If you're even remotely interested in art, illustration, drawing, or comics; there's very little chance that you haven't previously stumbled across at least some of Lorenzo Etherington's "How to Think When You Draw" tutorials online. These handy little nuggets of artistic wisdom and inspiration bombard me every time I open up Instagram or Pinterest. Unlike some of the other ads and content that I'm inundated with on a daily basis, I always welcome a glance at a "How to Think When You Draw," even if it's a "rerun" that I've seen before!
On discovering and becoming enchanted with Lorenzo's tutorial series, I sought out collected editions. Browsing them online is fine, but I wanted a complete encyclopedia of this knowledge that I could devour page by page like a favorite fiction novel! Sadly I came up empty... until now.
These books aren't kept perpetually in print, but every couple years a new crowdfunding campaign is released with the latest material and reprints of the past editions. I was eagerly awaiting this currently running KickStarter and jumped all over it when I was able.
For artists on a budget (and let's face it, that's most of us!) these printed volumes aren't an absolute necessity. Lorenzo is committed to offering these resources freely online. Through https://theetheringtonbrothers.blogspot.com/ you can find tons of free instruction like the examples shown below!
I will admit, the free option isn't a bad one to take. This KickStarter did give me a bit of sticker shock! But these are some big, beautiful, hardcover tomes of arcane illustration knowledge and I can't resist having them on my shelves! While there are even larger pledge packages that include additional sketchbooks and artbooks, I went straight for the rewards tier focused on education.
This package includes four volumes of "How to Think When You Draw" and one volume of "How to Think When You Write!" Altogether that's costing about $180... plus a hefty shipping charge to move a package of books that'll probably be pretty equivalent to a cinderblock all the way across the Atlantic and into my hands!
It seems I'm not the only one willing to shell out a chunk of cash so that these stylish encyclopedias of illustrative lore grace my bookshelf. The KickStarter campaign still has 16 days to go and as of this writing has garnered over $700,000 in pledges! If you're interested and willing as well, I'd urge you to check it out in these next couple weeks, because you probably won't get a chance to order this material again for at least a couple years.
And if you don't support the KickStarter, no worries! Be sure to avail yourself of all this knowledge available at no cost online. I can almost guarantee these tutorials will elevate your art, design, and storytelling to the next level.
The estimated delivery on these isn't until September... so I've got a long wait. But when they do arrive I'll be showing them off and reviewing them right here on Hive! In the meantime I've only got a couple hundred other books to keep me busy... plus those two Loomis books that just got here today... and the Terry Moore How to Draw hardcover that should arrive Wednesday...
... I think I may have an addiction...
-Bryan "the Imp" Imhoff
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