to 40% off titles just in time for the holidays. If you want some ideas on what to buy for the teens and aspiring artists in your life, check out our holiday gift guides and top ten lists to learn everything from how [...]

At IMPACT, we’re all about learning how to draw and paint. That’s what we do, so throughout the year we love to share drawing and painting how-tos on everything from how to draw a manga eye to learning new watercolor painting techniques for painting seahorses. And we love knowing that you’re going to get some new [...]

In Draw More Furries, Lindsay Cibos and Jared Hodges offer easy-to-follow anthro drawing tutorials by teaching you how to draw scalies and mythical creatures, as well as even more fun, furry friends. Haven’t tried your hand at drawing furries, yet, or you have, but you want to learn even more? Pick up a copy of [...]

Here at the IMPACT Books offices, we love Halloween! It is, after all, prime opportunity to get creative and make fabulous art. In one of my favorite quotes from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Halloween is “come as you aren’t night.” I don’t know about that, as I think our costumes say a lot about who [...]

Batman Inker Jonathan Glapion shows off his inking techniques in this cool video. Watch for some tips and tricks you can try yourself, as well as discussion of ink and tools he uses. You can check out Jonathan’s blog and work (including a bunch more in progress) at http://www.jonathanglapion.com/.

Want to learn how to draw manga, but not sure where to begin? Or have a cool family member or friend who is into art? Here are 10 can’t-miss manga art resources to try for creating good manga: Tools and Materials 1. Copic Markers. These professional art markers are great for all your manga art [...]

It’s officially fall, which is the best season of the year, what with all the pumpkin spice and cozy sweaters. The Autumn Fairy loves all things fall, from the vibrant colors of the changing leaves to the fall harvest, when food is plentiful. Here, she takes a few moments to gather some of her favorite [...]

Halloween is fast approaching. Take this year’s costumes up a notch with Extreme Face Painting by Brian and Nick Wolfe.  Part One of this book features fun and friendly face painting designs such as birds, butterflies, puppies and princesses. Part Two crosses over to the darker side with scary personas, including vampires, zombies, gargoyles and other [...]

DragonArt Ultimate Gallery is officially on shelves and in stores now, and to celebrate, J “Neondragon” Peffer has some great contests and promotions she’s running. Check out all of these forums for your chances to win a copy of the book and learn how she draws her favorite dragons. We’ve also asked Neondragon a few [...]

Check out our art of the week, done with Copic Markers. Supittha Bunyapen, aka ecthelian on DeviantArt, is a master of this particular medium, and you can learn her favorite tricks and tips from her book, Shojo Wonder Manga Art School. You can even learn how to draw this scene! But that seems so complicated, [...]

In today’s tutorial, we’re going back to the ancient Isle of Crete, to visit with a fierce and deadly Greek mythical creature: the minotaur. And after we’ve explored the origins, Emily Fiegenschuh, author and artist of The Explorer’s Guide to Drawing Fantasy Creatures, will take us through the steps needed to draw this fierce, deadly [...]

The North Light Shop Fall Sale Event is going on now—save 30-50% storewide, now through September 14th. Get your favorite IMPACT Books for up to 50% off the cover price! Mastering Manga With Mark Crilley is only $12.77. If you’ve been waiting to buy this book (oh my gosh, why?), there’s no time like the [...]

Jessica “NeonDragon” Peffer’s book, DragonArt Ultimate Gallery contains some of the coolest dragons ever drawn. And, she’s also one of the masterminds behind the Flight Rising game, an online game about dragons. As I often ask: Who doesn’t love dragons? And to celebrate, Jessica is hosting a contest over at DeviantArt. Check out the text [...]

Irene Flores (Beanclam on tumblr, if you’re on there) is having a booksigning for her manga art  instruction book, Shojo Fashion Manga Art School, Year 2. If you’re in the area for either of these Michael’s stores, go check it out! You won’t be disappointed. To celebrate this announcement, we posted an image on our [...]

From the artist behind the wildly popular NeonDragonArt.com, DragonArt will help you create mythical beasts that awe, delight, and disturb the sweet dreams of little ones. Armed only with your trusty pencil and ink pen.

A Bit of History Graffiti art has a long and storied history. The term “graffiti” referred originally to the markings found on the walls of ancient ruins in places like ancient Greece and Rome. It was also done by the Egyptians, the Vikings, even the Mayans to communicate with each other about daily life, current [...]

Discover a less perilous alternative to drawing dragons from life. Dracopedia grants you safe, easy access to the world’s most prominent dragon species, from tiny, innocuous feydragons to the ferocious wyvern. Artist William O’Connor has bravely traveled the globe, studying dragons in their natural environments. His findings, field notes and sketches have been compiled for [...]

Coulson lives! Or, at least when he falls, he gets back up. In this fun video from the set of the Avengers, check out all the bloopers and funny moments that didn’t make the cut. The interesting thing about is seeing how the green screen and technology comes into play.

There’s a brand new PvP (player versus player) video game coming out for the PC, and it is certainly going to intrigue those who are fans of World of Warcraft. “Forge” does not yet have a release date, and the team has kept things relatively quiet when it comes to gameplay. Nonetheless, you can check [...]

As you all probably know, 2012 is the Year of the Dragon, and we’ve been hard at work producing some of the best dragon art around, which is why I was really excited to be the editor for Jessica “NeonDragon” Peffer’s DragonArt Ultimate Gallery. This book brings the best dragon drawings to your fingertips. To [...]

Interested in learning more about steampunk? Well, what better way is there to learn than by reading! After giving you a very brief overview of what steampunk is, IMPACT would like to present you with some cool steampunk fiction, including some of the best steampunk books. Last time, we left you by mentioning that both [...]

Comics legend Joe Kubert passed away at the age of 85 this past weekend after having been hospitalized. An absolute legend in the comic book industry, Kubert was one of the few left whose career nearly stretched back to the beginning of the comic book itself. His career lasted nearly 70 years, starting in the [...]

Expand your watercolor techniques! In her new book, Dreamscapes Magical Menagerie, fantasy artist Stephanie Pui-Mun Law takes readers step-by-step through watercolor techniques for how to paint fantasy creatures and animals. Get a sneak peek inside the book with this demo on how to paint a sea horse in watercolor. Watercolor Materials Surface: 6″ x 5″ (15cm [...]

California-based Streetcraft LA is a special outreach program that helps youth to redirect their artistic talents. Specifically, they want young graffiti artists to learn to channel their artistic talents from vandalism into something that will get them noticed (positively). So, instead of putting graffiti on walls, Streetcraft wants kids to learn to harness that creative [...]

Have you picked up the latest of Stephanie Pui-Mun Law’s Dreamscapes books? Dreamscapes Magical Menagerie will give you step by step instructions and tips to painting all sorts of fantasy creatures in watercolor. Plus, you also get great bits about legend and lore mixed in with the art to further inspire your work! Today, we [...]

This week IMPACT is featuring some cool artwork from Supittha “Annie” Bunyapen‘s Shojo Wonder Manga Art School! How cool is this image? Almost feels like a newer version of the Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland (and also semi-famous Batman villain). Of course with the famous top hat, tea cup, the cards in his hat [...]

For years trading cards and sketch cards have been a popular item for collectors, youth and even those who are just looking for something cool. Today we have a special demonstration for you, where you can learn how to create a character for your very own, hand-drawn sketch cards! Taken from Randy Martinez and Denise [...]

IMPACT author Scape Martinez, who has authored the popular Graff series, recently had the opportunity to work on a public art piece for the Morgan Hill Public Library in Morgan Hill, California. Be sure to check out the great work he has done on his blog, where you can read about his experience, inspiration and [...]

Not too long ago, IMPACT introduced you to a slightly different topic than usual, the pop art phenomenon that is steampunk. And we showed off a beautiful steampunk dragon and some stunning steampunk clocks from artist Eric Freitas. You can see an example of his work, as well as the dragon, below. Now, though, you may [...]

We’ve brought you some of Gary Tonge’s artwork before and provided a Photoshop tutorial for you to get started on your own cool artwork. Now we have another great piece from his book, Digital Painting Tricks & Techniques. Like his previous art of the week, Gary Tonge’s digital image is simply stunning. Instead of the [...]

We are just a little over a week away from the premiere of the sure to be epic ending to Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy. Some of us here at IMPACT are totally psyched for it, too. (Can’t you tell?) Anyways, we’ve got a nice little package of clips, trailers and other cool stuff for you [...]

While you’re in San Diego to experience Comic-Con 2012 (and hopefully visiting Brian and Kristy Miller, and Dawn Schiller), be sure to check out DC Entertainment’s “Darkness & Light: Art Inspired by Heroes & Villains, Hope & Heroism.” This is a special collection of original artwork that has been inspired by the heroes and villains [...]

On the heels of our post about IMPACT authors Brian and Kristy Miller’s session at Comic-Con 2012, we’ve learned that Dawn Schiller will be there this week as well! She will be there throughout the entire convention (Thursday through Sunday) at Booth 4716, under the Fantasy Illustrators banner. Be sure to stop by and meet [...]

We love our dragons here at IMPACT Books, and nothing could be cooler than sharing some sweet art from DeviantArt! As you may know DragonWorld is a collection of 120 dragons from 49 international artists, all who share their work on DeviantArt. This particular dragon ties in with our steampunk post from a few days [...]

While not necessarily our usual tutorial or demonstration, this video definitely falls under the category of just being really cool. Plus, you can learn how the experts make an exploded photograph—you know, like you might see in a reference manual for building something. In this case, designer Adam Voorhees took apart a motocross bike and [...]

IMPACT authors Kristy and Brian Miller, of Hi-Fi Color for Comics and Master Digital Color fame, are both going to be at Comic-Con 2012! And they will even have their own event on the schedule! According to the official Comic-Con 2012 schedule, the Millers will host a session titled Comics: Painting Comics on the iPad, [...]

A couple years ago, I conducted an interview with steampunk artist and horologist Eric Freitas for the 2010 Artist’s and Graphic Designer’s Market (you can find Eric Freitas: Creating a Niche in Hand-made ‘Horological Contradictions’ at artistsmarketonline.com) about creating and selling his one-of-a-kind (and functional) steampunk clocks. But these are no mere clocks, as indicated [...]

If you have been following IMPACT on our Tumblr recently, you will notice that we posted a couple of items from Lisa L. Cyr, an author for IMPACT’s sister imprint, North Light. A couple of years ago she had a demo that we thought our readers and followers might find interesting and helpful. In fact, [...]

Here at IMPACT Books, we’re getting excited about the new Spiderman movie. So, based on the movies, who do you think you’ll like better: Mary Jane Watson or Gwen Stacy? Do you think the movie franchise will remain true to Gwen’s own story? And who will be the better baddie? Learn how to draw fantastic [...]

IMPACT author and fantasy art maker, Emily Fiegenschuh has had two pieces from her debut fantasy art book The Explorer’s Guide to Drawing Fantasy Creatures accepted into Spectrum 19: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art. A step-by-step guide on how to draw animals from the realms of myth, legend and lore, The Explorer’s Guide to [...]

About a month ago, we showed you a special one-point perspective drawing video that IMPACT author Mark Crilley had for his fans on his YouTube page. Now, we want to expand upon that demonstration with something a little bit different, just in case you hadn’t come across it yet. If you’ve ever wanted to add [...]

Looking for something really cool, especially having to do with fairy art? Here’s a little something from an awesome artist that we love, Meredith Dillman! Meredith will be showing off some of her art at the 40th Annual Spring Green Art Fair in Spring Green, Wisconsin this weekend! She will be one of 200 artists [...]

We are just over a month away from one of the most anticipated films of the year, and Christopher Nolan continues to tease us all with more footage (little-by-little, of course). The fourth full-length The Dark Knight Rises trailer was just released, which you can watch, just below. But to get to the good stuff, [...]

After previously sharing the news that Irene Flores has a book signing coming up, we decided to stick with that theme and show off some of her manga for IMPACT’s Art of the Week! Taken from Shojo Fashion Manga Art School, Year 2, the image shows three teens hanging out, presumably outside of a café, [...]

Want to learn how to make polymer clay art? Dawn Schiller, author of FaeMaker: Making Fantasy Characters with Polymer Clay, will be holding a two day workshop class in Chula Vista, California from July 7th to 8th. There, Dawn will teach you how to make your very own Fetch oddfae! You will have the chance [...]

A couple of weeks ago, our Art of the Week featured Gary Tonge and his book, Digital Painting Tricks & Techniques. If you liked that image, then you may want to learn how to create great art like that in Photoshop, all by yourself! And that’s what this demonstration is for! First, let’s just start [...]

Irene Flores, of Shojo Fashion Manga Art School fame, will be having a pair of signing sessions next weekend, after the release of her second book with IMPACT! The signings will take place from 2 to 4pm, Saturday, June 23, at Michaels Arts & Crafts in San Luis Obispo, California (3880 Broad St) and from [...]

If you have liked IMPACT Books on Facebook, but haven’t been seeing our posts lately, there is a simple way to solve this! And if you haven’t liked us on Facebook yet….well, what are you waiting for? But, for those of you who aren’t seeing our posts, here’s what you can do to fix that! [...]

This week features Jessica “Neondragon” Peffer’s art – a frost dragon from the upcoming DragonArt: Ultimate Gallery. This particular dragon set itself apart from others, because a frost dragon seems to be such a contradiction. A fire-breathing dragon, in the icy cold? Plus the way she has the dragon perched on a pillar of ice, [...]

We are still just over a month away from the much anticipated Comic-Con 2012, but Warner Bros. Television has already started to announce their panels, including their 2012 TV shows! And, of course, who isn’t ready for the extravaganza that will be taking place July 11th to 15th in San Diego? Time for some all [...]

IMPACT author William O’Conner’s second Dracopedia book has now been released! Dracopedia: The Great Dragons is a dragon field guide and history as well as an artist’s reference book. Readers will also enjoy learning more about dragons and the process of their creation using the book as a guide while being encouraged on their quests [...]

With E3, or Electronic Entertainment Expo (for those who didn’t) know, starting today and running through Thursday, June 7th, all sorts of new video game trailers have been released. And of course, some of the big ones being advertised are from the most popular series we’ve seen in recent years. We’ve got the trailer for [...]

Hey everyone! It’s been a while since we’ve had a contest here at IMPACT books, so we decided to change that. We currently have a drawing competition going on, though it’s not just your everyday art. It’s our 2012 Graffiti Drawing Contest! Draw your best graffiti letter and you just might win an original Scape [...]

We are here this week with something a little bit different than the usual art of the week – a little bit of sci-fi/fantasy, digital art! From Gary Tonge’s Digital Painting Tricks & Techniques, this scene features a very dark, dystopian sci-fi scene – all painted digitally. It appears as if there are space craft [...]

If you haven’t stumbled over to IMPACT’s Tumblr page yet, I definitely recommend that. We’ve been posting a lot of up to date stuff on comics, movies, TV shows, etc. Anything remotely pop culture-y. Recently, we posted an article on the Top 10 TV show episodes that changed television. If you haven’t seen it yet, [...]

IMPACT author Mark Crilley has shown us several manga tutorials, such as how to draw manga eyes, how to draw a dragon, his winking Chibi demonstration and much more, but now we venture into one of his graphic novel demonstrations to show you how to draw manga backgrounds. This video is the first in a [...]

Stephanie Pui-Man Law’s next Dreamscapes book is set to come out in a few weeks, and we thought you might like a sneak preview of what you will see in Dreamscapes Magical Menagerie. The art accompanies a legend of the city Ys, which vanished underneath beneath the sea. And the mermaid who is now destined [...]

IMPACT is on Tumblr now! So give us a follow – if that’s what they call it on there. Be patient as we build our page, though! We’ll try to keep it updated with a lot of artwork, videos, and other cool stuff. Also, check out this website for some cool stuff on movies and [...]

One of our  authors  at IMPACT, Buddy Scalera, has recently dabbled back into the world of comic books. Having previously worked with Marvel on comics like Deadpool and X-Men, Scalera recently wrote Richie Rich #5. This particular comic features Richie Rich and his friends turning into variations of famous superheroes, and explores their subsequent adventures. [...]

This is one of those instances where the video really adds to the song! I love the elements of steampunk and all the fantastic creatures (my favorite it the sea monster and the phoenixes), and the way it tells a tale that’s both related to the lyrics and yet separate. The band, in case you’re [...]

With the success of The Avengers, including taking the top spot for a third straight weekend, IMPACT would like to celebrate the success of comic book movies with a top 10 list. Comic book movies seem to be at an all time high, with the success of such film series like Iron Man, Spider-Man, X-Men, [...]

You might be surprised at where you’ll find new art from some of your favorite artists turn up, like this cute cartoon animal drawn by Draw Furries co-author Lindsay Cibos, who is one of the featured artists in Sketchbook Confidential 2. Lindsay, along with Jared Hodges, Irene Flores and several other IMPACT artists, are featured [...]

If you’re familiar with Scape Martinez and his work, then you should recognize the image below from the Graff Color Workbook. Today, we are going to show you a quick demonstration from Martinez that will instruct you in giving life and color to your robot. Using the techniques shown here, along with others from Martinez’s [...]

Look what showed up on my desk today? Advance copies of Shojo Manga and Enchanting Fairies Color Workbooks. I love this series (I’m not biased, no way!), and I’m excited for you all to get your hands on them, too. Learn how to color your creations by using theirs as practice! Each of these books [...]

We’re back this week with some great art from Dracopedia artist and intrepid explorer William O’Connor! This beautiful piece is taken from Arthurian legend and no doubt inspired by his great exploration of the great dragons in his new book Dracopedia: The Great Dragons, coming out at the end of this month. The legend states [...]

Scape Martinez is our guest author for IMPACT-Books.com this week, and he’s talking about his top favorite color combinations. Read on to find out what colors suit Scape’s style, whether it’s acrylic paint or spray paint colors. If you want to learn more about cool color combinations, coloring techniques such as stipple and crosshatching and [...]

  1. How long have you been working at F+W Media? Five years in June. 2. What is the best part about your job as an editor? Well, besides getting to know a ton of amazing artists, I really enjoy editing the final cover as it routes just before pre-press. The book’s designer prints the [...]

Because let’s face it, we just can’t get enough of Mark Crilley’s manga art lessons, we’re sharing this video he has on his YouTube site showing how to draw manga eyes, line by line. You can pick up a copy of Mark’s book, Mastering Manga With Mark Crilley in our online shop. Have you uploaded [...]

RIP MCA. You’ll be missed by many, but your genius shall reign on.

In this demonstration from Mastering Manga With Mark Crilley, you’ll learn how to draw one of your most-requested subjects: the manga eye. And this lesson is so easy, it’s a great way to ease into drawing. Materials bristol board Clear plastic ruler Kneaded eraser No. 2 pencil Pencil sharpener Pens in a variety of tip [...]

1. How long have you been working at F+W Media? It’s been about two years now. 2. What is the best part about your job as an editor? I really love getting to know the artists/authors and working so closely with them. And the whole editorial process in general—taking a book from the idea/outline stage [...]

Check out this piece of art, taken from Shojo Wonder Manga Art School, by Supittha “Annie” Bunyapen, aka Ecthelian on DevianArt. This piece is done in sepia tones and contains anthropomorphic characters drawn manga style. Learn more about how to draw from Shojo Wonder Manga Art School, and then about using color from Annie’s book, [...]

Here’s a tutorial from Supittha Bunyapen (aka Ecthelian on DeviantArt)! Learn how to shade using a combination of markers and colored pencils, taken from her forthcoming book, Shojo Manga Color Workbook. If you want to learn how to color and shade without ruining that drawing you’ve taken hours to perfect, this is the book for [...]

Scape Martinez is going across the pond!   Urban street artist and IMPACT author Scape Martinez will make his UK debut at the Brighton Festival Fringe, Friday May 4, 2012, by revealing a custom piece at 12pm at Playgroup Brighton’s Blind Tiger Club. For the 2012 Brighton Fringe, Martinez will create an all new original [...]

  This image is taken from Scape Martinez’s Graff 2. Get your copy today! You can find out more about us at IMPACT Books by liking us on Facebook and following us on Pinterest and Twitter! You might also like these posts: Graff video How to draw a graffiti e

Today we have a guest post from IMPACT author and artist Emily Fiegenschuh. Emily has been generous enough to provide her top ten artistic inspirations. Read on, below! ***** Top Ten Inspirational Artists No artist is a blank slate, approaching their craft alone. We bring a little bit of ourselves to each image: our life [...]

Just like that battery-powered bunny, our Mastering Manga text message campaign is still running! All you have to do is send a text message to MangaMaster at 63264 to enter.* One Grand Prize Winner gets a piece of original art AND a signed copy of Mastering Manga with Mark Crilley! Two second place winners will [...]

Have you seen The Dracopedia Project? Check out William O’Connor’s travel blog to see his latest stop (Chicago), what kind of dragons and dragonkind they’ve encountered, photographs of a dragon in flight and more! Keep in mind that Dracopedia: The Great Dragons is coming in June! And you can find out more about us at [...]

  1. How long have you been working at F+W Media? I started at F+W as an Associate Editor in February of 2000. As I learned the publishing business, I took on more and more responsibility and am now the Community Leader/Group Publisher. 2. What is your role as the Community Leader for the Fine [...]

From the author of Fantasy Genesis, here is a great piece of art! And you can find out more about us at IMPACT Books by liking us on Facebook and following us on Pinterest and Twitter!

Hey All! We have a great contest for all you manga fans out there! We’re running an SMS text message contest from Friday, April 13th (who says that day isn’t lucky???), through Thursday the 19th. Just send a text message to MangaMaster at 63264 to enter to win. *standard text message rates apply* One Grand [...]

David Tennant as a comic evil mastermind? That’s how Bryan Hitch is drawing him, according to The Sun. Written by Jonathan Ross, the premise of the story is: “His character is kind of the mastermind behind a brutal reality show where kids with super powers slug it out to join the only Government-sanctioned super team.” [...]

This weekend I had the privilege of attending the Cincinnati TEDxChange event held at St. Michael’s Art Sanctuary. It was a great day all around, with a ton of great insights ranging from using design to help build communities in India to reconnecting our bodies and minds and breaking the physical “habit” of fear.   [...]

Our sister website ArtistsNetwork.com, has an event running that we thought you all might like, too! Stretch and improve your drawing skills and add realistic elements to your comic, manga and fantasy characters. Painting Realistic Faces Join us for this FREE online art event! Brought to You by The North Light Shop  Peek Inside Secrets [...]

Check out the nominees and go vote for the Eisner winners at this year’s award show. Are you going to Comic Con? EISNER AWARD NOMINEES 2012 Best Short Story “A Brief History of the Art Form Known as Hortisculpture,” by Adrian Tomine, in Optic Nerve #12 (Drawn & Quarterly) “Harvest of Fear,” by Jim Woodring, [...]

Check out this gorgeous image from Jessica “NeonDragon” Peffer of Fairy Dragons. For how to draw dragons, fairies and other fantasy creatures, check out Jessica’s line of DragonArt books at northlightshop.com. And coming soon, learn different coloring techniques while practicing on some of Jessica’s most popular creatures in DragonArt Color Workbook. Find out more about [...]

  1. How long have you been working at F+W Media? My sixth anniversary is coming up in August. 2. What is the best part about your job as an editor? Working with the authors, definitely. It takes about two years to make a book, so the author and editor get to know each other [...]

  1. How long have you been working at F+W Media? I probably shouldn’t admit it, but it’s been a fast 18 years! 2. What is the best part about your job? As Senior Content Director, not only do I love looking at great art and working with great artists, I also love finding out [...]

You all know Mark does a lot of manga art, but in this tutorial, he covers how to draw dragons. It’s the year for it, after all! And if you’re like me and you just can’t get enough of Mark’s tutorials, go check out his YouTube site for lots of great video how-tos, or pick [...]

Check out this great painting done with Copic Markers, by Supittha, “Annnie” Bunyapen, from her book Shojo Wonder Manga Art School.  

  1. How long have you been working at F+W Media? Over 4 years, 3 with Writer’s Digest and just over 1 year with our North Light and IMPACT imprints. 2. What is the best part about your job as an editor? Opening a submission from our authors and seeing all the great art for [...]

Scape Martinez has a new book coming out. Click on the cover to preorder it. With lots of color instruction and 45 fabulous images to color, you won’t be disappointed! Find out more about IMPACT Books by liking us on Facebook and following us on Pinterest and Twitter!

This little guy is here to give you a sneak peek at a great title coming out later this spring from IMPACT! Keep an eye out for Faemaker. Enjoy!

Atlanta, GA. Local indie crafter, MA of Arts Administration, and fantasy illustrator, Angela R. Sasser, is hosting a book signing on Saturday, March 17th for her new painting book, Angelic Visions: Create Fantasy Art Angels With Watercolor, Ink and Colored Pencil. Join us at Barnes & Noble’s Perimeter Mall location to talk about art techniques, [...]

Check out what showed up today! I’m so excited to see advance copies of the first Graff Color Workbook. This was a fun set of books to work on, and if you like this one, wait until you see the rest! The Color Workbook series is bursting with gorgeous black and white art and concise [...]

At IMPACT Books, we’re all about the cool art. Check out this great sketch, by Emily Fiegenschuh! Taken from The Explorer’s Guide to Drawing Fantasy Creatures.

Want another sneak peek at Shojo Fashion Manga Art School Year 2? We think you’re going to love seeing this fashion manga art, so we’re offering a look inside. Find out more about IMPACT Books by liking us on Facebook and following us on Pinterest and Twitter! And if you like Manga, you’re going to [...]

Check out Mark Crilley’s video on drawing a winking chibi character. And while you’re picking up Mark’s book, preorder Irene Flores and Krisanne McSpadden’s Shojo Fashion Manga Art School Year 2 so that your characters can be dressed in fine style! Find out more about IMPACT Books by liking us on Facebook and following us [...]

Check out this fantastic lesson on dress fabrics from Shojo Fashion Manga Art School, Year 2, by Irene Flores and Krisanne McSpadden. You can preorder the book at the link, due out in March. Dress Fabric Wedding dresses come in a variety of designs and styles. Fabrics of different texture, opacity and stiffness are used [...]

It’s been an exciting week here at IMPACT Books as we’ve been deep in preparation for the release of Mastering Manga with Mark Crilley. And what a release it’s already been, hitting the Barnes & Noble bestseller list with their 50% off sale on Tuesday. And with 12 out of 12 five star reviews at [...]

Find out more about IMPACT Books by liking us on Facebook and following us on Pinterest and Twitter!

Thanks for helping us share the news of the great pre-order event from Barnes & Noble.com for Mastering Manga With Mark Crilley. As a token of his appreciation, Mark has created an AWESOME wallpaper as a thank for gift for everyone who bought his book and helped to promote the sale on YouTube, Twitter, and [...]

Mastering Manga is available for preorder from Barnes and Noble today only for half off! Go preorder it today at the Barnes and Noble website! You’ll be glad you did.

Welcome to your weekly round-up of all the things we here at IMPACT read, shared or found worthy of note. There’s a lot going on this week, folks, so hold on tight! Please keep your arms and head inside the car at all times. Gail Simone has had an interesting conversation going on at her [...]

Over at our Facebook page, I love to do a daily quote, usually at the beginning of the day. It’s a great way to focus my mind and inspire my work, all while easing into the day, so-to-speak. And you all seem to like the quotes, too! So I thought I’d compile some of my [...]

And if you like this, wait until you see what Mark has to offer in Mastering Manga With Mark Crilley! Get it now.

“The heart and soul of great art is the ability for the artist to be vulnerable.” ~Bert McCracken (via Facebook) Check out our pinterest for the stuff that caught our eye this week and follow us to see what we add to it. What caught your eye? Did you catch our quick tutorial on embellishing [...]

Want to see what’s in store for you when you buy Mastering Manga with Mark Crilley? Check out this copy from Scribd. Once you’ve learned how to draw bodies from Mark, you might also be interested in pre-ordering Shojo Fashion Manga Art School Year 2 for all the great fashion tips and tricks. Just click [...]

Angelic Visions author Angela Sasser is doing monthly giveaways of her book through GoodReads Giveaways. Stay tuned to her blog or on GoodReads for when February’s comes out. In the meantime, check out some of these tips on doing ornamental wings.   JEWELS IN COLORED PENCIL 1 Start with a sketch of the jewel. Pearlescent [...]

We’re starting a new series, in which we highlight some of the week’s most IMPACTful news, tweets, videos and oddities–all in one convenient place! Earlier this week, we found these awesome videos, banned advertisements for University of Lincoln in the UK, check them out! And, of course, we’re all getting excited about the forthcoming Dark [...]

Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter and Michelle Pfeiffer, among others, have joined Tim Burton in the remake of popular soap opera of Dark Shadows. Find out the full cast, the plot and see some photos at IMDB. One thing seems reasonably sure: this is one vampire that won’t sparkle. Of course, here’s a look at [...]

I loved my uni days at Queen Mary, University of London, but this makes me wish, just a little, that I’d gone to the University of Lincoln. Source: Failblog.org

What is it about reanimated corpses that captures our fascination? Aside from the “ew” factor, there’s a degree of horror that exists in zombies that vampires, even the non-sparkly ones, Frankenstein’s Monster or mummies just don’t quite capture (even if they are, technically, also animated corpses). I’ve been thinking about zombies a lot, which has [...]

Happy Chinese New Year! It’s appropriate that today, I’ve spent most of my afternoon working on a book about dragons. Hint: it’s from one of IMPACT Books’ best-selling, most-loved authors and the art, as usual, is gorgeous! The Daily Mail has a great gallery of images of the celebrations happening in the East, and the [...]

Check out this awesome promotional video for Mastering Manga With Mark Crilley! Be sure to preorder his book from our North Light Shop and we will ship as soon as it’s available!

Scape, Graffiti Artist and Author, will teach kids about urban art at 10 Portland schools for one week, Jan 30 through Feb 3, 2012. He will then appear at the Grand Opening of the new Dick Blick Art Store Feb 4th, 2012. At the 2/4/12 grand opening, from 4 – 7 PM Scape will demonstrate [...]

IMPACT’s sister site Artist’s Market Online is offering a 10% discount on 1-year memberships. Just use the coupon code SAVE10 when you register for a complete 1-year subscription.

Check out this free demonstration from Mastering Manga With Mark Crilley! The Father Figure Some manga stories take place in a world populated only by teenaged characters, where adults have seemingly been banished from the scene. Still, even the most youth-obsessed story will have at least a couple representatives of the adult world, and if [...]

2012 is going to be an exciting year! Do you do resolutions? If so, what are some of your goals this year relating to your art? Here at IMPACT Books, we want to help! We have a great year ahead of us with some exciting books coming out, including Mastering Manga With Mark Crilley, an [...]

Here at IMPACT headquarters nothing says “Happy Holidays” like a copy of Dracopedia. That’s why we’ve put together a list of our favorite dragon books, DVDs and downloads. Make all the dragon-lovers on your gift list happy with these top picks:

It’s been a great year at IMPACT Books and we’d like to share some of our highlights with you! Learn how to draw some of our most popular subjects with the help of these free tutorials and then gift someone with your artwork–and a copy of one of the books they come from, too! When [...]

Want some fantastic resources for the aspiring comic artist in your life? Check out these IMPACT Books titles in our shop or through your favorite retailer for some great gift ideas for the holiday season. How to Draw and Sell Comics by Alan McKenzie Creating Comics from Start to Finish by Buddy Scalera Cartoon 360, [...]

Marvel Comics have given people many iconic super heroes as well as villains. With one of the most popular super heroes to ever hit book shelves being Spider Man, it is only natural to give the ever popular web slinger’s most ruthless villain a mini series of his own. The villain I am talking about [...]

Let’s face it: One of the very reasons we love drawing fantasy is the fact that the possibilities are virtually unlimited! You can populate your world with all kinds of great creatures, weird foliage, cityscapes as far as the eye can see and so much more. You want humanesque characters with wings? Why not? Here [...]

The international graffiti crew “MSK” are known for putting their colorful and unique pieces all over the world. With having a reputation for “city beautification,” it is interesting to see the MSK crew film their graffiti exploits in Detroit. Though Detroit is known for a lot of things (more recently the Lions currently having a [...]

Artist Brittney Lee is a woman after my own heart: Her blogspot profile reads “I love drawing and chocolate.” Well, I can add that I love the art of Brittney Lee to my sentence, and I have no doubt that you’ll be blown away, too. Check it out. Her works remind me of chocolate, in [...]

Scape Martinez, IMPACT’s favorite graffiti artist, and author of GRAFF The Art & Technique of Graffiti and GRAFF 2 Next Level Graffiti Techniques is out and about again, speaking to classes and giving live demonstrations at high schools. Check out his latest blog here. And stay tuned to this page for more updates! Want Scape [...]

Tattoos have been a part of human civilization for a long time. Tattoos mean many different things to different people, and that is no different for comic book characters. There are many comic book characters that we have grown to love (and hate). Surprisingly enough some of those inked characters were sporting their own ink. [...]

HUGE warehouse sale November 10th through November 13th, 2011! Click on the title to purchase — free shipping on all orders $25 more. Get started on your holiday shopping for your favorite comic and fantasy artist!

Check out these escape pods currently being designed! They hold up to four people and float on water. I could see this being the basis–and the setting–for a futuristic fantasy story. Anyone want to draw that comic?

Bleeding Cool has an amazing story of meeting Lily Renee, female comic pioneer and all around amazing artist and woman, that’s well worth reading. There’s also some great information and links, as well as ideas for further reading about women in comics–both the women who make comics, and the ones on the page! Lily Renee: [...]

Comics have been a part of our culture for more than 50 years. The appeal of comics and comic-related stuff has spread, too, even reaching the remotest parts of the globe. So with the world’s ever-growing love of all things comic, it’s only natural to see comic-influenced art in different areas of art and media. [...]

Anime and Manga have become extremely popular over the years. With conventions having 1000+ people in attendance, and having both Anime and Manga being immersed in our mainstream media, it is safe to say  that Anime and Manga is here to stay. But though it is a very popular part of art, it had to [...]

Direct from the front lines of the fantasy and gaming industry, IMPACT author and digital art pro Gary Tonge shows you how to get more out of Adobe Photoshop and make the most of your CG art in his newest book, Digital Painting Tricks & Techniques. With lessons and step-by-step demonstrations covering beginner, intermediate and [...]

As you know here at IMPACT Books we are all about expressing your artistic feelings. Whether it is through creating superheroes fighting evil villains or drawing huge high flying dragons, we are all about artistic expression. With graffiti writers, artistic expression is pushed past the limits of conventional self expression through canvas or paper. From [...]

Here’s a tip from Supittha “Annie” Bunyapen for handling clouds in manga. You can find this and so much more in her book Shojo Wonder Manga Art School, where she gives great advice on how to paint with Copic Markers.  Cloud Do’s and Don’ts Even basic clouds have form created with shadows and shading. Painting [...]

With Halloween just around the corner, the ebook versions of Extreme Face Painting by Brian and Nick Wolfe are getting a lot of attention online. Check out what these bloggers have to say about Extreme Face Painting: 25 FIENDISH Step-by-Step Demos (Enhanced Edition) and Extreme Face Painting: 25 FRIENDLY Step-by-Step Demos (Enhanced Edition):

Aaron Brothers is having an online auction to benefit Boys & Girls clubs of America and Scape Martinez is one of the authors with a piece on the block. You can have a look and bid on his works, as well as works from Revok, Sever and more on the Aaron Brothers eBay page.   [...]

Judging from the fan reaction to Irene Flores’ first book, Shojo Fashion Manga Art School, manga is as popular as ever. For those of you in the Ohio area,  set your calendars for January 27-29 2012 for Ohayocon. Those of you who are new to Anime/Manga conventions and would like to check one out, then [...]

Still looking for ideas on what to go as this Halloween? Grandma’s Briefs blog shares some awesome Halloween face-painting tips from two new eBooks by award-winning special effects artists and IMPACT authors Brian and Nick Wolfe. Check it out right here… For more friendly face-painting ideas, purchase the eBook at iTunes or B&N. If fiendish [...]

The Convention season continues apace, with a series of comic-cons coming up, including New York Comic Con, this weekend. If you’re going (lucky you!), be sure and stop by Buddy Scalera’s table in Artist Alley and meet some of his models in person! Get him to sign a copy of Colossal Collection of Action Poses [...]

Check out this video of the “E-Marketing for Artists 101″ presentation that Angelic Visions author Angela Sasser gave at DragonCon 2011.

This artist, Mike Doyle, does some amazing Victorian House sculptures out of Legos! And nothing BUT Legos, not even glue was used. These are so seasonably appropriate, but check out some of the other ones he’s built, too. Does this inspire you to dig out your Legos and build? How about something Halloween appropriate?

IMPACT author Emily Fiegenschuh chats with the folks at Fantasy Literature about her new book, The Explorer’s Guide to Drawing Fantasy Creatures. Check it out for yourself right here… If you’re looking for some great instruction on how to draw and paint fantasy creatures of your own, be sure to pick up a copy of [...]

I love seeing the way a piece will evolve over time. Check out this video done by Angela Sasser of Angelic Visions fame. You can learn step-by-step how to draw some of her favorite creatures by purchasing a copy of the book.

We’re not sure if we’ve mentioned this before, but do you know you can get previews of many IMPACT titles on Scribd.com? Check it out. Latest to the bookshelf is Buddy Scalera’s Colossal Collection of Action Poses. If you like what you see, pop over to the North Light Shop to order the title at [...]

Check out this awesome demonstration from Annie Bunyapen, author of Shojo Wonder Manga Art School. You can learn how to paint darker skin tones using Copic Markers. For this demo and more, you can purchase the book by clicking on the cover or the links. Painting Tanned or Asian Skin Illustrations of Asian characters often [...]

The audio is a little difficult to hear, but check out these book reviews from an IMPACT reader!

This weekend ArtistsNetwork.tv is offering a free trial subscription. ArtistsNetwork.tv offers over 150 art workshop videos, including a fantasy and comics section with world-renowned artists like J “NeonDragon” Peffer, Brian and Nick Wolfe, Brian Miller and more.

I suppose if Spidey and his friends can manage impossible feats of heroism, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that his drawn companions would lounge around in equally impossible poses. But you gotta love the internet for trying (and failing) to recreate them. Just remember, folks, some of these things (including swinging from [...]

Around this time of year, I still get the itch. School supplies, textbooks, new classes… even if you’re not in school, fall is a great time to pick up a new skill, or work on one you’ve already started. And as it happens, we here at IMPACT and North Light Books are having a Labor [...]

It’s out! I was pleased to work on Buddy Scalera’s Colossal Collection of Action Poses, bringing not only the best from his three previous photo reference books, but also brand new, never-before-seen material. This book lives up to its name, bringing a monstrous 320 pages packed with poses for comic and fantasy artists and step-by-step [...]

We’re all still a-buzz about Gen Con here at IMPACT, especially as updates from IMPACT artists who attended the event continue to roll in… We recently learned that Emily Fiegenschuh’s original artwork for The Explorer’s Guide to Drawing Fantasy Creatures won first place at Gen Con this year! If you haven’t seen Emily’s amazing work [...]

IMPACT author Brian Wolfe won first place in the face painting category at this year’s World Bodypainting Festival in Lake Worthersee, Austria. The festival took place in early July, and you can see pics of the winning entries in the face painting and bodypainting categories here.

Hey IMPACT fans! CLICK HERE for a free fantasy demo by Tom Kidd, author of the gorgeous landscape book OtherWorlds. He created the piece as the cover art for Hard Luck Diggings by Jack Vance, published by Subterranean Books in 2010. The demo is extra material not included in the book, so check it out [...]

There’s a sale going on in the North Light Shop, which means you can get 20% off IMPACT Book titles if you order now through August 21st. Use code 81120 at checkout on titles like: Just click on the photos to be taken to their page and checkout from there! It’s that easy!

Buddy Scalera’s most recent addition to the Comic Artist’s Photo Reference series, Colossal Collection of Action Poses, got a big thumbs up from Michael Wirth on ComicBooked.com. Here’s a taste of what Wirth has to say about Colossal Collection:

Space cowboys? Cacti graffiti? Of course Dragons sun themselves on Mesas or fly through canyons! Or maybe your comic is set amongst the ruins of the Anasazi? We all know that the Southwest has a lot of amazing art and landscapes to explore, so why limit yourself? If genre-bending is your thing, we have the [...]

GenCon was a success this year as our editors came back with pictures, updates and ideas. From dressing up to meeting authors, our editors were busy getting the scoop on all the gaming. Here are Christina and Vanessa “working” Here is Emily Fiegenschuh with her IMPACT book The Explorer’s Guide to Drawing Fantasy Creatures. Jim [...]

GenCon 2011 is finally here! We’ll be updating Facebook and tweeting from GenCon for the next few days. Follow us for breaking news! Several of our authors, including Emily Fiegenschuh, will be there. Have you seen The Explorer’s guide to Drawing Fantasy Creatures yet? Go check it out! If you’re planning to attend Gen Con [...]

Tomorrow a few of the editors at IMPACT Books are headed two hours northwest to Gen Con 2011 in Indianapolis! Last year we happened upon some impromptu cosplay dance routines, let’s hope these kids are back again along with some Smurfs and Bronies! We’ll be tweeting some of the convention fun so be sure to [...]

The Action Art competition deadline has been extended, which is good news for you! You have until August 15th to submit your video. FOR ART RELATED VIDEOS – Whether it’s instructional, humorous or inspirational, you could win $1,000 and exposure on artistsnetwork.com! Best of Show Award – $1000 People’s Choice Award – $500 10 Honorable [...]

Just in case you happened to miss all the buzz– The Explorer’s Guide to Drawing Fantasy Creatures by Emily Fiegenschuh is now available for purchase! And that’s not all… If you’re planning to attend Gen Con in Indianapolis this week, you’ll be able to meet the Emily in person, and get a peek at the [...]

Well the buzz of Comic-Con is over but things aren’t slowing down here at IMPACT. deviantArt.com artists. Here are some of the things people are saying: “Just one peek inside the pages and I was utterly blown away…I cannot emphasize how truly gorgeous this book is, and, if you have any interest in dragons or [...]

Check out Scape Martinez in this video and all over the website for Artrageous! Join Scape and other great artists, enter the contest, and more.   Get copies of his books by clicking on the covers below.

I’m excited because I got the first copies of Buddy Scalera’s latest, biggest offering, Colossal Collection of Action Poses: Comic and Fantasy Artist’s Photo Reference yesterday. There’s so many poses packed into this book and you’ll want to draw them all. I thought I’d whet your appetite by giving you some exclusive online poses we [...]

Check out Scape Martinez, author of GRAFF and GRAFF2!

Captain America rocked this weekend, even moreso than Harry Potter. See it if you haven’t! Today is the last day for free Creating Comics from Start to Finish and Comic Books 101 ebooks and 50% off books in North Light Shop as Comic-Con comes to an end. So get get ‘em!

Captain America: the First Avenger comes out today! So excited! Now that Harry Potter is finished, I need something new to distract me and I’ll definitely be there to watch Steve Rogers transform and kick some butt. Watch the official trailer here then go see it! Don’t forget Comic-Con specials are still available. Free ebooks [...]

Hey IMPACT fans, Unfortunately, we’ve learned that some unspeakable glitch means you can only get the free eBook for Comic Books 101 from iTunes, Barnes & Noble, Google and Sony. Creating Comics From Start to Finish, however, is downloading just fine on all fronts so far. Our apologies for the confusion!

In honor of Comic-Con 2011, starting today through Monday (7/18-7/25), IMPACT books is giving away two free ebooks: Creating Comics from Start to Finish and Comic Books 101! These ebooks are offered through iTunes, Barnes & Noble, Google, Sony, and Amazon. Just click on where you’d like them from and they’re yours FREE! Creating Comics From [...]

Comic-Con is almost here! All the madness begins Thursday, the 21st, in San Diego and IMPACT will be there. The lucky people who go can attend Preview night on Wednesday to snatch all kinds of exclusive gifts. CNN.com gave us a sneak peak of these perks including never before released Indiana Jones action figures and [...]

Check out this video from the Cartoon Brew Student Fest, Defective Detective. It’s a great piece of animation! Congrats to its creators, Avner Geller and Stevie Lewis. You can find out more at Cartoon Brew’s website. I foresee spending lots of my spare time on there. Defective Detective from Cartoon Brew on Vimeo.

After the ten year ride, only a few more days before the Harry Potter series ends in an all-out epic war in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. This is the first and only of the series to be released in 3D. Like me, a few people are excited about this considering Pottermore, [...]

Steve Ellis, author of IMPACT Books’ Scream (2009), has been nominated for a Harvey Award for best inker. Ellis is the author of Scream, which you can purchase by clicking on the cover of the book. The Harvey Award winners will be announced at the Baltimore Comic Con August 20th. Don’t forget that San Diego [...]

With the fourth of July on Monday, I have a lot of plans for this weekend—cookouts, fireworks and, of course, devoting all of Saturday to baseball. The IMPACT team deserves a three-day weekend with all the hard work we’ve been doing. Finally, DragonWorld is done as we’ve mentioned and is now available for presale. The [...]

The Dragon   Dragons are symbols of power—sometimes for good, sometimes for ill. Regardless of which, they are an elemental power; an embodiment of strengths and forces beyond human control. Their appearance is a fantastical combination of creatures of all sorts—the manes of lions, the horns of a stag, the shape of a lizard, the [...]

Lackadaisy’s author Tracy Butler talks about how she draws cute characters with consistency. It’s a good lesson, so check it out.And check out the story, which has been nominated for a 2011 Eisner for Best Digital Comic. Historical fiction with cute anthro characters. For more in-depth instruction, you can check out our book, Draw Furries. [...]

This weekend I saw Midnight in Paris, a movie about a writer who is vacationing in Paris when he accidentally travels back to the ‘20s and meets writers and artists of the time. Although the movie only included Picasso and Matisse, it got me wondering about the other artists and art that was around back [...]

It’s National Fairy Day! Impact Books wants to help you celebrate all weekend with 50% off plus FREE shipping on two of our most popular Fairy books, DREAMSCAPES by Stephanie Pui-Mun Law and ENCHANTING FAIRIES by Barbara Lanza! Use coupon code FAERIE11 at NorthLightShop.com to save today! Also, check out the awesome fairy art in our Fantasy Art [...]

Hi everyone! My name’s Kirstie and I’m the intern for the summer at IMPACT books. During my time here, I’m going to update you on what’s going on behind the scenes, what I’ve been working on and other cool stuff that we’re all interested in. So far this summer, I have been very busy with [...]

I’m bummed that Brooklyn Museum has had to cancel their Art in the Streets exhibit due to funding. It’s a shame for all involved. On the other hand, street art is by its very nature, not something you have to visit a museum to see. I’ve always been envious of the Banksy and Phlegm and [...]

With help from a friend, a came across this article about a collection of old romance comics. While searching through a store in New York, Michael Barson found these late ’40s, early ’50s comics and combined them to make his anthology, Agonizing Love: The Golden Era of Romance Comics. Although these comics were originally written [...]

Check out this sneak peek into the soon to be released DragonWorld, featuring some of the world’s most popular deviants! IMPACT Books editorial director, Pam Wissman and editor Sarah Laichas scoured the pages of deviantART to find and contact some of the best dragon artists out there and assemble some of their best work into this [...]

Spectrum 18, the latest in the heavily lauded fantasy art showcase series, is due out this coming November. This year the tome will feature among its contributors Lisa Cyr, author of North Light Books’ Art Revolution: Alternative Approaches in Art and the upcoming Experimental Painting (due out this fall). Click here to check out the [...]

Learn how to draw an alien sketch card step-by-step with this demonstration from Sketch Card Mania by IMPACT authors Denise Vasquez and Randy Martinez.. Aliens make great science-fiction sidekicks; they make a nice contrast to the stoic hero. Aliens have very specialized skills that help the hero survive. Even though they look intimidating, aliens can [...]

After too much sun this weekend, I am going to stay indoors for a while. Avoid the yardwork with me and click over to IMPACT’s deviantART page! I guarantee you there will be no sweat, sunburn or allergies there. Most importantly, it is full of ideas to refuel. Check out our latest deviation, the Flying [...]

Here’s a free demonstration from our newest IMPACT author, Emily Fiegenschuh. The Explorer’s Guide to Drawing Fantasy Creatures features more than 25 step-by-step demos of fantastical beasts such as a venom spitting sand dragon, minotaur, sphinx, lantern bat and much more. Pre-order your copy today and check out Emily’s site for more of her stunning [...]

I don’t know about you, but I love the feeling of possibility that comes with a new sketchbook or supplies. The feel of the paper, the smell, and all that blank space to fill with…with something! I think of all the themes I could do, because I love themes. I love it so much that [...]

On Tuesday June 7th F+W Media, Inc., IMPACT Books’ parent company, will donate 50% of profits from all purchases, all products and services available through our North Light Shop (and any of our other 19 U.S. eCommerce stores) to the Red Cross. If you are able and choose to make a purchase Tuesday, know that [...]

The Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists have announced their 2011 Chesley Award Nominees, and our very own Bob Eggleton is one of them! Congratulations to Bob for being a finalist in the Product category. Pick up a copy of Dragons’ Domain today by clicking on the photo and save 33% off the retail [...]

The beautiful swirls and Celtic curls of calligraphy are a magic addition to many fantasy illustrations. Get step-by-step tutorials on creating these effects with Cari Buziak’s new title from North Light Books, Calligraphy Magic.

Want to do a bit of graff practice, but there are no free (and legal) walls available? Check out this tip from Graff 2 author, Scape Martinez: Basically it is constructed from cardboard. We went to a moving company that sells your traditional moving boxes, and we found sheets of cardboard that were 4×8 feet [...]

IMPACT’s sister site Artist’s Market Online is offering another giveaway on its facebook page! When AMO reaches 500 fans, we’re giving away a copy of the 2011 Artist’s & Graphic Designer’s Market ($34.99 value). AGDM includes over 1,100 listings for markets that buy artwork, including fantasy and comic art.

Hey kids! Here’s an awesome free demonstration from the upcoming Sketch Card Mania by Randy Martinez and Denise Vasquez. Check out the book for the best instruction on drawing sketch cards and great demos of wizards, warlords, warriors and more! HOW TO DRAW A UNICORN IN 5 EASY STEPS Everyone knows that magic comes from [...]

The original book, GRAFF, put you in touch with your creative style.GRAFF 2 is here to help you find your creative soul. Is it wildstyle or bubble letters? Scape Martinez is taking the message of creativity and expression to the next level. Follow Scape on Facebook for up to the minute news!  

Yes that’s right, it’s Customer Appreciation Day–just because we want to say, THANKS to all our awesome customers. So today in our online stores, customers will receive an extra 15% off their purchase, plus free shipping! Just use the promo code THANKU at checkout. So be sure to visit the North Light Shop and our [...]

IMPACT’s sister site ArtistsNetwork.com is giving away art supplies! The Journal Junkies Sweepstakes includes a variety of artists journals, pens, a watercolor travel set, 4 North Light Books, a subscription to Watercolor Artist, and a bunch of other great stuff (a $475 value). You have until May 31, 2011 to enter, so check it out. Who doesn’t love free art supplies?

I came across this story on Comics Alliance about a collage comic that looks absolutely incredible! I’m a huge fan of comics and collage, and putting the two together in this form exceeds every possible idea I could have come up with. The article mentions a few other non-drawn comics online; and in an interview [...]

“Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so.” It’s been ten years since we lost the late, great Douglas Adams, but I think I’ll always remember the helpful advice contained in Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, written on the front of the book of said name: Of course, that one usually comes to mind just as [...]

The new Marvel movie Thor opens in theaters everywhere today. It’s directed by Kenneth Branaugh, stars Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman, and tells the story of a Norse god on modern-day Earth. What’s not to love? Seriously, it’s certified fresh at 81% on Rotten Tomatoes, and I’m certainly looking forward to seeing it tonight. Check out the official trailer here:

Today is May 4th, which of course, is Star Wars Day. May the 4th be with you! Of course, if you write your dates European style, with the day than the month, its 4th of May. I suspect Yoda would approve of this. And tomorrow is Cinco de Mayo, so excuses options for decorating and [...]

I had plans for today, Readers. It involved long, intelligent thoughts about Akira and George Takei. But that went out the window thanks to the epic storm last night. One, the storms that have hit the Ohio valley in the past two nights have rendered my brain not very thinky at all, especially when we [...]

Check out these awesome fan-made opening credits for the upcoming X-Men: First Class movie. Thanks to Collider.com for the tip!

Over on Facebook, we’re offering a chance to win a copy of Graff 2. We’re really excited about this hitting the shelves and even more  excited about the chance to give it away to one lucky reader. Are you interested? It’s super-easy to enter: just drop us a comment on our Facebook that contains a [...]

Letter manipulation is a cornerstone of graffiti art. To create your own alphabet, you want to study the form and shape of each letter, then slowly push and stretch it to reconfigure it with your own style. Here, graffiti artist Scape Martinez shows us how to create a radical letter. They tend to be thick, [...]

I’ve been watching the film adaptation of Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett, on Netflix this week which has me thinking about art traditionally used as a form of worship. There’s a great scene where the artist creating the gargoyles talks about how the stone speaks to him about what it wants to be. [...]

IMPACT author Buddy Scalera gives the lowdown on his newest book, Creating Comics From Start to Finish. Check out his interview with Jazma Online. Click on the images below to learn more about Buddy’s Comic Artist’s Photo Reference series.

Sign up for Chuck Lukacs’s mailing list and get a NEW chance every few months to win ORIGINAL prints or collectible Magic: The Gathering cards. Not only that, each time, Chuck will also give a small amount to one of the charities (like this one) listed on his website. Chuck Lukacs is the author of [...]

Been wondering what Arnold Schwarzenegger has been up to since his “governating” days came to an end? (Yeah, we haven’t really either….) But, wait, they haven’t ended! Earlier this week Schwarzenegger announced in an Entertainment Weekly interview that he’s teaming up with Stan Lee to create a new animated TV series and comic book called The Governator. The story will feature Schwarzenegger as himself and a superhero alter-ego and is slated for release next year.

The spring sale going on now at the North Light Shop. Get an additional 10% off any books you order now through April 4th. Just enter the code SPRING2011 at checkout. Check out some of the IMPACT’s new and upcoming releases:

I read about these adorable cross-stitch samplers on IO9 the other day and I can’t stop thinking about how cute they’d look hanging in my hallway. And with a variety of superheroes and sci-fi, there’s something for everyone in there, ranging from Harry Potter to the Doctors–all 11 of them, which inspired the title of [...]

Looking for new ways to market your comic or fantasy art? Artist’s Market Online is giving away a copy of the 2011 Artist’s & Graphic Designer’s Market on the AMO facebook page. Just become a fan of AMO and invite your friends to do the same for a chance to win.

Superman, schmuperman. This real-life superhero doesn’t need a fancy uniform; just some scuba diving gear, some plastic, and a bicycle to save lives. When the earthquake hit, Hideaki Akaiwa was at work, but when his entire town got hit by the tsunami, he grabbed some scuba gear (because doesn’t everyone just have that lying around?) [...]

Check out this free demo and get a sneak peak of IMPACT author and graff writer Scape Martinez’s new book, Graff 2, now available for pre-order in the NL Shop. The original book, Graff, put you in touch with your creative style. Graff 2 is here to help you find your creative soul. Delving deeper [...]

Check out Brian Chan’s video tutorial for making an origami version of Jedi Master Yoda. Chan also has video tutorials for making Boba Fett, the TIE Fighter, the Millennium Falcon and a host of other Star Wars characters and ships. Thanks to Comic Alliance for bringing these awesome videos to our attention!

It’s difficult to even find the wording to express our sorrow over what has and continues to occur in Japan and indeed, our hearts are still with those suffering in New Zealand as well. Anything we can do to help is needed, whether it’s giving our dollars, our time, or our skills. This blog at [...]

The folks at deviantART are going to be at the SXSW music and film festival this weekend. They’re setting up a lounge called the deviantART Sandbox to showcase real-world and digital art galleries, a deviantART muro classroom, laptops to browse the site and participate in a community-wide SXSW chat, art tables and a reading corner featuring books from deviantART members.

Over on our Facebook page, Graff and Graff 2 author Scape Martinez said, “I would like to see someone articulate how comics and street art are connected.” Well, that’s a fabulous idea, and it really got me thinking about the origins and ancestry of these forms–things like cave art and hieroglyphs. People have been using [...]

Theodor Seuss Geisel would have turned 107 yesterday. Love this image from The Butter Battle Book (1984) — the allegorical Seuss creation responsible for teaching legions of American school children the basics of the Cold War. …..

If you live in or will be visiting Georgia this month, be sure to hit up a stop on IMPACT author Angela Sasser’s book-signing tour. See Angela’s blog for dates, times and other info. Click here to learn more about Angelic Visions– learn how to draw and paint angels in watercolor with Angela’s debut book, [...]

Looking for some encouragement? How about this: Even Tim Burton, the director of Beetlejuice and The Nightmare Before Christmas, received rejection letters in his early career. A few years before Disney hired Burton as a concept artist on The Fox and the Hound and The Black Cauldron, they politely (but firmly) rejected a children’s book idea that he submitted for review. Click here to see a spread from Burton’s book idea, his letter to Disney, and the response he received.

Nick and Brian Wolfe, authors of Extreme Face Painting, are on the move. Their full schedule of face art gigs, classes and conventions is listed below. If you have a chance to see them in person or take a class, do!

Today’s the day! Creating Comics From Start to Finish, by Buddy Scalera has arrived in the warehouse. That means it’s making its way to retailers across the U.S. and it’s available NOW from the North Light Shop. Stay tuned for creature sightings. Check out sneak peaks from the book here and here. And if making [...]

Looking for new ways to market your comic or fantasy art? Artist’s Market Online is giving away a copy of the 2011 Artist’s & Graphic Designer’s Market on the AMO facebook page. Just become a fan of AMO and invite your friends to do the same for a chance to win.

Win a a signed copy of Angelic Visions, an autographed special edition metallic print of the cover, and a handmade angel feather bookmark! Check out IMPACT author Angela R. Sasser’s blog for details…

The release of GRAFF 2: Next Level Graffiti Techniques is fast approaching. Check out the video below to hear what some people at the Craft & Hobby Association had to say about artist and inspirer extraordinaire, Scape Martinez!

Spring is just around the corner and so are these awesome new IMPACT books! Three of our most popular authors return to the art instruction scene to give you the best tips and techniques in your favorite art mediums — comic books, sketch cards and graffiti! Title: Creating Comics from Start to Finish: Top Pros [...]

Discover how comic books are made—from brainstorming, writing and editing to penciling, inking and coloring—with Buddy Scalera’s Creating Comics from Start to Finish. Follow the graphic below to see what it takes to get your idea to the printed page. Includes awesome interviews and tips from top industry pros: Mike Marts – Editor Batman Mark [...]

In Angelic Visions: Watercolor Details you’ll follow along with IMPACT author and watercolor artist Angela R. Sasser to learn how to paint skin tones that glow and shimmer. Angela demonstrates a variety of basic skin tones as she paints angels and elves, layering color to create depth and luminosity for figures that come to life [...]

You’ve probably heard it fifty times over by now and it’s true. Wizard and ToyFare magazines will stop appearing in print immediately in favor of online only Wizard World. Our friends over at Comics Buyer’s Guide report President and CEO Gareb Shamus as saying “Wizard World will give consumers the content they want in a [...]

Fan of DragonArt and DragonArt Evolution? Check out the latest LiveStream from IMAPCT author J NeonDragon Peffer…

Did you know that IMPACT author and watercolor artist Angela R. Sasser had originally planned to be an English teacher? Neither did we. Check out this EMG-Zine interview and learn all sorts of other cool things about the lovely and talented Ms. Sasser. And if you happen to be in the Fayetteville, Georgia area this [...]

If you haven’t yet entered for your chance to win an awesome OtherWorlds prize package, there’s still time–but hurry! Today is the last day to enter the sweepstakes so don’t wait! Click on the image below to enter. Prize packages include a copy of OtherWorlds by Tom Kidd, art supplies, and a 2011 OtherWorlds calendar.

IMPACT author and artist Angela R. Sasser is hosting several great events this January to celebrate the release of her debut book, Angelic Visions. If you’ll be in or near Fayetteville, Georgia during that time, be sure to visit Artworks on the Square and check them out. Selected artwork from Angelic Visions will be on [...]

Great article on IMPACT author Scape Martinez in the San Jose Mercury News. He teaches art through graffiti, one classroom at a time. … Buy Graff 1 (published February 2009) Pre-order Graff 2 (on shelves April 2011) ……….

Click the image below to enter for a chance to win one of two awesome OtherWorlds prize packages — each includes art supplies, a copy of Tom Kidd’s book and the OtherWorlds 2011 calendar! …… …..

OtherWorlds by IMPACT author and fantasy artist Tom Kidd just hit the shelves a couple months ago, but it’s already widely popular and has received several smash reviews. Digital Image Magazine calls it “… just gorgeous to behold… Kidd fans will no doubt buy it just for the images inside.” Although the book focuses mainly [...]

We’ve got great news for Buddy’s fans! Buddy’s out-of-print comic “Parts: The SitComic” is available online as a download. It’s only 99 cents for the download, and many more will become available as Buddy uploads them. They’re available on the website Graphic.ly. The site is packed with great comics from artists just like Buddy. Whether [...]

Nice review of Brian and Nick Wolf’s Extreme Face Painting for the December issue of the School Library Journal: This is a guide for experienced artists ready to take their craft to the next level, instead of painting pictures on a face, like colors on a flat canvas. These instructions show how to use shading [...]

It’s that time of year again. As 2010 draws to a close, it’s time to reflect on the year gone by, time to start making new year’s resolutions, and time to order your 2011 IMPACT calendar. How about a cool DragonArt Evolution calendar, featuring artwork from the book by J “Neon Dragon” Peffer? Or a [...]

It’s holiday time (at least that’s what Mariah Carey’s new CD and the decorations at the mall are telling us) and that means it’s time for presents! Even if you celebrate nothing, you can celebrate yourself with a lovely book from our IMPACT line…and for cheap with our Super 7 Day Sale. Enter SUPER7 at [...]

Thinking there aren’t quite enough comic conventions? We couldn’t agree more! Award-winning comic author Mark Millar decided that all of our conventions in the US weren’t cutting it. (Perhaps he grew tired of all that flying.) Millar’s goal is to expand the San Diego Comic-Con experience to the streets of London. Kapow!, the new convention, [...]

It’s a great time to check out the IMPACT authors over at Artistsnetwork.tv. Thanksgiving specials give you 10% off everything — from single workshops, to subscriptions by medium, or full site— through next Monday (Cyber Monday). Great videos from Chris Seaman, J “NeonDragon” Peffer, Brian Miller, and Wolfe brothers!… Just enter coupon code HOLIDAY10 (all caps).

For all of us who are still excited about the latest installment of the Harry Potter series in theaters, it’s about time for us to get into the kitchen and create some of the magic we love.

The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook is a new release from Adams Media, a fellow imprint of F+W Media (Impact Book’s brother, of sorts). We’re very excited for their success, as this book is one of the top-100 of Amazon.com!

Over at the IMPACT Facebook page, we’re still waiting for the correct answer to the FB pop quiz question:

We’ve heard of playing with your food, but this really takes it above and beyond…to a galaxy far, far away. Check out this Death Star watermelon.

As graffiti continues to grow as an art form, its impact can be seen and felt all around the world—even in some rather unexpected places, like Afghanistan. U.S. troops in the region have been using graffiti as a way of recording and sharing their experiences with the rest of the world. These images are just [...]

DiCaprio has set his sights high, as he is rumored to be working on two films right now, Akira and Ninja Scroll.

If you haven’t heard of either of these titles, you’re really missing out!

In Incredible Comic Book Women, artist Tom Nguyen gives you all the info you need to create cool babes with helpful tips for drawing a variety of attractive, sexy women, including various ethnic types, costumes and comic-book types. You’ll learn to draw specific attributes (eyes, hands, etc.) and how to place your characters in various settings to create a completed comic book page. From the “kick-ass” guide to drawing hot babes, learn how to draw a quick female body sketch in 8 steps with this free demo.

Featuring never before seen art from IMPACT author Angela R. Sasser, this calendar collects twelve angelic scenes from her first book, Angelic Visions. Purchase your calendar online today! Each individual image was traditionally painted using a variety of methods explored in the upcoming book, which features more than 20 step-by-step demonstrations on how to draw [...]

Learn from the world’s best artists in the comfort of your home!
ArtistsNetwork.tv features painting advice and techniques from dozens of popular artists in a variety of media and skill levels. Watch what you want, anytime you want.

If you like DragonArt Evolution, IMPACT’s latest book by Jessica NeonDragon Peffer, check out her first two, DragonArt and DragonArt Fantasy Characters. Jess has a great style that everyone loves, so the more the better!

Learn how to paint an angel with watercolor in six simple steps with this free demo from Angela Sasser’s Angelic Visions. Sasser’s first IMPACT book includes more than 20 step-by-step demonstrations in luminous watercolor, pen+ink and colored pencil. Pre-order your copy from the North Light Shop today. Materials You’ll Need Watercolor Pigments: Burnt Sienna, Burnt [...]

You don’t need to wait until books hit the shelves to get some divine inspiration– Angelic Visions by Angela R. Sasser is available for pre-order right now! Stop by the NL Shop today and save 33% when you pre-order your copy of this new IMPACT author’s debut book. With Angela’s graceful artwork guiding the way, [...]

Learn how to layer form with watercolor in 6 easy steps with this free Dragon Pass demo from Tom Kidd’s OtherWorlds.

Sadly, Halloween is over…technically. But does this monstrously horror-filled holiday ever really have to die, at least in spirit? Scary movies and supernatural beings are delightfully frightful year-round and IMPACT can prove it with (our horrible puns) and Creature Features!

“The Insider’s Guide to Creating Comics and Graphic Novels” won the Eagle Award last week!

Want to learn more ways to sell your artwork? You’re in luck! IMPACT’s sister imprint North Light Books just launched ArtistsMarketOnline.com. Artist’s Market Online is the online version of the trusted print resources Artist’s & Graphic Designer’s Market and Photographer’s Market.

Randy Martinez demonstrates how to draw a werewolf at a recent Creature Features book signing in Los Angeles, California. Randy and co-author Denise Vasquez are currently working on their second IMPACT book, Sketch Card Mania, on shelves in April 2011. ……..

“Appearing on posters or in film trailers, movie taglines are designed to give film fans that one catchphrase that producer’s hope will stick in their memories. The best ones can go down in pop culture history and the worst ones can make a bad picture even more laughable. In honor of Halloween, we have put [...]

Theresa K. from California won our DragonArt Evolution contest! She will receive cover art signed by author and artist  J “NeonDragon” Peffer! Congrats, Theresa!

Check out comic artist Bryan Hitch and his new book Ultimate Comics Studio on ComicBookResources.com. The article features an author interview, book review, and a sneak peek inside the book. Bryan Hitch has created some of the most famous characters and worlds in the comic industry, including The Avengers, Fantastic Four, The Ultimates and Captain [...]

Want more instruction for your art? Just check out the web, there’s tons of stuff available at your fingertips.

Buddy Scalera posted his pictures from New York’s Comic-Con! Check to see if you’re in any or just see the Con from his point of view! Click here to check out his flickr account.

Bob Eggleton, Hugo-award winning fantasty artist and author of Dragons Domain, will be at the Cranston Borders this Saturday, October 16th at 1:00. Stop by to meet him and check out his new book!   Event link Bob’s blog: http://bobsartdujour.blogspot.com/

Get beautiful works of art from IMPACT author Tom Kidd’s OtherWorlds by clicking http://artistsnetwork.com/wallpaper.

Harry Hamernik, popular cartoon artist and author of IMPACT’s Cartoonimals and Face Off brings you his latest book, Cartoon 360. This newest cartoon drawing guide covers every angle of how to draw cartoon people, from coming up with fresh ideas for an endless assortment of faces, to bringing your work to a polished, professional finish [...]

Hey you! Yeah, you. Do you like drawing comics? Well, if you believe you’ve got some great ideas there’s a very empty spot on comic pages around the country. Since Cathy is no longer on the funnies page, a few papers (most, really) have been looking for a replacement.

What’s better than drawing your way through a Jessica “NeonDragon” Peffer book like DragonArt? Nothing! Because all DragonArt books are awesome, but this is also pretty awesome. Watch NeonDragon herself draw on LiveStream via neondragon.com.

Want to find out more about Bryan Hitch’s Ultimate Comics Studio? Check out www.bryanhitchbook.com, a new site devoted to the book. You can read the latest reviews, watch Bryan in action, find out about upcoming events and even enter to win an original sketch by Bryan.

Superstar IMPACT author Buddy Scalera will be at New York Comic-Con this weekend, moderating all sort of panels.

Yes, that’s right, we’re giving away the DragonArt Evolution cover art signed by J “NeonDragon” Peffer. Click here to enter the DragonArt sweepstakes. The contest runs until 10/11 and you must be 13 or older to participate. Have a great weekend and good luck!

Don’t panic, but you have about a month left to master your face painting skills before Halloween! And with help from IMPACT authors Brian and Nick Wolfe, co-authors of the Extreme Face Painting, your little goblins and ghouls (or yourself) will be donning fiendish skulls and tiger stripes in no time.

Pre-order your copy by October 2nd and get an addition 10% off! Use code FALL2010 at checkout.

Join Today and SAVE! ArtistsNetwork.TV features art advice and techniques from some of your favorite comic and fantasy artists in a variety of media and skill levels. You can watch videos 24/7 from the comfort of your home—like Dragonart: Digital Dragons with J “NeonDragon” Peffer, Extreme Face Painting with the Wolfe Brothers and more! PLUS, [...]

AllPosters.com has a new line of comic posters for true comic lovers. They have galleries of hip, new posters as well as vintage posters dating as far back as the 40s (which is pretty exciting). The posters range from $15 (for a basic poster) to $280 (paintings, wall murals, awesome things).

Also, the North Light Shop is having a fall sale!

If you weren’t already aware, Robert Kirkman’s Eisner-winning comic book series The Walking Dead is being turned into a television series on AMC (the Mad Men channel). AMC recently released the key poster art for the series, which fittingly premieres Halloween night.

Have you been following the latest DragonArt Evolution reviews? J “NeonDragon” Peffer’s popular art-instruction book on how to draw dragons was recently featured on both Paper Dragon Ink, and Falcata Times. Also, be sure to check out BookLoons at the beginning of October, when a giveaway and feature on DragonArt Evolution will run in their [...]

High Moon, the Harvey Award winning online graphic novel from IMPACT author Steve Ellis (Scream) and David Gallaher, is still going strong on the iphone and the ipad as well as on Comixology’s site, http://www.highmooncomic.com . It’s great werewolf western fun! The most recent update is #9 and you can read parts 1 – 8 [...]

High Moon, the Harvey Award winning online graphic novel from IMPACT author Steve Ellis (Scream) and David Gallaher, is still going strong on the iphone and the ipad as well as on Comixology’s site, [link] . It’s great werewolf western fun! The most recent update is #9 and you can read parts 1 – 8 [...]

Ninja Mountain Scrolls, the blog with news from “a collective of artists who work mainly in the fields of Fantasy, Horror, Science Fiction, and comics,” recently interviewed Chris Seaman and Jim Pavelec to discuss Ink Bloom. The duo talks with Ninja Mountain about their creative process and what it was like to work together. Listen [...]

Fan of Dracopedia? Want to learn more about how to draw dragons? Visit Dracopedia author William O’Connor’s blog and check out The Dracopedia Project: Dracopedia Sketchbook to view this IMPACT author’s latest dragon sketches and more. Dracopedia is loaded with sketches, drawings, anatomical studies, detailed diagrams, brief natural histories and step-by-step color art demonstrations showing [...]

If you weren’t aware (somehow it slipped my mind), it’s the 25th anniversary of Super Mario Bros. Happy Birthday favorite game of so many people!

Believe it or not, it’s time to start thinking about Halloween–my kids sure are. Check out the video here for Extreme Face Painting by Nick and Brian Wolfe. The book has 50 face projects, and even though it’s by two of the world’s best body artists, they’ve broken everything down into easy steps, so you [...]

Betty White, the Golden Girl with the golden career resurgence—thanks partially to the death of a majority of her Golden Girls castmates, to the WE channel’s commitment to broadcasting the show in five hour syndicated marathon blocks constantly, and to the fact that she is one of the most hilarious women in showbiz—has finally, finally hit the big time. Bluewater Productions is turning her life story into a comic book.

Live in the Cleveland area? Then you still have time to see many of the original Ink Bloom paintings in person and up close! Chris Seaman, co-author of IMPACT’s Ink Bloom, will be exhibiting over 50 pieces of his original work, at Arts Collinwood Gallery in Cleveland, Ohio, until Saturday, September 10th. This exhibition is [...]

We’ve just received an advanced copy of Sketchbook Confidential, and oh boy is it pretty! Sketchbook Confidential is a compilation of private sketches from more than 40 master artists. That means that you will have access to some thoughts and tips from many experienced artists, some of which you may have heard of. Basically, it’s [...]

Want more Impact? Just head over to deviantArt and check out our new site! You’ll be able to leave us comments and follow our recent activities even closer now. Plus, you can find out what others are saying about our products! Take a peek at this review from a user on DRAGONART EVOLUTION:http://news.deviantart.com/article/125653/ If you [...]

Desktop looking a little boring? Time to switch out the HP7 wallpaper for something new? Maybe something with IMPACT? Download free desktop wallpaper of fine art featured in IMPACT Books and get exclusive bonus desktop wallpapers by signing up for our e-mail newsletter.

J “NeonDragon” Peffer, IMPACT author of the popular DragonArt series reveals some of her favorite digital art secrets in Digital Dragons. In this DVD, you’ll learn digital inking and coloring techniques and tips for creating special effects all in one place! Includes digital files so you can follow along with “NeonDragon” as she demonstrates her [...]

With the occasional drift of brown, falling leaves, the anticipation of dressing up and painting our faces is overwhelming. Luckily, one of our favorite releases of the year is on special—10% off! What do you have to do to get this great discount? Just watch the video on YouTube and enter the discount code, found [...]

It’s time to get excited about a new event: the Cincinnati Comic Expo. As Cincinnati has witnessed over the years, it is hard work to keep comic conventions up and running (we’ve had only a handful in the past ten-fifteen years). So it’s time to show support and try to keep this one around.

We here at IMPACT understand the need for instant gratification. Sometimes we just aren’t patient enough to wait for books we ordered to come by mail, and sometimes there’s no way we’re getting out of sweatpants to go to the bookstore. Thankfully we solved our own problem with digital downloads.

Lauren Panepinto, creative director at Orbit Books — a top publisher of science fiction and fantasy literature — waxes on how to view and appreciate fantasy art, and reveals her two absolutes for the best of the genre. To learn how to create such realms, check out Tom Kidd’s upcoming book OtherWorlds: How to Imagine, [...]

Graffiti continues to grow as an art form. Graffiti artist and Graff author Scape Martinez talks about current trends and the evolution of graffiti on NBC. They even feature his IMPACT book, Graff, the world’s first how-to graffiti book. It illuminates the important elements of graffiti art, including its history and then shows you how [...]

We’re hip. We’re modern. We’re into social networking. Become a fan/like IMPACT at www.facebook.com/ImpactBooks and check out our Twitter feed at twitter.com/impactbooks.

Nick and Brian Wolfe are many things: twin brothers; artists; face and body painters; WORLD CHAMPIONS. As of last Friday, they are also published authors. Here are a few finished examples from their dazzling new IMPACT book, Extreme Face Painting: 50 Friendly and Fiendish Step by Step Demos. Click here to get your copy online

IMPACT books has a new page on deviantART! Follow us and keep checking back for new art and inspiration.

Ink Bloom is the first how-to art instruction book to feature an original sci-fi epic fantasy story. Follow Hachi and her friends on their quest to strange futuristic worlds, and learn to draw and paint a colorful cast of characters, costumes, weapons, ships and background elements. See how the adventures begin with a sneek peak [...]

New Marvel Releases! Stephen King works with Marvel now?

Did you know that you’ll save 34% by pre-ordering your copy of Extreme Face Painting? Award-winning artists Nick and Brian Wolfe share more than 50 step-by-step demonstrations that turn everyday faces into sweet, funny or frightening works of art. Full of friendly instruction for beginners and fresh inspiration for seasoned painters, this book also includes [...]

Here’s a little visual journey through the IMPACT team’s day at Gen Con. We saw some awesome artists, including our friend Jim Pavelec, who made Hell Beasts, InkBloom (with Chris Seaman) and Wreaking Havoc (with Chuck Lukacs, Thomas Manning, Christo) for IMPACT; had a great time browsing the vendors (possibly bought some furry tails); and loved the costume dance (which we have video of below).

Based on Bryan Lee O’Malley’s graphic novels about slacker/gamer/guitarist/Canadian Scott Pilgrim, the storyline remains roughly the same. The less-than-buff Pilgrim, played by the always awkward (and Canadian) Michael Cera, has to fight the 7 evil exes of Ramona Flowers, the pixie-ish new girl in town with technicolor hair, to win her heart. Some people are worried that the film adaptation won’t do justice to the source material (when do movies ever, really?), but so far Scott Pilgrim vs. The World has a 79% on Rotten Tomatoes and some pretty decent reviews.

Tom Nguyen’s latest book has been recognized by Comicattack.net as a great way to learn how to draw sexy, but still heroic, comic book women. Incredible Comic Book Women with Tom Nguyen: The Kick-Ass Guide to Drawing Hot Babes! is great for beginners and experienced artists alike. Beginning with a “Drawing Crash Course,” Tom expands [...]

Check out IMPACT’s booth at the San Diego Comic-Con (sorry if it makes you a little seasick!).

We here at IMPACT have been passing this link around. It’s ICv2′s Comic-Con wrap-up focusing on the trends and takeaways from the convention. The pop culture blog names off-site elements, the Tokykopop Tour bus, the presence of non-comic TV shows, kids (as in young people/children), the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund party and more as memorable facets of this year’s Comic-Con.

A power-packed, must-have guide for anyone who wants to draw cartoons, artist Harry Hamernik’s latest book is full of skills and insights for creating cartoon characters that pop off the page. Cartoon 360° covers every angle of drawing fantastic cartoon people, from coming up with fresh ideas for an endless assortment of faces, to bringing [...]

So, IMPACT just did Comic-Con. What’s next? Well, we’re packing up and road-tripping it to lovely Indianapolis, Indiana for Gen Con from August 5-8!

DragonArt Evolution, How to Draw Everything Dragon by J NeonDragon Peffer is now available in the North Light/IMPACT Shop! Discover how to draw dragons by following demonstrations with step-by-step instructions for 20 all-new dragons. Learn how to draw dragon anatomy and how to assemble different parts into an original dragon of your very own!

A series of Marvel Comics will be brought to television via the G4 channel in the spring of 2011!

Wanna get published?

For more than 30 years, Artist’s & Graphic Designer’s Market has been telling fine artists, illustrators, graphic designers, and, yes, even cartoonists, where and how to sell their work. And up until now these tricks of the trade have been in book form. But guess what, they’re getting digital!

DragonArt Evolution, the newest book by J. “NeonDragon” Peffer, comes out in early August! Check out the video preview of the book below, and preorder your copy of DragonArt Evolution at the North Light Shop. Enjoy!

This morning we’re looking back on one of Cleveland’s finest, Harvey Pekar. This memorable Toby-Harvey exchange from American Splendor involves two of our faves, White Castle and nerds. IMPACTastic! Check out this great timeline of Harvey by Comics Alliance. ……..

Impact Books, Krause Publications and Comics Buyer’s Guide at Comic-Con International in San Diego!

Mark Crilley is an awesome artist/illustrator/cartoonist/author and the creator of the manga series Miki Falls and Akiko. His Youtube page currently has 100 videos that give advice to artists on how to draw manga, including topics like “How to Draw ‘Realistic’ Manga,” “How to Draw a Female Body, Manga Style,” and “Manga Boby Proportions.”

Get on it! Fiction and nonfiction meet. IMPACT Books is releasing the first-ever (that we know of…if you can find another one…let us know and we’ll send Hachi to kick its you-know-what) how-to draw, how-to paint book that follows a story line. By the guys who gave you HELL BEASTS (that’s Jim) and WREAKING HAVOC [...]

Andy Schmidt, director of Comics Experience, Senior Editor at IDW Publishing and author of The Insider’s Guide to Creating Comics and Graphic Novels has announced the beginning of his 2010 lineup with industry pros such as Chris Sotomayer and Mark Guggenheim. Check it out! –Mona  

Stop by and wish Chuck Lukacs a Happy Day at his new Fantasy Genesis blog, where he talks about childhood inspiration and his upcoming IMPACT book, Fantasy Genesis, coming soon…

Found these ohsocute zodiac characters via Lindsay Cibos’s blog and DeviantArt page–be sure to check out her DeviantArt page to find out about her latest contest centering around her December 09 IMPACT book, Draw Furries. Enjoy!

Known for his nearly obsessive attention to detail, Wes Anderson has a penchant for including zany, oddly appropriate paintings in his film sets. (Think of the “Aggressively Mediocre/Mentally Challenged/Fantasy Island (circle one)” paintings by Miguel Calderon in Eli’s apartment in The Royal Tenenbaums). Pretty awesome. With this in mind, I couldn’t wait to see what [...]

Andy Schmidt, Senior Editor at IDW, founder of www.comicsexperience.com and author The Insider’s Guide to Creating Comics and Graphic Novels was interviewed by iFanboy.com in a special edition of Talksplode. You can listen to Andy’s interview here. Learn more about Andy’s book, The Insider’s Guide to Creating Comics and Graphic Novels.

This interesting telephone sheep art from flickr crossed my desk in the form of a forwarded email, and we agreed it should be shared with all the IMPACT followers. It reminds us that no object should be thrown out, but rather creatively converted into something new…

After spending the entire day speaking with students Halloween Eve at Santa Teresa High School in San Jose, Scape Martinez recalls one of his favorite student questions of the day: What’s crucial for aspiring artists? Check out Scape’s blog to get his answer. How would you answer the question? Click here to check out Scape’s book, [...]

Jim Pavelec and Chris Seaman’s upcoming IMPACT book Ink Bloom is featured in the current issue of Imagine FX. Check out the article and don’t forget to follow Jim and Chris’s progress on their blog. Ink Bloom will be available in April 2010. Have a great weekend! mary

IMPACT author Steve Ellis is having a busy month in publishing — he’s got two books hitting the shelves within thirty days. Book #1: The Harvey Award-winning online comic High Moon illustrated by Steve and written by David Gallaher recently printed in bound graphic novel format. Check out this stylish promo or buy it on [...]

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAnrnx9k7Og

What are you carving this Halloween?

      GRAFF author Scape Martinez gears up this week to head to Santa Teresa High School in San Jose, California on Friday, October 30. If you live in the area and you’d like Scape to visit your school, contact us here or visit Scape’s website. You can also write us to get free [...]

Celebrate the amazing feminal strengths of Princess Diana of Themyscira this weekend to benefit Domestic Violence Awareness month. This Sunday, October 25th, two comics shops in Portland, Oregon and Fleminton, New Jersey are raising money for the cause through awesome festivities and Wonder Woman silent art auctions. Don’t worry, you don’t have to live on [...]

Astro Boy opens in theaters tomorrow. Check it out! httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8H6j6afuOM

Fantasy artist and IMPACT author Chuck Lukacs has created a Facebook fan page for his upcoming IMPACT book FANTASY GENESIS! Connect with other friends (including yours truly, IMPACT Books) and get sneak peaks of art and the latest updates. Visit the Fantasy Genesis page Look inside Wreaking Havoc, the book Chuck wrote with this friends, [...]

We’re just days from sending Master Digital Color: Styles, Tools, Techniques, by Brian & Kristy Miller (of Hi-Fi Colour Design) off to the printer. Master Digital Color is the follow up to Hi-Fi Color for Comics: Digital Techniques for Professional Results, the Millers’ first book with IMPACT.  It’s a fortuitous time for the completion of book 2, [...]

IMPACT author Steve Ellis and his High Moon collaborators David Gallaher and Scott O. Brown have won a 2009 Harvey Award for best online comics work. The prestigious award ceremony, named after comic great Harvey Kurtzman, was held Saturday at the Baltimore Comic-Con. Steve won’t have time to rest on his laurels anytime soon. He [...]

Happy Friday everyone! We’re wrapping up the week with a fourth installment of super-awesome designer Wendy Dunning’s exploits at Mid-Ohio-Con: With a Little Help from Your Friends Comic Art Collaboratives and Groups I found that Columbus has a couple of groups of folks that get together to share their art with each other. One of [...]

Fellow IMPACTians, wait no more. Today we bring you badass designer Wendy Dunning’s third installment about her adventures at Mid-Ohio-Con last weekend in Columbus, Ohio: Lots of folks think small press publications when they think indie comics, but nothing is more independent than putting the entire thing together yourself. That’s what Ryan Claytor does with [...]

Yesterday you read about how IMPACT’s super fabulous designer, Wendy Dunning, ran into CBG editor Maggie Thompson and met Tony Isabella. The saga continues today—find out who Wendy ran next! Next on my list was visiting P. Craig Russell to ask him to sign my copies of the Magic Flute. Russell has done a number [...]

IMPACT designer extraordinaire Wendy Dunning, just back from Mid-Ohio-Con, brings us the inside scoop here…

If you love Michel Gondry, you’ll definitely want to … umm … buy some Michel Gondry toilet paper? Yes, that’s right, you can get plush, 2-ply toilet paper printed with the notes, sketches and random thoughts of the writer and director of The Science of Sleep and Be Kind Rewind. Unfortunately, this item is currently [...]

The San Jose Contemporary Art Examiner just published a great article on Scape Martinez’s GRAFF. In the piece Scape describes some of his background, his philosophy of art and teaching art and offers some sage advice to artists of any level. See what all Scape has to say here.

It was pretty cool when Mountain Dew featured the wild art of Stephen Bliss, Nathan Cabrera and Pushead (to name a few) on their Green Label Art bottles in 2008. While promoting their cool factor, they also helped promote what was once an underground art style to the masses. Now, the Los Angeles fashion label, Ed Hardy, takes “art for the masses” to a whole new level…

Large and Loud! Next stop on the high school graffiti tour is Andrew Hill High School in San Jose next Monday, October 6th. Scape Martinez is scheduled to appear, and if past experience is any measure, he’ll ignite imaginations and leave a ton of new ideas behind him. Stay tuned for a downloadable version of GRAFF…coming soon! [...]

The first annual Long Beach ComicCon happens next weekend, October 2-4 and IMPACT author Buddy Scalera will be there hosting several panels including Photo Reference: How to Use Reference to Improve Your Comic Art. Programming includes something for just about everyone, from writers to colorists to movie fans. Word on the street says that Andy [...]

IMPACT author Buddy Scalera will be in attendance at the Long Beach Comic Con next week. As the convention’s programming director, he helped plan all the education panels including an extra awesome one based on his three IMPACT books. So if you stop by, make sure to check out Buddy’s photo reference panel: How to [...]

The yearly New York Anime Festival starts this Friday, September 25, in Manhattan. The show runs through September 27. According to its website the festival “features exclusive and extensive anime screenings, guests from America and Japan, manga, cosplay, video games, live-action Japanese cinema, fashion, food, and the cultural treasures that gave birth to Japanese pop [...]

I keep talking about Shojo Fashion Manga Art School because it just can’t be stopped….

GRAFF author Scape Martinez sent me this picture of his visit to William C. Overfelt High School in San Jose.   And the word is that GRAFF lesson plans have already made it to classrooms there. (Personally, I feel absolutely gypped. There was NO graffiti in MY high school art class.) Stay tuned for more free [...]

Character and casting information for the upcoming Green Lantern and X-Men: First Class movies is starting to leak. Much to the dismay of some fans, it looks like we can expect multiple baddies in Green Lantern. Although the details are unclear, Dr. Hector Hammond and Sinestro will both make an appearance. And actor Tim Pocock [...]

An animated 3D movie of the 1978 children’s book Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs opens in theaters tomorrow. Early reviews are favorable and Mr. T plays the character of Earl the police officer. IMPACTastic! Official trailer Mr. T talks about the movie — he loves it and so should you

Artist Lisa L. Cyr’s book Art Revolution keeps getting rave reviews. This time, the online talk show SiDEBAR callout Lisa’s book as one of the three must-have books of the year. SiDEBAR features “four color conversations on comics, art and pop culture.” You can read the entire post here.

In eager anticipation of Shojo Fashion Manga Art School’s November release, here’s author Irene Flores’ 3 easy steps for drawing a scarf…

GRAFF: The Art & Technique of Graffiti is continuing to fly off the shelves and is keeping its creator,Scape Martinez, busy with workshops, signings and school assemblies in the San Jose area. What began as a classroom talk about mainly how to draw graffiti has turned into a full-blown assembly that covers not only how to create graffiti, [...]

In the mood for death, destruction, maybe even the apocalypse? Check out the trailer for the Tokyopop’s Deadman Wonderland here. If you’re looking for something a little more cheerful, why not create your own manga? Check out Shojo Fashion Manga Art School by Irene Flores or Draw Furries by Jared Hodges and Lindsay Cibos. Both [...]

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bg7pG40FoI8

This guy is simply the best. Don’t you wish you could sit on Saturn’s rings? Watch the latest episode right here on IMPACT and keep your eyes peeled for the harvest moon.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnoJecu9e7c

The post-apocalyptic movie “9,” produced by Tim Burton comes out today, which makes sense because it’s September 9, 2009 (as in 9/9/09, etc.) There are all kinds of interesting beliefs associated with the number 9. In China, 9 in considered to be a lucky number (as is the number 8); however, in Japan the number [...]

Batman: Arkham Asylum lets you witness the graphical power that happens when mixing talented programmers with one of the most beloved heroes of all time. It perfectly borders the fine line between realism and…

While you’re waiting for the release of the official Iron Man 2 theatrical trailer, check out the trailer for the IM 2 video game. It promises all the war machines and explosions you could possibly hope for. Both the movie and the game are set release in Spring 2010. httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6v8DjHXbigc

For those of you in the NYC area, IMPACT author Andy Schmidt is offering a 6 week intro course on writing for comics. Classes start September 8. You can learn more about course here. Can’t make it to Manhattan? Not to worry! Check out Andy’s book The Insider’s Guide to Creating Comics and Graphic Novels.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6N2lZwOQdMI

This just in from TOKYOPOP, Domo to make his grand english-language debut today in his very own Manga. Now you can follow his adventures

Check out Sakura’s Bordin Mark Marsinkul draw a caricature of IMPACT editor Kelly Messerly! httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKFWT1qZg2U

North Light Books, IMPACT’s sister imprint, congratulates author Lisa Cyr for her “Artist Spotlight” on The Alternative Pick…

Megan Groves, IMPACT Books’ editorial assistant for the summer, forwarded this article to me. For the record, I think D & D is cool. But seriously guys, it sounds like someone needs a nap. For a no less real, but slightly more reasonable look at the Dragon in D & D, check out William O’Connor’s new [...]

IMPACT co-authors Chris Seaman and Jim Pavelec both received high praise and awards for the awesome work they presented at Gen Con this year. Chris won Best in Show for his entire body of work, which means that he gets to judge the art show next year. Jim won third place for a Star Wars [...]

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6bCklw6SX8

Check out this badass Lamborghini inked entirely with Sharpie markers. In 2007, Brett David, 19-year-old CEO/owner of Lamborghini Miami, commissioned local graffiti artist Jona Cerwinske to blanket the $240K vehicle in Sharpie as an edgy promotional stunt. Brett had recently taken reins of the dealership after the passing of his father, and he wanted to assert himself in [...]

Gen Con Indy–the place to go for gaming…and art!

Rainbows aren’t just for leprechauns. They’re the perfect place for you favorite elven character to dance or glide. Follow along with artist Barbara Lanza as she shows you how to paint your own rainbow using acrylic or watercolor paints in just 3 simple steps. Before you get started, you will need: Surface: Watercolor paper Brushes: [...]

If you are interested in gaming, Gen Con is the place to be…

I usually like vampire-themed movies and TV shows (love Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel), but I have yet to jump on the Twilight bandwagon (too much teenage angst?). However, I have wondered, what if Buffy and Edward existed in the same world? Turns out I’m not the first to consider what might happen if [...]

Buddy Scalara’s Comic Artist’s Photo Reference: Women and Girls and Comic Artist’s Photo Reference Men and Boys earned three stars from Comic’s Buyer’s Guide in the September 2009 edition. High praise from the longest running magazine about comics.  Click here to learn more about the Comic Artist’s Photo Reference Series and about its creator, Buddy [...]

Wes Anderson’s stop-motion animated adaptation of The Fantastic Mr. Fox opens in U.S. theaters November 13, 2009. The trailer offers a glimpse at what promises to be a fun take on Roald Dahl’s classic children’s story, with Anderson’s hallmark aesthetics. Find out more about the film and check out a slideshow of its production here. [...]