No comments about AutoCAD 2002 Tutorial: First Level: 2D Fundamentals.

1 comments about MP AutoCAD 2008 Instructor w/ AutoDesk 2008 Inventor DVD.

1. I purchased this book for a class. The tutorials seem pretty decent and It works well within the class. I am not sure how well it would work as a self study, though.
   The advantage to the 2008 version is that it is nearly $40 cheaper then the 2009 edition, and they are nearly identical. A few of the charts showing keys are different, but all of the projects are the same. My teacher is teaching from 2009, and I have had no problems using the 2008 edition in her class. In fact most of the page numbers are even the same.
   It comes with the learning edition of AutoCAD 2008, which is very helpful if you need more time to practice.
   The only thing I don't like about the book is the book is really big, too big to be a softcover, really. The binding is already nearly coming off. However, the pages are staying together just fine.

5 comments about Animation Writing and Development, : From Script Development to Pitch (Focal Press Visual Effects and Animation).

1. I teach an animation writing class and have used Wright's book for the past two or three years. It not only contains useful insights into animation writing but also provides perspective through such topics as the history of animation and understanding the tastes of various audiences according to age group. I've also used her chapter on pitching a script for an oral communications course. However, I often find that her paragraphs aren't all that coherent in that she jumps from idea to idea. It sometimes seems as though a lot of this is first-draft material. Perhaps the next edition will be more readable. Overall, this is a useful supplement to other materials. I haven't found a perfect animation writing book yet, so this one will do for now.



2. An excellent book that covers all aspects of writing for animation, and I do mean ALL aspects. Nothing is left out. Jean Ann Wright really knows her stuff. And buying the book from Amazon was easy and painless. That's why I use them and why I will continue to use them.



3. The book covers tons and tons of topics, which is good for a person with no background in animation writing. But the topics written about, from dialogue to outlining, come with no context, no examples to back up what the author is talking about. Wright writes "Keep your characters consistent. They must be true to their core traits and to what has made them who they are." An example from a current or classic cartoon is direly needed. This happens throughout the book. Under the subheading Conflict Can Reveal Information in the dialogue chapter, she writes "conflict in dialogue...is a good way to get information out and keep it interesting." How? Once again this book screams for examples.
   The book trys to explain every thing and any thing about animation. A daunting task. But in the process, every thing seems trite. The chapter on writing features, aka movies, is skimmed, and after reading it, will not make your more apt at writing animation films. Scriptwriting for film is different, in many aspects, from tv animation, and in this book it's made to sound that it's the same.
   Overall the book is informative, but for someone who grew up with Scooby Doo, He-Man, Thundercats and saw every Disney film and could write endless thesis on Scooby Doo's tremendous appetite, this book lacks substance.



4. This book is abit of a bore and turnoff with all it tips and trixs to create scripts that will please the "buyer". It is colored with a tone of a moral panic that is typical for experts that clame to know what people want and don't want. I think it is safe to say that if the creators of "South Park" or "The Simpson" would have read this book and followed it, thoose series would have never been made - maybe not even Bambi with its horrid shooting of bambis mother?
   
   It also deals with animation at its simplest blocks, it tries to show the steps to a finished product - poorly. It does contain a good hint here and there but as a hole it is a complete waist of time, and a poor candidate for a book to understand the teqnical aspects of animation. If you have some basic knowleadge of character, animation and storyboarding and want to learn how to write for animation, buy books about writing instead.
   >RS



5. Jean Ann Wright's "Animation Writing and Development : From Script Development to Pitch", is a comprehensive and well written book, on the subject.
   
   I would highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in writing for animation.

2 comments about Lettering for Architects and Designers, 2nd Edition.

1. This book was excellent for an interior design or architectural student. I highly recommed it!



2. If you have ever wondered how architects and designers form such uniform letters, this is an essential reference. It is one of few books that focus on the beauty of written forms presented on blueprints.

   Outside, the book has a simple cover. Inside, every page is filled with the author's handwriting; the letters are incredibly consistent from page to page.

   Although the author presents a limited variety of alphabets, she offers many pointers on how to perfect them. This is clearly a case where quality received a greater emphasis than quantity.

2 comments about Digital Design and Manufacturing: CAD/CAM Applications in Architecture and Design.

1. I have been enjoying the breadth and depth of CAD/CAM Applications in Architecture and Design for the past few weeks. This book does an extraordinarily good job at covering not only the current state of the art in CAD/CAM work, but provides a captivating look at the development of various mechanical production solutions dating back from power looms and early machining tools.
   
   As an educator at Carnegie Mellon University, this book provides a remarkably useful overview of most aspects of this field - an area that is sure to define the future of architecture, since 3D imaging is only recently able to be directly fabricated with machines that permit tolerances of complex forms to within thousandths of an inch.
   
   We are surely entering a new era of production with tremendous implications for architecture. Those familiar with the techniques possible will be able to create forms that were hitherto only imagined. This thoughtful book is an excellent introduction to those curious about this phenomenon.



2. I've been waiting for a book like this to come along! Finally a comprehensive report on knowledge of building techniques that exploit digital tools. This textbook will be a required resource for both engineers and designer/architects. Excellent for anyone trying to grasp the creative implications of the new tools. Full of excellent case studies in product development, architectural design and structural engineering that show behind-the-scenes photos and sequential diagrams. In addition to the cutting-edge technologies, this book surveys the more tried and true manufacturing processes too.

3 comments about Design for Victory: World War II Poster on the American Home Front.

1. This beautifully designed small coffee table paperback is the perfect guide thru US WW2 patriotic industrial and gov't posters. Yes, sometimes one may have felt "Big Brother" is watching, since these artistic posters decorated the walls of factories, building sides, and seemingly near everywhere during the war years. The message invariably was "Be A Nurse", "Help the Troops", "Contribute to the effort", and most important "Don'T SHIRK ON THE JOB..MAKE EVERY MOMENT COUNT FOR THE BOYS OVERSEAS!" Of course similar posters were designed and displayed by all combatants, and their messages were all near identical. The postwar industrial posters are also noted, and they were definitely childish at worst, compared with the noble and heroic aspirations sought in the best of the War Posters!



2. "Are you doing all that you can?"

   That simple question, asked in a popular WWII, finger-pointing poster, captures the patriotic spirit that pervaded America.

   Posters, according to the authors, deserve credit as "the ideal agent for making war aims the personal mission of every citizen." Further, "Poster campaigns aimed not only to increase productivity in factories, but to enlarge people's views of their wartime responsibilities." Rockwell's enduring classic images, The Four Freedoms, illuminate this ideological trend.

   How did wartime posters inspire military recruits, help increase domestic production, and sell war bonds during WWII? What were the different strategies used by government agencies to promote American ideals, self sacrifice, and gas rationing to a scared and confused public? Which advertising methods and artistic techniques worked best? Why?

   This concise, colorful guide examines the power, poetry, and politics of American WWII posters in five thematic chapters. Delving beneath the surface of over 150 colorful posters, the authors showcase and analysis the zig-zag evolution of wartime posters.

   Personally, I found chapter three (Art, Advertising, and Audience) to be a fascinating summary of vigorous debate among message makers. How should the war effort be framed? Is it a struggle for truth and democracy against terror and fascism? Is it a battle for survival? Should the focus be on personal fears, national achievements, or heroic freedom fighting?

   George Gallup, later of pollster fame, urged posters be designed to appeal to "the lower third" of the population. Other analysts warned that the Office Of Facts and Figures early communication efforts were too abstract and contained too much information. "It would be wonderful indeed if the psychological war could be fought on an intellectual basis," warned two critics "if the American people who will win or lose this war were so educated and conditioned that we could bring them understanding on the terms we all prefer. But, through no fault of ours, they unfortunately are so educated. And in pitting the strategy of truth against the strategy of terror, we cannot stop to educate - we must win a war. We must state the truth in terms that will be understood by all levels of intelligence. Further, we must dramatize the truth." Powerful images soon replaced statistics in posters.

   The considerable efforts to coordinate wartime messages across departments also generated vigorous debate. Eventually, the newly formed Office of Wartime Information identified six basic propaganda themes for general information programs: The nature of the Enemy; the nature of our Allies; the need to work; the need to fight; the need to sacrifice; and Americans and our ideals.

   This visually appealing book also carefully examines the proliferation of wartime posters, full of patriotic messages, created by non-profit organizations, unions, and corporations. The last chapter, Postwar Aims and Private Aspirations, focuses on the impact of Sheldon-Claire company posters celebrating the middle class home, the traditional nuclear family, consumerism, and free enterprise. It also features a haunting gas mask poster produced and distributed by Kroger Grocery store chain.

   The epilogue, the weakest section by far, argues that the change in postwar workplace posters reflected a more condescending air toward workers, explicit anti-union messages, and the renewnal of industrial conflict between management and labor. This thin section seems both out-of-place and a disjointed conclusion.

   Design for Victory, despite this somewhat weak ending, should satisfy the curiousities of graphic designers, artists, historians, and scholars interested in advertising methods and persuasive communication.




3. Anyone intersted in the graphic stylism, the stark imagery, the sometimes disturbing and sometimes hilarious generalizations made in American Propaganda during World War Two should check out this book. It contains many posters that I've not seen in print before, but unfortunately leaves many others out. From an academic, historical perspective the documentation and historical explanations for the U.S. propaganda machine are too brief. Still, the poster reproductions are fantastic, mostly in color. I would also reccomend Anthony Rhodes "Propaganda: The Art of Persuasion" for a look at other countries' propaganda from the same time period.

1 comments about How Designers Think, Fourth Edition: The Design Process Demystified.

1. I have followed the many editions of this book. It is a classic. In this latest offering, the author has managed to keep it up to date - not easy in today's fast changing world. Well done. Look forward to the next edition.

1 comments about Handmade (Poster Collection).

1. another little thin nice book. Great content. I wish it bigger. All book of the poster collection series are too small. why?

2 comments about The Early Childhood Curriculum: Inquiry Learning Through Integration.

1. There are all kinds of teachers: bad ones, good ones, and fine ones. Morehouse and Krogh fall into the FINEST of FINE TEACHERS category. You can trust a book written by such people.



2. Really 4.5 Starts, not 4.
   
   Krough & Morehouse present a very, very developmentally appropriate perspective on curriculums, programs, and models for early childhood education. I appreciate how they integrate Montessori, Reggio Emilia, and Head Start into their approach rather than presenting them in isolation in a 1-2-3 form. They truly believe that curriculum is about activities and experiences as springboards for exploration, not lock-step models.
   
   One big problem, though: No High Scope. Everyone may not agree with its Piagetian-focused approach, but few can deny its major influence and visibility in early childhood. I do not see any of its terms (Plan-Do-Review, Active Learning, Key Developmental Indicators/Key Experiences) mentioned. That is surprising and, unfortunately, makes this book neglect something that others (namely Kostelnik et. al's book) covers extensively.
   
   Otherwise, this is a fine secondary or tertiary text to keep on one's professional shelf.

No comments about Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire 4.0 Mechanica Tutorial (Structure/Thermal).