5 comments about Pencil Drawing: A Complete Drawing Kit for Beginners.

1. I ordered this kit and found it to be very complete and it contains good quality parts. It was very useful to take on a recent trip as it didn't take up much room but contained everything I needed to do some sketching.



2. My son loves the fact that it's pencil drawing and has full instructions. Very nice gift for that person that wants to be or is an artist in the making.



3. This Drawing Kit is a very good starting point for a beginner. In one package you have a good set of lessons, a coordinated set of tools and instructions that are very clear. The drawing results you achieve in each lesson are directly related to your effort put into each lesson.
   Gene Franks is an excellent instructor. Try it, you will like this book.



4. The very short book has a few nice drawings of varied subjects, broken down into a few stages each. There's little in the way of real instruction, though--certainly little that a true newbie would find of use.

   The art materials include a very small sketch pad (just 9.5 x 6.5 inches) and a passable beginner's assortment of pencils and so forth, as described by Amazon. There's one huge problem with the pencils, though: the darkest is a 2B. For many pencil artists, that's the _lightest_ thing they'll often work with. If you want to achieve truly dark areas in a drawing for realistic contrast and shading, you need something more like 6 or 7B and darker (or charcoal pencils or sticks).

   You'd be better off buying basic materials at an art supply store and checking out beginner tutorials online, more detailed instructional books, and/or taking a class at your local art center, school, etc. For a newbie, I'd recommend getting a full set of quality art pencils (like 8B-2H hardness) in a case, a kneaded eraser (vital!), vinyl eraser, a couple stumps/tortillons, a small sanding block (or just use a piece of fine-grit sandpaper for carpentry, etc.), a sharpener (any standard one will do), a ruler, a circle template, and a _big_ sketch pad.




5. Before I got this kit, I never really thought I was that good at art. Once I got it out, I couldn't stop drawing the beautiful pictures he teaches. When I brought my drawings to church, everyone was amazed at how good at art I was. Everyone I showed my pictures to thought they were beautiful. I would highly recommend this book. The instructions are easy to do and understand.

5 comments about Crumble, Crackle, Burn: 60 Stunning Textures for Design & Illustration.

1. I attended Von Glitschka's "Illustrative Design" session at the 2008 HOW Design conference in Boston and was so inspired by his presentation and work that I decided to purchase his book of textures.
   
   The textures provided are manipulated from actual photos that he has taken almost daily. While it is true that he does not provide detailed instruction on how to use the textures in the book, he does provide links to his website where you can find tutorials. The textures are grayscale and not "clip art", but are intended to be incorporated into your own work to create your own illustrations and designs, which is why I suspect he has not provided specific instructions for their use. The 60 sample illustrations included in the book cover a wide range of application and showcase each texture. You also get 60 bonus textures included on the DVD that are not highlighted in the book.
   
   Get this book, get inspired, get creative, and have fun!



2. I ordered this book thinking it was a paper back and probably not very big. It turned out to be a large hardcover with 60 full page images of projects various artists created using Von's textures, which by the way, are shown on the opposite page in black and white so you really get an idea of how versatile the texture can be. At first I wasn't sure how to use them and wondered how the color was added, but if you just use your noggin it is pretty simple to figure out. (I am a beginning designer/student and believe me if I can do it anyone can...)
   
   I love the book, love the textures and have many ideas of how I am going to use them in future projects. I also think the title is very fitting, I would highly recommend this book because any worthwhile artist/designer is going to appreciate the many creative opportunities the textures provide. Way to go Von !!



3. An excellent resource for designers - graphic to photographic. The other reviewers have the details. This is my personal thank you to Von for creating an excellent resource for creativity.



4. Can't say enough about the prepped textures ready to use and the included DVD with all the textures plus more is invaluable. Only downside of the book was the repetitive and elementary examples. Too many vector style examples. Would have enjoyed more photographic to graphic design applications as examples. But, nonetheless, very pleased with the book and DVD. Great buy and timesaver!



5. This book is a great resource for Designers and Illustrators alike. Although it has been mentioned that the book's textures are in grayscale, it is safe to assume that someone buying a book with textures, either knows how to use them, or is able to search out a tutorial on the internet very easily.
   
   For anyone with knowledge of how to use professional programs (why would you want textures otherwise?) it is not difficult at all to turn these textures to color. And in fact, it would be much more of a pain if they WERE in color, to turn them to grayscale.
   
   This book also features great illustrations in my opinion. It show cases some of Von's great artistic abilities, as well as great inspirational pieces created by other top artists.
   
   Don't hesitate to buy this book, it is just a stepping stone into how to become more creative, as many of us aspire to be half as creative as Von himself.

5 comments about The How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci Workbook: Your Personal Companion to How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci.

1. I bought this workbook along with the parent book, "How to think like Da vinci."
   
   I truly enjoyed the parent book, and actually did some of the exercises (the 100 question one specifically). Some of the exercises seemed kind of contrived. If I had it to do over again, I would not buy the workbook, but would instead just buy a journal (as the book suggests) and record your creativity ideas there and do what exercises you desire out of the book and record the results in your journal. This way you are working in one journal.
   
   I do not mean for this to take away from the Main book at all. This workbook seems to be more of a marketing device that a very useful too.
   
   Leon



2. I was looking for something to share with my daughter for her Home school projects but fell in love with this book and workbook for myself instead!
   This is a wonderful book to thrill and inspire you to learn new things about yourself every day! Why rush through it?! It was meant to be savored slowly like wine and cheese so don't rush your way through it!
   I AM a Leonardo da Vincian Thinker!



3. I bought this book and the companion workbook, read it, then had a presentation done for my professional organization of which I am the state president this year. It was smashing!
   
   I recomend this to anyone who is interested in learning how to "think outside the box" and to really explore how to think and approach everyday things in a different manner.
   
   These books lend themselves well to seminars for groups and for academia.



4. At first I was skeptical but the workbook has turned out great. I have been using it on and off at times in my life when a lot of things are going on and I need a way to rethink about what I am really doing with my life. It may not be for everyone but for the few people who are ambitious or have lots of intrest, this book can help bring everything in perspective. It's not even that expensive. Also, it doubles as a journal if you don't care for the exercises.



5. This is very sad book with little merit. A perfect example of an author scamming the reading public. I wish there was some kind of publishing board that could review books and prohibit some from being published.

5 comments about Illusive: Contemporary Illustration And Its Context.

1. I work in graphic design and have to say that Illusive is in my top 5 favourite art books. If you like good quality art books then this it. Illusive is filled with inspiring art from artists around the world with a broad scope of different styles. My favourite artists in the book include Henry Obasi, Stephane Manel,and Sophie Toulouse. This book makes a great coffee table book and would make an excellent gift for those interested in graphic design, illustration and art.



2. This book is better than I expected, way better. Illusive has become a bottomless well of inspiration to me. Some of the art is a little out there and impractical, but thats what's great about this book. The art is both cutting edge and simple at times. My favorite chapter is the one that covers handmade elements combined with digital elements. If you're into cutting edge art and want to expand your skill set buy this book ASAP!!!!



3. For all illustrators and designers!
   This book is a must have.
   It contains the most amazing collection of art works.
   I am graphic designer and illustrator.
   This book gives me tons of inspirations.
   I highly recommend to add this book to your collection.



4. I bought this book along with the "Bologna Annual Illustrators of Children's Books" catalogue and leave both of them on my coffee table. The illustrations as well as graphic artwork for anything from books to band posters and advertisements are beautiful and very inspiring. I find myself sitting on the couch flipping through it regularly. Well worth the money!



5. Anything you need to stay up-to-date with the most recent works on the field of illustration.

5 comments about The Encyclopedia of Tibetan Symbols and Motifs.

1. If you're interested in Tibetan Buddhist iconography for whatever reason you can't go wrong with this detailed book. The author's original illustrations provide a wealth of examples of images in Tibetan art, and the text provides rich historical and doctrinal background for understanding why the symbols are important. Highly recommended.



2. Recieved the book promptly and in the condition promised. The book is an excellent source book. It does suffer from being without an index, for which the author apologizes. A source book without index is less than it should be. Still the images are excellent, and I assume the text is accurate. The author has spent a good portion of his working life in preparation: studying with Tibetan artists and craftspeople; and, becoming accomplished at rendering the brush drawings in an authentic manner. A good compaion book, especially as this does not have a index, is the "Handbook" by the same author



3. It's a more interesting and authoritative reference for this subject matter. This is due to Rinpoche being a qualified (I emphasise the word 'qualified') Lama and Tibetan scholar. Also at no point does Rinpoche compromise Tibetan Buddhism by giving away restricted information.



4. I love this book. Having found it a few years back at a tattoo shop in Santa Cruz, California, I was only able to look at it for a short time but I was able to gain so much knowledge as to the wealth of designs and deep meaning found in Tibetan art. This book stayed in my mind thereafter. Here it is a few years and a couple tattoos later and the book resurfaced on Amazon. Great price, great condition and prompt service. This book is great for one who has interest in Tibetan art and it's symbolic nature. The concepts are well articulated and with each 'type' placed into a different chapter it makes refrencing quite simple. If you are interested, get this book!



5. Great book, with lots of details. If you are interested in tibetan handicrafts, here you can get any tibetan design you can imagine.

5 comments about How to Carve Wood: A Book of Projects and Techniques (Fine Woodworking Book).

1. still not worth the money, go on line, alot better info on the web, its free and save the money for your tools. tim



2. As a beginner, I appreciated the breadth of topics covered in the book, particularly the various styles of carving. This was my introduction to chip carving, and I think he covered it quite well. Sharpening is also covered, but I'd already bought "The Complete Guide to Sharpening" by Leonard Lee (of Lee Valley & Veritas) and found that to be a most comprehensive source of information on that topic.



3. This is an excellent book that covers the fundamentals of carving plus adds great advice on what tools to purchase. Asked if I would buy this book again, my answer would be yes! I messed up on the rating of this book and I give it five (5) stars. Sorry!
   
   David Self, New Boston, Texas



4. To an experienced woodcarver this book may seem unfocused and thinly spread, but for the beginner it does exactly what it should do. The book begins with a good grounding in the tools of the craft and how to care for and sharpen each type. After that it gives you a sampler of carving styles with at least one project for each. It's guaranteed there is at least one or two chapters the reader will not care for. Even this is useful since the reader avoids launching into the craft with a project they really have little enthusiasm for, and then lose interest in wood carving all together. This book should be required reading before the beginner spends a single dime on tools, equipment, or wood. If it's not 'the' best beginner's book, it's in the top five.



5. A good general book on woodcarving. This book could be better if it didn't try to be all things for all people. There are better books for beginners out there for the money and more advanced carvers probably need to buy a book concentrating on their type of carving. I found it to be a little on the technical side and would have preferred a few more patterns for each type of carving.

   My favorite sections were on finishes, sharpening, and the tool section. There are numerous photographs of some beautiful examples of the various types of carving. The author does show some very useful carving techniques in most of the carving styles.

   Sections include tools, sharpening, woods and finishes, design, whittling, chip carving, relief carving, wildlife carving, lettering, archatectural carving, and a bibliography.

5 comments about Colored Pencil Solution Book.

1. I have had this book for over a month now and am familiar enough to place a review of the merits and flaws. Having done well over half of the given projects, including: color wheel, color chart, layering techniques, transferring and drawing, I am more than impressed with the results. I enjoy looking at the photos to see what is ultimately possible to do with colored pencils. This book has been a great help in familiarizing me with this medium that is totally new to me. I am still working through the projects and some of them I have done more than once to see if I could improve. My only gripe is that the names of the colors are sometimes different or obsolete with Prisma's newer color charts, so I have had to work pretty hard to find solutions. I hope the authors fix that if they do another edition. It is a good idea to get the spray fixative as the book suggests. The fixative can change the colors especially if you spray on too much. Working with fixative on your practice drawings will get you familiar with which colors are more susceptible to changing when sprayed. My plums looked great until I spayed them with the workable fixative and they turned neon purple. It is definitely a great workbook as well as a text. Don't expect too much too soon. I advise lots of reading, working, and more reading and working. I highly recommend it.



2. I found the sections covering different types of paper very useful. Thankfully I didn't already order rough paper since they chew up pencils like crazy. It explains other supplies that you might need which I found helpful.
   I found the section about glass especially helpful among many other topics this book covers. I found this at my local library so check your before going out to buy books. Highly recommended color pencil book by many professionals.



3. This is an excellent book for artists starting to use colored pencil as a medium. From shading to burnishing and using different techiques, this book tells you all how to do it. This is a definte plus to any artists collection.



4. While this is a great book it has some serious shortcomings. This is definitely a beginners book. Although I am not a beginning artist, I am new to colored pencils. I have always taught my students to begin with the basics and that is why I bought this book. Almost half the book is devoted to the basics of color and design which is what I expected. That part is beautifully written. I will not repeat the caveats that have already been written, but will cover the portion I did not like. Each lesson uses a different kind of paper and some lessons incorporate another brand of pencil. Even not as a beginning artist, I do not have all these materials on hand nor do I want to invest in them not knowing whether I will embrace the medium or not. The reason I even gave it four stars is that the techniques are so well done.



5. This book has absolutely gorgeous drawings, something lacking in most of the other colored pencil books. It contains all the basics one would need to learn before picking up a colored pencil; everything from A to Z. The book is easy to read and fun. There are no lenghy discussions on the theories of the colored pencil medium: it gets right to the point. The second half of the book has detailed instructions on how to achieve certain textures, which I haven't seen in other books, such as glass, copper, silver, lace... all with absolutely jaw dropping examples. I bought it along with "Drawing for Right Side of the Brain", which makes a fantastic course on the mechanics of drawing itself. The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain

5 comments about Art from Intuition: Overcoming Your Fears and Obstacles to Making Art.

1. Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/RQDTY7WE71WJB "Art from Intuition" book review by Big Puppet.



2. If you are an artist, want to be an artist, are interested in creativity, work with creative people, want to relax, enjoy making a mess or just want to live a fuller life...buy this book! It is full of ideas for helping you listen to what you need to hear, getting you unstuck and helping you enjoy yourself. It is destined to be the book on every artist's shelf.



3. This book is interesting to read and greatly motivating. I can see it being a great addition to any school curriculum, whether it be high school or college level. Or, just a great motivator to get you off the couch and get your mind flowing with great ideas. You don't have to be good at art, as these exercises can open your mind into a different way of thinking to help you in business decisions, calm stress, or just be happy. And, it's EASY to get started!



4. This book got me out of my creative block and completely jumpstarted my creative urges. Full of great ideas and assignments it helped me rediscover my own playful and artistic self! Thanks Dean Nimmer, you're the best!!



5. My book is beautiful, super the luxe edition, cheap, the content, as promised, very interesting and I got it faster than the expected delivering time.

2 comments about Pastel Workbook: A Complete Course in 10 Lessons (Workbook).

1. Clear, simple teaching guide for pastel beginners. 10 progressive lessons. Examples range from simple to advanced, to encourage and inspire the reader. I think it needs a bit more information in fixatives and surfaces, which are a large factor in the whole picture-making process. Overall, it's a good book to get started.
   
   s_tomsik



2. This is one of the best written and demonstrated art books that I've purchased -- I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to learn to create art with pastels. This book will give you the basics in about 10 lessons.

No comments about The Work of Art in the Age of Its Technological Reproducibility, and Other Writings on Media.