ImagineFX – November 2026

Summary

ImagineFX Issue 270 for November 2026 turns black and white into the cover theme and promises 10 vital tips for narrative environments plus 44 inspiring sketches inside.

Issue 270 for November 2026 leads with black and white art and the line about turning a lack of colour into a superpower, opening with a how-to on black and white art on 20 and Yé Wei as Artist in Residence on 26. Features run Bente Schlick on 34, a forest development sheet on 42 and an Ahmad Hilmi sketchbook on 44. Workshops carry indie comic covers on 50, storytelling on 54, world-building with logic on 62 and environments on 64.

A 3D dark fantasy landscape on 88 and Ian Vicknair's five minutes on 98 close the making side, with Hardware on 76 and Courses and brushes on 79. For an artist who wants to work without colour this month, the black and white opener and the environment tips are the pull.

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Content Guide

▸ Cover / Black and White
p.20 · How to get the most out of black and white art
The cover theme opens here, naming how to work when colour is taken away. It addresses value and contrast rather than mood. Paint one study using only three values from this page today.

▸ Features
p.34 · The art of Bente Schlick
The feature covers Bente Schlick's art, naming the work and the approach behind it. It shows finished pieces with the method noted. Study one Schlick piece named here for how she handles value.

p.44 · Sketchbook: Ahmad Hilmi
Ahmad Hilmi's sketchbook runs working pages, and the issue promises a monster and goblin-filled sketchbook on the cover. It covers creature work in rough form. Sketch one goblin from this sketchbook in your own hand.

▸ Workshops
p.50 · Illustrate indie comic covers
The workshop illustrates indie comic covers, naming the crop and the type treatment used. It runs a cover from blank to finish. Crop one comic cover to the proportion shown here.

p.54 · Start your work with storytelling
The piece puts story before image, naming what to decide first. It covers the order of narrative then picture. Write one sentence of story before your next illustration.

p.62 · World-building with logic
The workshop builds a world with logic, naming the rules a place has to obey. It addresses consistency over decoration. Set one rule for your world and test every design against it.

p.64 · Design effective environments
The environment workshop designs settings that work, naming the layout and the read of a scene. It covers what the viewer takes in first. Place one clear focal point using the layout here.

▸ 3D Artist
p.88 · Make a detailed 3D dark fantasy landscape
The 3D piece builds a dark fantasy landscape, naming the detail work and the mood. It runs as a full project. Build one dark fantasy base with the detail level shown here.

p.98 · Five minutes with Ian Vicknair
The closing interview runs five minutes with Ian Vicknair, naming his work and one lesson from it. It is short by design. Take the one lesson from this page into your next piece.

▸ Regulars
p.8 · FXPosé
FXPosé shows reader art with the artists and pieces named. It sets the standard of what readers send in. Compare your best piece to one in FXPosé this month.

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Editor's Take

The black and white cover theme is more than a slogan: the how-to on 20 gives an actual value exercise, and the monochrome constraint makes the environment workshops on 62 and 64 sharper. Bente Schlick on 34 and the Ahmad Hilmi creature sketchbook on 44 are the strongest visuals. The weakness is that the cover oversells — "44 inspiring sketches" and "10 vital tips" are spread thin across pages that are sometimes two paragraphs, and the 3D and review sections feel bolted on. It suits an illustrator wanting to work in value and build environments, not a colour painter.

Strengths
• Black and white opener gives a real exercise
• Environment workshops are logical
• Creature sketchbook has rough character work
• Schlick feature shows finished method

Weaknesses
• Cover counts oversell short pages
• 3D and review sections feel bolted on

Verdict: Selective read — the value and environment pages work, the cover promises thin out.