MTV Cribs (but a bookshelf)

Does anyone remember that show?

Hey my homies!

Welcome to my crib! On this episode, I’ll take you round the top floor of my luxury 5 floor bookshelf. You know what they say: “A man’s bookcase will tell you everything you’ll ever need to know about him.” - Walter Mosley

Now, not to brag, but this is just my ART bookshelf. I’m a millennial, so I certainly don’t own my own home, nor can I ever dream to, but baby, I’m filling my living space with BOOKS and you can’t tell me I ain’t rich!

Each shelf is meant to have books organized by genre/ subject but in practice, they are sort of shoved on/ around as I need them. This shelf is for my comics/ character design related books.

Here’s what I keep on the top floor, from left to right.

1. Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston.

2. Terry Pratchett’s Discworld Imaginarium by Paul Kidby. If you know anything about me, you know my favorite author of all time is Terry Pratchett and I love Paul Kidby’s work as well so this book is a treasured gift from my auntie (who also knitted everything soft on this shelf. She is an amazing fiber artist!)

3. They Draw and Cook by Nate Padavick and Salli Swindall which is a really cool book of illustrated recipes. I don’t cook much, but I loved this book for the variety of art by different artists.

4. Vintage Hand Lettering: Create Beautiful Fonts with Old Time Flourish by Lisa Quine.

5. Griffin & Sabine: An Extraordinary Correspondence by Nick Bantock. I found this book in a store when I was a teenager and it is the kind of book that has glued in envelopes with letters you can pull out and read which you KNOW I adore. I don’t really remember what the story is about (I think it is romance?) but I loved the art and the pull outs. I need to re-read it!

6. The Art of Pixar

7. The Art of the Boxtrolls

8. The Art of Kubo

9. The Art of Brave

10. The Art of How To Train Your Dragon. I bought all of these books to study the character designs and backgrounds of some of my favorite animated movies. Recommend!

11. Why Art by Eleanor Davis. I love pretty much everything Eleanor Davis does. This graphic novel is no exception!

12. You & A Bike & A Road by Eleanor Davis

13. The Girl from the Other Side by Siuil a Run. A very intriguing manga that I need to get the rest of. I often only end up with the first book of a series and read the rest elsewhere (mainly because of space and monetary restraints)

14. Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me by Mariko Tamaki and Rosemary Valero-O’Connell. I love graphic novels aimed at teens. I remember reading books like this when I was a very lonely, angsty teen and they soothe me.

15. Boundless by Jillian Tamaki. Jillian Tamaki is my other favorite comic artist. I have a lot of her work in my collection and I want MORE. (This one is not kid friendly)

16. The Creepy Case Files of Margo Maloo by Drew Weing. These are AWESOME. I recommend them to everyone and I can’t wait to get the rest of the series! (VERY kid friendly!)

17. This One Summer by Mariko and Jillian Tamaki. So good!!!!

18. Skim by Mariko and Jillian Tamaki. I read this one when I was a teenager and boy, it hit hard! LOVE this one.

19. Reinventing Comics/ Making Comics/ Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud. I’d love to make some comics one day!

20. Syllabus/ What It Is/ Making Comics/ Picture This by Lynda Barry. Lynda Barry is my hero! I read her books when I was deep in the middle of a depression/ burnout and they vaulted me right out. I swear by her work!

21. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind by Hayao Miyazaki. Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki are HUGE influences on me. When I was around 8 years old I saw Kiki’s Delivery Service and I knew from then on I wanted to be just like Ursula and I have been working on that ever since. So of course I had to have the manga of Nausicaa!

22. Notan: The Dark-Light Principle of Design by Dorr Bothwell and Marlys Mayfield. This book is a really fascinating read about contrast. Essential for visual artists.

23. Fundamentals of Character Design by CDC Quarterly this is a GREAT book for illustrators.

24. Creating Stylized Characters also by CDC Quarterly. Ditto from above!

So there you are- my top floor. What’s in your bookshelf? I’d love to know what books are most influential to you!

Thanks for reading!