5 comments about Constructive Anatomy (Dover Books on Art Instruction).

1. If your a Bridgeman fan or just want to learn how to draw anatomy this book is worth the price. I have been drawing longer than I can remeber but just recently decided I wanted to improve my art skills mainly my ability to draw the human body. So I started buying art books on human anatomy and this by far is my favorite one and heres why, its at a comfortable size so you can easily take it with you, it has close to 500 illustrations, and his style is helpful to me most when I'm drawing from memory. For its price I highly recommend it.



2. I'm a Bridgman fan, but his complete guide to drawing from life is available used for $7.50. and sells new for $12.21. This is less than an introduction to the genius that is Bridgman, get the big book.



3. This still remains as one of the top anatomy books I use the most. I actually like the fact the figures and illustrations are not super detailed and more loose sketches. A beginner might find this frustrating, but as a person that is trying to develop my own style I find it more important you get a loose interpretation and fill in your own details and personal touch. Otherwise you'll just have clone artists of these anatomy books.
   
   The other reason I love this book is the price. It's small size makes it very easy to carry around too.
   
   I feel I've improved tenfold since I've purchased this book on making my anatomy look more real.



4. This is a good quick reference guide and is easy to read as is all of Bridgman's books. The Complete Guide to Drawing From Life is more indepth and might be better if you want a little more explaination.



5. Mainly for intermediate-level artists- it's actually *GREAT* for enthusiastic beginners. It has a little bit of *everything* depicting anatomy construction from memory. It's also great for general improvement; a few tips & tricks- an *excellent* reference for all working artists.
   This is the book that really turned me on to the genius that is Bridgman. At first glance it may not be immediately impressive, but flip to page 167 for a quick look at his cubed-construction of the head. It's Bridgman's brief but effective treatment of cube-construction in this book that really, really impresses me. Many books *mention* cube-construction for heads; many books show a brief picture or two. But not many show it with the precision & detail that Bridgman conveys in just a few short pages. It deals with figure construction mainly in its parts- for full-figure movement, check out Bridgman's Complete Guide, or his less overwhelming Bridgman's Life Drawing. Constructive Anatomy begins with hands, which in my opinion is the weakest part of the book. (Bridgman's 100 Hands is much, much better.) Arms are next and they're easily among Bridgman's best, although not all the drawings are crystal clear. Many of the BEST drawings in Bridgman's Complete Guide are taken from this book, and his depiction of arms here is definitely among them. The shoulder & neck briefly follow, and are above average in their depiction. Then it's time for that excellent section: the cubed-construction of the head. It's only a FEW pages- I don't want to oversell it. But in my opinion at least, it's worth the price of the book. Individual features follow: eyes, nose, ears and mouth are simply & accurately treated. This is a more *in-depth* book than Heads, Features and Faces- which is mainly a simple introduction to the basics. Maybe the BEST section in Constructive Anatomy involves the Torso. He describes more in a few pages than most books ever do- and with a precision & beauty that few seem to match. The pelvis, legs, knees, feet & toes finish this truly excellent work. If anyone's overwhelmed by Bridgman's Complete Guide, Constructive Anatomy is a simple & effective choice to make- Highly Recommended!
   In short: Along with Book of a Hundred Hands & Bridgman's Complete Guide, Constructive Anatomy is currently in my Top 3 by Bridgman.

5 comments about The Human Figure.

1. if you're an artist or just someone who wants to learn how to draw.. this is a great book to have



2. This book does require some patience but it can also be worked with by just copying the drawings.( although I DO read it in between raising children and keeping up with art school homework) I really learned a lot by doing extra credit assignments given by my figure drawing instructor, that involve copying plates from this book.



3. Great illustration. It can sometimes be very hard to read, but I've learned a lot of anatomy from it. I have a lot of anatomy books and this is by far the best for drawing. It gave it 4 out of 5 stars just based on the verbal content.



4. It is simple and easy to read book to help artist to have a general understand of the human body. There are good sample drawings with the text.



5. Vanderpoel's "The Human Figure" seems to be considered a touchstone text in the world of figure drawing - indeed, several other books I use reference this one. From the illustrations in this book, there is little doubt that Vanderpoel was a tremendous talent and had much to teach us about how to render the figure. Unfortunately, I very much wish he hadn't written this book in this particular format. This was among the very first books I received when I began drawing and, while the few illustrations within serve as excellent examples to learn from obliquely, this book is long on written explanation and short on the kind of instruction one comes to expect from a drawing book - step-by-step insight accompanied by a good number of illustrations; drawing is, after all, a visual exercise. Now, for those of us who have had a little more experience under our belts, Vanderpoel may be a good text to return to. However, for those just starting out in drawing, someone the likes of Burne Hogarth or Bidgeman is better suited (their books are highly recommended).

5 comments about Color Mixing Bible: All You'll Ever Need to Know about Mixing Pigments in Oil, Acrylic, Watercolor, Gouache, Soft Pastel, Pencil, and Ink.

1. I think this book covers most of what you need to know about color. I like the color charts for each medium. I still think you need to make your own charts, because colors vary. But the color charts in the book are good for reference. I think it could be stronger in the area of color theory, but as a reference book it is good.



2. This book is the best l've seen. Very easy to understand and excellently laid out making very easy for the beginner to learn the basics of color mixing.



3. Have not read this (but gave high ratings because it appears to be pretty much an all-encompassing color theory book), but to post I MUST give a rating.
   Apologies Amazon.
   
   I am trying to figure out if it would suit my need, which is a book which guides how to mix most shades and tones in the spectrum, via proportion, based on the CMY (Cyan/Magenta/Yellow) primaries.
   
   Does this book cover many different shades and the proportions needed *working from cyan, magenta & yellow*?
   If not, could anyone PLEASE suggest to me what book DOES?
   
   --if you know, of course :)
   
   Hope you reviewers see this post!
   
   TYVM!



4. Very good for all types of artists. It even has inks for us printmakers!!!



5. I enjoyed this book very much. It was simple to understand and quite interesting. I'm sure it's not the end all in color mixing books, but it is not a bad one at all.

5 comments about Tuttle Learning Chinese Characters Volume 1: A Revolutionary New Way to Learn and Remember the 800 Most Basic Chinese Characters.

1. This is the most effective system for learning Chinese characters that I have found.
   
   Why I recommend this book:
   
   1) Fully developed system for learning simplified characters
   
   Unlike other character learning books which try to shoe-horn the simplified characters into the semantics of the traditional ones, the memorization system in this book is rooted entirely in the simplified characters. I consider this a plus because I WANT to learn simplified characters.
   
   2) Very high retention of characters using the method in this book
   
   I must admit that when I first flipped through the book and saw the stories for each character I thought that memorizing a story for a character is more effort than simply memorizing the character...
   
   Now that I have been using this study method for a while, I have seen huge gains in character retention (compared to 'rote learning' or 'equation' methods I've tried in the past). Now when I see a complex character that I have not studied for a while, I can easily use this book's method to break it down into it's components. The story then pops back into my mind, and I've successfully recalled the meaning, tone, and pronunciation of the character.
   
   3) Easy to review
   
   The table of contents are laid out in such a way that they can be used to easily review all characters learned so far. There are also many 'review boxes' as you progress through the book to help reinforce previously learned characters.
   
   4) Basic radicals are illustrated to help you visualize them
   
   5) Introduces characters based on frequency AND builds-up on previously learned radicals/characters
   
   Most character books that order characters by frequency-of-use neglect to introduce the character's components first, making the learning process more difficult than it needs to be. This book makes sure to introduce all basic characters as they're needed AND introduce the characters based on the frequency-of-use.
   
   6) Introduces compounds which only use characters learned up to that point
   
   This allows you to start rapidly building up vocabulary using the characters you know. This also helps helps reinforce the characters.
   
   7) Includes ALL HSK Level A characters and compounds as well as additional useful character compounds.
   
   ------------------------------
   
   Things that could be improved:
   
   1) Some of the basic radical/characters do not have illustrations or suggestions to help memorize their shape. In these cases I dig up my set of Fun with Chinese Characters 1 (Straits Times Collection Vol. 1), Fun with Chinese Characters 2 (Straits Times Collection Vol. 2), and Fun with Chinese Characters 3 (Straits Times Collection Vol. 3) to fill in the gaps. Overall, only a small percentage of the radicals fall into this category.
   
   2) A review list for the introduced character compounds.
   
   ------------------------------
   
   I recommend using complementing this book with Tuttle Learner's Chinese English Dictionary (which covers all HSK Level A/B characters and vocabulary) which provides sample sentences and usage information for each character and compound introduced in this book.
   
   Eagerly awaiting Volume 2!



2. This book really works for me. For three years I have bought and studied flash cards and various books with hope of learning to recognize and remember Chinese characters with not much success. This book uses various mnemonic techniques coupled with brief stories sometimes with drawings based on the character.
   For example the character for "cup" is composed of the tree radical and the character for "not". In the book there is a drawing of a tree with a cup on it and a logger saying to his fellow logger, "NOT the TREE with the CUP". /The giant collects the sap from that one and to cook his BACON in." It seems sort of corny but since I read that "story" I have had no trouble remembering the character and it's pronunciation of bei1. The "giants" are always related to the first tone.
   It is not for everyone. I have shown this book to many fellow learners and some like me have been quite enthralled and others have turned their noses up and turned away.
   I hope that Volume 2 is published soon because I will buy it in a Flash.



3. I bought this book after looking at many "Learning Chinese" books. I bought it because I wanted to learn reading, writing, and pronunciation of Chinese. This is a formidable challenge starting from zero, but this book is very helpful. I would suggest supplementing the book with other Chinese instruction methods, particularly as they pertain to conversation, pronunciation, and grammar of the Chinese language. Consistent effort with the book has increased my Chinese vocabulary quickly.



4. I feel compelled to share that I think this is a reasonable and admirable effort, however the semantics of the characters are lacking in most instances, and the effort required to learn the stories can be counter-productive...
   
   I would actually recommend two key books: "The Chinese Characters - A Genealogy and Dictionary", and the DeFrancis Chinese Readers. The former provides a more thorough and accurate semantic definition of the characters (at the atomic and composite levels), whilst the latter will actually teach you to read Chinese Text in a logical and efficient manner.
   
   Both concentrate on traditional characters (with simplified supplement), which should hold you in good standing to then learn the simplified characters - which unfortunately have lost much of their beauty and meaning (but that's another story)!
   
   That being said, this book is interesting and I would consider buying a Volume Two if and when it becomes available.
   
   
   Good luck, and enjoy the fascinating journey of learning Chinese!



5. I took a Chinese course for a year in pinyin and I learned a lot of words, but I could never begin to learn any characters or read anything. I tried the workbooks where you write them over and over again and it was meaningless, it didn't stick. I found this book and immediately started learning them-it's like this method flipped a switch and suddenly they no longer looked like a jumble of lines. The first time I sat down to read it, I spent a half hour and learned 25 characters. The success right away made it really fun to study, now when I see characters I don't know I try to figure them out, I look for elements I have learned instead of feeling overwhelmed. I would recommend this book to anyone-casual learner or serious.

5 comments about The Monster Book of Manga: Draw Like the Experts.

1. While the art is great and it provides step by step instructions, the instructions are difficult to follow at a beginner or intermediate level. It's called 'draw like the experts' because you have to already be an expert to get much use out of it. It's a nice edition to by how to draw collection, but its more 'pretty to look at' that helpful.



2. This book really isnt bad persay - however I HEAVILY recommend it's cousins
   "Moster Book of More Manga:How to Draw Like the Experts" and
   "Monster Book of Manga:Fairies and Mystical Creatures" edition.
   
   I own the entire series along with roughly 8 other how to draw manga books and I am most impressed by the REST of this series. Not necessarily this book. The other three books are put out by Ikari Studios and you can REALLY tell the difference in the artwork. Its rich and colorful where the artwork in this book is good...however...it's not the best in the group.
   
   My personal opinon is all. Overall the book is helpful but not a beginner book. More of a supplement.



3. I bought this book a few months ago, and I have really seen my manga art improve. Some of the art in it is kinda lame, while other ones are amazing! If you look over the details of each character and how to draw part, you can really teach yourself how to improve your drawing. The key to making this book worth while is to look at each detail and learn that way, and not at the overall picture.



4. If looking for a few ideas to vary your work this is a good thought provoker. It has illustration from sketch to final and some of the steps in between. This is not a how to so dont purchase it looking for steps on how to draw this is more of a "I already draw and want to see different styles". I have looked through it and have gotten alot of good ideas from it.



5. I thought that a book entitled the Monster Book of Manga would have a lot more art in it. I was disappointed.

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 Lee Hammonds Big Book of Drawing.

1. To help you understand my background and justification for criticizing an otherwise well received book, I am an accomplished portrait artist and teacher with more than 25 years of experience. Throughout the years, many workshop students have shown me books they've purchased in order to learn to draw realistically. There are absolutely techniques to drawing and it is a skill that virtually anyone with the time and patience can learn to do at least passably well. I am not an elitist that believes only those who are 'gifted' can learn to draw. There most definitely are good books that can help the beginning student learn these techniques so I have nothing inherently against them. I have used books on occasion to learn specific techniques and found them to be quite beneficial. The problem I have is with this author (all of her books suffer from the same defect) as her "art" is utterly soulless. Her drawings have as much feeling to them as a 1940's Sears & Roebuck catalog's fashion drawings. To an untrained eye, her drawings look spot on, as technically they might be but they are not art, just as an architectural rendering of a future building is spot-on, and it's also not art. You will do much better with Betty Edwards, who has a multitude of books just for the beginner with a far better result. If you are looking for more advanced techniques, Juliette Aristides' "Classical Drawing Atelier" and "Classical Painting Atelier" are wonderful. Granted, the idea of an atelier in a book is absurd and many true pre-20th century techniques have been lost, but these books will certainly teach you how to draw in a much more believable, and artistic, way. Another great alternative is to get books which show the drawings of masters you admire and study them. Better still, if you can, go to a museum and see them (and them study them!) I have no vested interest in recommending these other books or options but I have seen what works and every time I see a bright-eyed student with a Lee Hammond book I cringe because they could do so much better.



2. Lee Hammond's newest book on drawing covers a range of different areas. Great book! I would recommend that you get ALL of her books, though, not just this one. In her other books, she covers ONE area in depth, such as faces or animals, or still life, in other books. This book is fabulous, but you need to get all of her books in order to get the best instuction on what tools you need, etc. to create a masterpiece.



3. The book was in very good condition. However, it did have some light finger smudges on the Title Page. The book arrived exactly when it was promised. I am very pleased with this purchase.



4. We purchased this book on the advice of other reviews on the site. It lived up to the praise. It does not "teach you to draw," if that's what you're looking for. However, if you have the basics down, it really gives great ideas and advice on improving your drawing and making it more realistic. We have purchased two copies of this book now, one for each of two sons--both of them love it and have really improved their art with recommendations in this book.



5. I absolutely love this book. It helped me take my artwork from basic flat, no-life sketches to amazing photographic-like images. It is straight and to the point. It satifies that need for instant gratification. If you're like me where you often find yourself skipping pages to get to the juicy stuff, then this is the book for you. You'll see the changes in your drawings immediately.

5 comments about Art Models 2: Life Nude Photos for the Visual Arts (Book & CD-ROM).

1. This book is full of great reference. But don't do what I did...there are two versions, one that comes with the extra cd of poses, and one without. Double check and make sure you know which one you are ordering, I didn't realize that I ordered the book without the companion disk until it arrived.



2. This Book/CD combo is excellent. The interactive web site is also excellent, and greatly extends the book/CD. The poses in this package are from, "classic inspiration." This package is as close to having an actual model in your studio as you could ever hope to achieve. Using the photos on the CD has some advantages over a live model: you won't get slapped for getting too close.
   
   The quality of the book is good. It is thin, hardbound, and lays flat. The pages are gloss stock and hold the ink well. The photos in the book are large enough to use from the book, but the primary purpose of the book is to index the photo sets on the CD. Only four angles of each pose are included in the book. The printed photos are somewhat darker than the photos on the CD. All of the photos on the CD are in standard JFIF (JPG) format, 400 - 600 MB each. The CD includes a copy of the book, with lower resolution photos, in Portable Document Format (PDF). The book includes a proportional reference grid for two of the models, for use by digital artists.
   
   The photography is very good. The photos are sharp, high resolution, highly detailed, well lighted, from the standard 10 o'clock position. The lighting and detail is consistent throughout all of the camera angles. In one photo set, a strong shadow is cast to the model's right, which is somewhat distracting. The shadow doesn't diminish the detail clarity of the photos, however.
   
   The photo sets of each pose on the CD, (24 photos each), are taken at 15 degree intervals, throughout 360 degrees. Kudos to the models for being able to hold some of those difficult poses so consistently! And kudos to the authors for choosing not to airbrush or blur any of these wonderful photographs.
   
   The models are attractive, well groomed, relaxed, and comfortable. Only the elder gentleman has slightly imperfect extremities, consistent with his age.
   
   A lot of thought and effort went into the creation of this package to make it as useful to an artist as possible, and it very well implemented. I am VERY impressed with this package!



3. There are so few worthy art model books out there. Every-time a new one appears, it is destined to be purchased through shear lack of competition. Unfortunately, that will be the primary reason to buy this one.
   
   Good art modeling is not limited to being willing to remove your clothing. Good art models are students of body language and motion, no less than a great dancer or actor. Unfortunately, what we have here is a series of static naked people.
   
   On the positive side, the photography is well done which sets this above the dreadful "Pose File" books with their tiny, toneless snapshots.



4. I purchased this for my partner who is an artist. The book has a lot of clear photographs that are very helpful. Good lighting and clarity in the photos. Many different positions and types of bodies. I purchased the book with the CD ROM which shows even more angles of the different poses.



5. Since getting this book, I've done several charcoal drawings and it seems to be working out really well. The poses are varied, and easy to mask only a portion of a model (head, upper body, hands, etc). My only suggestion for future books would be to use a spiral binding.

5 comments about Marker Magic: The Rendering Problem Solver for Designers.

1. I was very disappointed in the content of this book. Fully half of this (quite thin) book is taken up with profiles of professional renderers, showing examples of their work with brief comments about what they did to create a drawing--nothing instructional, just general remarks on the finished product. The remainder is the "problem-solving" promised by the title, but there's just so little there--a few techniques, each given a page or two with little or no step-by-step instruction, and nothing to connect the disparate "problems" together. The overall feeling is of a book that's been padded out with artist bios to make up for the scantiness of the "problem solving" material.
   
   I'm not sure who the audience for this book is--obviously some people like it, since it has some good reviews. For me, as an interior design student wanting to learn techniques for marker rendering, it was not useful. I felt it was a poor value and priced very out of line with the quantity and quality of the content.
   
   For interior design and architecture students who need instruction in rendering, a much better value and more comprehensive instruction can be found in the book "Color Drawing: Design Drawing Skills and Techniques for Architects, Landscape Architects, and Interior Designers" by Michael Doyle.



2. This book is helpful if you are trying to find your style of marker rendering it has a lot of helpful information and examples.



3. This book was very helpful in showing me different rendering techniques used by varying artists. From minimalist, neutral shading to full blown, vibrant color renderings, this book covered them all.
   Great tips on which marker colors to use to achieve a particular 'look'...such as glass, metal, wood, etc.
   Highly recommend.



4. This book got me through architectural school. Hand renderings were never my strong point until I got this book. My rendering skills went up considerably (along with my confidence and grades) and I still reference this book today in my professional career. The book gives great examples and the tips from the professionals are very informative. This is definately one of the best books on how to make professional looking presentations.



5. The question and answer format of this book is useful and allows a different kind of organization to its contents. It also incorporates the work of a broad cross-section of designers. This allows the editors to expose you to many of the best in different fields in which markers are used to increase the effectiveness of visual communication. While certainly useful for the beginner, it will also stimulate the more experienced designer.

5 comments about DragonArt Fantasy Characters: How to Draw Fantastic Beings and Incredible Creatures.

1. This is an excellent resource for artists of fantastical races. It has info for everything and fun little comments throughout the entire book. Wonderfully drawn, coloured, and simple to use, I highly recommend this book to other artists, as a guide on how to make their own wonderful creations.



2. We bought this book for our 14 year old and found it had nudity/partial nudity in many of the drawings. The work is beautifully done.



3. Jessica Peffer has come out with the most useful art books that i know of that relate to fantasy. I am a VErY big fan of her work and i recommend this book to every and anybody who is interested in drawing fantasy stuff. GO JESS!!!!



4. This book is divided into five sections: a preface and four parts. The preface contains a tutorial about how to draw people. It briefly covers all the basics: shapes and shading, penciling and inking, coloring, human body, face, facial expressions, hair, hands and feet.
   
   There are step-by-step tutorials on how to draw fantasy beings in part 1, 2, and 3. Part 1 contains classic fantasy creatures: a fairy, a sprite, an elf, a goblin, a dwarf, and an orc. Part 2 contains mythological creatures: a mermaid, a centaur, a faun, an angel, and a kitsune. And part 3 contains night creatures: a banshee, vampire, a werewolf, and a demon.
   
   Part 4 is about fashion. It shows a limited collection of clothes, accessories and weapons for male and female characters of various professions: warrior, ranger, rogue, mage, cleric, samurai, noble, and peasant.
   
   The step-by-step tutorials are very useful, but this book works the best for me as a source of inspiration. J. Peffer's artistic style is refreshing and extremely contagious.
   
   The bad thing about this book is that it's only 128 pages long. Overall, I think this is great book.



5. I bought the first neondragon book just because I liked the artwork on her website, and while I loved all the monsters, I have always struggled with drawing people. I'm so glad that she came out with this book, it has helped a lot, and even despite that, the graphics are awesome just to look at! I HIGHLY recommend this and everything else she has come out with. Keep up the good work Jess!