Art Books

AlvaroArte asked me if I could suggest some books on realistic drawing and concept art which was timely as I've been thinking about writing a post about it. So, in no particular order here are some books I recommend.

Instructional Drawing:
Keys to Drawing (Dodson) - A lot of my early drawing lessons a knowledge was based in this book. Great exercises.
Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain (Edwards) - A cornerstone art book, it (re)teaches you how to really observe your subject with various exercises.
Imagination Station (Kistler) - While likely not applicable to you guys, it's a wonderful art book for little kids who find it fun and teaches good art principles.

Understanding Light and Color:
Alla Prima (Schmid) - This is not a how-to painting book but delves into how to think and understand light, color, edges, etc. My painting bible.
Imaginative Realism (Gurney) - This author of Dinotopia does a good job addressing how to approach realistically painting subjects that don't exist.
Light and Color (Gurney) - This second book by the author breaks down all major forms of light and color you'll have to paint and pinpoints key aspects.

Comics:
Understanding Comics (McCloud) - Was the first art book I read in a decade that presented art concepts I hadn't heard before. Not a how-to on creating a comic but a thorough journey to understand the unique medium (in comic format). Even if you don't want to make comics you should read this.

Comic Reference / Inspiration:
The Art of Hellboy (Mignola) - Full of sketches and comments, I look at it when I need to simplify. Mignola says so much with so little.
Cover Run (Hughes) - Gorgeous women and heroic men in a realistic, art nouveau comic style with sketches and comments.
Mythology (Ross) - Poured over this book when it came out. Ross' art makes the characters feel like living breathing people. This book gives you a glimpse into their creation and creator.

Other Reference / Inspiration:
Spectrum (any of them) - These annual books are a showcase of the best scifi and fantasy art for the year. Huge range of styles and subjects.
The Art of Star Wars Episode 1-3 (Bresman) - Fantastic examples of top tier concept art in a range of mediums with comments.
The Lord of the Rings Sketchbook (Lee) - A beautiful collection of hundreds of pencil drawings by the author who was a lead artist in creating the Rings trilogy.

Many other books have been influential to my art but I will wrap it here now.