Animals Real and Imagined: Fantasy of What Is and What Might Be

I am a big fan of conceptual art, and I have to give Terryl Whitlatch much of the credit for that. I first purchased her book The Wildlife of Star Wars: A Field Guide back when it first came out and I was blown away by the detailed and thoughtful creature designs. Say what you will about the prequels (and I will say that overall they were not that good), but I can find no fault with the many artists who worked on the design of the films - Whitlatch did much of the creature work for the first film, and so I was somewhat familiar with a few of her designs even before purchasing that book.I also bought her book The Katurran Odyssey a few years ago - I am sure it was one of the bargain books at Barnes and Nobles or Borders - again the artwork was terrific, although it was focused more on actual animals, some extinct some extant. I was extremely excited when I read that Whitlatch was coming out with a new book of conceptual artwork, so you can bet that I pre-ordered it as soon as I could. I was not disappointed.Chapter Two (Animals Imagined) is clearly my favorite part of the book. Her ungulate/ ape hybrids were particularly interesting. I also loved her ogres and the Pre-Tracker (which I believe was created for a class she teaches: [...] Overall, the book is great - my hardcover edition is printed on high-quality paper and I know it's something I will enjoy for years.If you are interested in this type of creature design, I would also recommend: The World of Kong: A Natural History of Skull Island (King Kong), Dinotopia: A Land Apart from Time -- 20th Anniversary Edition (Calla Editions), Worlds: A Mission of Discovery, Prometheus: The Art of the Film, Expedition: Being an Account in Words and Artwork of the A.D. 2358 Voyage to Darwin IV, and these books by Dougal Dixon - After Man: A Zoology of the Future and The New Dinosaurs: An Alternative Evolution.

Right when I saw this book I knew I needed to have it. However, due to personal experience I am weary about buying used books without feeling them first. But, like I said I NEEDED this book and like the impatient person I am I took the risk against my better judgment.I'm Glad I did.Not only did the book arrive way before I expected it to but the condition it came it was astonishing. Not only was it wrapped like it was a plate of gold but the book itself was in practically new condition. In fact, they could have put down that the book was new and I would have believed it.I absolutely wish I lived in California as I would take a trip and visit them in person to tell them how much I loved everything. I was hoping beyond hope that they were somewhere in my state so I could do so!And, not only that. But when I opened my book and glanced at my receipt, in the corner was a hand penned note that she hoped I was happy with my book. You have no idea!If I can give you any advice, if you ever order a used book online do so from these people. You will not be disappointed!As for the book itself it is a beautiful artist reference for creatures both real and imagined. Go figure. It is chocked full of colored/completed designs along with unfinished sketches detailing real animals, estranged creatures with cartoons/caricatures scattered here and there. I personally will be using it for reference and inspiration for my novels. But for artist I think it is in the 'must have' category. It is far from being extremely professional but it is beautifully defined and gives plenty of musculature and skeletal structures for all kinds of creatures -even humans. If you like imaginative bestiaries/reference books then give this one a once-over!

This is an absolutely beautiful book! I'm an artist, and the cover caught my eye while sitting through art books on Amazon. Then when I got the actual book in hand, I almost couldn't stop drooling! The book itself, the artwork, it's all amazing!Absolutely Beautiful and Stunning book! Well worth adding to any artist collection! Or just anyone who likes looking at beautiful art!!! Well worth every penny! I love this book! It was amazing!

This book made my face light up with ecstasy. Packed in this 160-page book is a collection of new artwork from Terryl Whitlatch. You won't see any of her Star Wars creatures that appeared in The Wildlife of Star Wars: A Field Guide - you should probably get that book as well.The gallery of art consist of paintings and sketches of real and imagined animals. The designs for the imaginative creatures are beautiful and believable. They are sea, land and flying creatures. Great variety.A lot of sketches are included, picked from her art classes. For selected creatures, they are so detailed separate drawings on the muscular anatomy and bone structure are included. Scribbled on the sketches are lots of labels and notes, though a bit small but only because there's so much packed onto the page.Besides creature concept art, there are also stylized character designs. Rocket rhinos, psychotic pandas, comical cerberus, cupid frogs are just some of the many animated ideas. They are really fun to look at.This isn't an instructional book so there aren't pointers on how to draw, but you can get lots of ideas or understand what's possible just by looking at the drawings.This inspiring book is highly recommended to anyone who loves animal art.-There's a paperback edition available: Animals Real and Imagined: Fantasy of What Is and What Might Be-(There are more pictures of the book on my blog. Just visit my Amazon profile for the link.)

I am not sure what to write about this, or how to rate it.I personally bought it for animal references, but cant say i am dissapointed in the lack of general animal anatomy and reference, since i clearly saw in the videos about the book, that it is lacking them. The illustrations and good pictures in other hand are really worth a praise. It has good ideas, and anyone that does like creature design should have this book.THe quality of the book is good, considering price. Could say, this is the general example of quality of books lately.The book was totally undamaged, packing was good.I can only give it 4 stars trough, but thats my personal taste.

Just looking at the wonderful cover of this book made me realize I needed to add this book to my collection of inspiration and reference material. Definitely a must have for animal-based artists looking to improve on their anatomy and realism, as well as their humor and ability to try (and draw) new things.Yes - When I saw the package for this book outside my door, I was surprised out how much smaller it was than I'd expected (Paperback ed.) but it's worth every penny paid - maybe twice that.Full of great muscle and bone studies for real and fantasized creatures alike. Very inspiring. Completely focused on the images, as opposed to rambling, text-heavy pages, as some art books do (hence its smaller size)

Es increíble ,ya estoy a la espera de la llegada de los otros dos .SON IMPRESIONANTES E IMPRESINDIBLES AÚN PARA LOS PRINCIPIANTES Y EXPERTOS .GRACIAS AL VENDEDOR POR SU PROFESIONALISMO.SALUDOS DESDE NEBRASKA USA

This book went straight up near the top of my list of favorite art books. I'm an artist who's been having a go at drawing all sorts of creatures for most of my life, so I wasn't after an in-depth written explination of what's going on in the pictures, I just want to look at the art style and ability of someone who knows what she's doing. (This book has lots of pictures and very little text, just a short intorduction to each chapter and sketched notes.)The Author/Artist's scientific knowledge of animal anotomy is way over my head, and is obvious in even the most bizarre of her creatures. There's a great mix of realistic and cartoon drawing styles, heaps of skelleton/muscle/fully-fleshed comparisons and colour paintings. There's plenty of everything. I love it.

Gostei muito do livro é para estudo e referência.

Uno de los mejores libros de mi colección, recomendado para gente muy creativa y que le guste la inspiración animal.

Excelente serie de Terryl sobretodo para artistas mucho más experimentados ya que no da ninguna base de dibujo sino más bien buenos ejemplos de su trabajo y proceso creativo para el diseño de criaturas, referencias y excelentes diagramas

Ho comprato questo volume per scuola e sono rimasto più che soddisfatto, i disegni sono completi di studi anatomici fatti alla perfezione, lo consiglio a tutti quelli che hanno bisogno di basi solide sulle creature!Il prodotto è arrivato in condizioni perfette.

I would recommend this book to budding artists and creature designers because Whitlach's work is very inspiring- she not only shows the creatures themselves, but has thought about the underlying structure, breathing life into her designs that extra touch of realism.