Reviews (114)

Highly enlightening- great for beginners!
...it's a solid treatment on the basics of drawing, yet it's not geared towards my *main* interest: learning to draw from memory.
An effective way to learn drawing !
I discover the book in a previous edition, and this one resume lots of experience and tips to help the aspirant "artist" in the process. It definitely help to supplement it with the workbook, but not necessary. I also had the opportunity to take the class this summer in Cambridge (UK) and I will sum it up in two words : It works !
a great read
this book has alot of needless right brain/left brain info that to me is just there for page filling and with that said... this is pound for pound the best book on learning to SEE really well and really fast. I have many drawing books and this one really helped me alot as far as seeing goes after I finshed the book and all its exercises I was doing like like portrates for the first time in my life
Read more

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Brain    4. Cerebral dominance    5. Creativity    6. Drawing    7. Reference    8. Technique    9. Techniques - Drawing    10. Techniques - General    11. Visual perception    12. Art / Drawing    13. Art techniques & materials    14. Drawing & drawings   

Reviews (8)

Amazing Japanese Tattoo Art
This book is a great reference for tattoo artists and other artists that enjoy the art of Japanese tattooing.

fabulous photos, unique access, lost opportunities
It appears to be the sad fate of English-language books on the Japanese tattoo that they so rarely combine all the desired publishing strengths--first-rate photography, unique insights, disciplined writing, and careful documentation--in a single volume.And this is disappointingly the case with Takahiro Kitamura's "Bushido: Legacies of the Japanese Tattoo."The book includes, as previous reviewers have noted, stunningly beautiful photographs, and it benefits mightily from the personal access of Kitamura (who tattoos as the artist Horitaka) to modern practitioners of the Japanese tattoo. However, it is also the case that only a minute percentage of the book's illustrations are captioned and explained, the text keeps shifting perspective and voice, and the glossaries and index are inadequate. Excellent book
Best tattoo book I've ever seen.Large, colorful pictures, detailed descriptions, and beautiful artwork.I had to drive all the way to Japantown in San Francisco to find the book because it's out of print or something, but it was worth the wait.Pick this up, you won't be disappointed... ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Antiques & Collectibles    2. Antiques/Collectibles    3. Beauty & Grooming - General    4. Books    5. Fashion & Grooming    6. Japan    7. Social life and customs    8. Tattooing    9. Body art & tattooing    10. The Arts: General Issues   

Reviews (1)

ambitious room murals
I have been trying to get this book for over a year - I kept ordering it and it kept getting delayed. But now that it's here *sigh* what a marvel!gorgeous, giant fold-out illustrations of ambitious rooms sets shown in great detail.The text is a little hard to follow, but there is some interesting information about the designs, and process of printing this hugepanels. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Decoration & Ornament    4. Design - Decorative    5. European    6. Antiques & Collectibles / General    7. Antiques & collectables: pictures, prints & maps    8. Europe    9. Graphic design    10. Interior design   

Reviews (2)

Inspiring
It's inpiring and educating. Definitely worth your time.Great collection of designs - especially for the letterheads.

The latest, and freshest, in the Rockport series
Rockport Publishers continues their long-running design book series with Letterhead & Logo Design 9, this volume by Christopher Simmons and his San Francisco design firm MINE. The designs presented in the book were selected from over 3000 submissions from identity designers in 38 states and 40 countries. With a new spin on the publication series, the nearly 300 examples of logos, stationery packages, and other promotional items presented in this volume are organized by attributes, rather than the usual categorization by industry or type of client.The selection of designs exhibited was based on beauty, wit and whimsy, simplicity, subtlety, virtuosity, typography, materiality and miscellany. The latest, and freshest, addition to the on-going Rockport collection will elicit many "damn, why didn't I think of that?" thoughts and provide a great deal of inspiration to any graphic designer with even the slightest interest in logo design.- Jeff Fisher, writer of bLog-oMotives and "Logo Notions" at CreativeLatitude.com ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Commercial - Advertising    4. Design - General    5. Graphic Arts - General    6. Art / Graphic Arts    7. Graphic design   

Reviews (6)

very original designs
I found this book very helpful in my artwork. I also was very pleasantly surprised to find it enjoyable to read. There are stories of folklore explaining the beginings of the differents dragons and thier formations from one type to the other. The designs themselves are beautiful to look at. I am constantly researching diffrent designs/drawings of dragons and find few that I like. I was very pleased with this book and its one of my favorites among the rest of my collection.

Great Book of Dragon Patterns:the Ultimate Design sourcebook for Artists and craftspeople
I love not only do you get help with drawing and patterns, you get a history lesson on types if dragons.

Dragons galore
Dragons galore, the renditions of the dragons in this book are great as far as they go, there are a lot of dragon heads, there could have been more on the body, having said that I would like to congratulate the writer on the dragon law and types of different dragons, even though short and concise it was very interesting giving the reader a reasonable amount of information on different breeds and sub species of dragon.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Arts And Crafts    2. Crafts & Hobbies    3. Crafts / Hobbies    4. Dragons    5. Dragons in art    6. General    7. Hobbies/Crafts    8. Reference    9. Subjects & Themes - General    10. Techniques - Drawing    11. Crafts & Hobbies / Woodwork    12. Decorative arts & crafts   

Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. Commercial - General    3. Commercial Building Construction    4. Commercial buildings    5. Decorating    6. Decoration    7. Design & Drafting    8. Home Improvement / Construction    9. Interior Design - General    10. Interior Design - Professional Reference    11. Residential Interior Design    12. United States    13. Architecture / Interior Design    14. Interior design    15. Public buildings: civic, commercial, industrial, etc   

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Careers - General    4. Color    5. Color Theory    6. Color in art    7. Color in design    8. Graphic Arts - General    9. Art / Graphic Arts    10. Industrial / Commercial Art & Design   

Editorial Review

Hunter S. Thompson, in his drunken, rambling introduction to this volume of paintings and illustrations, calls Ralph Steadman "the Albert Gore of twentieth century art." It's hard to imagine a less apt appellation: Steadman's drawings and paintings are the wild antithesis of the notoriously stiff V.P. His pop art is also the opposite of Warhol's clean lines and soulless imagery; it screams with pain and nightmare power. While Steadman is best known for his illustrations to Thompson's Read more

Reviews (14)

One of His Best!
I love his work, have since he did the cover art and animation for Pink Floyd The Wall. This book is worth grabbing if you respect the artistic value of total insanity and the furthering of freedom of expression.

Gonzo forever!
May the ghost of Hunter S. Thompson come down and become the next President of the United States - and may Ralph Steadman be his Art Director!

Plastered from the master.

Read more

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Comics & Cartoons    4. Graphic Satire And Humor    5. Individual Artist    6. Steadman, Ralph    7. Humor / Cartoons   

Editorial Review

Sexy, modern, and unabashedly consumer-oriented, Art Deco was a new kind of style, flourishing at a time of rapid technological change and social upheaval. Lacking the philosophical basis of other European design movements, Deco borrowed motifs from numerous sources--Japan, Africa, ancient Egyptian and Mayan cultures, avant-garde European art--simply to create novel visual effects. Read more

Reviews (3)

Excellent - Good scope and global reach.
Bought it - read it - refer to it as a source and to unashameably copy.
The greatest book on Art Deco!
This book is an absolute triumph. First, it is positively gorgeous - the images just leap off the pages.Second, the essays are more in-depth, engaging, and informative than any other book I've found on the subject.This book discusses every facet of Art Deco as well: it explores the origins at the Paris Exhibition in 1925, goes through the influence in East Asia, Latin America, and South Africa, not to mention Europe. A great chapter on Deco in Hollywood; also explores all of the sources, iconography - and all of this on top of covering every aspect of the movement - ceramics, jewelry, fashion, architecture, glass, photography, graphic design, bookbindings, travel and transport, and so so much more - with stunning visuals.A fantastic read, a great resource, a beautiful work, and an absolute MUST for anyone interested in the subject! Well worth the money, and a fantastic addition to any library.Highly recommended!

The first and last word on Deco.
A sumptuous coffee-table book of this exuberant art style and I think it could well become the standard book on the subject.The forty essays are divided into four sections, Sources and Iconography, 1925 Paris Exhibition, Spread of Deco and finally Deco World, and I liked the way, especially in Sources and Iconography, that the authors explain how various art styles were moulded into deco art which culminated in the very influential 1925 Paris show.Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Antiques/Collectibles    3. Art    4. Art & Art Instruction    5. Art deco    6. Art, Modern    7. Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions - Museum    8. Design - Decorative    9. Exhibitions    10. General    11. History - Modern (Late 19th Century to 1945)    12. Art / Design / Decorative   

Editorial Review

"A is for Amy who fell down the stairs. B is for Basil assaulted by bears. C is for Clara who wasted away. D is for Desmond thrown out of a sleigh..." The rhyming couplets of this grim abecedarian are familiar, of course, to devotees of macabre humor, but the darkly crosshatched drawings are (as Poe put it) "the soul of the plot." Several years went by during which Read more

Reviews (80)

Satisfied customer!
I was very pleased with the product that I ordered as well as the time it took to receive it - hardly any time at all!

Great book - fast read ;o)
One of the most imaginative books I've ever read - I put it out when friends come over so we can laugh and talk about the images.I'll definitely be getting Gorey's other books!

A childs' first ABC book
What can you say about the quintessential Edward Gorey book that hasn't already been said?
Read more

Subjects:  1. Alphabet    2. American wit and humor, Pictor    3. American wit and humor, Pictorial    4. Art & Art Instruction    5. English language    6. General    7. Humor    8. Individual Artist    9. Techniques - Cartooning    10. Techniques - Pen & Ink Drawing    11. Art / Cartooning    12. Cartoons & comic strips   

Subjects:  1. Art & Art Instruction    2. Decorating    3. Decorating - General    4. Design - Furniture    5. Donghia Furniture/Textiles Ltd    6. Donghia, Sherri    7. House & Home    8. Interior decoration    9. Residential Interior Design    10. United States    11. Home furnishing & decoration    12. House & Home / Decorating    13. Interior design   

Reviews (3)

Wonderful rendering tips!
This book was very helpful in showing me different rendering techniques used by varying artists.From minimalist, neutral shading to full blown, vibrant color renderings, this book covered them all.
I absolutely love this book!
This book got me through architectural school.Hand renderings were never my strong point until I got this book. My rendering skills went up considerably (along with my confidence and grades) and I still reference this book today in my professional career.The book gives great examples and the tips from the professionals are very informative. This is definately one of the best books on how to make profession looking presentations.

Questions Answered Here
The question and answer format of this book is useful and allows a different kind of organization to its contents.It also incorporates the work of a broad cross-section of designers.This allows the editors toexpose you to many of the best in different fields in which markers areused to increase the effectiveness of visual communication.Whilecertainly useful for the beginner, it will also stimulate the moreexperienced designer. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Architectural rendering    2. Architecture    3. Art & Art Instruction    4. Design & Drafting    5. Dry marker drawing    6. Interior decoration rendering    7. Techniques - Drawing    8. Architecture / Design & Drafting    9. Interior design   

Reviews (6)

A Reference that Really Works
I have learned so much from this book. Holly Brackmann explains not only the how-to aspect of surface design in incredible detail & easy-to-follow steps, but also the how-it-works aspect of the processes. She begins her book with an all-important chapter on safety and then goes on to explain dyes, fibers & fabrics, followed by a chapter on color. Then she gets into explaining not only dyes (e.g., fiber-reactive, acid, vat, and disperse), but also discharging, screen printing, monoprinting, stamping, stenciling, resists, devore, textile painting, & embellishments. I love the clear instructions of the processes and the amazing photos, but what I love the most is that she empowers the user to explore and become profient in the processes. That empowering of the student is the mark of a great teacher.

TREAT YOURSELF!
Whatever your interest in textiles--weaving, quilting, or surface design--and whatever your level of expertise--beginner to professional--this well-written reference will be your most valuable tool.Many years of teaching experience and lots of research are reflected here.It is easy to read, easy to use and VERY easy on the eyes.Thank you Holly!

Instruction and inspiration all in one volume
Holly Brackmann's beautifully produced new book, The Surface Designer's Handbook: Dyeing, Printing, and Creating Resists on Fabric, is both a "how to" and a "why." Drawing on her many years' experience as a fiber artist and a college-level textile arts instructor, Brackmann covers the topics promised in the title of her book--and then some--in an encyclopedic manner. Chapters on the different topics begin with readable summaries of the historical and technological development of the process. Clear and detailed recipes and instructions for each process enable beginners to proceed step by step to successful and rewarding results as well as remind the more experienced of pitfalls to watch out for and enhancements to experiment with. The attractive arrangement of a hidden spiral binding is a practical element that enables the user to keep the book open to a particular page while working. Safety considerations, helpful hints, and other useful lists are set apart in different type and colored boxes for easy reference. The "why" comes in with the hundreds of excellently reproduced photographs of the work of Brackmann and many other fiber artists. These illustrations make the book an inspiration to artists as well as a delight for all others interested in the scope and range of textile arts today. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Crafts & Hobbies    2. Crafts / Hobbies    3. Design - Textile & Costume    4. Dye    5. Dyes and dyeing, Domestic    6. Hobbies/Crafts    7. Textile Arts    8. Textile Fabric (Applied Arts)    9. Arts & crafts design    10. Crafts & Hobbies / Dye   

Reviews (2)

Great balance
The Layout Workbook if not only thorough in covering the fundamentals of designing a layout, but in addition the second half of the book contains a gallery of examples of successful layout.
A gem of a design book
An excellent book on the basics of graphic design. One of the hardest books to find (despite the seeming abundance of them being published) is a well rounded book of design that is useful to both the beginning and advanced student of graphic design. This book provides a strong overview of topics ranging from the pragmatic (project briefs, client interaction) and the technical (grids, hierarchies, typography) to the elusive (intuition, conceptualization). It also provides specific information (anatomy of grids, use of em and en dashes, classification of typefaces) that I've had to go to separate books for in the past. As the title implies though, it does not cover issues that don't directly relate to graphic layouts (e.g. logos, signage, websites) though many of the principles can be applied to them. It also does not delve deeply into color systems, just looking at the role of color in hierarchies and compositions.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Advertising layout and typogra    2. Advertising layout and typography    3. Art    4. Art & Art Instruction    5. Design - General    6. General    7. Graphic Arts - General    8. Graphic Design    9. Graphic arts    10. Graphic design (Typography)    11. Technique    12. Typography   

Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. Art    3. Decorating - General    4. Design - General    5. Domestic    6. Handbooks, manuals, etc    7. Interior decoration    8. Art / Design / General    9. Decorative arts & crafts    10. Fashion design   

Reviews (1)

Holy Moley!!
I knew this book would be great, but I didn't quite imagine it would be THIS amazing.
Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. American wit and humor, Pictorial    3. Anthologies    4. Art & Art Instruction    5. Cartooning    6. Comic books, strips, etc.    7. Comics & Graphic Novels    8. General    9. Graphic Novels    10. History    11. Humor    12. Techniques - Cartooning    13. United States    14. Art / Cartooning    15. Cartoons & comic strips    16. Other graphic art forms   

Reviews (7)

Nice Packaging, not much substance
Even without text, this book would've earned 4 stars, just for the impressiveness of Gogos' work. Within this book are large, crystal-clear repros of his most famous monster cover paintings, as well as samples of his illustration work.
THE JOY OF BEING A MONSTER KID!
If you were fortunate to have been born between 1950 and 1970 or so, you're lucky to be a part of a wonderful fraternity.Like me, you are a "monster kid".Monster Kids are the generation that grew up with Shock Theater and campy horror movie hosts, old Aurora model kits, classic Universal horror films on 8MM, and...a fantastic magazine called Famous Monsters of Filmland.Famous Monsters was edited by legendary collector and Sci-Fi sage Forrest Ackerman and one of the great attractions throughout the years were the magnificent magazine covers painted by Basil Gogos.From Vanguard Productions comes "The Famous Monster Movie Art of Basil Gogos."Basil Gogos has rightfully been called, "The World's Most Famous Monster Artist."His bold, expresionistic use of color is what caught the eye of little ghouls like myself and my friends.Edited by Kerry Gammill and J. David Spurlock and with an introduction by Rob Zombie, the book provides a dazzling display of Gogos' art not only from Famous Monsters, but from many other magazines, books, and films.
GORGEOUS RETROSPECTIVE FOR GOGOS & FAMOUS MONSTERS FANS!
For any old school FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND collector (and I mean the true ORIGINAL ~Forry Ackerman~ helmed FM *ahem*ahem*), this is like recieving a Holy Grail from those issues. I have both the Deluxe LE 600 copy signed, slipcased hardcover as well as this softcover ordered from Amazon.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Art & Art Instruction    2. Cinema/Film: Book    3. Film & Video - General    4. General    5. Horror Films    6. Performance Art    7. Performing Arts    8. Popular Culture - General    9. Sociology    10. Comic book & cartoon art    11. Individual artists   

Reviews (2)

Very Poorly Written
This book is very poorly written. It also does not adequately discuss estimating materials.

Broad Outlook on Interior Products
This book is a good reference for anyone who is currently designing or building a luxury home, but for a general education on construction interiors, this is not the book.There are many references to the latestproducts, which include both color and feature description that will bequickly outdated.Most of the discussion centers around materials thatwould be used in an affluent home rather than your typical familyresidence, and product descriptions focus on the unique product, not thetypical.Dimensions for comfortable clearance and layout hints are usefulfor residential layout, but the commercial references are very limited. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Building materials    2. Construction - General    3. Decorating - General    4. Do-It-Yourself    5. Equipment and supplies    6. General    7. House & Home    8. Household appliances    9. Interior decoration    10. Plumbing    11. Technology & Industrial Arts    12. Art / Design / General    13. Home furnishing & decoration   

Reviews (2)

YOU'VE GOT TO HAVE IT!!!
My teacher recommmended that I get this book and I absoulutely love it. Karen Hagen is a great illustrator and gives a variety of ideas of different mediums to use and how to coordinate them all together. This book is also great for those who don't quite know how to draw. There are step by step instructions and the illustrations are great!

Fab!!! Well worth the money!
This book is worth every penny- it is clear and concise and shows you the basics of fashion illustration. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Commercial - Advertising    4. Drawing    5. Fashion    6. Fashion drawing    7. Illustration   

Editorial Review

Read more

Reviews (27)

Body guide for art
Very good surce of material for developing paints, draws and even sculpture.

Pretty pictures, not much information
I was looking for a book that would give me real understanding of the way that muscles connect to bones and how they work in motion. This book doesn't do that, and some of the drawings of muscles are so stylized as to be almost useless -like the drawing of muscles of the shoulder on page 103, which seems to have been compressed vertically simply because it looks cooler that way.
Beautiful photos, could use morefull body shots showing face
The photos and book are beautiful.I am happy with the book in that regard.Also it has a wealth of information necessary for a solid education in figure drawing.The transparent overlays of muscle over skeletal structure is great.I would have liked to have seen more full body shots, head to toe, with faces pointed towards the viewer.Really though, it is an invaluable addition to my artistic reference library. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Anatomy, Artistic    2. Art    3. Art & Art Instruction    4. Artistic anatomy    5. Figure drawing    6. Human figure in art    7. Pictorial works    8. Reference    9. Study & Teaching    10. Techniques - General    11. Techniques - Life Drawing    12. Art / Techniques    13. Art, Architecture & Photography