5 comments about Watercolor in Motion: How to Create Powerful Paintings, Step by Step (Book & DVD).

1. I bought this book and DVD for a friend and myself. I always say you can learn something from anything you read or watch.
   I learned a lot about using more water with my watercolors and how to layer things a little easier. The DVD was too short for me, so I guess it was good enough to leave me wanting more.



2. Although I am a beginner this book taught me a few tricks that I have not learned from any other art books that I have purchased.
   I think as I progress this is the one book on flowers that I will be refering to more than any other, and making it an extra added bonus to the excellent price is it includes a 51 minute demonstration on DVD
   An excellent buy and highly recommended.



3. Explaining and demonstrating takes precious time away from painting. In my adult class I can simply refer to a page or a technique and move to another student. I would say that it is a must for a beginner and a reference guide for the acomplished. The DVD allows further instruction and another teacher at home.



4. Be sure to buy this book/dvd. It is great. The beginning is fairly typical of this kind of book and good for a beginner. Then Birgit gets into the instruction portion and she does a great job. Lots of good info, well written, good photos to go along with the text portions. Great colors. Really like her wet into wet techniques. Really enjoy the dvd also. Be sure to buy it! Hopefully she is working on her next book and dvd.



5. Although this book mainly concentrates on florals, it addresses many common issues that newby watercolorists face. I've take a couple of classes but Ms. O'Conner makes her instruction clear and fun! I certainly have a better understanding of what effects water and wet vs. dry paper has. Thanks very a wonderful book and the DVD is a fab bonus!

5 comments about DragonArt.

1. Ok, so i got this from barnes and nobles a few months a ago and so far it has been really great to use. It offers great tips for beginners and its layed out in an easy to understand kind of format which i really enjoyed. though i really like the colors and pictures in the book, the step by step how to's weren't all that great as they are really detailed and might not be great for someone who is new to drawing really intricate and detailed pictures. but all in all its a great book and well worth the 20$ i paid for it and it would make a great gift for someone really into dragons,mythical creatures, and drawing! :)



2. Was swayed to buy this book by the reviews... Amazon offers several! Well done ~ does a fairly good job of explaining the basics, and the step-by-step was helpful to me. Not geared for the very young, though... would suggest from the 10-12yr. range & up.



3. I got this for my nephew 2006. He likes it and has been drawing pictures of Dragons. He is thirteen.



4. I love this book, I took art lessons and could never draw a good picture
   but I got this book out of the library and my first picture was amazing!
   after a week I bought it and now I can easely draw most things in this book although this book is fun, after your done with it it seems like it was a little short,
   well anyway its a great book for all ages, buy it and you'll love it!



5. Wow! This book is such a value for the quality and content. Gave this to my 12 year old son for Christmas and he loved it. He couldn't stop reading it or drawing from it for the rest of the day!

5 comments about Comic Artist's Photo Reference - People & Poses: Book/CD Set with 1000+ Color Images (Comic Artists Reference).

1. This book is great for getting proper perspective and foreshortening etc. into your action drawings. I'll take a whole lot more of them! Perfect for graphic novel or comic illustration where you don't have models available for reference shots, or you need an inspirational shot for a particular mood. Like I said, my only complaint is that I want more! It includes a CD also so you can reference that as well, but I haven't checked to see if that has different poses or not yet. Hopefully it does. As an accurate anatomical reference for drawing humans or heroes in action, it is great! It does what it sets out to do. Top Notch.



2. Do you ever get that perfect composition in your head but can't seem to work it out when sketching? I know I do. As a comic book artist and cover painter I have the usual reference library of cheesecake pin-ups, muscle magazines, and old comics laying about. A new addition to my reference library is People and Poses. This is a terrific resource and helps me nail the anatomy in my drawings and paintings the first time. People and Poses brings me real life, right now, awesome poses to help me turn my creative ideas into reality. A must for any artist's library.
   
   Brian Miller, Author: Hi-Fi Color For Comics: Digital Techniques for Professional Results



3. I'm surprised by all the positive reviews that this book/CD has been given. I bought it based on the feedback from other buyers and I was pretty disappointed.
   
   The lighting of most of the models is pretty good but the angle of too many of the photos is either straight-on or shot from above. This causes the models to look squatty and distorted. The choices for female models was pretty poor. I'm sure they are very beautiful in real life but their body types are not suited for this type of photography. I also discovered that there are photos featured in the book that are not included on the CD or website link. I was also disappointed to discover that the photos are not high resolution. They are only 72 dpi and not very good quality.
   
   There are very few books like this on the market and something like this is a nice alternative to the expense and time associated with shooting your own photos. Unfortunately, this book will not be the alternative I was looking for. Hopefully Scalera will release a future edition that will address these problems.



4. Fantastic reference book for action poses. Has great pictures at varied angles and perspectives. Very comprehensive. Comes with a disc that has even more images and features. Nice little addition of industry talent giving their approach to figure drawing/cartooning. A good book for artist's of all
   skill levels.



5. As a beginning professional comic book artist, I've had a lot of trouble nailing certain poses that have to deal with obscure angles and foreshortening. This book has made things a lot easier, as there are a ton of very helpful photos and tutorials in it. The bonus CD is also a great addition.
   
   A good comic book artist should always be prepared to know how to draw anything at any given time. One should also always draw what's right for the story and not take too many shortcuts. While this is hard to do, it it will help you grow as an artist and stand out in the competitive world of comics. And for the difficult aspects of human anatomy and poses, this book should serve as a great reference guide to artists of any level.

5 comments about From Hell - New Cover Edition.

1. From Hell is kind of confusing for the first four or five chapters. You really don't have too much of a clue what's going on and who every character is. However, after the first murder, it really starts to weave all of the confusing parts of the first few chapters together and make sense of them. Alan Moore does a great job of showing what the Jack the Ripper murders might have been like, and also showing what the man may have been like himself. The ending wraps everything up quite nicely, and is really profound. From Hell is just more proof of why Alan Moore is widely considered the best in the business.



2. Like many, I knew the vague outlines of the Ripper murders. They occurred sometime in the mid-to-late 1800s in England, the victims were prostitutes, the crimes brutal beyond comprehension, and the perpetrator never caught or even identified. To this rather shallow appreciation, I applied Alan Moore's' "From Hell." I can now say definitively that I know much more about Victorian England - its mores and technology, its deference to royalty, its odd groups, its appearance and the way its lower classes struggled to survive. Whether I know more about the Ripper is another question.
   
   From the scattered shards of the case, Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell have put together a near-masterpiece. They weave a quasi-plausible tale that enmeshes royalty, Masonic orders, mad doctors, the easy women of the West End and grinding poverty. That the story is 90% supposition and 10% fact is no matter. Once inured to the gritty and gruesome story telling, the reader is propelled by the tale's drama and pathos. The book employs dozens of real-life characters, including William Gull, royal physician; Netley, his slow-witted coachman; William Sickert, the struggling painter; Abberline, the dogged investigator; Prince Eddy, weak-willed grandson of Victoria. But Moore and Campbell's most noble work is in limning the sordid lives of the victims. Constantly in debt to their landlords, they sell themselves for a few pence - either in a back alley up against a fence or in an out-of-the-way horse stall. The reader often encounters them -- the two Marys, Elizabeth, Annie and Catherine -- chatting with friends, enjoying a glass and fighting with their live-ins. No longer are they merely nameless victims of a brutal and fascinating (probably male) maniac, but women with histories, fears, aspirations and loves of their own. This willingness to acknowledge the personhood on the victims of crime is by itself a great contribution to the story.
   
   Moore and Campbell pull no punches. Expect full nudity, turgid genitalia and sexual frankness where it is called for. Expect equally frank depictions of the savage butchery of the murders themselves. Also expect a conspiratorial approach that ought not to be taken as the final word on the story behind the murders in Whitechapel. The deluding rantings (whether of the authors or their characters) about Dionysian priests, sacred architecture and Masonic deities ought not to be taken seriously as historic. But they do give the book much of its creepy fascination.
   
   The book's main limitation was in its artwork, whose often borderline artistic quality sometimes made the action hard to follow. Thankfully, the art was rendered in black and white. This made its goriness more tolerable, but made it difficult to determine what was going on - what was that black mass being pulled out of a body? The story, too, had its problems. Killing the women was easy to understand, but the mutilations, even under the aegis of being the ritualistic actions of a psychopath, made less and less sense as the horrors progressed and did not fit the facts very well. The perpetrator was mad, yes, but madness has a logic that was sometimes absent from this tale.
   
   Toward the end of the book, a prose section allows Moore to provide the reader with a lens into his approach. He evidently took his information from the many books that have sprung up about the case, many of which sound pretty fringy, if you ask me. And that's before Moore applied his sinister magic to them. Moore is frank about inventing dialog and scenarios to fill in the gaps in the corpus of factual evidence. A little bit of research will show the determined reader that Moore bent many facts way out of shape to fit them into his thesis. This does violence to the truth, something I do not normally condone. But the flip side is that the reader becomes acquainted with the late Victorian era in a way whose verisimilitude (outside of the farfetched conspiracy) is shockingly persuasive.
   
   Taken for what it is - a mostly imaginary retelling of an all too real tale of bloody murder, "From Hell" is enormously entertaining and compelling. Read it if you have the stomach for large doses of humanity at its most bestial and the ability to swallow conspiracy theories with a grain of salt.



3. Moore and Campbell have delved deeply into the story of Jack the Ripper, to present a version of what might have happened, based on what they knew and discovered in the research.
   
   While odd looking to start with, the artwork seems to fit the squalor of the times once you start reading, and the density of the work is pretty impressive.



4. Thick as a phone-book and often difficult to navigate. 'From Hell' is a comic that demands a lot from the reader and not is possible to finish over a single visit at the restroom. But it will yet be a highly rewarding experience for whoever who dares to give it a try.
   
   In one of his most ambitious works Alan Moore gives his version of the still unsolved crimes of Jack The Ripper. Stories of the police, the prostitutes, citizens of London and the killer himself are neatly meshed together with a enthusiastic analysis and ideas that appears very realistic though most is fiction. Comics are rarely seen as intelligent or complex as this.
   
   Eddie Campbell's drawings has this raw and unpolished look that suits the story just perfect and he makes a great deal of portraying the locations, the people and the gruesome killings in details. The killings are extreme and not for the weaker but they naturally also plays an important part and should certainly not ever be left out.
   
   Now, just imagine the enormous research both must have done for this book!



5. i made the decision to purchase each of the 10 books individually. only needing #'s 8 and 10 i DO NOT regret my decision. the individual 10 books are WAAAAAAY cooler than the one volume with the whole story in it. it means you get 10 covers with 10 different paintings... cant get cooler than that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

5 comments about 500 Handmade Dolls: Modern Explorations of the Human Form (500 Series).

1. I found this book to be a very good resource for inspiring examples of mixed media sculpture and 3 D art. The
   photography is excellent and the color vibrant. The level of examples ranges from very complex to simple and
   readers will be able to gain know-how and the boost to try this art form themselves.



2. A lapsed dollart maker myself, I was looking for inspiration to start again, along with other artforms, mixed media things....so this juicy and satisfyingly-sized volume seemed promising. I didn't want any how-to's, because I'd explored that in depth in the '90s. In this book, I found new works by favorite doll artists, (missed some I wish had been included), but was thrilled to discover a few new artists to add to my list. Seems like art is evolving to include even more of what we can make of it and dollart is perhaps at last being recognized for a valid art form. So if you are looking for inspiration, or just want to gaze and be thrilled, treat yourself to this book; it's well done.



3. This catalog of dolls is layered with inspiration, challenging any conventional view of "dolls" that one might have. Beaded, sculpted, poured, spun, carved, knit, sewn, wired, wrapped - the human form is not only explored, but interpreted, re-defined, expanded, and viewed from unfamiliar angles.
   My good friend, Leslie Molen, has several dolls included - I have had the privilege to take lessons from her & am thrilled to have my copy autographed by her!



4. This beautiful book will especialy appeal to three classes of people: artists who make handmade dolls, amateurs who emulate them, and general readers like my wife and me who collect them.
   
   Helen Bullard, who was instrumental in popularizing the art form in the US described these dolls in 1983: "Collections of mass-produced dolls, originally made for children to play with, are everywhere. Far rarer and generally unknown to the public are the original dolls handmade by artists with the same creative approach which is used in painting and sculpture. Their dolls, many of which express American culture, are not intended for play." The National Institute of American Doll Artists is an embodiment of her efforts, and their website is an excellent starting place for anyone interested in exploring the art form.
   
   For several years Lark Books has published a series of picture albums of contemporary arts and crafts. The production process is similar for all the books in this series. A leading artist -- in this case Akira Blount -- asks craft artists to submit photos of their work for inclusion in an upcoming book. (Artists can find a copy of the application form on the Lark Book website.)
   
   A jury selects one or more photos from each chosen artist for inclusion in the book. Each artwork gets one page with one or more photos of the piece and a short writeup -- artist's and work's name, size, materials, photo credit is a typical entry. There is no other text, except for in this case a three page introduction by Blount outlining the history of handmade dolls, and an index of contributing artists with page numbers.
   
   Lark's object is to democratically represent the creative scene at the time of publication. This book meets part of that objective. However, only artists who are asked to contribute or who see the publisher's announcement and can read English and apply are considered. The great majority of the works shown here are from the United States with a scattering of artists from Australia, Canada, Belgium and The Netherlands. There is only one artist from Japan in this book, a serious omission in view of the many vibrantly creative handmade dolls being made in Japan at the present time.
   
   The quality of the photos in this book varies a bit, and doll makers might well learn how to improve their photography skills, especially with respect to shadows. Nevertheless the book itself is printed on excellent paper in an 8" by 8" format with superb color reproductions. Many of the best photos seem to leap off the page giving life to the subjects.
   
   As to various audiences, doll makers and their dealers are proudly announcing that their works appear in the book, and copies are prominently displayed at the booths of included artists at craft shows. (Many of the included artists have their own websites.) There are already over 13,000 references to the book on the search engines; the great majority of the hits are to discussions between amateurs recommending that people buy the book to get ideas for their own doll making. I'm sure that many of the leading artists will be recommending the book to their students during their doll making workshops.
   
   This is a book of inspiration, however, not a how to do it book. It probably appeals most of all to collectors like my wife and myself for a number of reasons. First, it introduces us to many artists new to us. Second, it's a thrill to see an artist we know included in the book; that validates our taste in collecting. Third, it enhances the value of works actually shown in the book, adding to its provenance. Fourth, it is great fun to discuss the book and the works shown with artists we know -- conversations with living artists are one of the greatest joys of collecting modern art. Finally, these dolls are great fun to look at, even if some of them have absolutely no appeal to us at all.
   
   Lark Books is to be congratulated for producing such a splendid book. I'm going to review their other offerings to see what other collectibles they cover.
   
   Robert C. Ross, 2008



5. I would have liked more text! I want to know more about the artists and more details of how each doll was created. Glad I bought it, though. Very inspiring. Some dolls are NOT in the least modest, so I cannot let my daughter peruse this book on her own.

5 comments about Gardner's Art Through the Ages, Volume I, Chapters 1-18 (with ArtStudy Student CD-ROM and InfoTrac ).

1. I was quite dissapointed with my purchase. The seller could have stated in his discription that the book had water damage. Pages were stuck together. I would have bought from a different seller had I known about terrible condition of the book.



2. The item was in great condition. This book was very expensive in the college bookstore. It is well worth going online to save money on these college textbooks.



3. I gave 4 stars only because I don't remember if there were any problems with the length of time between ordering and receiving, but the book was in perfect condition. Thanks.



4. we just got these books for my art history class, and this thing is amazing. color photots, detailed information, and interactive site. yeah, its nice
   
   oh, and FYI im 14, not 13. i just didnt feel like registering with amazon lol



5. this book is perfect for the class I am taking. aj

4 comments about Birds and Words.

1. This book is a gem. We bought it as a gift for our 8 yr. old son who is a bird enthusiast, and my husband and I, both illustrators, love it just as much. Charley Harper's illustrations are at the same time ingenious, gorgeous and often humorous. This is one of my favorite books and a great value too.



2. This book was a very good example of Charley Harper's artwork and how he developed his own style. He was a very unique and interesting artist. I love his work. And his comments that he put with his art is also fun to read. He was a unique artist. I had seen him on Sunday Morning and decided I liked what I saw so decided to pursue purchasing some of his art in books. The preciseness of his art is quite unusual and I am amazed how he enables you to see the birds in their natural habitat by using the utensils he used to create his art. I would love to see some of his silk screen work. He paid attention to detail and color and it is reflected in his work.



3. I have an original copy of this book which was given to me by my grandmother. The art and the text are whimsical and playful but have a strong undercurrent of environmental respect. Mr Harper is brilliant. This book would be worth three times as much as the list price,



4. I'm a big fan of Charley Harper's art, but what's makes this book so special is Charley's writing. His sense of humor and word play are equal to his paintings! Great gift for all occassions.

5 comments about Carlson's Guide to Landscape Painting.

1. This book is a must for artists who want to learn the correct way to paint the landscape. It not only teaches the important concepts of landscape painting, but also gives reasons for the concepts. Carlson's Guide to Landscape Painting will be a study guide and reference book for me.



2. This book is full of important information on how to approach landscape painting.
   I will read this book over and over again
   very recommended!!!



3. Carlson's Guide truly is the bible of landscape painting. It's loaded with invaluable information for landscape artists, but studio artists will get so much out of it, too. Over the years, I've returned to the book again and again, and I always find some fresh insights that help me resolve whatever issues I'm dealing with that during that period. If you're looking for a sophisticated text that goes beyond the basic fundamentals like value, color, shape, etc. covered in most art instruction books, this one is for you.



4. A great reference and interesting reading for all phases of landscape painting, Carlson's guide has been referred to by art instructors, and novice painters alike. If there was only one landscape book you had the money to buy, this would be it. All black and white examples. Easy to understand concepts.



5. I BOUGHT THIS LITTLE GEM, ON THE RECOMMEDATION FROM MY LAST EN PLEIN AIRE INSTRUCTOR, KEN DeWAARD. HE HAS TAUGHT ME MORE, IN HIS WEEK WORKSHOP ABOUT PAINTING, THAN I HAVE LEARNED FROM ALL THE WORKSHOPS I HAVE TAKEN DOWN THROUGH THE YEARS. AND THE BASIS OF HIS TEACHING METHOD? HE WORKS TO PASS ON ONLY THE "PEARLS" OF WISDOM, LEARNED FROM MANY OF THE PAST MASTERS, WITHOUT CLUTTERING YOUR MIND WITH ALOT OF NOT-SO-RELEVENT INFO.
   [HE TOLD ME THAT MOST OF HIS QUOTES COME DIRECTLY FROM CARLSON'S BOOK!]
   ....THE ENTIRE CLASS OF SEASONED ARTISTS CLAIMED THAT, BY THE LAST DAY, THEY HAD GROWN SO MUCH IN ABILITY AND UNDERSTANDING, THAT NO ONE WANTED THE CLASS TO END. SO, IF YOU ARE NEW AT ART, BUY THIS BOOK AND KEEP IT, UNTIL YOU HAVE ENOUGH EXPERIENCE TO UNDERSTAND THE JEWEL THAT IT IS. .... ITS BITS OF ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE, BUT ITS NOT A PICTURE BOOK..
   ANYWAY, I'VE DONE COMMISSIONED PORTRAITS FOR 30 YEARS. AND YET, WITH THE COMPACTED INFO IN THIS BOOK, AND BY PAINTING THE NATURAL COLORS OF OUTDOORS, I AM FINALLY STARTING TO GROW AS AN ARTIST.

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

1. 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.



2. 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.



3. 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.



4. On first view (size and inside design) I was not impressed!
   
   I took a few minutes to review the pages and I was sold! I took the book home and dove right into the exercises that span 6 types of activities! My son, who wants to be a designer @ 16, completed some of the projects until midnight!
   
   I love this book, the breakdown of the projects in the back and the interviews inspire even rookie designers and reignite the fire of the design practitioner. It is a breakdown of the the elements of creativity, including writing projects, design, writing, and problem solving!
   
   Enjoy!



5. I love this book it was full of great ideas, althought some of ideas were recycled a couple of times. This is great book for anyone creative field or whom is serious about creative hobby.

5 comments about The New Creative Artist.

1. The New Creative Artist: A Guide To Developing Your Creative Spirit
   
   Here is another WOW spiral-bound book!!! It is full of COLOR,a lifetime of ideas, activities, and opportunities to s-t-r-e-t-c-h. The coverage of the Design Element is full: Line, Shape, Value, Color, Size, Pattern, Movement, Harmony, Contrast, Rhythm, Repetition, Gradation, Balance, Dominance, Format Options, Compositional Choices, Design Strategies, and touches on when to give the rules a rest. If that isn't enough, there's lots more! I especially look forward to working through the section: The Realism-Abstraction Connection during my next artistic transition. A beautiful book!
   
   Patricia Eastman



2. This book wasn't as good as "celebrating your creative self."
   
   It was a little wordy with inspirational messages. Not as much about technique and new ideas as I was hoping.



3. This book will get any creative body with a block back into their creative hobby. She gives so many great ideas, like that you should write down all the great creative ideas you think of and put them in to a jar. That way, whenever you can't think of something to get your creative juices flowing, just grab your jar and do whatever the piece of paper says!
   
   On a sidenote: I also love that the binding is ring - so that you can fold the book flat and not worry about pages closing on you when you are trying out something new - but that it is also protected by a larger cover so the ring binder doesn't fall apart like they usually do - THANK YOU PUBLISHER!
   
   Anyhow, great buy for any artist or artists' library - a book I will forever reference...I only wish that Leland explained more of the techniques behind rare art forms (but that would add a whole other book!).



4. Jam packed with useful tips. You can always count on Nita Leland for the best information.



5. This is the best motivation and help book I've purchased in a very long time. Lets you know that you can create (and feel very good about it) what pleases "yourself". I had to get over worrying what other people thought of my work. Thank you.