Imaginative Realism

[Mind Of Madness]

Im pretty sure I'm gonna buy this. But I was wondering(from those who have done and recommended this book) what he goes into. I've watched the color and light video by Jason Manley and it opened my eyes amazingly, I look at paintings completley different, you know like oh theres some orange right there but its a cool orange and not too saturated and that green cloth next to it is subtly reflecting into it.
So I basically don't want to buy the book if he goes deep into color theory cause that Manley video made me understand, now I just am practicing to apply the theory. Just wanting to know cause James Gurney's paintings... well lets just say I looked down at my pants and there was a little white spot.

[Overtow]

Imaginative Realism discusses more the technical aspects of illustrations from the author's point of view. He talks about composition, vehicles, maquettes, preliminary studies, architecture, archaeology, using models, sketching, plein-aire painting, among many other topics. There is another book by James Gurney titled Color and Light which goes into much more detail about color, again from his perspective.

I have both and they are fantastic resources and i highly recommend them.

I will say though that the books are broken up into many chapters, and each chapter is broken up into many 2-page sections, so there most likely won't be enough information for you in just a 2-page spread. In other words, don't pick them up and expect to learn everything there is to know about color theory or illustration. He discusses many techniques he uses in his day-to-day career. Nevertheless, they are fantastic as general overview-type resources.

EDIT: This is a comprehensive resource for color theory, linked from the Fine Art forum. Definitely not a light read but very thorough: http://www.huevaluechroma.com/

[JeffX99]

Both books are well worth the investment. Can't recommend them highly enough.

[visoutre]

You should get the book for the art alone! Seriously there are a lot of gems in the book and I like how he showed his studio and process work (sketches, maquettes, color comps, etc). I didn't know about a lot of this stuff until I got the book so I highly recommend buying it.

[Mind Of Madness]

Yeah I went ahead and bought it I just wanted to make sure because I was buying it online and didn't want to pay shipping for stuff I already knew. Thanks.