The studio shelf

The books on the shelf.

The ones that come off the shelf in a workshop when somebody asks how a thing is done. Useful references for further study of the subject — and other people's styles that may inspire you.

Useful references for further study

Other people's styles, to study and to be inspired by. Filter by theme, or tap any book to find it. Buy links go to an independent bookshop — including The Bookshop in Helston on Meneage Street, the southernmost bookshop in mainland Britain — never a marketplace.

Sketching Techniques for Artists Alex Hillkurtz In-studio and on-location ink and wash, from a storyboard artist. The closest thing on this shelf to what we do in the workshop.
Pen & Ink Drawing: A Simple Guide Alphonso Dunn The one to read if hatching and tone with a pen still feel like guesswork. Patient, methodical, and it works.
Urban Drawing Phil Dean Sketch Club. Buildings and streets in line, from a sketcher who draws his own city on the way to work.
Urban Watercolour Phil Dean The companion to Urban Drawing — the same streets, once the colour arrives.
Urban Watercolor Sketching Felix Scheinberger Loose, bold, unfussy colour, and a refreshing lack of reverence about getting it right.
The Art of Urban Sketching Gabriel Campanario From the founder of Urban Sketchers — a world's worth of sketchbooks, and proof that no two people draw the same street the same way.
Sunlight & Shadows in Watercolour Lucy Willis Where the light goes and what it does to colour. Read it for the shadows — that is where a journal page comes alive.
Travels with My Sketchbook Chris Riddell A Children's Laureate's own journals. Look at how much a few lines and a wash will carry.
An Illustrated Life Danny Gregory Inside other artists' private sketchbooks — the pages nobody was meant to see. The best argument there is for not tidying yours up.
Sunday Sketching Christoph Niemann How an idea becomes a picture, from a New Yorker cover artist. More about seeing than technique.
The Creative License Danny Gregory For anyone who says they can't draw. Gregory couldn't either, and then he did it every day.
Sketch! France Belleville-Van Stone The non-artist's guide to drawing daily life — written for people with jobs and twenty spare minutes.
Sketch Every Day Simone Grünewald Over 200 pages of gesture, character and speed. Good for the warm-ups, and for losing your fear of the first mark.

How the buy links work

Every link backs a real Cornish bookshop.

When I point you to a book, the link goes to an independent bookshop rather than a marketplace — including The Bookshop in Helston, 77 Meneage Street, Helston TR13 8RB, the southernmost bookshop in mainland Britain. Buying through their shopfront supports a real Cornish indie.

Visit the bookshop