No comments about Fantasy Artist's Pocket Reference Dragons And Beasts (Fantasy Artist's Pocket Reference).

No comments about Chinese Flower Painting Made Easy.

5 comments about Superheroes: Joe Kubert's Wonderful World of Comics.

1. excellent book by a great comic book artist.



2. I thought this book was great and helped me a great deal but, after reading other books like this it doesnt have the style and ideas that artists use today.The books ideas are rather boring and you will lose intrest if you don't like his ideas for characters. Though if you do finish this book as I have you will be amazed at how much this book helps your drawing ability. this book is for beginners and intermediate artists alike.



3. I thought this book was great and helped me a great deal but, after reading other books like this it doesnt have the style and ideas that artists use today.The books ideas are rather boring and you will lose intrest if you dont like his ideas for characters. Though if you do finish this book as I have you willbe amazed at how much this book helps your drawing ability.



4. This book has only a few flaws. They are: Lack of explanation on SOME subjects. That's it. Besides that, it's a perfect book for INTERMIDIATE students only! Beginners are more suited for something more easy to digest.



5. If I had never read an instructive tome on drawing comics before, I'm sure I would find this very impressive. Being that there are several out there already, this feels like a missed oppurtunity.

   First of all, the presentation is rather lackluster. For a medium as dynamic as comic books I believe the design of the book could have been a bit more interesting. It's all fairly standard and not all thay dynamic.

   Of course the content is what counts the most, and there is a lot of worthy elements presented here. The problem is most of it has already been presented in other books, like the excellent How To Draw Comics The Marvel Way. The beginning section on the history of comics is the exception. It is both interesting and useful and hasn't been done in this paticular type of book before to my knowledge. The dissapointing part is that it would have been very interesting to see how a master like Kubert creates his illustrations. We are given tantalizing tidbits, but it could have been much meatier. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the final section. We are treated to the original script for a short lived character called Ragman. We get to see the rough layouts and there are interesting, but many of the pages are reproduced at a greatly reduced size. It would have been great to see some more comments as to WHY Kubert made some of the storytelling choices he did and reproducing the actual, final pages of the story seems like a bit of a no-brainer. Alas, neither of these things are done.

   Definitely buy this book if you are interested in a career in comic books. It provides a solid foundation, but it is a far cry from the seminal, complete book for aspiring comic book artists we have been waiting for.

No comments about Strategies for Effective Teaching.

4 comments about For the Record: The Life and Work of Alex Steinweiss.

1. This book is very good for people who want to know more about cover albuns design. Alex Steinweiss are genious! =)



2. alex steinweiss is a fantastic human being. generous, funny and full of great stories from his time at columbia records in the early 40's. He is tremendously talented and not just created the concept of album covers, designing more than 800 of them (start looking at your old collection in the attic :-)) but has been for the last 20 years a major accomplished painter. He has gotten awards after awards and stays humble and wise. He lives in Sarasota, Florida.



3. It was a 23-year-old graphic designer who invented the illustrated album cover for phonograph records in 1939: before that they came in plain wrappers. For The Record documents the life and work of Alex Steinweiss, gathering over a hundred of his original graphics and providing a lavish color display of his works along with a history of his involvements in the music industry.



4. This book does credit to a great man. Steinweiss was a true artist and a pioneer. The man created the concept of album cover as art. McKnight-Trontz does a masterful job of celebrating the artist through dazzling illustrations and informative, entertaining narrative. The casual reader will enjoy this book, as will the academic: it's all there between the brilliant covers (Steinweiss design - of course); it is the individual reader's choice as to how deep he or she wants to delve into this fascinating subject of a true twentieth-century art form.

No comments about Draw Sports Figures! (Discover Drawing Series).

No comments about Skies and the Artist: How to Draw Clouds and Sunsets (Dover Books on Art Instruction).

3 comments about Extremities: Painting Empire in Post-Revolutionary France.

1. Superbly written book with penetrating analysis-in several senses. Grigsby waxes poetic throughout this book, with stimulating metaphors and multisyllabic words gushing forth like any proper literary climax. Having thoroughly reveled in the language and interpretation of her work, I must admit that the sexual readings approach a nearly forced pitch by the concluding chapter. Of course, attention to the phallus is certainly necessary in a discussion of _Belley_; I even agree with the interpretation of sumptuous fabric as "vulvic" in _Cairo_ and _Chios_. That said, however, I refuse to fully buy into Grigsby's sexualizing of _Missolonghi_. Do read this book if you have the opportunity, whether you thrill to the subject or not: everyone has a good deal to learn from Grigsby if only concerning her writing, which grabs one by the shirtcollar and ruthlessly shakes for all 400 pages.



2. The fact that the library journal's review of the book calls into question the sexual politics of french history painting demeans ITS validity. This book makes easy to understand the sophisticated racial, sexual, and art historical undercurrents that lay as a background to the 19th century. Indeed it is these subjects that hold the greatest kernel of interest to anyone interested in the art of the davidian school, it is a welcome, exciting departure from the stuffy academic reading of the neo-classical era, making relevant an group of artists that have found themselves marginalized in their legacy.



3. For anyone interested in colonialism and art this book is a fascinating discussion of the ways that France's imperial battles and conquests informed and affected that country's art.

No comments about Bonnard: Colour Library (Phaidon Colour Library).

4 comments about Vermeer.

1. The content of this book is good. The reproductions are of a high standard and the views presented are balanced and sometimes stimulating.
   HOWEVER,the editorial quality of this book is appalling. The references to the various illustrations are frequently inaccurate. In the "Catalogue" at the end, virtually all of the references to illustrations (figure 114 etc) are incorrect. On page 139, the text from the bottom of page 138 is repeated. The text that should appear at the bottom of page 139 (three lines probably) has disappeared entirely so that there is no continuity in the text. The same error occurs on page 146 so that again some text is repeated and some three lines of text are omitted.
   Given the price of the book, one would think they could have afforded to have someone proof-read it!



2. This edition is overwhelmingly a rehash of the original volume initially published in 1986, dressed up a bit with better reproductions of some of Vermeer's paintings but otherwise undistinguished. The Dutch art historian, Albert Blankert, continues to doubt the authenticity of Vermeer's Girl with a Red Hat, for wholly unpersuasive reasons, and therefore excludes this amazing painting from the main text. For better but not entirely convincing reasons, he also excludes the National Gallery's Young Girl with a Flute, a painting almost certainly done by Vermeer but likely reworked badly by another's hand, so that it lacks Vermeer's magical refinement.
   
   This book as well does not include a reference to the most recently recognized addition to Vermeer's canon, Young Woman at the Virginals, an attribution now with a history of more than five years. Moreover, one would have appreciated a recent reproduction of Vermeer's newly cleaned and restored The Procuress, an early work that presaged the artist's rather extensive use of the camera obscura. The restoration honors Vermeer's original intentions magnificently, bringing forth a silvery light not seen previously.
   
   For the best volume showcasing high quality reproductions of Vermeer's work, one should consult Walter Leidtke's Vermeer and the Dutch School. For a comprehensive history revealing what is known about Vermeer and his milieu, do read Michael Montias' book (and not the precis contained in this volume). For a terrific digest of Vermeer's art and history, buy Anthony Bailey's Vermeer: A View of Delft.



3. The colour reproductions are partially good, but most of them do not live up to modern standards of colour management.
   Also problematic seems to me that the recently sold "Young woman at the virginals" is not included. A short statement concerning this very essential matter would have been desirable, even though this volume is only a new edition of an older book (apparently not modified since 1992 or 1993).



4. Johannes Vermeer is--like Da Vinci and Van Gogh--an artist with a huge cult following in the art world. As such, an excess of titles claiming to be "catalogue raisonnes" [ i.e., a 6" x 8" or smaller sized book, usually published by the likes of PHAIDON or ABRAMS, and containing very dull and fuzzy quaility prints of an artist's works ] of the artist's works are published year after year--with the priority of the publishers being on SALES rather than on PRESENTING and showcasing the beauty of each piece of work, with high quality, large prints throughout the book.
   
   I am happy to say that FINALLY, courtesy of the Overlook Press, Vermeer fans are given a juicy and sumptuous presentation of the Dutch artist's paintings, in a large, hardback format with high-resolution images printed to fill the page...YEEEES!!!
   
   Not only are the images of a quality where you can discern Vermeer's boldest and subtlest applications of paint, but the color just GLOWS, even under the palest of flourescent bookstore illumination!
   
   BUY THIS BOOK...YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!