1 comments about Creative Stonesetting.

1. If I was rating this book strictly as a reference, I would give it 8 stars! It has every kind of setting possible and some I hadn't even considered. For someone that wants to be able to look up something specific and how to do it, this is a great book.
   
   I do have 2 problems with it though. First, the gallery pictures in the book are great, but they don't necessarily correspond to the items being discussed on the page. (e.g. there might be a channel stone set ring on the page where a prong setting is being discussed.) Secondly, as a book to give you project ideas, I only give it 2 stars. I know how to do lots of these settings already. What I was hoping for was ideas and practical knowledge on how to structurally incorporate them into a design.

5 comments about How to Make a Watercolor Paint Itself: Experimental Techniques for Achieving Realistic Effects.

1. The artist creates visual stories of color and light in such a delightful manner. It leads one to experiment how to try her way of painting with watercolor. Especially helpful is her use of masking gum.



2. This book contains a lot of great techniques for making your watercolors seem more natural and alive. I found the instructions clear and the illustrations helpful. The author knows how to address an audience ranging from beginners to experienced painters (I'm a beginner) and I was motivated to start trying them right away!



3. Book purchased to present to our watercolor instructor at the end of our session. It has so many different techniques, and really lovely examples. At least two members of the class have ordered the book after examing this one. She plans to incorporate some of the unusual techniques in the next session she leads.



4. Book has many different techniques.
   Really gives many of her secrets away.You won't be disappointed! A Must for your library.Well written and easy to understand.



5. My quest for an informative and stimulating book on watercolor has been a sucess! One of the best investments you will ever make if you are looking for inspiration and instruction of methods to make your paintings come to life. Good luck in all YOUR quests!

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

1. 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.



2. 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.

2 comments about LogoLounge 4: 2000 International Identities by Leading Designers.

1. This book, like the other LogoLounge's, is very helpful. It shows different logos and always helps me find new solutions from the inspirations in the book.



2. As with previous editions, this book continues to provide designers with superb reference for contemporary logo designs.
   
   Extremely inspiring...at a great price!

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

1. 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.



2. 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.



3. 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.



4. 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. This book read more like a long marketing piece about how awesome the book is. Littered with quotes from people who obviously found previous editions useful, it just gets in the way of what I think it was built to do - excite and energise creative thought.
   
   Some exersices are useful, some are good fun, but a lot are rather plain and boring. If you have no imagination at all, this book may be a useful kick-start to any brain storming or creative session. I would suggest that it might be useful for school teachers too - as some of the ideas leverage a lot of imagination which kids would be great at.
   
   On the good side, the typographic treatment of the content is exciting and inspiring, each page has something new to look at and read, if nothing else it's a nice example of how unconventinal type treatment can enhance an otherwise bland book.

5 comments about Color: A Natural History of the Palette.

1. I took for granted all the colors and dyes in our everyday lives -- yet these seemingly simple colors each have a history, a point of origin, a story: these tales are fascinating. (I will never be able look at blue jeans with the same complacence again.) And this is a great travelogue too: Finlay travels the world to search out the colors....



2. This book was recommended to me by a customer in my shop, following a discussion of art and textiles from Indonesia, Central Asia and the Middle East. I found it to be an informative read. It presented a lot of information on the history and anthropology of colors, providing perspectives that I found to be interesting. In some places the author's style was somewhat off-putting which detracted somewhat from the content. That aside, I recommend the book and have in fact suggested it to several artists who have visited my shop, Interesting Stuff.



3. I use some of the fun facts from this book in the oil painting class I teach. A very entertaining and educational travelogue. I really enjoyed how the author tied different narrative threads together.



4. Part travelogue, part history and part study of the origins and source of pigments, "Color" is always informative and engaging. There is no book quite like this. For the painter, amateur or professional, the book will provide inspiration and a new way to look at and think about color. For the non-artist, it is an eye-opening essay into this exciting world. You'll want to rush out and buy a paint set afterwards.



5. Color: A Natural History of the Palette
   
   This book was highly recommended by a potter on an online listserve for potters. I found this book very interesting because of the travels by the author to find the areas that the materials used in color originated. It told me of the history of the area/country where the materials came from, as well as the methods used to develop the colors, and the people who used the colors. She talked about people continuing to use a color (the painter Turner) even though he knew the color would not last, as well a people continuing to use a color that would affect their health (lead as part of the process) because that's the only way to get that color, which continues to this day.

5 comments about Anatomy for the Artist.

1. A must for any serious art student. Sarah Simblet also has a Sketchbook for the Artist that I recommend.



2. Great way to get familiar with the human body, different positions than the boring usual, a book for more advance artists looking to improve and to know those little details only a model or this book could reveal to you.



3. Excellent book for studying the human body! This book retails for $40.00 in a book store.



4. I got this because since I am not in college anymore, there is a big shortage of nude models! :)
   
   This is an excellent resource. The photography is incredible. The educational value exceptional. It has pictures and text with skeletal overlays for parts of the body - skull, spine, arms, torso, hip/thigh, feet and hands.
   
   My ONLY complaint is that this - like almost all model books - does not provide various body types nor does it represent enough ethnic groups.



5. It's a really nice book. It has some amazing illustrations and photos in it and many of the illustrations are overlays that go right over the photo allowing you to further understand the relationship. It has been tremendously helpful in my figure drawing.

5 comments about Drawing the Head and Figure.

1. Two weeks ago I couldn't even draw a stick figure with the correct proportions, now, I'm actually drawing males/females quite nice ... for a beginner of course !
   
   This books is awesome ... even though I haven't really paid attention to the 1st part of the book, concerning faces (which really don't generate enough interest at the moment for me as a 3d modeler) the second part, concerning anatomy and proportions was pure gold !
   
   So easy, so nice ... drawing made easy in all possible ways ! I'm still thrilled ! Although at first I was a bit discouraged, after reading the book and getting familiar with it, drawing became so fun. I usually spend about 1 hour per day, and use this baby every time...
   
   I plan in buying my girlfriend a copy of this book in the near future ...
   
   Conclusion: If you're a beginner ... this will be wonderful help ... and best of all it's cheap !



2. This book seems a bit old-fashioned in it's exercises and drawing suggestions. Even the examples of women's faces look like heads of women from the 50's. Maybe it is from the 50's originally. Anyway, it is dated.
   
   The layout is messy and the faces cartoonish.
   I am hoping to find some helpful tips on drawing the human figure but I am not too optimistic so far.
   
   I'd say skip this book as I am sure there are much better ones out there.
   
   If you don't have it check out Drawing for Dummies, it is a MUCH BETTER instructional guide than this one.



3. This is an excellent book, written by a man who was an absolute master of drawing. His depth of knowledge is extraordinary, as is the clarity, simplicity, and comprehensiveness of his approach. As an artist and illustrator I own many books on painting and drawing, and this is one of the best.



4. I grew up reading and using Jack Hamm's "How to Draw Animals", like it was a bible. As a professional illustrator, relying heavily on realism for all my work, his books are a great introduction in learning to see correctly, to gain insight into proportion and drawing skill. Anyone who doesn't get anything out of it isn't putting the time and effort into studying the material. It will help you if you take the time to read it. I just bought this book, as a refresher, as he always has something to teach, no matter what stage of art skill you have. I recommend his books to my students all the time. Art school basics in a book.



5. This book is absolutely overrated. Im not very good at drawing people, and thats why I bought this of course. But it simply doesnt help. The things you learn from this book are widely spread on various free internet sites already. Really useful anatomy guides provide various angles and muscular structure of body parts, not just a childlike how-to-draw a head in front perspective from an ellipse. It doesnt help you a tiny bit on how to draw the exact same head if you want to draw it from a slightly different angle.
   I recommend Gottfried Brammes books, they are expensive, and they are sophisticated, but hell: they are good.

5 comments about Complete Printmaker.

1. A very intense book on print making. A must have book for serious artists, who want to expand in their field. Lots and lots of contacts in back of book maiking it easy to find anyone you need for print making! A+



2. I am taking a class at the local community college. The professor of my printmaking class recommended this book highly and said it was the best on the market, so I purchased it and am totally happy and satisfied. It explains the different processes very well and the illustrations accompanying the text help visualize the different methods of printmaking. I am totally satisfied and will use it as a reference book throughout my printmaking activities.
   Susy Moesch



3. Very lengthy but i did learn from it



4. Delivery time was as promised. The book came securely packaged and the book itself was in pristine condition. I save $25 under the cost as charged in my college bookstore.



5. This book is almost a catalog of every printmaking process around. It covers all the basics: intaglio, relief, screen prints, litho, and monoprint. It covers related technique, including embossed "dimensional" prints (aka "blind" prints), molded paper, and more. It devotes special attention to collographs, prints from textured or collage surface, and much too much more to describe.
   
   Best, the tools, materials, and how-to of every process are described in a fair bit of detail. Because so many processes are listed, each one gets just a short section, nowhere near what a printmaker would need in practice. Still, the descriptions serve at least two purposes. First, they may entice an artist into learning more about a process.
   
   Second, and more importantly for me, is that you don't have to be a printmaker to read this book and benefit from it. I'm a fan of fine prints, even though I don't make prints myself. I like to know what I'm looking at. I like to see a mark in a print and understand where it came from, how the artist's hand created it. By explaining each process, this book helps me understand the result of the process, and understand its effect on the finished product. Not everyone sees art that way, but it makes me feel somehow closer to the creator.
   
   I recommend this to anyone who loves fine prints. Perhaps it's helpful to the printmaker looking for new techniques to try. It is certainly useful for the viewer, in understanding how the artist makes a vision come alive on paper.
   
   //wiredweird

5 comments about Technical Drawing (13th Edition).

1. This book is an excellent reference for anyone needing an introduction to or a reference for technical drawing. Most of the content concerning machine component drawings are geared (no pun intended) more toward traditional methods for technical drawings (i.e. compass, ruler and pencil), but the methods given are well suited to modern computer-oriented methods of solid modeling. Engineers in the manufacturing industry will find it especially useful, as it can be a helpful reference for weldment drawings.



2. The thing this book does best is demonstrate the inferiority of 2D drafting when compared with 3D modeling. In several parts, the 2D documentation of the parts glosses over some of the more complex implications, and simply leaves it to someone else downstream to figure out. If you try to build some of the example parts in 3D, you see that the dimensions in probably 40% of the parts I worked through simply don't add up.
   
   Shouldn't the book at least describe the concept of draft on example parts that are for the most part cast and forged parts? Some of the example parts become extremely difficult if you consider draft.
   
   Also there is the combination of some very dated material with some semi-modern entries, especially when covering computer hardware. This kind of thing is almost impossible to cover in a published hardcopy because the computer hardware has gone through two generations between writing and distribution of the book.
   
   On the plus side, it does have some nice examples, but this is far from complete if it is being used to prepare college students for jobs in the 2000's.



3. I can only speculate that this book is, as was one of the previous editions I've read, used and loved, is bound to provide an exceptional foundational education in the skill of technical (engineering design) drawing/drafting for those with the natural aptitude for freehand drawing. Readers will indeed learn about and develop precision drawing skills--whether drawing with instruments or computer.
   
   The true value of this book is in its ability to guide and therefore transform the natural artist's raw talent into that of a professional grade design artist--capable of rendering technical depictions, representations, or designs, at any time, with little effort, and without error. As with learning to walk, this of course takes time, patience, and practice.
   
   I have personally witnessed the struggles of many whom, having necessity to complete a course of study based upon this book, were ill-suited by their own admission for the discipline required of the eye, hand, and attention (or mind) as demanded by the capable sketch artist--to say nothing of the trained detail design drafter.
   
   If realizing the instructional value of Technical Drawing, 12th edition, seems to come at great pain and effort, the obvious question clearly becomes one of aptitude for drawing. However, while the aptitude for drawing is extremely beneficial, proficiency in technical drawing can still be achieved by sheer tenacity.
   
   Technical Drawing, 12th edition, as with previous editions, is therefore highly recommended for the tenacious engineer, designer and drafter. It has stood the test of time as a solid component of engineering design instruction in this nation's premiere academic institutions.



4. .: edit, June 30 2007 :.
   
   New rating: 3 stars
   
   I wrote the original review in 2005, after several hours of trying to decipher this book and find misplaced information within it so as to complete a class assignment. Discovering that one of its specific textual errors made my specific task impossible, I wrote the following.
   
   If Amazon let me increase my rating, at this point I would, but I maintain that it is unpolished and desperately under-edited.
   
   .: end edit :.
   
   As a freshman engineering major, I have been compelled to use Technical Drawing for a graphics course. This has been a profoundly frustrating experience. It seems that the authors, in their zeal to attain unto the dry, lifeless style characteristic of most professional engineering publications, also unintentionally created a text which is superlatively unclear.
   
   I am recurrently astonished at the utter incomprehensibility of entire paragraphs. I will read a section, cynically assert that it communicates nothing, read it over a dozen more times, show it to others who in turn read it a dozen times, only to have my first conclusion affirmed.
   
   There are extremely blatant contradictions.
   
   Terms are used at the beginning of a chapter and not defined until the end.
   
   It speaks voluminously about how critical it is to follow the prescribed techniques, only to devote less-than-the-bare-minimum amount of space to the actual descriptions of those techniques.
   
   The review questions are frequently unrelated to the content they are supposed to be reinforcing, or are simply placed in the wrong chapter.
   
   This (expensive!) book is a conspicuous example of "writing by committee." Technical Drawing may well be a decent-enough reference book - useful if you need a reminder about material you already know - but expect to get angry at it, especially if you're learning the information for the first time.



5. This book is loaded with technical information for the dratsman and designer. A must have for anyone who is in the mechanical technology field.