Research Guides: #Art, Art History, & Art Appreciation: Creating Art

Drawing & Sketching

Quickposes
Quickposes is a tool for art students, illustrators or anyone who wants to focus on improving their drawing skills. Filter photos by what you want to practice, set a time limit, and even display images flipped upside down.
SketchDaily
Generate photos of bodies, body parts, or animals including criteria for clothing or not, action pose, and angle. Display can be timed.
Projects & Reference Materials
Via the Hobbies & Crafts Reference Center

The Savvy Painter
Host Antrese Wood talks to experts in the field about the business of art and how it gets created. Every week, we talk about representational painting, abstract art, alla prima painting, art competitions, art materials, watercolor, oil painting, how to get into an art gallery, how to succeed with your art business and so much more!
Painting Lessons with Edward A Burke
The intention of these lessons is to provide basic painting skills and to also move you beyond fundamental techniques; to help you explore the endless possibilities of creating art through painting in your own unique aesthetics.

LensWork
These short 2-4 minute talks focus on the creative process in fine art photography. LensWork editor Brooks Jensen side-steps techno-talk and artspeak to offer a stimulating mix of ideas, experience, and observations from his 35 years as a fine art photographer, writer, and publisher. Topics include a wide range of subjects from finding subject matter to presenting your work and building an audience.

Geoff Lawrence
Numerous free digital photography tutorials covering all aspects of photography.
Digital Photography School
Digital photography tips and tutorials for camera owners of all levels.

Ceramic Arts Network: Freebies
Free guides to working with ceramics from the American Ceramic Society.
Thingiverse
Find or share design files for 3D-printed objects.

Design Elements: A Graphic Style Manual: Understanding the Rules and Knowing When to Break Them by Timothy Samara
Published: 2007

Graphic design is a'visual language,'and brilliance is recognized in designers whose work seems to break all the rules, yet communicates its messages clearly.This book is a fun and accessible handbook that presents the fundamentals of design in lists, tips, brief text, and examples.
Graphic Design School by Abbie Vickress; David Dabner; Sandra Stewart; Eric Zempol
Published: 2017

The essential introduction to graphic design for the digital era. Provides a comprehensive introduction to visual design for modern media.
Telling the Design Story by Amy Huber
Published: 2017

This book teaches designers to craft cohesive and innovative presentations through storytelling. From the various stages of the creative process to the nuts and bolts of writing for impact, speaking skills, and creating visuals, Amy Huber provides a comprehensive approach for designers creating presentations for clients
White Space Is Not Your Enemy by Kim Golombisky; Rebecca Hagen
Published: 2016

A practical graphic design and layout guide that introduces concepts and practices necessary for producing effective visual communication across a variety of formats—from web to print.