This 360-page watercolour sketchbook by Malaysian artist Chin Kon Yit is just amazing.

The sheer size of the book is impressive and awe-inspiring. Knowing the number of paintings in the book gives me the OMG moment. I love thick sketchbooks, such as Kim Jung Gi's or the ImagineFX Sketchbook. Just flipping through the thick pages gives me the satisfaction.

This book is published by Editions Didier Millet, the same publisher who published the Fabrice Moireau watercolour sketchbooks and other travelogue sketchbooks. The book's about A4 size and the paper they use still has that coldpress watercolour paper texture on it. Very nice presentation for watercolour art.

The artworks featured in this book are actually collected from several other watercolour sketchbooks released earlier, such as the Malacca Sketchbook, Penang Sketchbook, Kuala Lumpur Sketchbook and a few others. So Landmarks of Malaysia is major undertaking but the result of work from over several years. I did not collect all the other sketchbooks but this huge one is enough for me.

The locations covered are Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, Selangor, Penang, Kedah, Perlis, Perak, Negeri Sembilan, Melaka, Johor, Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, Sawawak, Sabah, and Labuan.

The pages are filled with watercolour sketches of prominent landmark buildings and scenes from those places mentioned. Each one has a short description. The art is mainly architectural style pencil and watercolour paintings. The reproduction is fantastic. The only downside is some of the paintings have to be printed smaller, although the majority are printed quite large.

Looking at the places just makes me want to visit many of them. It's no surprise that I see Tourism Malaysia's logo inside.

This is an inspiring and marvellous sketchbook of art. Well worth the money.

Note that at some online stores, the book's titled as Landmarks of Malaysia: 365 Watercolours, not Landmarks of Malaysia: 360 Paintings that's shown on the actual cover.

Highly recommended.

Landmarks of Malaysia: 360 Watercolor Paintings is available at Amazon (US | CA | UK | DE | FR | IT | ES | JP | CN) and Book Depository

Visit Amazon to check out more reviews.

If you buy the links, I get a little commission that helps me get more books to feature.

Here are direct links to the book:
Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.de | Amazon.fr | Amazon.it | Amazon.es | Amazon.co.jp | Amazon.cn | Bookdepository.com

I've finally filled up the Pentalic cotton watercolour journal that I reviewed a few weeks ago. It took me more than two months to fill 48 pages which I consider to be an achievement because I usually take longer unless I'm on a sketching trip.

Here's a video flip through of my sketchbook.

This is part of the Walking Tour series of guides published by Marshall Cavendish. It's a tour guide book actually.

It's an informative guide with maps marked out with walking routes. Places of interested are further highlighted with labels and described in following pages, with information like opening times and admission fees if any.

There are accompanying pen and ink line art by Gregory Bryne Bracken, an artist from Ireland. I love the simple but detailed artworks. Very architectural in style. His works has also be featured in other Walking Tour books for Singapore (review), Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Hong, Paris and London.

It's a good book for art and travel lovers!

A Walking Tour: Shanghai is available at Amazon (US | CA | UK | DE | FR | IT | ES | JP | CN) and Book Depository

Visit Amazon to check out more reviews.

If you buy the links, I get a little commission that helps me get more books to feature.

Here are direct links to the book:
Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.de | Amazon.fr | Amazon.it | Amazon.es | Amazon.co.jp | Amazon.cn | Bookdepository.com

A Year in Japan is a charming travelogue by Kate T. Williamson, a writer and illustrator from New York City.

Unlike other travelogues where you'll see location art, this book focuses on the individual elements. It could be fallen leaves in autumn, the Shinkansen bullet train, close up of a Shima banana or the different types of food and sweets in Japan. Most of the drawings seem like watercolour art.

The observations are recorded in handwritten text that go with the drawings. The stories are about her experience in Japan. It could be her having lunch with a geisha, or buying an apple at the supermarket and witnessing how the apple was wrapped and protected, or describing the culture and food. There are lots of subjects mentioned.

It's a delightful and insightful read, the kind of book you may find yourself reading on a lazy afternoon.

The book's a 192-page paperback that's almost A5 size.

A Year in Japan is available at Amazon (US | CA | UK | DE | FR | IT | ES | JP | CN) and Book Depository

Visit Amazon to check out more reviews.

If you buy the links, I get a little commission that helps me get more books to feature.

Here are direct links to the book:
Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.de | Amazon.fr | Amazon.it | Amazon.es | Amazon.co.jp | Amazon.cn | Bookdepository.com

Images in this review may be NSFW

Omphalos is Kim Jung Gi's 2015 sketchbook.

Unlike the earlier 2007 & 2011 and 2013 sketch collections, this book doesn't have any year associated with it.

Omphalos means "navel" in Greek. I guess that's why there's the belly button on the cover.

This is a 336-page hardcover with skin-tone leatherette cover that feels really nice. When the book arrived, it was in a perfectly-sized cardboard packaging bubble-wrapped inside another thick shipping box. For the price of the book, the shipping had better be good and fast, and it is.

The paper used is 120gsm non glossy which is fantastic. Corners are rounded off. Binding is great.

The official retail price for the book is US $120 or Euro $110. That's not including shipping.

Shipping is going to be expensive. This book is heavy, like 2.3kg.

Anyway, this book is going to be sold at several places online. Over the last few years, it seems a few online stores have appeared to sell Kim Jung Gi's books. Even Amazon's selling them through some third party sellers. So the price and shipping may differ slightly depending on where you're getting the book from.

The book will be coming out at the end of June 2015.

You can get the book at

• Asia & other countries E-mail : superani58@gmail.com
• Korea www.superani.com
• China www.kimjunggi.cn
• Europe www.kimjunggi.net
• America www.kimjunggius.com
• Japan www.kimjunggi-jp.com
• Australia www.pendara.com.au/store/superani

Inside Omphalos

Omphalos is a collection of erotic art by Kim Jung Gi.

I know some readers have complained about the explicit nature of some sketches in his earlier sketchbooks. Well, this book represents the extreme. On a scale of 10, this would rank as 10 out of 10 in terms of explicitness.

To me, the book blurs the line between art and porn. That should give you an idea of the content inside because I don't really want to describe it.

Because the book has so many explicit images, I had a difficult time finding pages that are safe to show you. All the preview images are considered safe. There might be a stray nipple or two but for the most part, I've not included any sexual scenes.

If you want to check out the uncensored preview pages, just follow the online store links above.

This is certainly a book you don't want lying around the house accidentally.

Unlike other reviews, I'll not be including any flip-through video for all the reasons mentioned above.

Oh, the art. Kim Jung Gi's technical prowess is legendary of course. His understanding of anatomy is incredible, including his favourite tigers and wolves. I don't supposed he got any models to pose for the hundreds of explicit scenes drawn. Overall, I just find the work rate and the line art truly awe-inspiring.

There are a handful of duplicated art from the earlier sketchbooks but the bulk are new content.

Now I have to think of a safe place to hide this book.

Satisfying thick sketchbooks.

This is the third book from the Sketching from the Imagination series published by 3dtotal Publishing. I love all three of them and I hope they keep coming up with more volumes.

The book is still satisfyingly thick at 320 pages. 50 artists are featured.

The sketches and artworks are really beautiful and inspiring. There's a lot of variety and the artists commentary talks about their love for sketching, inspiration and some tips. Even in black and white, the designs look terrific. Once again, I'm marvelled by the level of details and intricacy of the many sketches.

This particular volume focuses on sci-fi. I still see quite a significant portion on character designs, in sci-fi style of course. There are also the occasional mechas, sci-fi environments, alien plants, etc.

Most highly recommended to all who loves sketchbooks.

Well worth the money!

Check out these other books if you love sketching or sketchbooks:

• Sketching from the Imagination: An Insight into Creative Drawing
• Sketching from the Imagination: Fantasy
• ImagineFX Sketchbook
• Sketching Times series
• KATSUYA TERADA 10 TEN - 10 Years Retrospective -
• Mattias Unfiltered: The Sketchbook Art of Mattias Adolfsson
• Kim Jung-Gi 2007 & 2011 Sketch Collection
• Kim Jung-Gi 2013 Sketch Collection
• The First in Line
• Sketch Book for the Artist
• The Daily Zoo
• 0レンジ(オレンジ)~森本晃司作品集~ (Orange / Koji Morimoto / Scrapbook)
• All other sketchbooks

Sketching from the Imagination: Sci-fi is available at Amazon (US | CA | UK | DE | FR | IT | ES | JP | CN) and Book Depository

Visit Amazon to check out more reviews.

If you buy the links, I get a little commission that helps me get more books to feature.

Here are direct links to the book:
Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.de | Amazon.fr | Amazon.it | Amazon.es | Amazon.co.jp | Amazon.cn | Bookdepository.com

Here's another sketchbook by artist Graham Byfield.

Bali Sketchbook was originally published in 1998. Byfield has made several trips to Bali in 1997 to capture the scenes and everyday life on this popular tourist destination. I've went to Bali in 2014 and while looking at the watercolour paintings in this book, it really brings back memories. It's good to see that nothing has changed drastically and the Bali charm is still there.

Collected within are more than 150 watercolour paintings. These are not just of famous landmarks and temples, but also on the details that might elude travelers the first time. Byfield captures the culture, the people and the beautiful architecture and presents them with interesting notes. He uses pencil and watercolour for the paintings.

Unlike most sketchbooks published by Editions Didier Millet, this one is in paperback instead. It's also a bit smaller, relatively speaking compared to the hardcover. I think I saw a reprint of another book recently that's also a paperback. I prefer the hardcover edition which is bigger and nicer.

It's a lovely sketchbook. Those who like sketching and travel should check it out.

Bali Sketchbook is available at Amazon (US | CA | UK | DE | FR | IT | ES | JP | CN) and Book Depository

Visit Amazon to check out more reviews.

If you buy the links, I get a little commission that helps me get more books to feature.

Here are direct links to the book:
Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.de | Amazon.fr | Amazon.it | Amazon.es | Amazon.co.jp | Amazon.cn | Bookdepository.com

Draw It is a book on tips and techniques for sketching.

The chapters are divided according to the different tools used such as the pencil, pen, brush pen, marker, pastel and watercolour. The pages are coloured coded to the different drawing tools so that you can source them out easily.

Highlight of the book to me are the beautiful sketches included. Author Lynn Craig is a professor who teaches freehand drawing at the School of Architecture at Clemson University. Most sketches are of buildings and scenes but there is also a good amount of sketches with people in them. I love the pencil and pen sketches. They really portray the form of the subjects well, whether buildings or people.

The drawing tips and techniques are laid out to the sides and bottom of the sketches. As the book is quite small, about A5 size, and most of the pages are filled with artworks, the space left for the writeup is quite small. The tips are helpful but sometimes I wish there could be more. For example, for perspective, only one-point perspective is included and not two or three point.

Another downside of the book is the binding which I find to be too stiff. It takes more energy to hold the pages open, relatively speaking.

Overall, I find the book to be inspiring especially because of the pen and pencil sketches that I like. There are useful tips and techniques even if they are a bit short. This is not meant to be a comprehensive book on sketching, but it does offer inspiration.

Those who like sketching should check it out.

Draw It: Tools, Techniques, Methods is available at Amazon (US | CA | UK | DE | FR | IT | ES | JP | CN) and Book Depository

Visit Amazon to check out more reviews.

If you buy the links, I get a little commission that helps me get more books to feature.

Here are direct links to the book:
Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.de | Amazon.fr | Amazon.it | Amazon.es | Amazon.co.jp | Amazon.cn | Bookdepository.com

My sketcher friend Edric Hsu has just released his first published sketchbook called Scenes of Thailand featuring sketches he drew in Thailand. This seems like a piece of commissioned work from publisher Marshall Cavendish because the content is presented in A-Z manner, and on the back it's said to be the perfect souvenir for travellers and visitors.

The book's a 96-page square format paperback.

The watercolour sketches within serves as a guide to the different landmarks and culture of Thailand. There are places you can visit, such as temples, riverside villages or shopping districts, the various types of Thai dishes, culture and festivals.

The book includes four postcards that you can tear off from the covers. They are perforated.

Looking at travel sketches always makes me want to go for another overseas holiday.

Scenes of Thailand is available at Amazon (US | CA | UK | DE | FR | IT | ES | JP | CN) and Book Depository

Visit Amazon to check out more reviews.

If you buy the links, I get a little commission that helps me get more books to feature.

Here are direct links to the book:
Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.de | Amazon.fr | Amazon.it | Amazon.es | Amazon.co.jp | Amazon.cn | Bookdepository.com

After filling 97 out of the 124 pages in the Stillman & Birn's Alpha series sketchbook during a sketching trip in Hong Kong, I feel like I've finally used it enough to form an opinion.

The Alpha series is one of the six types of sketchbooks offered by Stillman and Birn. The main features of the Alpha would be its 150gsm natural white paper.

The sketchbook can come in either wirebound or hardbound, and in different sizes. The 9 by 6 inch landscape format was released quite recently. I have waited for a long time for the landscape format to come out. Not all series come with landscape format so that's a great addition. I hope Stillman & Birn can release the landscape format for all their series because it's difficult to find quality sketchbooks in landscape format, especially for heavyweight paper. Currently, the landscape hardbound are only available for the Alpha and Gamma series only.

The 9 by 6 inch landscape is a nice size. Anything size larger probably would not make sense as the paper warps. More on that later.

The hardcover is thick and the binding is excellent. There are 124 pages for the hardbound and 100 pages for the wirebound. The pages can be open relatively flat, and if you can't you can always fold the covers back towards each other -- don't worry, the binding will hold.

I actually have two Alpha sketchbooks. There's the portrait format that I've been using for years to create colour swatches and mixtures for watercolour and coloured pencils. Then there's the landscape format one that I bought specifically for a sketching trip.

These are several black inks that I tested.

Ink bleed through is generally not a problem unless you intentionally layer thick wet washes. However, because the paper is only 150gsm, not really that thick, there will still be slight impressions of drawings made on the opposite page. They can appear when scanning the pages.

The paper is sort of like fine grain cartridge paper. There's some tooth but it's not as rough as coldpress watercolour paper. When used with coloured pencils, the white of the paper will be visible, so you really need to layer pigments heavily to cover up.

The paper accepts dry and wet medium well. Colours appear vibrant and accurate. That's why I like to use it to create colour swatches and mixtures. And because the sketchbook is thick, you can do a lot of colour studies and compare different brands.

For watercolour usage, one important thing to note is the paper does warp when you apply water.

When the paper warps, the pigments may concentrate at lower regions of the paper. When the paper dries, you may see areas with concentrated pigments. So it's important to control the amount of water you use carefully. It affects wet on wet techniques as well, if you want to achieve a nice flat wash or gradated wash, you may find the warping paper working against you.

It's best to just use light washes, not so much water, instead of the much heavier washes that I've used. Anyway, if you're those don't like to feel restricted, go for the Beta sketchbook with thicker paper.

The paper absorbs water well enough and is capable of producing nice granulation, depending, of course, on the granulating pigments you use.

I use this sketchbook primarily for pen, ink and watercolour sketching. Below are selected pages I've filled, or you can check out larger scans from my other post.

Conclusion

Alpha sketchbooks are quality sketchbooks for artists. If you need medium weight paper for ink and watercolour work, it's a good sketchbook to get. The only issue is the paper warps, but that's to be expected with the 150gsm paper. My recommendation is to use light washes, and not too many layers for glazing.

I like that it has a 124 pages. That's a lot to draw on. The bright white paper brings out the vibrancy of colours very well.

If you need more heavyweight paper, check out the Beta series with 270gsm paper.

Overall, the Alpha sketchbook is a quality sketchbook and a good buy.

Video review

Availability

You can find Stillman & Birn Alpha series sketchbooks on Amazon, Dick Blick Art Materials (USA) and Jackson's Art Supplies (UK).

Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.de | Amazon.fr | Amazon.it | Amazon.es

Below are some preview pages from Santi Sallés' new book Mediterranean Cuisines.

The illustrations are so lovely! Be sure to check out more sketches on his Flickr page.

I've no idea when the book will be published but I'll update this post again when it does. The publisher is Zahori Publishing, the same publishers for Drawing Around Sagrada Familia and Enjoy, Gaudi.

I bought this book from Alvin Wong while he was here in Singapore last week for the Urban Sketchers Symposium in Singapore. He's one of the sketchers from Hong Kong.

When I first heard of him mentioning the book, I knew I had to get the book.

I've been following the coverage on the Umbrella Movement that happened in 2014 in Hong Kong mostly through Facebook posting of sketches from friends. Now there's this book that compiles all the sketches so of course I had to get it.

The sketches in the book has captured the movement that happened at several locations in Hong Kong over the few months. This book is a work of passion with contributions from Urban Sketchers Hong Kong who spent weeks among the protesters and at sites to capture the scenes they see. It's a raw account of what happened on the streets. There's nothing political about the sketches as the captions that accompanied them are just factual descriptions of what was seen.

The sketches are wonderful. I also recognised many of the buildings as I've just came back from Hong Kong two months ago. I've realised that I've walked past many government buildings without even knowing so. There are also drawings of different tent designs used by the protesters, infographics with labels on what was going on and where, what people are doing on the streets, such as helping one another, cleaning up the place, distributing food, or even studying for exams.

Alvin has told me that the movement, and sketching the movement, has changed the lives of many Hong Kong sketchers who were there to experience it firsthand. I, too, can feel the sense of patriotism in the Hong Kongers and the care for their country's future.

Sketches Under The Umbrella is a powerful collection of sketches that document one of the more peaceful large scale protest in recent times. It's also a fine example of reportage sketching. The text is in English and Chinese.

Jean-Baptiste Monge sent me his new sketchbook recently to show everyone here. It's a 66-page almost A4-size paperback.

This is his volume #1 sketchbook that features lovely pencil sketches of character designs. I really love the sketches. They are so textural and the art is wonderful. The sketches are printed on nice cream-coloured matte paper that looks really nice.

There's also an interview that runs throughout where he talks about his inspiration, challenges, his work and also tips for fellow artists.

Each sketchbook would also come with a personalised sketch drawn on the first page. Each person would get a different sketch.

Check out more of his work and get this sketchbook at http://www.jbmonge.com/

Here's the sketchbook of my friend James Tan, a freelance artist in Singapore.

A few years ago, he and his wife went on a six months trip after quitting their jobs. They traveled to 14 countries in total. When I first heard of it, I thought it was a rather ambitious trip. It still is. It takes courage to just leave everything behind and just travel. And this book took many more months to make and publish.

This 282-hardcover sketchbook collects the sketches and experience from his journey across different countries. The sketches capture the scenes he saw, people he spoke to and feelings he felt. The layout of the book is nice and all the sketches are accompanied by captions. There are also handwritten notes in the sketches but unfortunately the handwriting isn't easy to read.

James' style of art is quite loose and almost cartoony. He uses a variety of media to draw, such as graphic, coloured pencils, brush pens, ink and watercolour. It gives this book a very textural feel. And I like the nice touch of printing several sketches on toned paper.

It's a nice travelogue with hundreds of sketches. The book is now available at Basheer Graphic Books and other bookstores in Singapore.

This project started a year ago. Back then, there was this idea to compile a book of sketches by passing a sketchbook around where each artist will contribute something. It's something like Sketchtravel and initially it was called Sketchtravel Singapore if I remember it correctly. Thankfully the name has changed to avoid potential trademark issues.

So after a year of passing three sketchbooks around in Singapore, Don Low, James Tan and Lisa Huang has put together this sketchbook.

I was told it's not cheap to print this 162-page paperback. Only 500 copies were printed and SGD $11,000 was spent. The good thing is this project is supported and funded by the SG50 Celebration Fund. The book is meant to be one of the mementos to celebrate the 50 years of independence of Singapore.

And because the book is supported by public funds, it's not for sale, at least not this year. If there are some leftover copies after giving them out for free, they would be put on sale next year.

61 contributors have their works featured. I know many of these people because they often go to the monthly sketchwalks. There are many I don't know of but there are photos in the book to put faces to the names. It's great to see so many contributions and so many pieces of beautiful art. I've one sketch in the book too, the one that was drawn on the public train while on the way to work.

The book is a squarish format. The binding is stitched and exposed. It can open flat which is nice. The paper quality is fantastic. In terms of production value, it's right up there with Urban Sketchers Singapore Vol. 1.

When I first received one of the sketchbooks to draw in, I was wondering how they are going to deal with the ugly gutter that goes through each piece of art. In this book, they put that gutter to coincide with the book's gutter so that you won't even notice the gutter was there. It works great.

The sketches featured are all drawn on location. They are scenes around Singapore. I love the variety of places that I see and also the different styles and medium used. Each person drew a place that was meaningful to them. There are accompanying text about the place and interviews with the artists.

Right at the back of the book, there are additional interviews with artists and the tools they used. Some of those interviews are actually taken from my blog from the Art Tools and Gears series. My tools are featured in the book.

The books will be given out on 22 and 29 August 2015 at the workshops at URA. Visit the Facebook page of Let's Draw! Singapore to find out more details.

I'll update this post again in the future when the books are allowed to be sold.

That's my sketch!

Funny photos of sketchers passing the sketchbook around.

In 2008, Jason Polan gave himself a challenge to draw every person in New York. His earlier projects were The Every Piece Of Art in The Museum Of Modern Art Book, An Entire Bag of Popcorn, and Every Person in the Phone Book. The words obsessive and patient come to my mind.

Every Person in New York is a 408-page paperback book that features the sketches of all the people he has drawn so far. There are over 30,000 thousand people in this book. That's why this book is so thick. And I'm quite amazed he actually kept count.

Polan is an artist who lives in New York. Over the last 7 years, he has been sketching New Yorkers whenever and wherever he can. He has drawn at cafes, outside the New York Public Library, the many museums, Apple stores, on the train, at tennis matches, markets, parks, etc. You get the idea.

It's interesting to see the diversity of the people captured in the sketches. There are people sleeping on the trains, marathon runners, dog walkers, lots of pedestrians and even celebrities. Every page is filled with line art ink sketches of people. Some are just simple silhouettes while others have their facial features more fleshed out. The line art is loose and many are like contour drawings. Sometimes, even the bump while the train is moving is recorded in the sketch.

Generally speaking, the style is that of simplicity and because of that this may not be the book for those who are looking for detailed drawings. Because of that, this is a book you can flip through quickly.

This is a fun sketchbook.

If you like this book, also check out

• Hello, New York: An Illustrated Love Letter to the Five Boroughs
• Meanwhile in San Francisco: The City in its Own Words
• All the Buildings in New York: That I've Drawn So Far
• New York, Line by Line: From Broadway to the Battery
• Denys Wortman's New York: Portrait of the City in the 30s and 40s
• New York Drawings by Adrian Tomine
• New York Sketchbook

Every Person in New York is available at Amazon (US | CA | UK | DE | FR | IT | ES | JP | CN) and Book Depository

Visit Amazon to check out more reviews.

If you buy the links, I get a little commission that helps me get more books to feature.

Here are direct links to the book:
Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.de | Amazon.fr | Amazon.it | Amazon.es | Amazon.co.jp | Amazon.cn | Bookdepository.com

I'm a big fan of Fabrice Moireau's watercolour sketches and paintings, so it's delightful to see that he has a new book out. It has been a long wait since his previous two books that were released in 2011, namely Rooftops of Paris and Rome Sketchbook.

Format of this book is same as most of his other sketchbooks. It's a large hardcover with 96 pages. The paper used is matte with some texture to simulate that feel of watercolour paper. The cover is a lovely painting of Brandenburg Gate at night.

Germany and Berlin certainly has made history in the world, good and bad, and that is written in the introduction in a matter of fact manner by Boris Von Brauchtisch. It's a nice introduction that provides a clearer picture to the city than what the watercolour paintings would suggest.

The pencil and watercolour paintings in the books are absolutely amazing. Fabrice Moireau just gets better and better. There are probably more than a hundred pieces of artworks featured, including a handful of sketches. It's an astonishing amount considering that most are fully painted. It certainly feels like it took years to complete all these.

I love the confident look and use of colours. Many of them are reproduced huge and a pleasure to look at. I can only imagine how big those paintings were, given that many are so detailed. Captions accompany all the artworks.

This is a beautiful and inspiring book. It's definitely one of my favourite artbooks of 2015.

Berlin Sketchbook (Sketchbooks) is available at Amazon (US | CA | UK | DE | FR | IT | ES | JP | CN) and Book Depository

Visit Amazon to check out more reviews.

If you buy the links, I get a little commission that helps me get more books to feature.

Here are direct links to the book:
Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.de | Amazon.fr | Amazon.it | Amazon.es | Amazon.co.jp | Amazon.cn | Bookdepository.com

After 3dtotal published all those wonderful sketchbooks from the Sketching From the Imagination series, I started to wonder when they are going to have a book that teaches sketching. Well, here's that book.

This is an instructional book on sketching with 10 contributing artists. I like that they have used matte instead of glossy paper. There are 206 pages.

The content is split into four main parts, namely Getting Started, Sketching in Color, Quick Tips and Drawing Projects.

The first section provides information on the tools and has some simple drawing lessons to get you warmed up. The section section on colour sketching is rather too brief.

Third section with the quick tips is fantastic. It teaches drawing techniques for specific subjects, such as gesture drawing, hair, hands, textures, etc.

Last section of drawing projects takes up half the book. There are several projects by different artists. These are step-by-step tutorials that go through the drawing process from start to finish. It's easy to follow along as they all start with simple layout sketches before the details are slowly added with each step. The subjects are all have some fantasy element, such as drawing creatures, characters and concepts.

Medium of choice in the book is the pencil, which is the most versatile drawing tool. The examples throughout the book look good and inspiring.

This is a wonderful and accessible book for anyone learning to sketch.

Beginner's Guide to Sketching: Characters, Creatures and Concepts is available at Amazon (US | CA | UK | DE | FR | IT | ES | JP | CN) and Book Depository

Visit Amazon to check out more reviews.

If you buy the links, I get a little commission that helps me get more books to feature.

Here are direct links to the book:
Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.de | Amazon.fr | Amazon.it | Amazon.es | Amazon.co.jp | Amazon.cn | Bookdepository.com

Two months ago, I wrote about my friend's inkink online store. Today, I just received two sketchbooks mailed to me for review.

The two sketchbooks are by Stanley Lau, aka ArtGerm, the illustrator, designer and concept artist. He's character artworks are amazing.

Superbelle is a 24-page paperback sketchbook that collects the female character sketches, although Gambit managed to sneak into the first book. The sketchbooks are about A5 in size. Cover is some non-glossy card stock and the pages are non-glossy, stapled together.

The artworks are all draw with Copic markers. I'm quite impressed by the handling of the markets to create the gradients and especially the seemingly flat colours (as we all know market strokes are quite distinct and call out for attention). The paper is a bit off white in the first sketchbook which makes the artworks look slightly warmer. I prefer the ones in sketchbook two where the artworks look sharper to me, probably because of the use of manga outlines.

Superbelle is basically fanart. I really like some of the characters, like Yoko from Gurren Lagann, Major Motoko Kusanagi from Ghost in the Shell, Ryuko Matoi from Kill la Kill, Korra and a bunch of other familiar superheroes.

You can get the sketchbooks at inkink Premium Art Collectibles after 12 September 2015.

The sketchbooks will also be available at STGCC 2015 booth H15.

I met Keh Choon Wee (blog) again this year at STGCC 2015. I was interviewing him on tips for setting up booths at the artist alley.

He passed two sketchbooks to me, K Vol 3 and Vol 4. Every year, he would compile his personal sketches into a sketchbook and sell it at the Singapore comic con. Each paperback sketchbook has 48 pages and about A5 size. The paper quality is fantastic.

As usual, there are his character designs and some fan art pieces. Game of Thrones is rather popular and he has two huge elaborate drawings for that, one featuring all the male characters and the other with only female characters. It's weird to see these seemingly scheming characters in their cutesy versions. LOL.

You should be able to buy these sketchbooks at Basheer Graphic Books. Vol 3 is SGD $18 and Vol 4 is SGD $20. They are also available at GnB Comics.

International readers can contact Keh on Facebook to order.