In this amazing collection of dragon art, created over his 30-year career, iconic fantasy artist John Howe explores the inspirations and techniques he uses to render these amazing beasts of myth and legend. Each dragon is gloriously presented on a double page spread followed by John's working sketches, explorations of his creation process, and the mythology behind each dragon. From fire dragons erupting from molten depths, to sea dragons churning stormy waters, every medieval, celtic, gothic and sci-fi icon is represented in this celebration of these legendary beasts by a true master.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
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"Peek within at some of the most vivid depictions of this beast that belongs to us all.... Praised be John Howe and may the fire within him never be extinguished." - from the foreword by Guillermo del Toro"
About the Author
John Howe is one of the world's most renowned fantasy artists, probably best known for his 20 year stint as an artist on the Tolkien list, and his work as conceptual designer alongside Alan Lee on the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy. He is a prominent and active member of the worldwide fantasy art community, and holds regular exhibitions and lectures on his work around the world.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great insight into dragonlore,
This review is from: John Howe Forging Dragons (Paperback)
This is the book I had been waiting for, during the past 25 years or more. I wish I could have read a book like this when I started to notice this urge to draw dragons as a 15 year old student, scribbling on her school books.
This may sound biaised since I am a long time fan of John Howe's art, but on the other hand it is exactly what drew me to his work. When discovering the black dragon sitting on the cathedral of Strasbourg in a book I was leafing through in 1994, I immediately recognised a fellow dracologist, one who knows exactly how a dragon ticks... So, how does it tick? Is there such a thing as the anatomy of a myth? Not as such according to John Howe, who rather sees his dragons as the results of the wanderings of his pencil on paper. Nevertheless it requires a good deal of knowledge in animal anatomy. To make an imaginary creature believable you need to understand how bones and tendons and muscles interact. Only then can you come up with a diversity of dragons. But this book is much more than an artbook. It gives us a summary of dragonlore through the ages and cultures, such as has been rarely seen before. Having read many publications on the subject, I was very pleased to see some themes introduced here that had never or seldom been tackled in previous works. Allegorical or mystical, mythical or legendary, metaphorical or fantasmagorical, modern and ancient lore, every aspect of this vast subject is exposed in short but informative sections, accompanied by old and new art and seasoned with some insights into the creation of each piece of art. If you have never read a book about dragons, this may be a bit too much information in one go. But don't let it deter you, you will have lots of pieces of information that you can go back to and that may give you new ideas on what to read next. And slowly get to be familiar with these creatures that none of us have ever seen but that we all know somehow.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Enter the dragon's lair...,
By Tirion (Cape Town, South Africa) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Forging Dragons (Hardcover)
In Forging Dragons John leads the reader out of the worlds of narrative and history and onto the illustrated page. The book is divided into broad chapters (`Cosmic Dragons', `Monsters & Heroes' and `Dragons of Other Worlds'); these divisions are not simply based on aesthetic categories (as these sorts of books might be) but on geographical, narratological and historical traditions. It is as if one is peering into other worlds, into a hidden bestiary of impossible beasts, and for this reason this is not just a book about drawing and painting dragons but a book about dragons themselves. In addition to being an illustrator John is also a writer of both fiction and non-fiction and there is a lot to read here, from the story of the 11th century manuscript of Beowulf which survived the fire at the Cotton library in 1731 to the cosmic serpent Apep in Egypt who tried to swallow the sun. His introductions to the dragons, serpents and wyrms of legend, story and fantasy are fascinating, erudite and very readable indeed.
From a technical perspective the book is helpful, but don't think it's a colour-by-numbers book with those `sphere plus cone equals dragon's head' diagrams. Rather it is a rambling repository of facts and images and the book is filled with little notes and pieces of advice, often including a `behind-the-scenes' look at some specific paintings. More often than not John will divulge both how his imagination and his pencil have moved to create a scene or sketch, offering important insight into the whole creation process. The book provides many of John's own sketches and drafts (his composite image of the Norse cosmos keeps surfacing in my mind in new forms). John's lucid prose and beautiful illustrations make you want to start scribbling dragons in the margins straightaway, so keep some paper next to you and get to it!
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
John is the greatest at what he does (but...),
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This review is from: John Howe Forging Dragons (Paperback)
But... I wish he would bring the same incredibly thorough research to dragons as animals (rather than as mythic manifestations) as he does to armor, and trees, clouds, and all the other elements of figurative landscapes.
This is not unique to John - all the fantasy artists' work I've enjoyed have disappointed me with their lack of attention to animal anatomy and locomotion. Am I being too critical? Yeah - insofar as there are few fantasy fans who care about such things as animal flight and locomotion mechanics, but this kind of art is so entertaining to virtually all viewers that it should go the extra mile (to allow those who are professionals in scientific fields) to suspend their disbelief with full abandon. Also, I feel compelled to mention that the book itself was flawed - many pages were stuck together at the top. To the extent that the ink would often tear free and leave white ragged surfaces when I pulled them apart. I'm not going to return the book - in all probability the replacement would have sticking pages, too. This is the publisher's fault - not John's, and I do want to have the book, no matter its condition. I will always be in profound awe of his painting and drawing skills. And, having had some pleasant correspondence with him, found him to be an extremely kind and courteous gentleman. So, it seems he is as good a man as he is an artist.
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