Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction -- Tradition : Tradition of imaginative painting ; Art in the twentieth century ; Copies from the masters -- Studio : Tables, easels, and lights ; Helpful equipment ; Drawing media ; Painting media -- Preliminary sketches : Games to loosen up ; Thumbnail sketches ; Storyboards ; Color experiments ; Charcoal comprehensive ; Corrections and tracings ; Eye level ; Perspective grid ; Sticking with it -- History and archeology : Telling a story ; Early humans ; Close or far view ; Information and atmosphere -- People : Mirror studies ; Tone paper studies ; Acting in character ; Photographing models ; Professional models ; Head maquettes ; Costumes ; Characters in settings ; Managing detail -- Dinosaurs : Digging dinosaurs ; Dinosaurs in their environment ; Unusual behaviors ; Multiple maquettes ; Setting up a tableau ; Homemade miniatures ; Wings and capes ; 2D-to-3D maquette ; Coloration -- Creatures and aliens : Creature maquettes ; Skeleton model ; Animal characters ; Half-human ; From model to mermaid ; Cyborgs -- Architecture : Four steps to build a city ; Visualizing waterfall city ; Architectural maquettes ; Lighting the maquette ; Clay and stone -- Vehicles : Start with the familiar ; Exaggeration ; Sketchbook as springboard ; Insect vehicles ; Walking vehicles ; Alternate history ; A lived-in future ; Engineering ; Scrap file -- Plein-air studies : On-location drawing ; Weird and wonderful ; Fact into fantasy ; Museums and zoos ; Orientalism -- Composition : Two values ; Silhouette ; Chiaroscuro ; Shapewelding ; Counterchange ; Windmill principle ; Eye tracking ; Heatmaps ; Spokewheeling ; Clustering ; Flagging the head ; Vignetting ; Repose and action ; Repoussoir ; Cutaway views ; Aerial views ; Maps -- Procedure : Step by step ; Grounds, mediums, and techniques ; Texture and impasto ; Combining the elements -- Careers : Paperback covers ; Movie design ; Video game design ; Toy design ; Theme park des-- Afterword -- Glossary.