Camilla d’Errico has gained wide acclaim for her illustrative work, and has been nominated for the Joe Shuster Award and the Will Eisner Award. She has worked with Dark Horse Comics, Image Comics, Hasbro, Disney, Sanrio, and Neil Gaiman, and created her own cult-sensation properties Tanpopo and Helmetgirls. She is also well known for her melting rainbow, big-eyed girl oil paintings, which have made her a hit in the international Pop Surrealism movement. Visit her at [...].

Foreword by Greg “Craola” Simkins ix

Introduction 1

PART 1 CREATING POP SURREALISM

CH 1 Pop Surrealism: What Is It? 5
The Evolution of Pop Surrealism 7
Pop Surrealism—Be Inspired! 10

CH 2 Originality, Inspiration,and Intuition 13
What Inspires Me 14
Finding Inspiration 14
Using Intuition: Go withYour Gut! 14
Choosing Colors Intuitively 17
Choosing Titles Intuitively 17
Becoming a Better Artist 17

CH 3 Tools of the Trade 19
Paint 20
Drawing Tools 23
Brushes 25
Painting Surfaces 26
Easels 26
Other Helpful Tools 29
Selecting Your Tools 29

CH 4 The Artist’s Studio 31
Setup 32
Organization 35
Safety 35
Creative Space: What Is Needed 35
Outer Studio vs. Home Studio 36

CH 5 Sketching, Studies, or Just Doing It? 39
Sketching: Trials and Errors 39
Practice First 40
Do It! 40

CH 6 Composition 43
Juxtaposition 44
What to Do if You Run Out of Room 44
What to Do When Something Is Missing 47

CH 7 Pushing Boundaries 49
Paint with Your Gut, Not Your Head! 50
Dealing with Blocks and Dry Spells 50
Don’t Let Failure Get toYour Heart: Move On! 53

CH 8 Evoking Emotions 55
Tapping into Emotions 56
Your Emotions While Painting 56
Getting in the Mood 56
Coloring Emotion 59
Subject Matter and Emotion 59
Expressing Your Emotional Meaning 60
The Power of Emotions 60

CH 9 Blending 63
Blending Basics 64
Blend, Set, Go! 71
Light and Shadows 72
Depth: An In-Depth Look 74

PART 2 PAINTING POP SURREALISM

Top Ten Questions 78
Tips and Tricks 82

CH 10 Step-by-Step Examples 85
Humans 87
Eyes 89
Lips 99
Hair 109
Skin 117
Depth 125
Animals 133
Fur 135
Wings 143
Baby Animals 149
Rainbow Tigers 159
Melting Effects 167
Pools of Color 169
Melting Rainbow 175
Twisting Reality 183
Combining Cuteness 185
Tentacles 193
Cartoons and Caricatures 201
Butterfly Kisses 209

CH 11 Black and White:Paint Drawing 217
Surface Preparation and Underdrawing 218
The Paint Drawing Process 218
How to Paint Straight Lines 221
How to Paint over theCanvas Edges 221

CH 12 Passion to Profession 225
My Art Evolves 226
How I Learned to LovePainting 228
Finding My Creative Homein Pop Surrealism 228
On Being a ProfessionalArtist 231
Approaching Galleriesand Getting Started 231
Presenting Your Portfolio 232
Dealing with Rejection 232
Validate Yourself 234

Afterword 236
Credits 237
Index 238