5 comments about Pantone Guide to Communicating with Color.

1. A great color reference for any graphic artist. A variety of sample color combinations included (Pantone specific). Color choice can be a powerful psycological tool in a design. This book helps define what moods or emotions are evoked by different color palettes.



2. This book is a beautiful, beautifully put together quick reference to color! The illustrations, to-the-point text, and the resource of pallets makes it a great starting point or cheat-sheet to using color on designs for the concious mind. It has helped me greatly on basic projects like page layout, websites, and application design. This is a must have quick reference for anyone who cares about color harmony and psychological impact or stimuli of self or one's project/product on one's audience and needs on the fly application of the same. I highly recommended.



3. Let's start by saying that I've been a Graphic and Multimedia Designer for over 10 years now. Like all beginners I used to think that design was all about what ever you liked best.
   Well thats worth a good chuckle these days. As an experienced designer will tell you there's a lot more to good design than personal preference.
   Matter of fact it's more like a science than anything else. Once you start diving into color theory and color association you begin to realize that there's quite a lot of information to retain and that there's a right and a wrong color for everything.
   
   Well here's your reference guide!
   
   This book has sat on my desk for the 4+ years that I've owned it and has definitely seen better days. The pages are falling out, the cover is beat ta heck and page 63 in particular has been scanned so that I could fold it up and put it in my pocket more times then I can count.
   
   Leatrice keeps her explanations simple and direct and reinforces them with stellar designs of well known products from top notch agencies.
   She adds a large section of color palettes in the middle but they've become a bit dated since the release of this book. Some of them are still nice and will at least inspire you to play with some similar colors.
   
   As an added bonus the back of the book has the CMYK values for all of the pantones if you're one of the cave dwellers that dont have a Pantone booklet (shame on you!).
   
   This is not the definitive color theory hand book!
   You wont become a master after reading this and there are quite a few design fundamentals that are not included.
   But it is a terrific and beautiful reference that you'll find yourself digging through constantly for information and inspiration.
   
   It belongs on your bookshelf.
   
   Nuff said.



4. Sometimes it's nice to have a resource like this on hand and ready to employ at will...
   
   I've found this book to be very helpful in my recent endeavors.



5. I love this book! I am a visual presentation designer by trade and therefore did have some color theory classes in college, so much of the information given in this book was not foreign to me. However, the way the colour combinations are divided into moods, and the suggestions that go along with them make this book an absolute "must have" for any designer or artist's library!

5 comments about Simplified Anatomy for the Comic Book Artist: How to Draw the New Streamlined Look of Action-Adventure Comics! (How to Draw).

1. This is a GOOD solid book that addresses surface anatomy.
   I recommend this book for seasoned artists having a rough time
   transitioning from fine art to comic art. Plus this is a good reference
   for budding and intermediate artists as well.
   I think artists that want to explore making web-comics
   and desire to create clean, crisp, deleniated fiures/ faces
   will benefit from a book like this.
   
   This one of the BETTER books by Hart.



2. For starters, this book is by Christopher Hart, so naturally it's a great buy for people interested in the subject.
   This is a great book for people who prefer a more cartoony style to the graphic novel detail; I myself love drawing cartoons (including many Disney ones) and this book is wonderful in teaching you how to do your own, as well as be a most excellent reference guide for muscles, bones, and character ideas.
   A TOTAL recommendation if you want to try the more cartoony style.
   
   But if you're more into the hard-core graphic novels (like the newer X-Men series), I totally recommend Christopher Hart's "Drawing Cutting Edge Anatomy: The Ultimate Reference for Comic Book Artists."



3. Simplified Anatomy for The Comic Book Artist teaches a new streamlined style of comics. In true Christopher Hart style, he breaks the concepts down for the reader, so that he or she can learn and progress quickly. This was very enjoyable, enlightening, and entertaining, and I highly recommend it.



4. The only bad thing about this book is consistency due to the many different artists that worked on it. With that in mind this book is well worth having and a good resource about the adventure or Bruce Timm style of drawing.



5. Simplified Anatomy for the Comic Book Artist is comic art instruction Guru Christopher Hart's latest book and one of his best yet. Hart has been doing comic art instruction books for many years with a long list of titles to his credit. In this latest book, Hart tackles the modern, more simplified, and streamlined comic book art. Inspired by recent animated series such as Batman, Teen Titans, and Justice League, we are seeing more and more comics today being produced in this more simplified, animated looking style. This modern style has done a couple of things for the comic industry. First, it's far less time consuming to produce this type of art than traditional comic art...less time means less money. Second, and no knock on those artists, but obviously you can get away with somewhat less talent with this style as there is a minimum of detail required. Finally, much of this art today is being produced on computer, again saving time and money. This certainly accounts for the recent popularity of this style of art.
   
   Hart takes a step-by-step approach to his instructions. On one page he shows an example of a piece of art done in traditional style and next to it, the same piece done in the simplified style. Basically this is simply a matter of less definition being added to the character. Less muscle definition, fewer or no bone structure outlines to the face and body, hair designed as "one piece" as opposed to drawing several lines of hair and curls, etc...The examples are striking in their sheer minimalism.
   
   Now, this isn't merely a matter of taking out lines, but rather a complexly different approach to drawing figures. There's a whole change in thinking about how to construct the anatomy in this approach. Remember, you're not going for realism anymore. Fully the first 50 pages are spent just on the head and facial features. Hart will show you how to simplify the look of the eyes, nose, and mouth with dozens of examples included along the way.
   
   Next up is the body and it's the same process as before. Simple bone and skeletal structures, simple muscle definition... Again, Hart shows dozens of examples of body types from heroes to regular guys to mad scientists. In this style, bodies are more angular...the hips and knees often come to an exaggerated point as opposed to the rounder look of traditional comic art. In defining muscles, that standard six-pack now becomes a two-pack...the shoulders and chest exceedingly broad and triangle-shaped.
   
   Hart rounds out the book with a look at forced perspective, getting your characters to look like they are virtually jumping out of the page at you. Honestly, I believe that this book and this style of art has opened up a lot of doors to artists who maybe were not quite good enough to make it with traditional comic art. It's also allows small press publishers to compete against the bigger publishers. Heck, you even see this style of artwork showing up at major publishers like Image and Dark Horse.
   
   It's another well-done book by Hart and perfect for the aspiring comic book artist.
   
   Reviewed by Tim Janson

No comments about Jerry Yarnell's Landscape Painting Secrets.

5 comments about Drawing From Life: The Journal as Art.

1. I love this book, and it repeatedly finds its way into my bag to be taken out and thumbed through on the bus, on vacation, at work during breaks or while I am on the couch during those rare few minutes of "me-time". It takes the idea of "journal" and makes it multi-faceted. You see the artistic side of journaling of course, but the author proposes the idea that a scientific journal or furniture designer sketchbook is just as artistic as the watercolor journal. It really takes away the fear that just because you can't draw or have no idea how to collage you can't create a meaningful journal.
   This isn't a "how-to", it's a "just-is". If you are looking for a book to teach you visual journaling techniques, this probably isn't the book for you. But if you like to see how others journal in a way that fits their lives, you will enjoy this book.



2. I really like this book and it is one of my favorites, one I will return to again and again when I need a little creativity kick start.
   As a mixed media artist who writes/draws in a journal daily, I really enjoy getting a peek at what other people are doing in their journals and how they work things out on paper,what inspires them or drives them as the case may be.
   If you are looking for a "how to" book then this is not the book for you, there are plenty of fine books in that specific area of interest.
   I like it because it is unique and real,not trendy or cute, or edgy, it's just a wonderful compilation of other people's journal pages.



3. "The impulse to record our daily lives on paper is nothing if not universal." This quote is on the back cover of Drawing from Life. We aren't told who said it but the idea doesn't suffer for the lack. Teacher/author Jennifer New has compiled an exceedingly rich volume of journal pages and managed to include something that will appeal to everyone.
   
   My particular favorite piece of Drawing from Life is the fourth chapter -"Creation." Architect Steven Holl refers to the sketches and paintings that litter his twenty years of journaling as "seed-germs" Filmmaker Mike Figgis says of his diary, "It's the only truly frank conversation I can ever have." The most relevant message for me, however, originated in a lecture by poststructuralist John Dewey who argued that, "the value of art is not as a relic, a museum piece to be admired from afar, but as an aesthetic experience."(152). I emphasize this quote because it seems the most powerful part of the idea. Art should have a "verb" identity. Rather than embodying the passivity of a noun, art demands action. There isn't a way to avoid interaction with it - no matter your like or dislike of the piece you are observing. That this observation changes the observer is a critical point and can be pushed farther, as social psychologists have done, by insisting that observation changes the observed as well. The significance and meaning of a piece is transformed by every person who sees it; it's voice is strengthened, weakened, done away with, glorified, altered irreparably in a kind of mobius strip of creation. All these changes create changes in a timeless loop of inquiry and understanding and thereby creating past, present and future lives for the artwork. Figgis and Holl's comments on journaling reveal the kinesiological mechanisms of art - the creative movement of body, mind and spirit from which it springs.
   
   I don't know if there is an innate compulsion to record our lives. I don't think its outside the realm of possibility but I have to wonder whether it's the journal or the subsequent creation of witnesses to our lives that matters most to us. I don't think everyone chooses words as a tool for documenting their existence and I don't believe that everyone who wants to do so leaves behind a material representation of their lives. Those who do, however, probably find that having a witness to their lives provides a more tangible rest at the end of things. Jennifer New has produced a book filled with pages of beauty and experience and we, as readers and artists, are allowed to witness art as verb through different eyes.



4. I saw this book in a local bookstore and knew I had to have it- I found it here on Amazon for much cheaper. I love the illustrations and variety of styles represented. As a high school art teacher, I occasionally use this book to help students spark ideas for their personal art journals. Great book for anyone seeking visual inspiration.



5. I am a visual artist and have always been fascinated with the concept of journaling. This book helped me understand that there's no wrong way to keep a journal (for those of you who tend to think your journal isn't as interesting as other peoples, or that you're "not doing it right", this book is a confidence booster). Journaling is often personal and it's easy to feel self conscious of ones journal while in a vacuum; going through this book and seeing the stories and examples of total strangers helped me not be so critical of myself. I very much enjoyed the examples of each persons journal, especially the handwritten ones; the image quality was so good you could read the entries clearly. It's fun looking through other peoples journals, but confusing if you don't have the person there to explain things...this book includes how the journal writer works, why they do it, and how it has benefited other aspects of their career and/or life.
   
   I was impressed that the majority of the people featured in the book weren't career artists; some were naturalists, psychiatrists, mothers, and college students (to name a few). I liked that there was a wide spectrum of individuals featured in the book.
   
   It also shows that there are a variety of ways to keep a journal and that it doesn't always have to be a "Dear Diary" kind of scenario. It was also interesting to see what people used for journals and how they incorporated other media such as collage, digital photography, etc. or how journaling led to other forms of creation.
   
   As other reviewers have mentioned this is not a book of journaling techniques. However, I found it inspiring to see the different kinds of journals people keep and it's given me ideas of my own to run with.

5 comments about Sargent Portrait Drawings: 42 Works by John Singer Sargent (Dover Art Library).

1. This book is one of the best buys i did this year. Sargent paintings are very famous but the drawings from this little book are amazing! Some of these portraits were done in the later phase of Sargent work and show great mastery of the drawing media (pencil, charchoal). There's a small text about Sargent that is very good too.



2. A good book full of great drawings by one of the best artist I have ever studied. The price is right and you should not waist one more minute before you order it.
   I always like to see how the great artist draw, since drawing is the back bone to good painting in my mind.
   I really get a kick out of artist who say they can't draw and can only paint, sure.. Thats like saying you never learned to walk and that you can only run.
   Sargent used to say you should draw every day and I think he was right.



3. The book is great. The ones who sent it didn't package it well. It is a paperback book and it came all bent up.



4. A remarkable bargain and a must for anyone interested in John Singer Sargent or his work. An 8 by 11 inch, less than 50 page paperback. Published by Dover. B&W reproductions of 42 portrait sketches by Sargent. Mostly done in charcoal. Two long pages of lucid and informed, really excellent text by Trevor Fairbrother, author of books devoted to Sargent and several articles as well. The reproductions are competent, but, as always, can be nothing like the originals, one of which I've many times had the privilege of admiring in person. Although here again, any one familiar with works on paper has seen how even the interposition of the protective glass, sadly, visibly degrades the viewing.
   
   The 42 sketches span a remarkable, interesting and even entertaining range. Arranged in almost chronological order, they stem from early in his career, but not his childhood, to near the end of his productive life, when he had almost entirely quit portraiture. Fairbrother skillfully has chosen an eclectic lot of Sargent subjects, well illustrating yet another facet of Sargent's personality. Although said shy unto retiring, Sargent must have liked people, at least the varied types of people. He certainly depicted all kinds. Here from a boy little more than an infant to the elderly and "important". The serious and the frivolous. Talented, self-made artists and performers to the witless-looking heirs and dismal aristocrats.
   
   The book's incredible spectrum of people / types and Sargent's genius at capturing both their surface and their interior, can form the center of quite a game easily played today via the Internet. For example, the portrait of a friend of Sargent's, one Earnest Thesiger. From this sketch one infers quite a character, seeming a person perhaps of manic ebullience. The very amusing facts in his bio on the web's Wikipedia rather bears this out. One learns further that Thesiger was the nephew of General Frederic Augustus Thesiger, 2nd Baron Chelmsford, famously incompetent in needlessly losing his entire army in a massacre by the Zulus. (One can imagine a portrait of a dim and blimpy character here. Thankfully, nowadays the British select more professionals for their general officers.) Sargent's jolly Earnest Thesiger further was cousin to the famous Wifred Thesiger, author of the autobiography, "The Last Nomad". Wifred Thesiger was a war hero, diplomat, author, explorer and skilled photographer. Among his other accomplishments, the autobiography describes Wilfred's tireless toiling in the Sharm el Shatt (where the south of Iraq borders the south of Iran) to bring modern male circumcision to the primitive marsh Arabs. (A people so independent in their watery wilderness that the late Saddam Hussein ordered the draining of their protective confusion of still waters and bogs.) Well, odd as it might seem, Wilfred's medical procedures were clearly an improvement over the native's, I imagine especially over a ceremony for teenagers involving a low-banked fire built in a shallow sand pit. But, I digress.
   
   However, that is the point, digressing from Sargent's wonderful portraits. What do they tell us; how can we follow up on our impressions? I'm returning to Fairbrother's book to select another sketch subject to mine for edification. I'm confident because Sargent has been described as having a large circle of interesting and talented friends. Except for those portraits of blimps.
   
   Again, an excellent book at a very reasonable price.



5. Nice series of books, these Old Master Portrait Drawings from Dover Art Library. Good material if you want to study portrait drawing. Good reproductions of the drawings. No text, only a short introduction from the publisher and titles with the drawings. The drawings say it all.

5 comments about The Art of Animal Drawing: Construction, Action Analysis, Caricature (Dover Books on Art Instruction, Anatomy).

1. Ken Hultgren's animal drawing book is by far the best I've ever seen. The drawings are not only beautiful and full of life but rich in anatomical information as well. Studying and copying these drawings, combined with a few trips to the zoo and a horse ranch, enhanced my awareness of animal anatomy and movement enormously.
   I used this book as my primary resource for modeling, rigging, animating a horse in Maya. It's a great asset for animators, modelers, sculptors -- artists of any sort-- or anyone who loves animals and good drawings.



2. Excellent art reference for the developing artist who wants to understand animal anatomy and motion.



3. This book is somewhere right between a "How to Draw Animals" book and a detailed anatomy book. It gives you the basics of the muscles for each animal in beautiful, dynamic sketches that take you from drawing static (but proportional) animals to leaping, rolling, fighting animals. If you're really serious, you'll still need a more detailed anatomy book, but for movement (especially of horses and deer and their running patterns) this one is awesome. Just a warning though, the section on dogs is awesome but smaller than the horses, the section on cats is extensive but focuses mostly on big cats, and the section on wolves/foxes/wild dogs is pretty brief - much more of the book is spent on the larger herbivores and some less commonly studied animals like kangaroos, camels, rabbits, and a big section on bears.



4. The book has lots of great drawing. I wish it had more explanations. But I still love it.



5. if you are studying animal drawing, this is one of the best books ever. this concentrates on the motion and line of action, as well as the construction!

5 comments about Landscape Graphics.

1. Though the book was published in 2002, the graphics may seem a bit dated in our digital age, but the book is an excellent source of skills and design treatments needed in landscape design. Lettering and symbols are very helpful. The book is consistent with college level instruction and is recommended reading.
   
   Dan Halsey
   [...]



2. This book is an absolute must-have for the beginning landscape designer/architect's personal library. As a fifth year landscape architecture student, my book is in wretched condition due to the fact that I refer to it constantly, more than any other book I own. It will continue to be useful to me for years to come.



3. Lots of good ideas with which to practice or trace. Definitely a particular style, but still somewhat general. One could easily devlop their own style from this. And more than likely, you're probably required to get this book if you're reading this. Best of luck!!!



4. This book covers almost every aspect of landscape sketch and graphic. It is good for you if you want to learn hand sketch, it is also good for you if you want to create nice CAD drawings. Many of the tree /shrub symbols in both plan views and elevation views are nicely done, they can inspire you to create nice computer blocks for trees and shrubs for plans and sections and elevations.
   
   It covers graphic language and design process, basic drafting, lettering (nowadays almost everyone can do nice hand lettering fonts with computer, but this book is still good for assisting you to select lettering fonts or create your custom fonts in computer), freehand drawings and conceptual diagrams, presentation plans, section-elevations, graphic symbols files for elevations and perspectives.
   
   All the sketches, plans, sections, elevations and perspectives are nicely done. They can be good samples for landscape architecture students, garden design students, architects, landscape architects, urban planners, and seasoned designers.



5. For beginning drawers in the landscape architecture field, this is a great reference book. Lots of graphics from which one can begin. It's hard to beat the price too.

5 comments about Painting Beautiful Skin Tones with Color & Light.

1. The explanation texts associated with photos and paintings are technically accurate and clearly comprehensive in such a way very few authors are used to doing. Subject performs diversified approaches covering watercolor, pastel and oil with in depth analyses and subtle interpretations on the alternative effects in skin paintings.The systematic organization of the matters allow every artist to follow the indicated trajetory to improve his knowledge and practice or test whatever is presented.



2. Great work for painters...
   
   The book was ordered to find out what I did wrong in painting portraits in oil. Clearly instructed by the book I now improved my skills dramatically, especially painting eyes... with the look of love.



3. I happen to think the pictures in this book are beautiful. I wish I could achieve the same level of competence with color. By buying the book, I hoped to improve my ability to quickly make sound color choices, but try as I have, I just can't get the needed information from this book. I have purchased quite a few books on painting, and some have really helped me. The really frustrating thing is that it's obvious she knows what she's doing, but equally obvious she has a hard time communicating it.
   
   If you already understood the topic, I'm sure you would get some comforting reassurance from seeing that which you have grasped reaffirmed. If you are not already a good artist, it's pure misery to try and figure out what she is saying. I have read every word and studied every picture in some cases 3 to 5 times, and I have taken little away.
   
   I'm sure that if she were watching me paint, I would eventually understand what she is teaching, but I was not able to get much from the book. I did enjoy looking at the pictures, but the text is pure torture.



4. A very excellent reference book. A must for a novice painter.



5. I agree with several of the previous reviewers. I believe that some of the writing on skin tones offers great insight. I also believe that most of the portraits in the book are garish at best. If there were Sears Portrait Studios around before the invention of photography there is no doubt that their portraits would look like these paintings. I would even be okay with that if it weren't for the fact that the book does not even begin to discuss skin tone until halfway through the book. I would say that 1/5 of the book is actually about skin tone. The rest of the book is just like any other beginners How-To. The basics of painting. Unfortunately there is little about skin tone.

5 comments about Exploring Color: How to Use and Control Color in Your Painting.

1. Nita Leland has a wonderful way of inspiring her readers and making them feel more comfortable with color and paint. Doing the exercises in the book are an essential part of the experience and should not be skipped.



2. Before reading this book I'd had an attitude about 'color theory' and such - or at least the teaching of it. Anything I read was either imperious and demanding or so complicated that I'd be lost in the first chapter.
   
   But this book doesn't order you to do things a certain way. It explains what results you will get doing this and what results you'll get doing that. There is no highbrow judgment here about the only "correct" way to do anything. It is clearly written, with lots of pics and examples, and is completely accessible. What a breath of fresh air!
   
   The book begins with a little bit of the history of color in paintings and the physics of color mixing. She doesn't bog down the book with it though. She gives just enough information to put the use of color in painting into context and as a starting point if one wants to do further research.
   
   Then comes the more detailed information. This starts out simply and builds with each chapter. She explains why things happen in color combining and mixing and how to get the desired results. Color in painting is a detailed and complex subject, but, while she encourages you to learn it all, she is never demeaning or rigid that one has to know all this front and back before painting. She explains why knowing all this will help and improve your painting.
   
   In other words she makes me *want* to learn all this rather than making me feel like I *have* to learn it.
   
   One thing to note is the she uses watercolor in her examples and exercises so some adjustment may be necessary for oils.
   
   There are also lots of things to practice in the book. She has exercises for everything she teaches. So when you're done you will have a tremendous visual reference library. I have lots of art books but this one will stay OFF the shelf and easily accessible. The use of color isn't something that can be learned overnight, so do yourself a favor: get this book.



3. One of the first books I've looked at that explains color in non technical terms. It has examples of how to use these colors in your paintings. There are several step by step instructions on using different color combinations as well as many exercises for you to do on your own. There's a companion coloring book which is helpful but not necessary. An outstanding book for beginners wanting to know more about color theory. The author has a web site and is very helpful in answering any questions.



4. This book is everything I hoped it would be. I am a novice painter, working in acrylics, and wanted some basic info on color theory. This is it. The information is comprehensive yet easy to understand with exercises for the reader to do in any medium. I was so impressed that I bought her Exploring Color Workbook to go with it. This is highly recommended for the artist wanting to expand her color theory expertise.



5. I bought this based on other reviews about it. I don't know doodley about color and have always gone on gut instinct...and I've painted over a lot of ruined canvas and wasted a lot of paint.
   This is an excellent little book with a lot of exercises to make it all quite clear. Every page teaches me something - I have so far had quite a few "AHA" moments. I am beginning to understand why sometimes a color works and sometimes it is just a little off...
   I recommend this for everyone. Thank you Nita Leland.

5 comments about How to Draw Noir Comics: The Art and Technique of Visual Storytelling.

1. This book is a great instructional. The prose is clear and the author elegantly "illustrates" the points with perfectly chosen imagery. But it is also just a great book in a straightforward visual sense. By that I mean, it works as a coffee table book. And the story at the end is an added bonus for anyone who loves comics.



2. I'm a comics writer, not an artist, so I almost started this review by saying that I bought the book just to look at the pictures. And who could blame me? Shawn Martinbrough is one of the most original and distinctive stylists in modern mainstream comics. In a sea of imitators and variations on a house style, his artwork is instantly recognizable. His run on DETECTIVE COMICS with writer Greg Rucka (who writes the introduction to this book) is a landmark to me, in that it was one of the things that brought me back to reading comics after a long absence.
   
   But Martinbrough's strengths lie far beyond his style - he has a true mastery of the *craft* of sequential storytelling, which is what makes this book such a valuable read, for aspiring artists and students of the medium in general. Reading about his process has given me much food for thought in how to evaluate and critique the work of other artists, as well as in how to better compose my scripts for artists to create the maximum impact in the collaboration. In short, HOW TO DRAW NOIR COMICS is a fine read for anyone interested in creating comics, whether one's work is done at the drawing board or at the keyboard.
   
   Oh, and you get to look at the cool pictures, too.



3. This book is not just another how-to book written by another comic book guy.
   
   Martinbrough is clearly an illustrator who knows his craft well, takes pride in it, and has used a vast library of tools, ideas, and creative resources to create a book that is a must-have for any artist aspiring to make their work more dramatic.
   
   His insight into the creative process and the relationship between artist and writer makes this book a must-have for any comic book (or even screenplay) writer, to give them a sense of what to provide an artist with in a script.
   
   This book reinforced for me the need for shadows in storytelling.
   
   HOW TO DRAW NOIR COMICS is a cut above the rest of its peers, and is for SERIOUS ARTISTS, not pencilers looking to imitate Jim Lee.



4. I was expecting a little more from the book, judging from the fact that the author is a legend (read other reviews)in the comics industry. But the content is still pretty educational and informative. I enjoyed looking at the large print as well as the artwork which is printed on nice good quality paper. Even though the information may seem too comprehensive for more professional artists, they may benefit from looking at how the artwork is done, and in fact, I enjoyed looking at how the author has provided us with different treatment to the same artwork. To me this is precious, and show that the author is versatile in his technique and creative in his use of tools and materials.



5. So here is the thing, comics are a very hard medium, its also subjective and seriously its HARD. What I like about this book. Its not some hand holding trite sketchbook full of cliches and half-thought out pablum being fed to the reader. What it does is it gives you theory and ideas on how to improve your art , how to look at your art and get the look you want. It makes you think on how to incorporate the skill of going noir. If you want a book to teach you to draw like great artist like Frank Miller and Mike Mignola--this isn't your thing. It you want a book to help you look at your art in a different way and make you a thinking artist, and bring something real to the table then, this is the shiznit!!!!