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Color and Light: A Guide for the Realist Painter (Volume 2) (James Gurney Art) Paperback – November 30, 2010

by James Gurney (Author)
4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 4,834 ratings
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From New York Times best-selling author of the Dinotopia series, James Gurney, comes a carefully crafted and researched study on color and light in paintings. This art instruction book is the follow up to the acclaimed Imaginative Realism: How to Paint What Doesn't Exist.

James Gurney, New York Times best-selling author and artist of the Dinotopia series, follows Imaginative Realism with his second art-instruction book, Color and Light: A Guide for the Realist Painter. A researched study on two of art's most fundamental themes, Color and Light bridges the gap between abstract theory and practical knowledge. Beginning with a survey of underappreciated masters who perfected the use of color and light, the book examines how light reveals form, the properties of color and pigments, and the wide variety of atmospheric effects. Gurney cuts though the confusing and contradictory dogma about color, testing it in the light of science and observation. A glossary, pigment index, and bibliography complete what will ultimately become an indispensible tool for any artist.

"James Gurney's new book, Color and Light, cleverly bridges the gap between artistic observation and scientific explanation. Not only does he eloquently describe all the effects of color and light an artist might encounter, but he thrills us with his striking paintings in the process." --Armand Cabrera, Artist
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Previous page
  1. Book 2 of 2
    James Gurney Art
  2. Print length
    224 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Andrews McMeel Publishing
  5. Publication date
    November 30, 2010
  6. Dimensions
    9 x 0.6 x 10.5 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    0740797719
  8. ISBN-13
    978-0740797712
  9. See all details
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Imaginative Realism: How to Paint What Doesn't Exist (Volume 1) Dinotopia: Journey to Chandara
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Editorial Reviews

Review

James Gurney's series of illustrated fantasy adventure stories, beginning with 1992's Dinotopia: A Land Apart from Time, produced a generation raised on Gurney's highly realistic paintings of an entirely unreal subject.... Still it was no surprise to the author-artist-blogger and his long-time publisher Andrews McMeel when his recently released second volume of art instruction, Color and Light: A Guide for the Realist Painter, became a bestseller for AMP immediately  upon its release in December 2010, selling out its 10,000-copy run in just two months.  (Mark Schulz, Publishers Weekly)

Dinotopia author and plein-air painter Gurney offers a practical, well-organized, and informative handbook for artists of all levels.  (Chronogram Magazine)

This is a terrific book, highly recommended not only for young artists but anyone with an interest in traditional art technique.  (Karen Haber, Locus)

About the Author

 James Gurney's unique blending of fact and fantasy has won Hugo, Chesley, Spectrum, and World Fantasy Awards. His work has been featured in one-man exhibitions at the Smithsonian Institution, the Norman Rockwell Museum, the Delaware Art Museum, and the U.S. embassies in Switzerland and Yemen. He lives with his wife, Jeanette, in the Hudson Valley of New York State.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Andrews McMeel Publishing; 56667th edition (November 30, 2010)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 224 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0740797719
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0740797712
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 9 x 0.6 x 10.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 4,834 ratings

About the author

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James Gurney

James Gurney

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James Gurney is the author and illustrator of the New York Times bestselling Dinotopia book series. He designed the World of Dinosaurs stamps for the U.S. Postal Service and has worked on over a dozen assignments for National Geographic magazine, painting reconstructions of Moche, Kushite, and Etruscan civilizations. He has won the Hugo, Chesley, Spectrum, and World Fantasy Awards. Solo exhibitions of his artwork have been presented at the Smithsonian Institution, the Norman Rockwell Museum, and currently at the Lyman Allyn Museum of Art. He has recently been named a "Grand Master" by Spectrum Fantastic Arts and a "Living Master" by the Art Renewal Center. His most recent book, Color and Light: A Guide for the Realist Painter, was Amazon's #1 bestselling book on painting for over 100 weeks and is based on his daily blog gurneyjourney.blogspot.com. For more information, visit www.dinotopia.com or www.jamesgurney.com

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Top reviews from the United States

MizNovember
5.0 out of 5 stars My Favorite Art Book
Reviewed in the United States on May 1, 2024
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I have bought quite a few art related books over the years and this one is honestly the most useful in my entire collection. I think every artist should have this book. I think this should be given out as textbooks to art students. It's just so dang useful! It is written in a very approachable manner and broken down into two-page spreads for each subject. There is no pretentious lecturing or pontificating like some art books. Just really useful information laid out in an easy to reference guidebook. GET IT!
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Paulange
5.0 out of 5 stars Gorgeous book
Reviewed in the United States on February 18, 2024
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And the perfect reference book for any artist who loves beautiful illustrations and wants to learn about the influence of light in art from different directions.
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artniti
5.0 out of 5 stars Best Book I have ever read
Reviewed in the United States on December 19, 2011
Verified Purchase
This book did not disappoint, in fact it is one of the best books I have ever read so far. Art is a subjective process where you rely more on a hunch and instinct to get things looking good. To find an artist who is conscious enough to explain all the workings of color and light is not easy since it is like putting a formula to emotions.

Chapter 1 Tradition
In the first chapter, the author wastes no time and delved right into how the great masters did it in their time with the limited pigments and how they made up for the limitations with skill.

Chapter 2 Sources of Light
In the second chapter, the quick basics of light is briefly explored from direct sunlight to window light. In the later part of the chapter, James Gurney gives accurate descriptions on rare occasions where there is a hidden light source or light sources that emits from objects.

Chapter 3 Light and Form
The third chapter covers all the lighting from each direction and all the various types of shadows.

Chapter 4 Elements of Color
This is where it gets interesting. There are some articles and books on Color that are either too technical or too brief. In this chapter, we are introduced to the basics of color and there is a sub-page on the history of color wheels that is very enlightening. You must be thinking, "Color Wheels again.." but I can assure you that most of your questions about how the wheel came to be and other variations of the wheel is all covered here.

Chapter 5 Paint and Pigments
After the introduction to color, we get right into traditional paint and pigments. Here, the techniques for color mixing and pallete arrangements are introduced. You can't help but feel that the author is being very generous with his knowledge really. He also briefly covered a warm underpainting in this chapter.

Chapter 6 Color Relationships
The 6th chapter is a prelude to the coming chapter. It is basically a demonstration that color information changes depending on the adjacent colors that is placed next to that color. It is all about color relationships and how the warm and cool colors differs from each pallete.

Chapter 7 Premixing
The core of the book lies in Chapter 7. It covers the all important color picking or in the traditional sense, premixing. It teaches the reader how to restrict their color pallete in order to create more harmony in a painting.

Chapter 7 Premixing
In this chapter, gamut mapping and masks is covered with examples of how it would look like in an actual painting.

Chapter 8 Visual Perception
Next, there are some exceptions when it comes to all the rules of colors and here it is covered in the Visual Perception chapter. Tricky situations like moonlight color and color constancy is covered in depth.

Chapter 9 Surfaces and Effects
The final chapters are filled with techniques to render all other forms of effects like scattering, hair, caustics, motion blur and highlights.

Chapter 10 Atmospheric Effects
Finally, the rest of the book covers all the atmospheric effects of sunlight and certain materials like snow, water, rivers and underwater. If you are expecting to be spoon fed with palletes and sure fire methods of handling color then you are mistaken. However, after going through this book, you will be armed with an understanding of color like never before

..more at [...]
50 people found this helpful
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Michael Moch
5.0 out of 5 stars This Book Has Redefined My Appreciation of Visual Art
Reviewed in the United States on April 25, 2020
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Bear with me here... I have a background in music, I play guitar and know enough music theory that, while I'm not terribly good at it, I do feel like I can appreciate music in ways that others without a similar background cannot.

I'm 75% of the way through this book, and I feel like this book is giving me an equivalent set of tools to appreciate visual art. It's amazing. My hobby is miniature figure painting, and I was in deep, and this book has made it that much better. The brilliant bit is that I look at the world around me a see stuff in new ways all the time. Some things you need to practice, but a lot of this book is just pointing things out that you can observe all the time in the world around you.

So I'm very happy with this purchase. If you are or were an art major, maybe you don't need this book, but for us ignorant n00bs coming into an artistic hobby later in life, this book is great. The language is concise and to the point, with typically multiple excellent examples on every page spread. One has only to connect the words and the pictures and the concepts leap out.

I haven't found anything I don't like about this book. I suppose I could say that sometimes he only dips into certain concepts just to explain the part of that concept that backs up what he's trying to show you in the book. Additive vs. subtractive color mixing, for example - he explains additive but there doesn't appear to be an equivalent explanation of subtractive, or why it is called subtractive. My brain just wants to know these things! But this isn't a flaw, this is just something to note and follow up on later, which makes the learning experience, in my opinion, that much richer.
29 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Thiago Vieira
5.0 out of 5 stars Verdadeira masterclass de pintura
Reviewed in Brazil on January 13, 2024
Verified Purchase
Hoje em dia esse livro já é um clássico incontornável pra qualquer pessoa que trabalha com artes, especialmente pintores e coloristas. É verdade que o livro não se aprofunda muito em nenhum dos tópicos, mas ele te dá o direcionamento perfeito para caso você queria aprofundar seus estudos, o que torna essa grande obra, além de tudo, ideal para autodidatas. Obs.: esse livro não é para iniciantes, o ideal é ter pelo menos uma base de pintura para entender os conceitos que são discutidos.
2 people found this helpful
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John
5.0 out of 5 stars Extraordinario.
Reviewed in Mexico on September 12, 2023
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Maravilloso libro. Es muy bueno para cualquier nivel.
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sukhjot
5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible.
Reviewed in Canada on December 5, 2022
Verified Purchase
If you're looking for books that'll help you grow as an artist, you've more than likely already heard of this book. Either just from its reputation or perhaps you've seen/heard/read other artists swear by this book. Surely it can't be that good, right?

It can and is.

James Gurney is an incredibly talented illustrator & a very great teacher so the contents of this book can be easily followed & applied to your own work.

Each page basically has its own technique that it teaches you (reflective light, bounce light etc) and each page is accompanied with one of Gurney's many illustrations that perfectly show of whatever he is teaching you. So this book is filled with great informative explanations AND with illustrations to help you visualize what Gurney is teaching you on that page.

I cannot recommend this book enough, for new artists and seasoned artists...you're guaranteed to come away with something you didn't know beforehand.
2 people found this helpful
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leonor latour
5.0 out of 5 stars Magnifique et instructif
Reviewed in France on April 12, 2024
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Ouvrage très bien organisé. Les illustrations viennent en appui au texte, c'est vraiment bien. En quelques pages, j'ai déjà appris plein de choses, que je n'avais encore jamais entendues. Un beau livre enrichissant.
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Arieta
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
Reviewed in Sweden on April 8, 2024
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One of the best books on Light that is recommended by many artists. Very informative, enjoyed reading some of it.
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