Most of my favorite books are listed on my Blog and they also can click right through to Amazon from there and buy them. If they are planning on buying anyway, I do get a slight kickback if they click through from my site, which would be appreciated.
http://astore.amazon.com/gregnewboldco-20?_encoding=UTF8&node=4
If I had a limited budget, I would prioritize as follows:
Imaginative Realism by James Gurney
Color and Light By James Gurney
Creative Illustration by Andrew Loomis (reprinted)
Bridgeman's Complete Guide to Drawing from Life- George Bridgeman
Carlson’s Guide to Landscape Painting- John F Carlson
How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way- Stan Lee, John Buscema
On Business and Creativity:
Art and Fear by David Bayles
How to Be an Illustrator by Darrel Rees
The Art Spirit by Robert Henri
Graphic Artist’s Guild- Handbook, Pricing and Ethical Guidelines.
Get whatever most recent edition is available. I take this with a grain of salt and a “guide” only. The pricing survey they base things on is voluntary, so the info is only as good as people were willing to divulge.
None of these books are the end authority on things, but there is good info in each and worth the purchase. Some can be had very affordably as used if you can't find them new.
Illustration Annuals- these will give an idea of what is currently being hailed as the best in the industry
Communication Arts Illustration Annual (every year in June)
Society of Illustrators (NY) Annual of American Illustration
Spectrum- Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art
3x3 Illustration Annual
Favorite online store for art and comic related books:
Buds Art Books
http://budplant.blogspot.com/
I am a strong believer in building a home based art library and it started for me in High School and grows every year. I had a minor purge last year, but most of my books are going nowhere while I am still alive and working. I have never counted or catalogued my books probably have close to 400 art volumes in my library.
