In Progress Resources & Tools I found useful for myself or things I think could be of use to others. Nothing on this list is required and may not work for you. I have not used every product listed as this is just a collection of information that people might be unaware of that might be useful. The information I provide is not all encompassing, so it is always good to continue with your own research. Always check for prices on [Amazon](https://www.amazon.com) and other online retailers you trust for current listings. Prices updated last: 8/24/24 Resources updated last: 9/26/24 Navigate by scrolling, clicking on the Table of Contents, using the search bar or press Ctrl+ F to search key words and press Enter to cycle through the matches. - Books - Learning Resources - Visual Aids - Templates - Tutorials - YouTube - Software - Hardware --- # Resources #resources ### Books - [Archive.org](https://archive.org) - "a non-profit library of millions of free books, movies, software, music, websites, and more". You can check here for any of the resources listed below before purchasing. Not everything is on the site and there are times when it's nice to have the physical book. #books - [Point Character Drawing 1 & 2](https://a.co/d/cPegMm8) - TACO is a Korean artist that in this book showcases simplified construction of the human body. Focused on the simplification of anatomy to showcase simple shapes and construction. TACO provides succinct explanation of concepts and provides multiple visuals to reinforce their ideas. - [Framed Perspective Vol. 1](https://a.co/d/0mJEStg) - a good intro into perspective focusing on 1/2/3 point perspective and visual storytelling. #perspective #books - [Anatomy for Sculptors](https://a.co/d/4vHwkBc) - very good resource for understanding the human body. Especially the muscles. #anatomy #books - [Color and Light: A Guide for the Realist Painter](https://a.co/d/0EcGFIp) - James Gurney is a great source for understanding how light and color works. #color #light #books - [The Animator's Survival Kit](https://a.co/d/hAV7BHW) - book created by animator behind ``Who Framed Roger Rabbit?``, Richard Williams, covers all the basics of animation. Is described as a manual of methods, principles and formulas. A great resource when starting out that many will point to when asked and for good reason. #animation #books - [Character Animation Crash Course!](https://a.co/d/690qKd8) - Disney animator and Director, Eric Goldberg, created this more condensed book utilizing his experience that isn't normally taught. Eric explains the purpose of his book. Eric provides a companion link with this book that shows all his examples as animated [videos](https://www.silmanjamespress.com/character-animation-crash-course-videos/) you can use as reference. What better way to learn animation than to have the examples animated! #animation #books - "... I'm trying to include the information that describes WHY actions appear a certain way, and the techniques used to create them. There are reasons why certain things look the way they do on screen, so here they are -- how they work, and why they work the way they do." "Mostly, though, it's the nuts-and-bolts stuff that no one ever tells the serous student or the avid professional." - [Elemental Magic: Volume 1](https://a.co/d/3sHy9jA) & [Volume 2](https://a.co/d/gvAnPkE) - Former Disney animator and animated effects expert Joseph Gilland goes over techniques of effects animation. - [Framed Ink](https://a.co/d/h1LyJmO) - Marcos Mateu-Mestre brings you the guide to visual storytelling. His focus is telling a narrative with his art utilizing composition, using perspective similar to camera lens, and continuous drawings to tell a story. Very useful for those wanting to do storyboarding, animation, and comics. #composition #perspective #animation #storyboard #books - [Force: Dynamic Life Drawing for Animators](https://a.co/d/awqPg8l) - Mike Mattesi shows you how to bring force, dynamic poses, and energy into your drawings. A great resource to help prevent your drawings from feeling stiff. - [Vision: Color and Composition for Film](https://a.co/d/jbaNCxF) - Hans P. Bacher is a production designer that worked on many of the greatest classic Disney films ever including The Lion King, Balto, Mulan, and Beauty and the Beast. While keeping the focus on storytelling, Bacher instructs readers in the art of animated cinematography with the ever-present aim of soliciting an emotional response from the audience. ### Learning Resources - [Artists' Improvement Obstacles Overview](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bz_mE9a29gsEd09TemJMNTJMWGs/view?resourcekey=0-EU3FEM-lOMD5GV31uppeOQ) - PDF on google drive. Source: [Scribd.com](https://www.scribd.com/document/551896659/Artists-Improvement-Obstacles-Overview) - [Effective Art Study Guide](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cK9q7oeFRE58MVaSgUql662iGqCXC8Ah/view) - PDF on google drive. Source: [Scribd.com](https://www.scribd.com/document/551896659/Artists-Improvement-Obstacles-Overview) - [Drawabox](https://drawabox.com) - Free curriculum starting you off at 0 to give you some structure and the skills that build atop of each other before moving forward. - [Animator Island](https://www.animatorisland.com/51-great-animation-exercises-to-master/) - Website offering animation advice/drawing tips/workflow and production. This link specifically takes you to their section "51 Great Animation Exercises" as a place to start animating from these prompts if you don't know where to start. - [Project City](https://www.projectcity.tv/classes/live) - A group of veteran animators from the industry got tired of the safe and boring subject matters in the major studios and formed their own school where they teach you how to animate as they work on their own personal projects. - [StudioBinder](https://www.studiobinder.com) - Source with a vast amount of information on video, photography, TV & film. - [Artwod](https://artwod.com/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=yt) - Online course with structured roadmap with free samples and different tiered subscriptions offering more classes and benefits. Try the free portions for the course or his [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@Artwod/featured) to find hundreds of videos offering art advise. ### Visual Aids - [Character Design References](https://characterdesignreferences.com) - Grand Portfolios of talented and popular illustrators/character artists - [Video Game Concept Art Galleries](https://www.creativeuncut.com/game-art-galleries.html#a) - Concept art library with 80,996 artworks from 2,030+ games - [Line-of-Action](https://line-of-action.com) - Can set fixed time or class room setting. Get various poses for timed gesture drawing and other tutorials. Focus on anatomy, has basic shapes & still life, scenes & environment, and animals. - [Google](https://www.google.com) - I mean it's Google. Great place to start or when all else fails. - [Pintrest](https://a.co/d/awqPg8l) - Good for creating mood boards. Suggests images similar to what you're looking at. - [Film Grab](https://film-grab.com) - Film scenes good to study light, value, color, composition. - [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com) - Place for modern artist to post. Can follow people to study their work. - [Shutterstock](https://www.shutterstock.com/photos) - A great source for photos and video if you want something short to practice animation/storyboarding. - [Artstation](https://www.artstation.com/?sort_by=community&dimension=all) - People sell reference packs of models - [Pexels](https://www.pexels.com) - One of my go-to's and it's free to use. Royalty free photos and videos. Good for practicing color grading and video editing. - [Sketchfab](https://sketchfab.com) - Can buy and download 3D models to drop into software or use as reference when drawing. - [PoseMyArt](https://posemy.art) - Models have skeletons you can use to rig them into poses. Don't know anything else - [AnimationScreenCaps](https://animationscreencaps.com/) - Primarily animated movie stills - [FanCaps](https://fancaps.net) - Movie/TV/Anime images. Stills pulled from shows. - [Mixamo](https://www.mixamo.com/#/) (free 3D characters, skeletal rigs, and animations. Works with Blender, Unity, Unreal, Maya, etc.) ### Templates - [Comic Book Template](https://bennycrew.com/mift/2019/01/22/11x17-comic-book-art-board-templates/) - US Comic art board single page and spread. Meant for standard 11x17 300 dpi canvas. PDF of templates linked as zip at top of page and PNG at bottom of page. - [Comic Art Boards](http://www.flyingchipmunkcomicspress.com/Comic_Art_Boards.html) - Includes templates for American/Japanese comics as well as templates for pre-production. (American Comic, Manga, Comic Strip, Comic Layouts, Storyboard, Character Design Sheets, Story Outline Sheets, etc) - [Comic Measurements](https://blambot.com/pages/original-art-dimensions-for-american-standard-comics) - Bleed lines and spacing ### Tutorials Basic - [Unreal Engine 5 Lighting](https://youtu.be/fSbBsXbjxPo?si=W0ZEfE0nTKmUEugy) - Can also help create realistic lighting scenes to use as your reference when learning to draw/paint/etc - [6 Steps to Draw Anything](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6T_-DiAzYBc) - Antonio Stappaerts goes over 6 steps on how to learn and improve. # YouTube #youtube [**Steven Michael Hampton**](https://www.youtube.com/@stevenmichaelhampton) is an artist on YouTube who teaches the fundamentals of Gesture and Anatomy. #instructor #gesture #anatomy [**Feng Zhu**](https://www.youtube.com/@FZDSCHOOL) is a professional concept artist who teaches people online for free to share his knowledge on his YouTube FZDSCHOOL. He teaches you how to think when designing. #instructor #conceptart [**Grady Frederick**](https://www.youtube.com/@gradyfrederickart) is a professional concept artist. Primarily environmental art, Grady talks over time-lapse and live drawings giving insight to his decision making and how he approaches the process on his YouTube channel. #instructor #conceptart [**Studio Binder**](https://www.youtube.com/@StudioBinder) is a company that offers video production management for creatives and digital producers. They have an extensive [website](https://www.studiobinder.com) and YouTube channel that covers everything you would want to know about cinematography and production pipeline for all types of video production. #instructor [**Gabriel Quinn**](https://www.youtube.com/@gabrielzquinn) is a character concept artist and illustrator for the animation and gaming industry. He live streams approx. 2hrs of his VisDev process start to finish on YouTube. A great resource when wanting to see the thinking behind the designs and the ideation process. Gabriel focuses on story and thinking of how the characters would be animated and seen by others within the pipeline. #instructor #character #visdev [**Lighting Mentor**](https://www.youtube.com/@LightingMentor) aka **Jeremy Vickery** has been a professional artist for 25+ years working on movies, tv, and games (The Incredibles, Cars, Ratatouille, Wall-E, Brave, Inside Out, Westworld, Fallout, Uncharted, Assassins Creed, Days Gone and more). His YouTube talks about stories from within the industry, interviews with artists, and educating on his specialty Light & Color. #instructor #colortheory #light [**Modern Day James**](https://www.youtube.com/@moderndayjames) streams himself working on animation projects from time to time and has put out many instructional videos about animation. Currently apart of Project City. YouTube #animator #animation #instructor [**Hardy Fowler**](https://www.youtube.com/@fowlerillus) is a concept artist that gives industry advice and goes over techniques picked up over the years YouTube #conceptart #instructor [**Tyler Edlin**](https://www.youtube.com/@TylerEdlin84) "Welcome, my name is Tyler Edlin I have been a professional artist since 2010. I have had the pleasure of working for clients like Sony, Blizzard, and Epic games. I do a lot of art education and started my own online school the Brushsauce Academy. This channel is an extension of that where I offer various types of lessons on art fundamentals, design principles, illustration tutorials, and concept art videos. Subscribe to this channel if you like free educational content to improve your creative career." #conceptart #instructor **[Trent Kaniuga](https://www.youtube.com/@TrentKaniuga)** is a professional concept artist that worked on some of the largest games from companies such as Riot and Blizzard went off to run his own arthouse to do contract work for companies like these. Trent has published his own comics, is working on his own game, and talks about all of his experiences on his YouTube. #conceptart #videogames #instructor [Artwod](https://www.youtube.com/@Artwod/featured) is "Antonio Stappaerts, founder of Artwod and a self-taught professional concept artist with 8+ years in the entertainment industry (Sony, Ubisoft, Capcom & more). I share straight-to-the-point, no-BS art education for FREE, helping you improve faster and have more fun doing it. No fluff, just real skills." [**Frank Hong**](https://www.youtube.com/@artbyfrankhong) is a concept artist that doesn't post on his YouTube channel anymore and only has a few videos, but I believe what he has is worth watching. He provides some valuable information in regards to concept art. #conceptart #instructor [**Archipel**](https://www.youtube.com/@ArchipelDocumentaries)"We create documentaries about Japanese artists and creators. Through a variety of videos ranging from portraits, interviews to longer-form documentaries, we aim at providing peeks in the universe of mangaka, illustrators, game creators, musicians (and more), in addition to insights on various aspects of Japanese culture." I think this is worth checking out not only for the insight of the people being interviewed, but also the documentaries as an art if you are into film or video editing. #documentary #video #industry **[JadenAnimations](https://www.youtube.com/@jaidenanimations/featured)** has been an animator on YouTube for 10 years. They recently made a video covering the timeline of their journey and I think it's valuable to listen to if you are starting off your own animation journey. They keep their animations relatively simple as they have taken the path of "story time animation" where the animation serves as a visual representation and to deliver gags with their stories. They show that you don't need to be working for a big company to become a big animator. Sometimes art can just be a vehicle to show off your strengths. #animator #animation #entertainment [**Draw Mix Paint**](https://www.youtube.com/@DrawMixPaint) "My name is Mark Carder. My goal is to eventually cover all essential instruction for painting realism in oil so that anyone can learn to paint for free." One of the things I took away from his oil painting channel was getting a better understanding how how colors work, their relations to each other, and how to mix any color a small specific pallet. It helped me get to finally make a traditional painting. I think understanding traditional techniques can be beneficial to digital applications as well. #traditional #instructor [**Noclip**](https://www.youtube.com/@NoclipDocs) "We make crowdfunded video game documentaries for everyone to enjoy. Our mission is to tell authentic stories about video games, the people who make them, and those who play them." They put a lot of work into their documentaries and get amazing insight from the teams that create some of your favorite games, uncover stories we've never heard of, and has really good video production. Definitely worth watching for the content as well as the production itself if you are interested in film and video production. #documentary #video #videogames #industry [**Pikat**](https://www.youtube.com/@pikat/featured) streams themselves making art on twitch.tv/pikat and posts videos covering common topics for beginner artists on YouTube. Pikat provides insight from their experience within the gaming industry at Riot Games and the transition from a software engineer to learning art from scratch. Pikat provides encouragement and relatability to their audience that strives to become better artists. #illustrator #entertainment #instructor [**Masahiro Sakurai**](https://www.youtube.com/@sora_sakurai_en) made famous for creating Super Smash Bros. has created a YouTube channel to teach people all about the industry and little intricacies of game development. He makes these into small, fun, digestible educational videos where you learn about game development and stories from his career. #instructor #videogames #industry **[Drawfee](https://www.youtube.com/@Drawfee)** are former College Humor cartoonists who got together to make their own comedy drawing show on YouTube. Each member brings different types of skills and experiences all while making you laugh. They prove that art can just be goofy and fun. Drawfee will also stream courses on certain topics or techniques teaching each other and the audience so they can keep improving. #character #entertainment **[RubberRoss](https://www.youtube.com/@RubberRoss)** is an animator and entertainer on YouTube and twitch.tv/rubberross. A large part of his channel is getting a group of his animator friends together to do fun and challenging animations. It's a lot of fun and you get to meet a lot of different kinds of animators. #animator #animation #entertainment **[Juny](https://www.youtube.com/@JunyIsHere/featured)** is a professional animator who has worked on award winning famous anime such as Jujutsu Kaisen and One Piece which can be found on his YouTube. Juny specialized in effects animation. Often appears in RubberRoss's videos with Gartic Phone. Juny uses basic laptop and software to animate on a professional level proving that nothing is stopping you. #animator #animation **[William Faucher](https://www.youtube.com/@WilliamFaucher)** is a creator that gives tutorials on how to use Unreal Engine 5. My favorite is his tutorial on [Lighting in Unreal Engine 5 for Beginners](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSbBsXbjxPo) which is a great tool for artist to use when studying light and its affects on your subject when making art. **[LocalScriptMan](https://www.youtube.com/@localscriptman/featured)** is a creator that discusses and explains narratives/themes/etc and how to write screenplays. He is entertaining in his approach and helps you gain an understanding of all the things you should think about when writing. # Software #software #### Painting - [Clip Studio Paint](https://www.clipstudio.net/en/) (animation, comics, drawing seem to be a focus | Subscription monthly/annually or Perpetual License) - [Affinity](https://affinity.serif.com/en-us/?srsltid=AfmBOor2aX6VpCZ9BP150CaWsUv20FHUmXkt9SDq_A4BUodS90zGzYsE) (suite of software, one time perpetual license, iPad/Mac/Windows, alternative to Adobe) - [Gimp](https://www.gimp.org) (free and open source alternative to Photoshop) - [Procreate](https://procreate.com) (iPad only, $12.99) - [Corel Painter](https://www.painterartist.com/en/) - [Krita](https://krita.org/en/) (free and open source raster based painting software) - [Inkscape](https://inkscape.org/release/inkscape-1.3.2/windows/64-bit/msi/?redirected=1) (free and open source vector alternative for Adobe Illustrator) - [Adobe](https://www.adobe.com) (suite of software, monthly sub, locked annually) - [Aseprite](https://www.aseprite.org) (Pixel art software, one time purchase of $20 which includes installers for Windows/macOS/Ubuntu + Steam key. Steam version will auto update as Aseprite improves the software) - [Paint Tool Sai](https://www.systemax.jp/en/sai/) (31 day free trial, after that you would need to purchase single license for ~$52. Sai 2 is said to come out eventually. Unsure how the upgrade will go if they have one. Do plenty of research to make sure Sai is good for you before purchasing) #### Animation 2D - [Clip Studio Paint](https://www.clipstudio.net/en/) - [Toon Boom Harmony](https://www.toonboom.com/products/harmony) (expensive, industry software) - [Toon Squid](https://toonsquid.com) (iPad only, $9.99) - [Procreate Dreams](https://procreate.com/dreams) (iPad only, $19.99) - [Moho Pro](https://moho.lostmarble.com) - [Pencil2D](https://www.pencil2d.org) (free and open source, basic features) - [OpenToonz](https://opentoonz.github.io/e/) (free and open source) - [Synfig Studio](https://www.synfig.org) (free and open source) - [Krita](https://krita.org/en/) (free and open source) - [Linearity Move](https://www.linearity.io/move/) (vector based animation seems aimed toward animating graphic designs for logos, ads, product, etc) - [Live2D](https://www.live2d.com/en/) Rigging 2D vtuber model - [VTube Studio](https://denchisoft.com) Vtuber model tracking and control panel 3D - [Houdini](https://www.sidefx.com/products/houdini/) (procedural generation and simulation for animation, especially fluid and particles) - [Unreal 5](https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US/unreal-engine-5) (free for uses unless profiting at a particular threshold, used for gaming, great for dropping in free models and inserting a light source to move around/change colors) - [Blender](https://www.blender.org) (free and open source) - [Mixamo](https://www.mixamo.com/#/) (free 3D characters, skeletal rigs, and animations) #### 3D Modeling - [Blender](https://www.blender.org) (free and open source) - [ZBrush](https://www.maxon.net/en/zbrush) (digital sculpting) - [Maya](https://www.autodesk.com) - [3ds Max](https://www.autodesk.com) - [Cinema 4D](https://www.maxon.net/en/cinema-4d) - [FreeCAD](https://www.freecad.org) (CAD) - [SketchUp](https://www.sketchup.com/en) (CAD) # Hardware #hardware #### Tablets/Displays - [Wacom](https://www.wacom.com/en-us) - - **Pros**: Feels sturdy, etched screen has paper feel when drawing - **Cons**: Expensive, heavy, takes up a lot of desk space. - **Price**: The most comparable models to the rest of the list by price and size are **$749.95** and **$1,500**-**$1,700**. The most expensive is **$3,500**. (as of 8/24/24) - **Summary**: This isn't a review on specs, just a price range for the top of the line. Please search online for reviews from trusted sources. The top of the line Wacom probably surpasses the other product in Display Pen category, but when you look at performance to the dollar its probably best to stick to Huion or XP. Huion and XP offer more screen space for the dollar. - [Huion](https://www.huion.com) - Kamvas Pro 24 (4K) - **Pros**: 2x the display as the iPad and Surface Pro, cheaper than the base iPad and Surface, 24" display, has built in stand, connects to window/mac/android/linux. - **Cons**: Requires computer/laptop/android power it, takes up a lot of desk space if not mounted, model is 4 years old (no idea when new models will come out) - **Price**: One price of **$1,159** and additional fees for peripherals. (as of 8/24/24) - **Summary**: This isn't a review on specs, just a price range for the top of the line. Please search online for reviews from trusted sources. Not the cheapest model nor the largest screen. - [XP-Pen](https://www.xp-pen.com/product) - Artist Pro 16 (Gen 2) - **Pros**: Affordable, good entry level, connects to window/mac/android/linux - **Cons**: Requires computer/laptop/android power it - **Price**: Artist Pro 16 **$599.99** (as of 8/24/24) - **Summary**: This isn't a review on specs, just a price range for the top of the line. Please search online for reviews from trusted sources. While this is one of the cheaper entries for a more current model display pen tablet, it does so by making more sacrifices compared to competitors. - [iPad](https://www.apple.com/ipad/) - iPad Pro 13" (M4) - 2024 - **Pros**: Portable, light weight, a computer, compatibility with iPhone & Mac allowing quick file transfers between devices, access to exclusive software like Procreate, ToonSquid, and Nomad Sculpt. - **Cons**: Very expensive, not compatible with windows & android (at least requires work arounds that can be annoying), doesn't have access to desktop versions of many software usually missing features. - **Price**: iPad + Pencil only **$1,1999** - iPad + Pencil with all Upgrades that only affect the iPad directly **$2,4999** (no protection plan for either) (as of 8/24/24) - **Summary**: This isn't a review on specs, just a price range for the top of the line. Please search online for reviews from trusted sources. - [Microsoft Surface Pro](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/surface) -Surface Pro 11th Edition - 2024 - **Pros**: It is a cheaper alternative to an iPad, is a computer, uses windows - **Cons**: Still expensive, should get the desktop version of software but unsure how it translates to a smaller screen and no keyboard + mouse. - **Price**: Base Model **$1,199** - Upgraded Model **$1,699** (no protection plan for either) (as of 8/24/24) - **Summary**: This isn't a review on specs, just a price range for the top of the line. Please search online for reviews from trusted sources. **Summary**: - If you want a display pen tablet and money is tight then you might look into **XP-Pen**. - If the screen size for **XP** is too small and/or have more money to spend then maybe look into **Huion** and probably avoid Wacom for now. - If you want a display pen tablet that doesn't require another device to operate then consider an **iPad** or **Surface Pro**. - Each brand listed and those that weren't have many different models to look at to see if anything fits your specific needs if the list provided isn't sufficient.