Jeff Miracola's Fantasy Art Workshop: Acrylic Painting Techniques

An artist and illustrator for commercial franchises including Magic: The Gathering and World of Warcraft, Jeff Miracola serves as enthusiastic host of this well-produced instructional guide to acrylic painting. Designed for levels ranging from beginners to professionals (who may get a burst of fresh inspiration), the four-disc Acrylic Painting Techniques touches on Miracola's work history—from his big break through Wizards of the Coast up to his current popularity on YouTube—before jumping into the painstaking process of creating a project, here using a forest fairy creature as an example. Providing step-by-step detail, the program covers thumbnail drawings, photographic references (Miracola uses his wife as a model and gets close-ups of outdoor leaves to help duplicate the right lighting), preparing the painting surface (which include canvas and watercolor paper), making a color study, applying art masking fluid, painting the background, applying texture, airbrushing, and more. The first two discs comprise the main program, while the last two feature a plethora of behind-the-scenes segments such as a studio walkthrough and tips on color mixing and figure drawing. Serving up a comprehensive master class taught by an inspiring and knowledgeable teacher, this is highly recommended. Aud: J, H, C, P. (J. Williams-Wood)