Sketching from the Imagination: Character Concepts

This mystical book explores the otherworldly art of tarot cards, interpreted by a selection of talented professional artists.

Modern tarot enthusiasts come from a variety of backgrounds and cultures around the world, and artists in particular have become fascinated by the mythical imagery of the cards. Tarot, originally a popular card game in fifteenth-century Italy, came to be used for bringing the subconscious to the conscious; a way of espying the holder’s deepest thoughts and desires. Whether you view tarot to be a spiritual outlet, a psychological tool, or an artistic medium, there’s no denying its popularity. You need only look to Kickstarter for confirmation, which sees tarot cards dominating the Art section’s ‘Trending’ page. Many popular artists have contributed to this growing trend, including such beloved names as Djamila Knopf, Abigail Larson, and most recently Guweiz, with his successful crowdfunded book campaign including a highly demanded luxurious tarot deck. 

Each item in tarot art has a specific meaning, and this book’s artists showcase their own unique interpretations while guiding the reader through their ideation techniques and design choices. Talented contributors include Núria Tamarit, the Valencia-based illustrator of books such as Season of the Witch and Daughters of Snow and Cinders, and Faith Schaffer, the Los Angeles-based designer known for Disenchantment and The Owl House, who reveal the processes behind finished illustrations that are rich with symbolism. 

The book features an insightful introduction from bestselling author Sasha Graham, the world-renowned tarot expert behind the acclaimed Dark Wood Tarot deck. Finally, there’s a gallery of tarot-card art created by successful artists in the recent past. The result is a special, keepsake art book that combines an intriguing glimpse of the history of tarot with inspiring, artist-led design processes and a stunning selection of never-before-seen tarot art.

This is the second volume of ASTRE, the stunning art magazine from 3dtotal Publishing, featuring exclusive pieces from some of the best artists in the world. 

With 100 pages, 10 exclusive pull-out prints, luxury finishes, mixed paper types, artist insights, and incredible artwork, ASTRE is a magazine like no other. This is a celebration of the art we love, made by real artists. To show our support to a community we love, we wanted to make something that pushed back against AI, showcasing real art by real people in the best way possible, while also creating a true collector’s item. This magazine is a culmination of everything we've learned over 25 years of making quality art content, books, and magazines. Our ambition is to make every issue feel like a collector's item, designed to increase in value over time. Each copy will be numbered and feature multiple paper types and special finishes - embossing, debossing, cut-outs, removable add-ons – if you can imagine it, then you should expect to find it in ASTRE magazine. 

The cover for volume two is by J.A.W. Cooper (367K Instagram followers), an English artist based in Portland, Oregon. Her elaborate art is inspired by the natural world and has been exhibited at art galleries across the US, and featured in a series of her own art books. 

This issue also features Jeremy Geddes, an Australian photo-realistic artist who has been working full time as a painter since 2003. He has 155K Instagram followers and is known for his paintings of cosmonauts and people floating in deserted streets. Jeremy has had exhibitions in galleries around the globe and his picture book, The Mystery of Eilean Mor, won several awards.

Each issue of ASTRE will only be available for a limited time and in limited quantities. So the choice is yours - keep it in mint condition as a piece of modern art history, or read it every day and hang all the incredible art on your wall.

Character Design Quarterly (CDQ) is a lively, creative magazine bringing inspiration, expert insights, and leading techniques from professional illustrators, artists, and character art enthusiasts worldwide.

Each issue provides detailed tutorials on creating diverse characters, enabling you to explore the processes and decision making that go into creating amazing characters. Learn new ways to develop your own ideas, and discover from the artists what it is like to work for prolific animation studios such as Disney, Warner Bros., and DreamWorks. 

The cover for issue 34 is by Simone Ferriero (aka Simz), a freelance comic-book artist and illustrator from Italy who has a huge 431K followers on Instagram. Simz is known for his drawings of ghost cats and modern-day witches, with a style inspired by Japanese cartoons and comics. He takes us through the creation of his cover, then we interview him about his career and his current creative plans. 

Also featured in this issue is Tom Booth (335K followers on Instagram) an art director, illustrator, and author, based in Brooklyn, New York. He has created characters for Simon & Schuster, Netflix, Random House, and is known for his extensive work in children's literature. He talks to us about creating the video game Pine, for which he served as the artistic and narrative lead.

The Art of Sea of Stars is a collection of artwork from the extremely successful role-playing game, created by Sabotage Studio and illustrated by concept artist Bryce Kho. 

Sea of Stars is the prequel to The Messenger, which won the prestigious award for 'Best Debut Indie Game' at The Game Awards in 2018 and sold 50,000 copies in its first week of release. Their second game, Sea of Stars, was released on all platforms in August 2023 and was played by over 5 million players worldwide. It is scheduled for physical release across all platforms in May 2024. On December 7th 2023, it won 'Best Independent Game' at The Game Awards.

Bryce Kho has been on the Sabotage Studio team as lead concept artist since 2020. Known for his colourful and complex, retro-anime inspired illustrations, it's no mystery as to why Bryce and Sabotage Studio collaborated to make this turn-based RPG inspired by the classics.

The Art of Sea of Stars showcases all the incredible characters, worlds, lore, and gameplay that Bryce has lovingly brought to life, and is a book to enjoy for gamers and art-lovers alike.

Unleash your child’s creative side with this super-cool drawing activity book. 

Inside you’ll find over 100 pages of step-by-step drawing lessons, perfect for ages 4 years and up, each one featuring a very cool thing. New lines are added at each step, so a child can gradually build up an impressive sketch, and all the drawing is done on separate paper, meaning the book can be kept for years to come. Featuring awesome illustrations and invaluable tips from professional artist Erin Hunting, this book is the perfect starting point for a child’s journey into art.

The child will learn to add up simple shapes and lines to create something recognizable and most importantly, super cool. Children's love for art will be sparked and their confidence boosted as they realise they can make marks on a page that mean something, and start to imagine their own cool creations. The only tools they will need are pens or pencils, paper, and this book.

Unleash your child’s creative side with this super-cool drawing activity book. 

Inside you’ll find over 100 pages of step-by-step drawing lessons, perfect for ages 4 years and up, each one featuring something amazing from nature. New lines are added at each step, so a child can gradually build up an impressive sketch, and all the drawing is done on separate paper, meaning the book can be kept for years to come. Featuring awesome illustrations and invaluable tips from professional artist Erin Hunting, this book is the perfect starting point for a child’s journey into art.

The child will learn to add up simple shapes and lines to create something recognizable and most importantly, super cool. Children's love for art will be sparked and their confidence boosted as they realise they can make marks on a page that mean something, and start to imagine their own cool creations. The only tools they will need are pens or pencils, paper, and this book.