5 comments about Fill Your Oil Paintings with Light & Color.

1. Really terrific book! I highly recommend it for anyone beginning in oil paintings as well as seasoned painters. It is down to earth, great instruction and his paintings are beautiful! You can definitely see his growth in his painting in his second book - also terrific, however the second book - Painting Inside and Out - reads in places like an advertisement for a couple of companies and products - didn't appreciate that much, but otherwise - also a fantastic book - even for the photos alone -



2. I have been painting and studying art for many decades - this is a really great book! I keep re reading!



3. Great book, was told about this from an art instructor, saying this was one of the best you can buy and have in your library.



4. I purchased this book because of all the great reviews it received. I was not impressed. Everything was way too simplistic. If you're an intermediate or professional painter, you will not learn anything from this book that you don't already know.
   
   Also, where was the light and color? I must've missed those pages.



5. AWESOME book packed to the full with inspiring paintings & photos, really practical tips for the would be painter, and help over all those overwhelming and sometimes insurmountable difficulties confronting the aspirant oil painter. Replaces mystery with method. I'm really thrilled to have discovered Kevin Macpherson's approach to painting "plein air" and am already seeing the fruits of applying it.

5 comments about Gil Elvgren: All His Glamorous American Pin-Ups (Taschen 25th Anniversary Special Editions).

1. Without any knowledge; yet a curious fascination for a bygone era, I perused many of the illustrators famous for their cheesecake-girl-next-door pin ups of the fifties on the web. Gil Elvgren came up tops! As Rockwell held a mirror up to the American public, Elvgren manage to evoke Rockwellesque subtleties into his work too. Your eyes are attracted to the girls, however, other elements like a dog, a turtle, a prop like a diary, add to the charm of the work and to the total innocence of the girls. Living in the current "Raunch Culture" where female nudity is pervasive, this book transports you back to another time where the girls exude a level of desirability that Elvgren perfectly captured in his work. The luscious and lovingly delivered colour plates (some 500 of them) demonstrate Elvgren's evolution into the auteur of pin up illustrators, as he progressively developed real depth into to his work. With limited knowledge of the subject matter, this book is a perfect introduction to an incredible genius and an incredible artform



2. I'm still studying and reading through it, but it has an interesting magic that's missing in many of today's similar subjects - innocence.



3. This book is absolutely beautiful. Lots and lots of color - designed and bound very well. Worth every penny and then some. Impressed with Amazon's service (my first order) and the whole shopping/purchase experience here.



4. I highly recommend this to anyone with an interest in Elvgren or pin-ups. Beautiful picture quality, comprehensive collection. For the money, you can't get much better than this!



5. Elvgren is a master of his art. This book truly is a gem at this price. If you love pinup art he is the master. Its a slice of days gone past and pretty girls to write home about. Elvgren will live on forever. Take a piece of history home.

5 comments about Figure Drawing for Fashion Design (Pepin Press Design Books).

1. This is a great book. It is exactly what I was looking for. It demonstrates how to draw the body, face, poses and fashions.



2. I got this book and was not thrilled. It has some nice pictures, but they don't teach much about drawing. There is also nudity for no real reason. Some of the illustrations look more pin-up than fashion. I find most of the illustrations very short waisted.



3. This book is full of graphics and excellent information about drawing the fashion figure. I teach fashion design and illustration and I recommend this to anyone, beginner or intermediate!



4. I bought this book because I *just* wanted templates. (I know that as a designer, my strong suit is not in fashion sketching like this, never has been- but sometimes you have to.)
   
   What this book provides is more of a how to create the bodies you want based off of the 9-head model. For some, this is great- a classroom in the book. For me, who has been working in this field for a long time and I just needed to crank some bodies out without putting in (for me) an excruciating ammount of work, it fell short.
   
   Also, the proportions of the bodies are a little strange and the hand placement a bit rough. I spent more time fiddling with more natural hand positions on the templates than actually drawing the garments on them.
   
   It is a good book for those who can't attend an actual sketching course, but if you're looking for templates- good luck.



5. This book helps a lot, it open your eyes transporting in the world of fashion draw. is really nice material.

5 comments about Art for Kids: Drawing: The Only Drawing Book You'll Ever Need to Be the Artist You've Always Wanted to Be (Art for Kids).

1. My 11-year old son loves to draw. His skills are self taught, and he has checked out MANY books from the library over the years. He recently checked out this book and declared it one of the best he'd ever seen. (I bought it from Amazon for a Christmas present.) Even though he already understands shading, perspective, etc., he thought this book helped him improve even more. The book also has a lot on drawing people and faces, which can be very challenging.



2. I ordered this book based on some of the reviews I had read and I am very impressed with it. Though it is geared for kids, it is great for older artists as well. It breaks down steps and procedures wonderfully and presents them in a very informative many. If you want to learn the basics of drawing I would strongly recommend this book. Enjoy!



3. We purchased this book for our 7-year old daughter. The book is written and illustrated in a manner that she was able to open the book, read it and go by the illustrations by herself. She has been using this book almost daily since Christmas.



4. This book is excellent for the beginning art teacher and drawing student. I am basing a lot of my curriculum on ideas inspired by this book in my upcoming school year. It takes your thoroughly through each step/stage of learning to draw so that anyone can master it! Great illustrations and ideas are perfectly fit onto each page, without annoying "materpieces" that you don't think possible. By the end, you will be drawing with the best of them-- and students will too!



5. The book has enough explanations for those children that want to learn basics of drawing on themselves.

5 comments about The Writers Guide to Crafting Stories for Children (Write for Kids Library).

1. I've been a writer all of my life but took five years off to get fat, dumb and pregnant -- over and over and over again. Well, those days are done and while I dwindle down to my pre-pregnancy size with a few extra sags and stretch marks, it's time to raise my kids and get back to writing. Needless to say, I needed a darn-good refresher course. After considering a $600 class, I decided against it and bought this book instead. For once, I made a great decision (and my pocket book agrees). This book was perfect in getting me back up to speed! It freshened up my creative skills, got me motivated to write again, and had all the necessary components needed to refreshen my skills. Best yet, at the end of each chapter there was an excercise to make sure I understood what I read. It was the best course in a book I could ask for. Nancy Lamb, you are the best! That was the best "slap in the creative juices" I could ask for!



2. If you need a writer's guide , buy this one, no matter what you write or for which public. It's full of usefull and simple examples and exercises. The language is clear and humoristic. This book contens all you need to know about crafting unforgettable stories. I use it to rewrite my crime story manuscript and it makes rewriting something close to fun. And that is something unvaluable as you may already know. Buy this book, pick up your pen and join the creazy community of wannabe writers.



3. If you want to write stories of any kind, you want this book. I borrowed it form the library, but I didn't want to return it. I bought my very own copy right away.



4. This book is great for anyone interested in writing for children, actually, it's great for anyone interested in writing fiction! It's an easy read and has loads of great information. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone.



5. Nancy Lamb is the author of the "Which Way Books"!!!!
   
   This books explores most if not all facets of writing with a focus on children stories. Very dense, her book offers enough information in each topic to get you started writing and to understand story structure. An excellent primer for beginners, the book serves well for experienced writers as a refresher. Lots of golden nuggets in each page. It is a book that will not remain on your shelf collecting dust. It's not the end all book on writing but will save you time and money from buying poor quality how to books on writing. Her style is very straightforward. She offers good examples to make her point as well as exercises at the end of each chapter geared to either the writing of your story or an element that raises your awareness to good writing. Buy the book. You won't be sorry.
   
   Also, Check out her new book "The Art and Craft of Storytelling"!!!!

5 comments about Grammatically Correct.

1. I wish I had read Grammatically Correct years ago. It is an excellent resource. L.Scott Boise, Idaho 8-9-2008



2. First, my hardback version came poorly bound and the pages are likely to begin falling out soon. Second, the book indeed presents some good grammar rules, but it is rather simplistic overall (i.e., 8th grade like), so do not expect anything too great or cool grammar constructions to impress your peers. Lastly, I found several grammar problems in the text itself (e.g., on page 90 it states "These [should be there] is essentially no difference in meaning between these pairs of sentences"), which is quite shocking for a grammar book!



3. I have wanted to replace these books. I think they are essential in helping you write any and everything.



4. This product will be of assistance to anyone who is writing articles,books or even just business letters. It has been a great help to me.



5. The 3 books I've recently purchased via Amazon are far too old. I feel taken advantage of. Henceforth, I shall be buying books on line only from sellers who furnish the copyright & latest revision dates.

5 comments about Caffeine for the Creative Mind: 250 Exercises to Wake Up Your Brain.

1. I have to say that even after working through all of the exercises, I want to go back and do them again! The book inspired us to write our own exercises.
   
   To the person who posted about the sideways layout--I think that's the point. Get out of your cube, look at things differently. A 45 or 90 degree turn works wonders sometimes. :)
   
   It is definitely NOT just a book for designers. I work with engineers--ENGINEERS! And they had a great time stepping out of their normal linear day.
   
   When's the next book coming out?



2. The print of the book is terrible. Essentially a cluster of bad layout/typography. I flipped through and the pages gave me a headache from the all the mess.
   
   The activities are not very original and the ones I did read are pretty much a waste of time. Like photographing 10 circular objects?? mmm...
   
   I'm sure there are better books if you want to get the creative juices flowing.



3. I'm a hobbyist and thought this book would be good to help me out of my creative rut sometimes. Most of the exercises applied to people working in a creative field, not those that are creative in their spare time.



4. After reading the reviews and product description, I was looking forward to some fresh activities that would inspire some creativity for Graphic Design projects that I work on constantly. So when the book arrived I flipped through scanning activities and quotes to get a feel for the book and what it had to offer. I was surprised. To my disappointment this book almost had nothing to do with Graphic Design. It was filled with activities that lent themselves more to Elementary school creative activities -Build something out of "_", describe your favorite "_" without using the words like or as. The book design itself even became tough to read as well with various typefaces, multiple type sizes scattered through the pages. In conclusion not what I was looking for.



5. Both my daughter (a regional marketing analyst) and I (a high school graphics design teacher) share several graphic design texts, and we are very satisfied this text as reference.

5 comments about Vitamin P: New Perspectives in Painting.

1. Schwabsky manages to pull together precise & intelligent critical essays of an enlightening array of painters from all over the world. The selection of images from each artist's oeuvre is generous. Big names like Currin and Ghada Amer appear alongside lesser-knowns with little academic biases. The only beef, really, I have with this wonderful volume of contemporary painters is the miniscule sizing of the actual text. Tedious to acknowledge, but the problem is actually distracting. This may be natural hierarchization, but the text size is 6 or 8, at the most. Have plenty of focused light nearby when turning pages & enjoy!



2. Vitamin P arrived on my doorstep before its scheduled date in perfect condition! Its a fantastic source on contemporary painting filled with large coloured illutrations of the artworks.



3. For painters this is an excellent book in looking at contemporary painting inspiration or even just some of the issues. As I am taking a contemporary painting course this book on the side helps me when I need further information or perhaps a better explanation (if the artist is indeed in the book)



4. A wonderful selection of contemporary painting today which display a variety of interesting painting solutions.



5. I purchased this very interesting and unique book as a review for
   a grad student. It was well-received, but I regret that it had small type.

5 comments about Transmetropolitan Vol. 1: Back on the Street.

1. Picked this up on a recommendation from someone who's read a lot of graphic novels. Didn't know about the "Gonzo Journalist" part till I started reading it, so that was a nice surprise.
   
   Good stuff so far, tore through the first book. Got the next 2 on order.



2. Great art, a well-envisioned dystopian future, and a loathsome antihero. Who could ask for anything more?



3. The first volume in Warren Ellis and Darick Robertson's TRANSMETROPOLITAN is more of a set up for what is to come than a self-contained graphic novel. There is a very brief story, but mainly it focuses on introducing us to the character Spider Jerusalem. We've met Spider before. He is pretty clearly patterned on Hunter S. Thompson, albeit one on steroids. There is even some physical resemblance between them as well as similar journalistic styles and affection for guns and cigarettes. Thompson had a larger than life public image that he carefully cultivated and it isn't surprising to see someone appropriating that image for a graphic series.
   
   There really isn't much negative to say about this first entry in the series except to say that there isn't a lot to it. The whole thing runs to barely 70 pages. Not enough to tell a rich and complex story, but at least enough to set the scene and leave the reader ready for more.
   
   I haven't read most of the books in this series but look forward to doing so. My hope is for a series that deals to some degree with the importance of journalism in a viable society. This is extremely topical, having seen America's journalistic community fail us for several years during the Bush years (Bush was as bad his first year in office than he was when his popularity finally began to plummet, but because the press -- especially the television and radio talking heads -- failed to criticize an obviously incompetent and dishonest president, we were as a nation duped enough to elect the moron twice [though, granted, "elected" might be up for debate]). When those in positions of power, usually some combination of a military-corporate economic elite (Eisenhower's military-industrial complex), control the flow of information, the people suffer. We'll see if this is the direction the books go. The first book, even with Spider's absurd posturing, takes a nice step in this direction.
   
   Definitely interested in working my way through all of these books.



4. This is a must read for any Warren Ellis fans out there. I have been reading Warren Ellis's stuff for over 6 years and i can't tell you that Transmet is his best work, but its certainly up in his top three books. Be for warned Ellis doesn't hold back at all when he speaks out society and government. He has a dark twisted view of our possible future that is more than entertaining. He is a word smith and he certainly shows it in this series.



5. I just recently started reading graphic novels and I've been actively searching for some of the more critically acclaimed publications. I started with Preacher and Y: The Last Man. I found both extremely enjoyable -- fantastic art, intriguing stories, and always a healthy dose of humor.
   
   I had high hopes for the same in Transmetropolitan, but ultimately didn't get it. I can see the intelligence in the writing and potential in the central character (Spider), but the perpetual nihilism and references to strange and abstract futuristic concepts left me bored. It reminded me of the popular cyberpunk style of writing, which I never enjoyed either. So in a nutshell this one just wasn't a fit for my personal taste -- I gave up after the second volume. Three stars for the creative effort and strong artwork.

3 comments about Drawing Words and Writing Pictures: Making Comics: Manga, Graphic Novels, and Beyond.

1. I bought this book for a class titled "Human Satire and Caricature". All of the projects for our class came out of this book, or were somewhat derived from the lessons, and I must say, it's one of the best classes ever.
   
   The text is a large contributor, but not the only one. My professor's an amazing guy as well.
   
   Definitely a great buy if you're into anything dealing with comics, technical drawing, layout, storytelling, or any combination of those. It's structured really well, and a person with nearly no artistic talent can easily be turned into a decent comic artist by reading this book front to back and following the lessons in it.



2. I am a BIG fan of both Abel and Madden's work. I go to BOTH of their websites several times a month and "La Perdida" and "99 Ways To Tell A Story" are part of my collection of graphic novels.
   
   This book is great for high school & college art teachers who want to teach sequential art to their classes. I believe the content is particularly suited for art majors that are interested in the finer points of visual narrative. And you can tailor your curriculum around the chapters if you so choose. If you want to use these for middle school kids I think simpler steps need to be added. I like the fact that people can form groups: "Nomads" OR go do it alone: "Ronins" and follow the lessons independently.
   
   This book is NOT bad.
   
   All the chapters and lessons are made to be studied in sequence and if you are an old timer to comic art you can easily skip to other chapters; which I did alot. A seasoned pro will probably go to the chapters that interest him/ her the most. One chapter that I REALLY like was called "Black Gold" the chapter on using and inking with a brush.
   
   The other chapters on page layout, panel construction, character design,
   facial features/ figure anatomy were VERY good.
   
   My ONLY complaint was the layout of the book. My [web]comic artist collegues & I felt there was TOO much white space waisted on each page, the typeface was too small and that neon orange color used throughout the book distracting. It was hard to read and strained the eyes.
   
   Plus being a webcomic artist myself I wanted to see MORE about using the computer for making comics. It covered scanning, re-sizing, adjusting your line art in PhotoShop, etc. The chapter on lettering was good; but they tended to downplay the use of COMPUTER LETTERING. They make a STRONG point in favor of HAND LETTERED comics; but it would have been nice if they address lettering on the computer as well.
   
   My Suggestions:
   A. Read the book cover to cover.
   B. Do the Exercises. I am in a NOMAD group; plus I'm doing the RONIN thing as well.
   C. Do the Homework.
   D. Go back to your favorite chapters again and again.
   E. Cross reference this with OTHER books on how to make comics.
   
   This book is a welcome addition to any comic artist's arsenal of graphic narrative/ sequential art references. Use it along with books by Will Eisner & Scott McCloud and you'll be fully versed in the Language of Comic Art.



3. I brought an advance copy of this book into a college illustration class I teach. The class was quite impressed. In fact, two students went onto Amazon online and bought it instantly. Usually I discourage shopping during class, but Drawing Words and Writing Pictures is an answered prayer for the aspiring comics artist.
   
   This is an ideal text for a 15-week class in comics. It also has guidance for starting an informal collective class. It includes suggestions for the stereotypical solitary artist, who the authors are gracious enough to refer to as ronin. There is a wealth of info on the narrative process, page design, lettering, pens, and even Photoshop scanning advice.
   
   The authors' individual web pages present a lot this DIY info, so search out their sites, see if their philosophies appeal to you. The book contains multiple perspectives from two remarkable artists. Matt Madden is into "formalist" styles, working within Houdini-like constraints. Jessica Abel's La Perdida is one of the great masterpieces of the long-form graphic novel.
   
   From George Herriman to Robert Crumb, Charles Burns, to Kaz and John Porcillino, the book is crammed with a diversity of styles. Wide-ranging and inclusive, no matter what one's preferred comics style, from manga to superhero to alternative, you will find something to like here.
   
   Instructors will find the bibliography alone is worth the price of admission, I teach a seven-week college comics course each fall. My plan is to email the students over the summer, tell them to get this book and get started on the exercises. The ronins will get a head start and their classmates will lose face.
   
   Scott McCloud's Making Comics is also a valuable college course text for serious students, who have some background in reading comics and thinking critically about the artform. Drawing Words and Writing Pictures, however, has practical exercises for students at any level. Highly recommended.