Master Sketchbooks: Iconic Sci-Fi and Fantasy Artists Share Their Process

Featuring ten iconic artists who have captivated science-fiction and fantasy fans for decades, Master Sketchbooks will take you on a journey into magical worlds and endlessly creative minds.

These are artists that have created legendary concepts, designs, and creatures for hugely popular movies, books, and video games. Each master artist has their own eye-catching chapter, including sketches, development images, and finished pieces alongside written advice, thoughts, and insights into their unique creative process.

The artists featured include John Howe, whose paintings grace the covers of many works by J.R.R. Tolkien, and who was one of the chief conceptual designers on Peter Jackson’s groundbreaking The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies, and Wayne Barlowe, whose otherworldly designs have prowled the big screen in franchises such as Hellboy, Harry Potter, and Avatar. We also have stunning sketches and visual development from Terryl Whitlatch, whose creatures can be seen in the legendary Star Wars films and who is currently a sought-after lecturer and instructor in Creature Design and Animal Drawing.

With many more masters to discover inside, Master Sketchbooks is a veritable archive of classic concept art from the most revered artists of a generation.

Originally a digital artist’s resource website, 3dtotal has grown into an industry-leading art-book publisher. Renowned for creating high-quality, inspirational, and practical tutorial books with some of the best artists working in the movie, games, animation, and publishing industries, 3dtotal Publishing sets the standard for modern art books.

Wayne Barlowe is a world-renowned science-fiction and fantasy artist, born in New York and now living in New Jersey. He has created images for books, film, and galleries and also written novels, screenplays, and a number of art books - including the hugely successful Expedition: Barlowe’s Guide to Extraterrestrials. He has created illustrations for magazines such as LIFE and TIME, and his designs can be seen in films such as Galaxy Quest, Hellboy, Harry Potter and the Prisoner Of Azkhaban, Harry Potter and the Goblet Of Fire, Avatar, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Paradise Lost, John Carter, and Pacific Rim. 2021 saw the release of his retrospective Hell art book, PSYCHOPOMP.

John Howe is an internationally acclaimed fantasy artist, originally from Canada, now living in Switzerland. He is primarily known for illustrating many of the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. He was one of the chief conceptual designers on the The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit film series. Most recently he has worked as a concept artist for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power television series.

American artist Terryl Whitlatch is an iconic creature designer who has worked with LucasFilm on the Star Wars film series and also with Disney, Paramount, Sony, and more. She is currently Artist in Residence at Imagination International, Inc., and is a sought after lecturer and instructor in Creature Design and Animal Drawing.