I'm curious: What are you working on in your own sketching practice?
Wednesday, April 9, 2025
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The Artist's Guide to Sketching
"This is the book that started it all" —Patrick O'Brien, MICA
James Gurney
This weblog by Dinotopia creator James Gurney is for illustrators, plein-air painters, sketchers, comic artists, animators, art students, and writers. You'll find practical studio tips, insights into the making of the Dinotopia books, and first-hand reports from art schools and museums.
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James Gurney
PO Box 693
Rhinebeck, NY 12572
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gurneyjourney (at) gmail.com
Sorry, I can't give personal art advice or portfolio reviews. If you can, it's best to ask art questions in the blog comments.
James Gurney
PO Box 693
Rhinebeck, NY 12572
or by email:
gurneyjourney (at) gmail.com
Sorry, I can't give personal art advice or portfolio reviews. If you can, it's best to ask art questions in the blog comments.
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All images and text are copyright 2020 James Gurney and/or their respective owners. Dinotopia is a registered trademark of James Gurney. For use of text or images in traditional print media or for any commercial licensing rights, please email me for permission.
However, you can quote images or text without asking permission on your educational or non-commercial blog, website, or Facebook page as long as you give me credit and provide a link back. Students and teachers can also quote images or text for their non-commercial school activity. It's also OK to do an artistic copy of my paintings as a study exercise without asking permission.
However, you can quote images or text without asking permission on your educational or non-commercial blog, website, or Facebook page as long as you give me credit and provide a link back. Students and teachers can also quote images or text for their non-commercial school activity. It's also OK to do an artistic copy of my paintings as a study exercise without asking permission.
3 comments:
Hi James, congrats on the new book launch! For me, I've been practicing making small paintings with gouache. I've been using watercolor and ink for most of my art life, so it's challenging but rewarding to learn to paint in a different way!
Constant focus on the feeling I actually set out to capture.
I can get a competent rendition of the subject matter pretty consistently, but I often finish a drawing or painting and then realize that in working to get the rendering right, I got distracted from the reason I wanted to draw or paint that subject in the first place. I am still trying to learn to recognize and reject tweaks and fixes that work against the overall effect.
Hilarious picture of you hauling boxes, but where is the shot of them all toppling down? Anyway, I received my personalized signed copy from you, which was beautifully scribed. The book was a pleasure to view and read.
I don't really get out and sketch and paint out in the real world, but do attend life drawing workshops from time to time. However, I do create fairly elaborate paintings, which is my favorite type of fine art.
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