Artists! What do I buy an artist?

My boyfriend's birthday is coming up in a few weeks, and he mentioned that he wanted art books. But I'm not entirely sure what kind of art books are "good".

For xmas, I got him the art book from Massive Black.

I really want to get him like the art of SC2 book or something, but I don't think that exists... Sadly.

But my question is, what kind of art books do you guys use for reference? Is there a specific artist/publisher I should look for?

Any help would be appreciated! :D
Thanks!

He's a digital painter / vector flash artist, btw. He works on games.
He used to work in oil paints, but now he doesn't have time to paint anymore.

Last edit: 2012-02-03 05:10:47

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Elroi Sweden. February 03 2012 05:19. Posts 3846

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Have you heard of Banks? I love Wall and Piece

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Glull Germany. February 03 2012 05:19. Posts 389

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the collectors edition of wings of liberty includes a starcraft artbook - you can get it seperate on ebay. just make sure he doesnt already have it

kierpanda United States. February 03 2012 05:20. Posts 598

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On February 03 2012 05:19 Glull wrote:
the collectors edition of wings of liberty includes a starcraft artbook - you can get it seperate on ebay. just make sure he doesnt already have it

:0!
Didn't know that.
He only has the digital copy. Time to go ebay huntin'!

Thanks!

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kierpanda United States. February 03 2012 05:22. Posts 598

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On February 03 2012 05:19 Elroi wrote:
Have you heard of Banks? I love Wall and Piece

Banksy?
I'm quite familiar with him and his work; but I don't think my boyfriend is that much of a Banksy fan.

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zulu_nation8 China. February 03 2012 05:27. Posts 18688

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what kind of art is he interested in? can rarely go wrong with a nice coffee table book (might be expensive though).

kierpanda United States. February 03 2012 05:38. Posts 598

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On February 03 2012 05:27 zulu_nation8 wrote:
what kind of art is he interested in? can rarely go wrong with a nice coffee table book (might be expensive though).

Mostly game art. 3D renders and concept art.

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Son of Gnome United States. February 03 2012 05:41. Posts 750

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the art book in the sc2 collectors edition is super sick btw and there is an awesome comic that comes with it

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fabiano Brazil. February 03 2012 05:45. Posts 3814

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buy him a Wacom tablet if you want him to propose to you

dont really know anything about art books though.

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Kukaracha France. February 03 2012 05:47. Posts 1890

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Well if you want to buy an art book, you need to tell us first what kind of art he likes...

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Pokebunny United States. February 03 2012 05:50. Posts 9580

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Yeah, I've got the SC2 CE art book and it's pretty cool. Would have to think about if I'm willing to sell though

insourcecertainty United States. February 03 2012 06:17. Posts 138

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The Book of Cain has art in it. haha

intrigue

Washington, D.C. February 03 2012 06:19. Posts 9271

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a magic flight launch box

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RoyGBiv_13 United States. February 03 2012 06:26. Posts 579

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On February 03 2012 06:19 intrigue wrote:
a magic flight launch box

hahaahaha. stereotyping, but I love it nonetheless.

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kierpanda United States. February 03 2012 06:31. Posts 598

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On February 03 2012 05:45 fabiano wrote:
buy him a Wacom tablet if you want him to propose to you

dont really know anything about art books though.

Cintiqs are $1000 - $2k USD!

He has an intuos though.

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kierpanda United States. February 03 2012 06:32. Posts 598

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On February 03 2012 06:17 insourcecertainty wrote:
The Book of Cain has art in it. haha

I just ordered that one. :D

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kierpanda United States. February 03 2012 06:33. Posts 598

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On February 03 2012 05:47 Kukaracha wrote:
Well if you want to buy an art book, you need to tell us first what kind of art he likes...

Digital paintings/game art/concept art.
To some degree, 3D stuff, but he doesn't work in 3D.

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SigmaoctanusIV United States. February 03 2012 06:43. Posts 2431

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There is also a Starcraft book.
http://www.amazon.com/StarCraft-Bible-explosions-pixels-inspire/dp/1456489771/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1294254719&sr=1-2&tag=tealiq-20

Which is the history of the game. Korean Esports and a bunch of other stuff into SC2 Awesome read too.

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RuN Brazil. February 03 2012 06:51. Posts 226

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It really depends on what he does !

Anatomy books and sculpture books are one of my favorite things to use as reference but there are a ton of great books by amazing artists out there.

Tell us what he does and what kind of level his art is at we might be able to help !!

Last edit: 2012-02-03 06:51:50

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Ventil Sweden. February 03 2012 07:08. Posts 399

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Books about human anatomy is always a good asset for artists. I have a bunch of them myself, and they're super useful. Not only books about human anatomy, but the anatomy of animals are also great.

And also a bunch of these!
+ Show Spoiler +