No comments about Painting Cats.

1 comments about Materials, Process, Print: Creative Ideas for Graphic Design.

1. Materials Process and Print provides a great library of resources for any designer to draw from. Not only do they give an in depth description of the processes available, but they show examples of those processes in use. I've referenced it for a number of projects already and have gotten great results.

4 comments about The Worldwide History of Dress.

1. For a doll artist who is constantly looking for fashionn inspiration this book is a must. Color photos are fantastic, some pictures show steps to wearing a garment. Anyone who is interested in other cultures, fashion and world history this book covers it all.The price is well worth it.



2. This is one of the most beautiful books I've had the pleasure of reading. If you are at all interested in world culture, or history or people and their clothing, you must add The Worldwide History of Dress to your collection. Within this text you will find everything you ever wanted to know about the history of fashion and gain new insight into the different customs and traditions of world civilization. It is a remarkable book and I highly recommend it.



3. I spent a lot of time over the last week searching Amazon for a book that covers the history of textiles from all over the world, to no avail. I saw this book at Border's this morning and was amazed by it - it's exactly what I've been looking for! I don't know how this didn't show up in searches before, but I'm glad I came across it at the store and had a chance to look through it. This is first on my Amazon to-buy list for when I get my next paycheck.



4. You need this book if you love clothes. Monographs on Dior and Chanel will always be generated by fans and fashion houses. But our design inspiration -the origin of all dress design - can be found on every page of this beautifully illustrated volume. This vast compilation of artisanal, native, and vernacular clothing is compulsory read for the fashion lover, dress historian, and costume or fashion designer. The Worldwide History of Dress fills a gaping void: there is absolutely nothing like this compendium of international dress currently on the bookshelf.

5 comments about Best of Business Card Design 7 (Best of Business Card Design).

1. pue and clear pictures. easy to understand. inspirational for graphic artist who wants to be inspired



2. The best of the best business card design. A great assortment of different design styles. Fun to look at and very inspirational. I'd say if one HAD to find a gripe it would be that they seem to include a bit too many designs that require special printing or die cutting that are beyond the means of many clients. But hey, that's not really the point of the book is it! It is full of designs that will make your mouth water!



3. on time, great delivery and perfect condition, overall 5 of 5. Will shop here again.



4. Rockport books are always great for getting an updated idea of what's changing in graphic design around the world. Graphic Design is always changing, just like clothes styles, art, movies, music.



5. Wspaniala ksiazka! Polecam serdecznie grafikom, designerom i wszyskim innym zajmujacym sie projektowaniem wizytowek. Jest skad zaczerpnac inspiracji. Po takiej ksiazce Twoje wizytowki juz nigdy nie beda takie same... I chyba o to chodzi.

5 comments about Noah's Ark.

1. Poortvliet provides an unexpected delight in his telling of the Noah's Ark story through the prism of his youth and memories. The drawings are remarkable in their humanity. He has created a book that is a must have for adults, particularly animal lovers, and children to share.



2. One of the most beautifully illustrated books ever. The artwork is superb and the narrative sublime by someone who appreciates the design in nature. I cant imagine anyone not really treasuring this book, for young and old alike.



3. 
   I have had the larger, original version of this book for thirty years or so, and I wanted to get it for my grandson's fifth birthday. Unfortunately, the larger version was no longer available, but this one filled the bill nicely. It is a perfect size, and it has perfect content for bedtime stories. Plus, none of the excellent pages was left out. Rien Poortvliet is a magnificent artist, and a thoughtful one, at that.



4. The illustrations in this volume are amazing. I love the format. It's much like a personal journal with sketches to enhance the artist's viewpoint. I will definately consider purchasing everything that is available by this author after seeing this beloved work of art.



5. AWESTRUCK is the only word to describe my reaction to this magnificently beautiful book! It is a huge collection of Poortvliet's master quality artwork in a stunning coffee table book. The thoughtfully executed art gives evidence of the artist's heart toward the subject matter. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!

5 comments about Musical Instrument Design: Practical Information for Instrument Design.

1. I am a beginner to instrument design, and while I was expecting this to be a more "experimental book" it covered the fundamentals of music design pretty well.



2. This book is fantastic. It is definitely worth its cover price; the current markdown makes it essential.
   
   This is a great introduction to instrument design-- both traditional and experimental. If you are interested in building musical instruments, composing for specialized instruments, or learning how instruments work, this is the book to get. It's packed with theory and practical advice, and best of all, it's very readable. I have learned and applied a lot from this, and I have yet to build an instrument from scratch.
   
   I honestly think all musicians should own this book. Craftsmen who aren't (yet) musicians should, too.
   
   This is also essential reading for music teachers; it may restore some of the fun that seems to be lacking in some music education programs.



3. Want to build new instruments? Grab this and a good intro acoustics textbook (I usually teach from Rossing) and you'll be in excellent shape.



4. This book has very useful information on essentially all types of instruments, even keyboard-ish instruments. These instruments are definitely NOT little kiddy playthings - I wouldn't recommend getting it for your ten-year-old - but can be constructed even by those who don't have a plethora of equipment and supplies. Quite absorbing, especially for those who wish to make a wide variety of playable-quality instruments. Also, one can easily improvise. Very highly recommended!



5. Valuable, enjoyable and an interesting read and reference. I would replace it if I lost it.

No comments about Menagerie Mix and Match Stationery.

5 comments about Kids Draw Manga (Kids Draw).

1. I was completely terrible at drawing, but I wanted to learn how to construct manga characters. This book is good for basics, a few eye shapes, head and body shapes, basic motion. There's even a bit on robots, so mostly what I expected. My only qualm, no mention of hair or clothing technique. Now, I've only had it a day, and I can spit out a generic face. Also, I can draw a much nicer circle.



2. My sister had bought this book because she was interested in drawing manga a small bit. I flipped through the pages and found it very misleading for a "manga" instruction book.
   
   First off, this isn't manga; though it may seem very stylistic and similar to the real thing it's not showing you how to draw manga, it's showing you how to draw American cartoons. The reason that it's not manga is that they pinpoints in the style of Japanese comics were missed a bit. The eyes were probably the worst aspect of this book being "fake", they were opaque circles with random shines within them--all style, no substance. The hairstyles did not show diversity, all spikey, while real anime/manga hairstyles had meaning to them or certain patterns. The sections on drawing character stereotypes were very pointless and long, considering that the author could have just written "here are the features of a [insert anime stereotype(s)]" insteading of having a detailed instruction that wasn't even necessary.
   
   The best aspect of this book was the detailed instruction to drawing anatomy and proportions, not manga. That seemed to be the only somewhat useful part in the book.
   
   Overall, this book receives about a 15% in grades, not good. If you're looking for an introduction to drawing MANGA, buy Katy Coope's book, but if you're looking for a simplified version of drawing anatomy and proportions, buy this--don't let "manga" in the title delude you into thinking that it is the real thing.



3. Excellent book, excellent drawings, great instruction. Christopher Hart shows the development of his drawings in a clear, step by step fashion, allowing you to see his thought process. This is fun for the whole family.



4. I bought this book for my daughter who is 12, and she loves it. She said it has helped her learn how to draw Manga character arms, hands, and facial expressions better. It is easy to follow with lots of examples.



5. I loved this book for its innovative way of simplifying with out loosing the creativity.
   Basic four to six steps to creating the figure, motion & expression that makes up the character. Brining the book home instantly drew kids from our neighborhood to our kitchen table where they all gathered around for a morning full of fantasy. I'll probably back to purchase another one of the series soon.

5 comments about Realistic Pet Portraits in Colored Pencil.

1. I bought this book with several others, and I just can't put it down. While it is true that some of the pictures are not photo-realistic, they are truly amazing. The author helps you with technique, and breaks down several aspects about animals that make drawing them difficult. I would have liked to know more about the whole body of the animal, but this isnt a drawing book, rather it is a technique book that covers the eyes, fur, feathers and to a lesser extent the expressions. She gives excellent advice on cat eyes to make them look liquid and translucent, and she breaks down some common mistakes. Overall an excellent book to own.



2. I got some use from the book but it wasn't as helpful as others I've seen.



3. I'm 41 and am renewing the love of drawing and sketching that I lost when I graduated from high school. I just didn't have time for art in my life, but when I finally picked up a pencil and paper a few months ago, I immediately fell in love with drawing again. A friend gave me a beautiful set of coloured pencils as a gift, which is one reason I purchased this book, and I'd be thrilled if I could ever produce a picture as nice as anything done by this author. Her drawings are just gorgeous, and the book is worth buying just to look at the pictures.
   
   One thing I noticed is that the artist doesn't solely work with coloured pencils. In some images she uses gouache paints to draw whiskers, for example. It's a small thing, but worth noting if you hope to produce these images.



4. This book would be less misleading if the "realistic" were left off of the title. The drawings are good illustrations, say for a children's book or the like. There's actually a couple included drawings that I had to wonder why they were included because they looked like good drawing for someone in highschool. Anyway, it may help if you really are just beginning to draw, but it was not what I had hoped for at all. If you want to see amazing colored pencil drawings and some interesting techniques, I would recommend the "Colored Pencil Solution Book" by Janie Gildow and Barbara Benedetti Newton.Colored Pencil Solution Book



5. Lots of details about producing the appearance of details in animals. It is amazing what you can produce. I refer to this book a lot.

5 comments about Unfiltered: The Complete Ralph Bakshi (The Force Behind Fritz the Cat, Mighty Mouse, Cool World, and The Lord of the Rings).

1. Thank you for the book! It is in good shape and will be a great gift for Christmas. My son will be so pleased!



2. There are a lot of great things in this survey of Ralph Bakshi's work. Through his films, Bakshi is in some ways the essence of 1970s by-the-seat-of-your-pants filmmaking. His films, though, are always compromised, if not by budget then by his own shortsighted vision. "Fritz" and "Heavy Traffic" have some great, even beautiful, moments but the pacing is off in each. His reliance on rotoscope in later features is gimmicky, just as motion-capture is today.
   
   After reading this book, I got the impression that in the end, Bakshi is a sentimental old softy. The pacing in his own career was a bit off at times, especially with later projects such as "Cool World" and "Spicy City", of which art is scant in this book save for some publicity stills. The cringe-inducing writing is scant on details and heavily romanticizes Bakshi, while Bakshi's jab at R. Crumb for the "Fritz" fighting seems petty and stale.
   
   The developmental art, film stills, and doodles are the real treasure of this book. Among them, the rich studied caricatures by Louis Zingarelli and the fantasy archetypes by the legendary Frank Frazetta.



3. Unfiltered: The Complete Ralph Bakshi is one of the best animator/animation books I have read in the last 10 yrs. It is not only full of information on Ralph Bakshi, but also with tons and tons of his artwork. This ranges from cells to ink drawings to roughs and at the end they have put a bunch of his paintings. This book has really inspired me and is an easy read.
   Before reading this book I had only seen Fritz the Cat and some of the Mighty Mouse series. I knew I liked Ralph Bakshi, but after this book I have such a stronger love of his work, and how he changed the Animation industry. His films were real, and based on his experience growing up in New York. They might be vulgar and push the line of decency, but his works reflect who he is and how he grew up. They were vulgar for a reason, not just to be vulgar for vulgar's sake. The movies reflect the man.



4. I've been an animation fan my entire life. Yet, there has always been a wierd thing about Ralph Bakshi I could not understand. The rotoscoping, the crazy backgrounds and somewhat unfinished quality to the work. After reading this book I understand clearly now who the man is behind the work and I appreciate his work even more so. This isn't a book about animation, this a book about a man's soul thrown onto the silverscreen and dares you to watch with an open mind. I sat and read this book straight through without stopping. A very awesome and unique book!



5. Very pleased to report that my copy of Bakshi's new book "Unfiltered" arrived yesterday via Amazon.com. The pre-order price was $25 which was a amazing for a $40 list hardcover book from Amazon.
   
   The book is insane! Everything you could ask for about his life, history, artistic phases from early cartooning straight through Harlem Shuffle and Spicy City. So pleased to have my Bakshi fix in one "huge" book!
   
   Mostly enjoyed understanding his life and the doodles and art that is sprinkled throughout. Also enjoyed the dedicated sections tied to his movies. Heavy Traffic and American Pop are my favs here.
   
   If you don't have it...get it. What a blessing...