Champ Masters wrote:Well, I couldn't resist it any longer. . .after receiving my sketch card and seeing all the other cool sketch cards that people have been getting, I knew I just had to have more!! I purchased another copy of your book Talon, just to get another sketch card!

And I must say, I'm very pleased with having got the one and only Jacquline Montarri! Bravo Talon, you never cease to amaze! Keep up the excellent work and thank you very much!
Thanks so much! I definitely appreciate your support and I'm glad you like the drawing(s). Maybe you can give the second book as a Christmas gift?
On a quick side note, I always heard that faces and hands are the hardest features to draw, and as a dabbler in art, I have to agree with that. But you Talon seem to have no problems whatsoever. I was just wondering if you have any reference books or materials that you've used to help you learn to draw portraits so well, or is it just natural talent and practice?
It's a little of both. Faces were one of the first things I learned to draw as a child. My dad is an artist and I got him to show me the basics early on. Hands mostly came with a lot of practice. My traditional problem areas have always been hips and legs, but I've nearly got those down at this point now. For books, I recommend
Artistic Anatomy by Dr. Paul Richer,
Drawing Cutting Edge Anatomy by Christopher Hart,
How To Draw The Human Head by Louise Gordon and, although I don't actually own this one myself,
Drawing Dynamic Hands by Burne Hogarth. Of course no fantasy illustrator should be without
How To Draw Comics The Marvel Way by Stan Lee and John Buscema. Your local Barnes & Noble or Borders or Books-A-Million or whatever should have something useful in the art section. There's hundreds of books available on the subject. Actually the
How To Draw Manga series are actually pretty decent.
-Talon