5 comments about The Complete Guide to High-Fire Glazes: Glazing & Firing at Cone 10 (A Lark Ceramics Book).

1. I bought this book at the request of my sister-in-law who is a potter. It was recommended to her by another potter. She loves it.



2. I found that this book it is very useful and cohomprensive in parts of firing and recipes. There are beutiful pictures; but i find it is not so fluing in the exposition it could be more astonoshing with all the new about the recipes.
   If are a novice I think you could also buy another books to introduce you better in the world of making your own glazes more satifing( it is the The Ceramic Spectrum: A Simplified Approach to Glaze and Color DevelopmentHopper book on glazes spectrumThe Ceramic Spectrum: A Simplified Approach to Glaze and Color Development).



3. Very happy with this purchase. The recipes are all laid out and organized very well. Easy to find what you're looking for and lots of good pictures.



4. The Complete Guide to High-Fire Glazes: Glazing & Firing at Cone 10 (A Lark Ceramics Book) (Purchased on 01/02/2008)
   
   The book has tons of information very useful for a beginner potter and or a professional. Simple to use and has a variety of exercises to follow. Explains very well and has lots of images that makes it easy to comprehend, a must have as a text book.



5. This is a brilliant book with great technical information and fabulous pictures. Most importantly for me though is getting good glaze recipes that have materials that are easily found or can be adapted to what I have. I have trialled many recipes in this book and have found good success. John Britt writes well and gives good firing information. Also most helpful is where he shows the same glaze used on different types of clay, this is a critical factor in the success of any glaze so a most important point that needs to be shown.
   If you are wanting to learn about glazing, then this book is a must for you. If you follow through each section and test as many of the glazes as possible, and follow the different firing methods, you will at the end have a comprehensive understanding of glazes and firing.

5 comments about You Are Here: Personal Geographies and Other Maps of the Imagination.

1. I've been buying books for 45 years and this is the most wonderful book I own--amazing, thought-provoking, beautiful. My only regret is that I waited so long to purchase it. As improbable as it sounds, "You Are Here" comes across as what might be the lush, lovely, and totally unlikely synthesis of Bachelard's "The Poetics of Space," the imaginative joy of A.A. Milne ("Winnie the Pooh" and "The House at Pooh Corner," etc.) or P.L. Travers ("Mary Poppins," "Mary Poppins Opens the Door," etc.), and the deep wisdom of place and spirit found in the works of Annie Dillard and Kathleen Norris or even Terry Tempest Williams. When I open "You Are Here," my heart, spirit and imagination invariably soar.



2. This book was not what I was expecting but it is interesting nonetheless. It is a collection of (mostly) unconventional maps with a few paragraphs written about each. In addition there are some articles on topics loosely related to cartography and the mind. It is more of a picture book than a reference volume and provides food for thought on mapping and identity.



3. This is a great collection of eccentric, unique and brilliant conceptual maps. It is one of those books that will take you places you never imagined.



4. This is a wonderful and thoughtful and visually stunning collection of artist maps. I LOVE it!!! If you're interested in environmental art, it's a must have for your book collection.



5. This book is useful for science people, geographers, visual arts and so poets. Im cartographer, its very useful for teaching, the book have a lot of examples for understanding the philosophy of a map. Higly recommended. Tonatiuh Suarez-Meaney

No comments about Publication Design Workbook.

5 comments about Creativity for Graphic Designers.

1. I'm so glad my professor made this a required textbook! Mark Oldach's insights into the process of concept development are so helpful. This should be in the graphic designer's library. I will return to this book again and again!



2. This book packs a lot of punch. It's written in an easy to understand format that is very creative with handwritten notes from the author in the margins. It's a great source of ideas with the numerous full-color case studies that are included. This book does an excellent job of providing graphic designers with step-by-step instructions on how to ask the right questions at the initial client meeting, go back to the office and download the information, then take the information and begin generating ideas, and finally, select which ideas should be developed. It's an invaluable tool for new designers.



3. I love my mac, but I also love not using it. This book tells a lot about a designers prosess outside the mac. I found this sentence in the book: "Designers have a responsebility to do what they are paid to - design .... To many designers use the (mac) for a substitute for thinking". So right!



4. Unlike design books filled w/ eye-candy & no direction on processes, Mark Oldach steers the reader through well defined concepts & thoughts. An excellent book for all designers who wish to communicate through design.



5. I found this book to be very helpful in getting you to think of the box. Instead of being like a picture book with not much information, it tells you how to come up with ideas and explains the process of making a good design. This is a great book to have if you already have those picture books with just designs and need something to help you with actually creating your own designs.

5 comments about Dynamic Figure Drawing (Practical Art Books).

1. These books are so helpful in studying the human body in an exagerated way. Helps identify muscle groups and form.



2. This book and the series by Hogarth in general, are a class apart in teaching the figure.
   
   In no other book I have seen the body masses so clearly and simply presented that with just one look you 'understand' the form and add it to your repertoire. Just like that.
   
   One striking difference we notice is the three dimensional presentation of the drawings using probably charcoal or a very soft pencil, how else will we understand that form if its not rendered in three dimensions?! Yet so many books exist, even the ones from great such as Loomis, where you would see a more finished figure, where the contours take over, making the student wonder 'why is a line in front of the other?' etc. Hogarth aims as dispensing such doubts and to get rid of the guesswork from the minds of the artist.
   
   He talks about 'inventing' the figure, and about a notation of representig the figure in deep space, meaning three dimesnions.
   As the masters such as Vilppu would say, drawing is all about learning how to represent the form in two dimensional paper, and about knowing the form one wants to draw. We do get both in this book by Hogarth. more actually on the forms of the figure. more than half the book presents the figure, the varous parts, the torso, the limbs and the head in great detail using simple three dimensional forms. and the remainder of the book deals with how one would approach or rather go about drawing the figure.
   
   An interesting approach here is to begin with the torso, and not with the head. torso, legs, arms and then comes the head, and surprise surprise, this is such an effective way of setting up the figure in the desired gesture. Vilppu would talk about a Ball and a box in a sock to study the torso. Bridgman would also talk in detail about these two forms, Hogarth lays down explicitly the order, and importance. This approach must be tried before understanding its effectiveness.
   
   This is overall a great book for the figurative art student. I found it most effective, because every single picture in this book teaches me something that I can apply directly. The rendering of the forms make it so easy to understand them and cast to memory not only the form but its relations to the other forms in context as well as what happens when they twist and turn and go about doing whatever a figure would do.
   
   This book stays right at the top along with Kimon Nicholaides and Glenn Vilppu and Bridgman.



3. This is the best one for action figures and How To draw them of all his other books. Recommended highly ONLY if you are willing to actually take the TIME to do the exercises in drawing he outlines in detail. You can copy his stuff and never learn HOW he thinks to see things in motion as he does. His 'effortless' drawings took dicipline to learn and I am still going thru it AGAIN now. I ordered these books in the 80's and admired them, but NEVER did the exercises. I just never made the TIME. Now I re-ordered the paperbacks (the hardbacks are in storage!) and actually am going step by tedious step and it is changing the way I SEE and draw. Worth it if you will actually DO what he says!!! Recommended highly! As a physician who is rehabbing a Iraq brain injury and probably headed back into Art-my 1st career- I cannot recommend this enough if you are SERIOUS about putting in the time/work to learn his techniques.



4. I have been learning anatomy for my drawing for a long time. I own quite a few anatomy books but I have been having trouble converting my knowledge of anatomy into drawing people. After buying this book it all changed.
   
   You will not learn everything from this book, which I think is fair enough. I do not understand the attitude of people who think a book should include every detail of subject. It shouldn't. A book should set out to achieve a purpose and supply everything needed to achieve this purpose. Which is what this book does.
   
   This book will teach you how to draw your figures in different, dynamic poses. It goes into foreshortening and overlapping of body parts and it breaks down each body part into shapes and outlines how the body parts flow into one another. There a wealth of examples that you can copy and experiment with.
   There are two main problems with this book.
   
   Firstly, there is not a lot of structure to it. It really could have used an editor or somebody to go through it and organize it a bit.
   
   Secondly, the text is very academic and can be hard to understand. If you look at the accompanying pictures though you should be able to work it out.
   
   You will still need to learn anatomy. Anatomy is a fundamental that all aspiring artist needs to learn and this book isn't a shortcut, but I found that this book was able to bridge a huge gap for me in my drawing. It is something I think I will use for the rest of my life. I only wish I had found it earlier.



5. Dynamic Figure Drawing by Burne Hogarth is an explosion of human motion. The text, like the drawings, is crisp and forthright. There are no unnecessary lines in Hogarth's sketches or his dialogue on how to create them. This is the book to give anyone, of any age, with, or without talent. The beauty of the illustrations almost eclipses their value as examples. The figures curl, cringe and almost seem to launch from their empty backgrounds. There are no distractions of composition, just the human body in motion, caught on paper. The static, frozen, two dimensional renderings of anatomy previously available to artists don't give a clue as to how the bones, muscles and tendons will flex with movement. Hogarth's work clearly and beautifully shows how to capture the human body in motion. If you love art, of any form, you will find endless enjoyment in this book. If you are an artist you will find it an invaluable anatomical reference. This is the book to give anyone interested in art, but in the hands of the very young, that person just forming their talent, it would be invaluable.

5 comments about Grid Systems in Graphic Design/Raster Systeme Fur Die Visuele Gestaltung.

1. I had read several places that this was a classic. That doesn't mean anything in my book, but I must say that it indeed has been a source of inspiration and useful in my work.



2. In my opinion this is the best book about grids. It intoduces into history, gives some typographic base knowledge, detailed information about grids, layouts and composiotion. This book would be interesting for experienced graphic designers as well as for newbies. I highly recommend this book. Thanks.



3. you will not regret buying this book. a must have book for any designer of any discipline (web, print, media, etc). the downside is that there's a lot of reading to do. so hunker down and expect to fall asleep a few times during the readings, but it's definitely worth knowing how the system works from the master of the grid.



4. why is this thing so expensive and so difficult to find
   
   
   amazon is by far the cheapest place to get it, but it took atleast a month to get to me



5. Grids are pretty simple. It was an expensive book and when I buy a book I buy it so it can be a reference to me in the future. I was hoping Grid Systems in Graphic Design would have some mathematic principals or scientific rules for alignment. It showed a lot of examples, which I didn't find that helpful, and the designs were old looking and hard to relate to more advanced methods. Half of the book felt unnecessary and I wish i had paid less than half.

5 comments about New Fashion Figure Templates: Over 250 Templates.

1. Probably OK for a beginner as quick template to try ideas out on. Stiff looking and one would have to change them alot to give them some style and attractiveness. Dated looking- seems like most of these books were written in the 80's and need updates, or should be more generic (if that possible in fashion).



2. I bought this book after reading the reviews of others. I am truly glad that I purchased it. It has been a great help. thanks for the reviews folks! :)



3. i love to draw and some times drawing figuers is time consuming and they have great templates for a fashion design and i love and body in fashion design and in collge for this its a great book a must buy



4. This book is ok. I agree with the other reviewer that it is best for entry level drawing. The croquis are decent minus the stringy hair, broad shoulders, and large, manly necks, but those are things you can fix. The color is horrible and many of the drawings just look downright strange and very much like strippers. I highly suggest to use this book as a starting point, no more.



5. This book has mostly everything I need. I can't draw male figures to save my life. And in this type of industry, I need to learn a lot more and do a lot more. This book gives me a lil boost up on different figure positions in a fashion design prospect. I recommend it to any level entry who wants to design or get into a fashion illustration field.

5 comments about Masterful Color: Vibrant Colored Pencil Paintings Layer by Layer.

1. The author provides a clear explanation of the colored pencil techniques and materials she uses to create her vibrant paintings. Very helpful to artists experienced with other media who want to master colored pencil.



2. Having a pretty large collection of drawing and colored pencil books I figured there wasn't much I would get out of this one. I was wrong. This book really took my colored pencil paintings to a new level. Like a lot of other colored pencil books, you really need to have drawing skills as this book won't teach you how to draw. What you will learn is how to make your colored pencil paintings look like paintings and not bland one dimensional drawings. This book will teach you how to bring life to your drawings with vibrant, bold color. Get this book and try one of the drawings (I did the marbles) and if you follow the directions and take your time you will be amazed at what you can create. I find myself going to this book to help guide me each time I start a new project and it hasn't let me down yet.



3. "masterful COLOR" is well written in a clear concise format. Explanations from concept of idea to composition using the latest digital equipment as well as basic equipment needed is well taught. This is more of a "how I do it" book, rather than a broad spectrum book detailing supplies, equipment, techniques and other basics. With this in mind, Arlene Steinberg eliminates the need for lengthly explanations so you can focus on how to expediently execute a well conceived painting. A detailed summary of color theory and underpainting styles used by the Old Masters was exceptionally insightful and unique to this fine art medium. I consider this purchase a part of my foundation in learning the art of the colored pencil.



4. I found this to be an excellent book on colored pencil. The lessons have a lot of detail and many step-by-step photos which make it a lot easier to complete the projects than in some books. I am using the book as if I were taking a course in color pencils, completing the paintings in the order in which they appear in the book. Most of my drawings are actually turning out to look like the ones in the book. When they don't I do them again paying closer attention to the instructions. I am learning a lot about layering color to get rich tones. I don't think all colored pencil artists build up that many layers to achieve the colors in their paintings but I think that it is worth it to learn this way. Now, when I do a leaf I won't immediately reach for the greens or when i do a red flower, immediately reach for the reds. I have been trying color pencil and knew I needed more instruction but wasn't sure where to start. I was so excited when I got this book because the book gave me the answer.
   I did find that my paintings came out more true to hers when i traced the finished painting in the book to make my pattern instead of using the line drawings in the back of the book but all-in-all it is a wonderful book.



5. Other reviewers have thoroughly covered the author's inclusion of every aspect of colored pencil in this book. They are right on the money. The reason I bought this book, however, and the reason I like it, is stated in the title. 'Masterful Color.' That truly says it all.
   
   This book is filled with color, glorious color! Color and value, the color wheel, training your eyes to see color, and even some history behind the use of color. The demos sparkle with tints and shades, and the references to the Old Masters, and their use of color and technique, are particularly interesting and useful, especially if one wants to paint like an Old Master someday. And that antique look appears to be coming back into fashion.
   
   The usage and properties of color build, in this book, from the ground up. I love to underpaint, but I am never sure which color to use under what hue. On page 47, there is an extremely handy tool...a chart illustrating color combinations that will make your paintings shine! This color chart must have taken days of work and years of experience to develop. Possession of this chart alone is worth the price of the book.
   
   I buy many colored pencil books, but today's market is becoming so saturated, it is difficult to find something new in every book that comes out. This book contains new and different material, and it is a must for the colored pencil lover's library.

5 comments about How to Write a Book Proposal.

1. Michael Larsen delivers a well thought out approach that is acutely adept in describing and understanding the new writers perspective and guides them safely into the labyrinth of working with publishers, agents and their requirements. He introduces the inductee to how the agent or publisher thinks since they are the ones that have to read and make decisions for hundreds of publications weekly. He educates the reader in writing a book proposal of the anticipated content so as to whoo the editor into seeing the meaning and readability of the new authors desire in a crisp clear written form. An excellent purchase for the serious writer who has a solid intention to get something published.



2. How to Write a Book Proposal is not all bad--I highlighted many sentences, and I did pick up some good tips. However, I felt like I was touring the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose--that 160-room mansion comprised of endless additions and oddities because the heiress compulsively felt that she had to keep the construction continuing. The book is in fact the 3rd edition, but some extra editing would have helped rather than just multiplying pet entries.
   
   Larsen might be able to write an irresistible proposal for himself, but he hasn't written an irresistible book. I wearied in reading countless times that I would have to have a marketing plan that would sweep the publisher off his or her feet, that I would have to obtain quotes and recommendations from famous people, and that I would have to promote endlessly on tours across the nation. Perhaps these are essential to getting published, but then I am left scratching my head in wonder as I look at all the mediocre material on the booksellers' shelves. Lots of people seem to have slipped through. And when I read his sample gems, I quickly grew bored.
   
   The main problem that I had with the book was that it felt like a hodgepodge of ideas that kept overlapping each other. I am a person who appreciates good organization and order. This book left me feeling that I would have to edit it first to then be able to use it.
   
   If you are a new (promising) writer prone to discouragement, I would not read this book. However, if you think writing would be a neat whim and easy, then you should read this book. You will throw up your hands in despair and save yourself and the publisher who might have to look at your material a lot of wasted effort.



3. This book is an excellent template on writing an effective book proposal. The book proposal is a vital component to getting published, and Larsen takes you step-by-step through the process, with great examples. And while I've written 7 nonfiction books with a successful track record, my publishers still require a proposal. This is a must-have resource for anyone serious about getting a book published.



4. This book provides a successful model of what literary agents and publishers are looking for in a book proposal. Although it is written for non-fiction, fiction authors will benefit tremendously from reading it. (Especially now, fiction has to have an engaging slam-dunk pitch.)
   
   I recommend all the writers I mentor to read this book!



5. This book is the best guide to writing a book proposal on the market. It has been updated since the first edition, and contains all the information a writer needs to write a marketable book proposal. I edit books for a living, and have recommended this book to prospective authors for years.

5 comments about Fashion Design Drawing Course.

1. It is interesting and well written. It guides through but not as deeply as I was expected.



2. I bought this book acually wanting to draw and create clothes but I didn't do any of that. On the other hand it does teach you the right way to do certain things like how to get inspiration and how to get it on paper but again you don't actually draw.



3. But about how to draw inspiration from common everyday things. It`s really not about rendering or drawing fashion, but more about the thought process in making the garments.



4. This book is more about collection development than it is about fashion drawing. And the worst part is... it's so sparse on the information even for how to develop a collection. Everything is in a nutshell. It's like picking up a children's book-- you don't get much out of it other than the obvious.



5. Very basic, it goes on a summary overview of areas of fashion design. So, it's great for a beginner that is looking for a quick introduction to what fashion desing drawing would include. Not for someone that has a general idea on what fashion design entails and is looking for more "hands-on" more sophisticated projects. For example, I was looking on how to actually draw clothes wore by people...there was only one area for that, it covered actual drawing of the human body; about 4 pages. A lot of general, finding your style, mood boards, etc. To the title I would add "101" so it is not misleading, then it would be an excellent book!