1 comments about Living with Art.

1. I was required to buy this book for Art 131 and while it gives good term descriptions it gives little information to interest the reader and want them to go into an art degree.

5 comments about Ed Emberley's Drawing Book of Animals (Ed Emberley's Drawing Book).

1. I bought this book for my 4 1/2 year old but really for myself since I'm a horrible artist! This book allowed us to draw the animals together and he was able to follow the steps easily. If you can write the letter "D", "C" and stright and squiggly lines you can duplicate any animal is this book. Pretty cool since my son used to not like art of any sort but now he is in this drawing phase. I'm going to buy some other of these books in the series.



2. I love this book. I had this book as a child (in the 80's) and I was so excited to see that I could purchase one for my daughter. My child is in pre-school and has been practicing drawing basic shapes. Ed Emberley's book teaches children (and adults) how to draw animals by piecing together basic shapes such as squares, circles, triangles, etc. The directions are easy to follow, and show you step-by-step how to combine different shapes into a final product. I would recommend this book for any age group, from a child who is just learning to draw to an adult who loves to doodle.



3. I had this when I was growing up and wanted to share it with my toddler. It is great because although he is too young to draw these things, he recognizes them in the book (and when I draw them) and we can make up our own stories together. When he gets a better handle on drawing for himself, the book will grow into that role. Yay!



4. Ed Emberley has a wonderful way of teaching not only children but artistically challenged adults (like myself) how to produce simple, but adorable drawings of animals. Personally, I can barely draw stick figures, but I was actually able to follow Emberley's easy instructions and ended up producing drawings that actually looked like the instructional examples in the book! Both of my children loved this book and I'd recommend it to anyone wanting to learn the basics of drawing.



5. This book is great! My older daughter loves to doodle and this has been fun for her. My younger daughter (almost 4) can even draw a few of the animals!

5 comments about Universal Principles of Design.

1. This book is indispensable for anyone looking for a grasp on design fundamentals without going to design school. The organization, examples and presentation are top-drawer. So intuitively done. For the non-designer, a wonderful reference and primer on classic design principals and why they matter. Should be on the desk of any marketer who works with creatives and wants a better understanding and appreciation of great design.



2. Universal Principles of Design is an accessible addition to design understanding. The information has been distilled into a consistent and clear format that allows key design principles to be quickly appreciated. It is the product of a considerable research endeavour; references sources are quoted allowing further exploration of the principles. The graphics and format, as to be expected in a book design of principles, makes delving into this book an enjoyable experience. I just wish I had a copy of this book as a student, many years ago, but you are never too old to learn and experience new ideas and perhaps reinforce design concepts that you have known for a long time.



3. Each of the 100 design guidelines ranging from photography to software design will present an explanation with references to relevant sources accompanied by one or more examples.
   
   With this book you can simply recognize the good rules, not remember you read about them somewhere. ;)



4. This is, without a doubt, the best design book I have ever read. While everything in the Rockport Publishers tends to be wonderful, this book is the greatest. The book is very accessible to the average reader, no matter the level of experience in the field. On top of that, it is one of the most comprehensive guides I have found. The layout of the book is also superb, which helps set the mood for design brainstorming.
   
   I should also add that because each topic is only two pages long, it is very easy to keep on the nightstand and read a few sections before bed each night. Again, this book is extremely accessible.



5. Great book to keep handy for quickly explaining design fundamentals (and several more complex concepts) to coworkers and clients. Each two-page summary is rife with annotations and diagrams. Buzzwords aplenty, but great stuff.

5 comments about A World of Art.

1. The book covers an extensive array of facts about art in general as well as about specific works of art. By introducing artists and exploring their intentions, the student can better understand and perhaps come to appreciate a wider variety of all forms of art.
   The CD holds some of the works that appear in the book, but not all, plus others that are not in the book which I thought was a little disconnected. But the CD also includes verbal pronunciation of artists' names, which cooresponds exactly to the Pronunciation Guide and is helpful. Overall, the book offers very thorough instruction for art appreciation.



2. Delivery in a great amount of time. Everything was ok with the pages where all there and the book was in great shape



3. wow...this book I founded 40 dollars cheaper that in my college. I am really glad I did not had to pay that exagerated amount. Thanx.



4. Although I received this product in a timely manner, an entire chapter was missing from the book. I went ahead and kept it only b/c i did not have time to reorder another one due to my needing in for a class. Make sure to ask if any pages are missing!



5. Excellent overview of art history, major movements, and various media. Both the western and global development of art are included.
   
   The accompanying cd has artwork "flash cards" as well as video clips illustrating how various media are used.
   
   This book was the required text for my university course, but I will also be using it with my children as a homeschool resource. Some discernment and parental input will be required using it with younger children.

5 comments about Making and Breaking the Grid: A Graphic Design Layout Workshop.

1. This book excellent for graphic designers and anyone who needs to create professional appealing graphic layouts. As an interior designer, I purchased this book to help me design my portfolio and will continue to resource it for project presentation layouts. The visual breakdowns are inspirational; and the text, informative.



2. It has a lot of examples and explanations of grid and grid-related layouts.
   A good reference guide for designers, whether they are students ore professionals.



3. You may think this book is a little dry, but it is really essential to learn how to use and when you can violate the grid when creating layouts for print or web projects. A must have for any student in graphic design. Also try Kimberly Elam's "Grid Systems" book if you need additional resources.



4. What a strange publication. Divided into two sections the first explaining grid formatting with actual printed material and the second revealing how to design print without a grid.
   
   There seems a contradiction here because the grid, used intelligently, will allow a whole range of graphic options to be presented with clarity. Some of the print examples reproduced in the first section do show this with perhaps the most useful item a grid thumbnail for each piece, unfortunately I thought it was rather too small on each spread despite being the key to explaining each format. From past experience, designing magazines, I would start work on a grid by concentrating on the text type size because it is the least flexible of all the elements on the page. This point really wasn't made enough of in the book's chapter: Grid Basics.
   
   The reproductions show a reasonable range of design solutions, essentially print though there is an example of corporate signage. Missing are magazines (consumer or trade) timetables and the like. Without a grid this type of printed matter really wouldn't exist.
   
   The book's contradiction, to my mind, start with the second section: 'Grid Deconstructions and Non-Grid-Based Design Projects'. The forty items shown seem to have a couple of common threads: their design is essentially arbitrary which makes them look very messy and frequently their typography (display and text) is used as a design element which makes the words unreadable. Their design is the opposite of grid stimulated creativity, in other words visual chaos.
   
   Some of the examples are quite amazing. On page 180-181 twelve pages of a calendar are shown, totally useless as its impossible to see the days and dates. Pages 188-189 show eight spreads from a design school journal showing irregular shaped blocks of text creating a sort of collage. I doubt anyone made the effort to read any of it. What is interesting about this second section material is that so much of it comes from educational establishments. In the real world all this designer whimsy would be rejected by the client on sight of the first dummy
   
   'Making and Breaking the Grid' is well printed with 175dpi and the layout is adequate and for a book about grids you would have thought its own grid would have been included but it is strangely missing. Overall I felt that because the contents present two opposite design ideals the book's editorial concept is rather flawed.
   
   From my experience there is only one book that really explains it all: Muller-Brockmann's Grid Systems in Graphic Design published in Switzerland and full of good solid, practical, hands-on information. This book's only purpose is creative clarity.
   
   ***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.



5. I really enjoy this book, though it is not my absolute absolute favorite. It is still a good addition to any designer's collection and it is written by one of the most knowledgeable in grid design.
   
   It is well-thought and very interesting. A bit unlike the other grid books - in a good way.

5 comments about Proust Was a Neuroscientist.

1. This is an imaginative, interesting read and it's worth a try if you have any interest in the link between neurology and everyday experiences of the highly creative people written about.



2. I'm an artist and I found this book to be extremely inspiring. Our culture has really devalued art. As the author notes, we associate art with entertainment and aesthetics. But this book is an inspiring survey of some great artists who were much more than mere entertainers. They did much more than just make pretty things. Rather, they used their art as investigations into experience and the mind. This book is a beautiful reminder that art can be an ally of science as we try to learn about human nature, how the brain works and the mystery of experience. I loved this quote from the book: "We are such stuff as dreams are made on, but we are also just stuff."



3. I am no neuroscientist but I can tell you this...Monet did not go blind at the end of his life; in fact he had had cataract surgery and his vision was restored. He didn't have glaucoma. Also, no one ever went insane in front of a Cezanne painting. Cezanne was not unsuccessful. He did not sell paintings on the sidewalk in Paris. He had many admirers and buyers for his art. Cezanne's early works were not non-representational -- they were very representational. It is so depressing that someone can write this crap and other people unquestioningly buy it.



4. This intelligent, witty, and well-written book is appealing on many levels. Foodies absolutely MUST read the section on Auguste Escoffier and how the brain reacts to tastes. The Cezanne essay explains what's really happening in our minds when we look at an impressionist painting. (Lots, apparently.) And all avid readers will get some wonderful insights from the pieces on Whitman, Virginia Wolf and of course Monsieur Proust. Actually a good reference book, too.



5. The author writes well and interestingly about a complex topic, the brain, not unlike Oliver Sacks whose recommendation graces the back cover. What I got from the book was how subjective is our experience of the world through the senses and memory, and how un-locatable is the 'self', that appears to run our world, to a specific part of the brain. And how wonderful that he noticed that artists have known this before neuroscientists discovered it.
   I have read elsewhere that a significant part of the brain has to be destroyed before the 'self' disappears because the decision-maker can be located in many areas. This makes survival sense. It's harder to think of a survival reason for the subjectivity of our experience; perhaps it has to do with ensuring free will: we can 'create' our world to be as pleasant or unpleasant a place as we wish. That seems to be related to the big question now. Are we going to destroy our selves and other life on the planet or not?

5 comments about Ed Emberley's Drawing Book: Make a World (Ed Emberley's Drawing Book).

1. I love Ed Emberley and the techniques that he uses to teach drawing.
   
   This book is my favorite because it's packed with all kinds of things to draw. Gumball machines, people in action, animals, trucks, planes, you name it.
   
   You really can draw your own little world.
   
   This would be a great gift with some paper and markers for the young budding artist.



2. I bought this for a friends son who is 7. This is the only Ed Emberely book that he didn't have. He loves them!



3. A world is right! So many things to draw in this book. Simple and colorful to enlighten young and old imaginations.



4. Great book for kids who like to draw but have trouble doing it freehand. Nice step-by-step instructions.



5. I was disappointed that the inside drawings looked just like the cover drawings... duh, I suppose, but I was expecting more. I gave it to the 9-year-old 'patient' anyway, but wasn't excited about doing so.

5 comments about Making Comics: Storytelling Secrets of Comics, Manga and Graphic Novels.

1. This is the best cartooning and illustration
   book that has EVER been created. It accomplishes cartoons and
   illustrating and explains everything. THIS is
   the only book you will ever need. Don't let this
   book escape you, you will NEVER forgive yourself if
   you let this treasure get away. It is total visual
   instruction. Easy to understand. Easy to attempt.
   It is the book I keep on the drawing desk next to me
   because it is so complete. Wow!!!!!!---- Luisa Felix



2. What I like about this book is the fact that it is not only instructional for comic book artists but also for all artists. He writes and draws to enhance what he is teaching so that it is not even noticed by the reader that he is being taught. I have met Scott and he is as entertaining and funny in person as he is in his book.



3. Great book for beginning comic artists. You will not be taught technical details for how to draw or lay out panels, but you will be shown how to pace comics, shown some basic face anatomy in the context of emotion, given a few inspirational tips on choosing characters, and so on. Probably an interesting read even for people who aren't sure that they want to get into comics.



4. Scott McCloud takes the insights that made him a celebrity in Understanding Comics and takes them further away in Making Comics, this time focusing in the craft itself. Much of his knowledge is useful not only to comic creators, but to people interested in visual and audiovisual arts, and sometimes to artists in general. His concepts and diagrams ("mmmmm... diagrams.") are clear and powerful. Scott McCloud: a theorist who likes to be understood.
   I loved the much needed notes sections and the activities and exercises he suggests, which take the book one step even further from a great theoretical book.



5. I definitely don't care to make comics and although I occasionally pick-up a random issue or a graphic novel, I really don't read them much either. I was mainly interested in this book because I heard of good things about it and I wanted to be more informed about the process someone has to go through to make a comic. Although this book mainly focuses on creating a story, it held my attention and I feel like I walked away with a little more knowledge than I did before. I lot of the storytelling techniques I read in this book are things I've heard of in books about storytelling in other mediums, but it contains a lot of things specific to comics too. This is probably one of the more funny books I've read on the subject of storytelling and I like this approach better than a straightforward textbook approach. I don't think I'll be coming back to this book much for reference, but I'm glad I read it.

5 comments about Ed Emberley's Complete Funprint Drawing Book.

1. Great craft ideas for preschoolers through grade school. Make sure to have the washable stamp pads ready for when the book arrives.



2. We got this for my 6-year-old daughter. She has used it well. There are so many things to do in the book that she hasn't gotten bored. We haven't had much luck finding washable stamp pads that easily wash off her fingers though! Her stained fingers are worth it though!!



3. As a homeschooling mom of a preschooler and first grader, I am always looking for things that are appropriate for a wide variety of age levels. The Complete Funprint Drawing Book is perfect for homeschool art! The directions are simple enough for my just-turned-four year old to follow, but the endless variety of things to make is interesting enough for my six (and a half) year old. I am looking into more Ed Emberly books to add to our homeschool art resource collection.



4. I loved Ed Emberley's books so much when I was a kid, I had to share them with my own children and my students.
   
   Lucy Adams, author of If Mama Don't Laugh, It Ain't Funny



5. These books are great for art projects with kids. My class is making a gift for the school using these art ideas.

4 comments about Magic Moving Images: Animated optical illusions (Animated Optical Illusions).

1. I love this book for being simple and yet smart enough to bring up an animation from static images. Low price also makes it very affordable. Could be a great gift to one who likes optical illusions.



2. A fascinating concept. The illusion is very real and deceptively simple. This book does a good job of presenting a very clever idea. Everybody who sees it is flabbergasted.



3. this is the coolest book i've ever seen. it should entertain kids that come to visit for a long time...and you know how hard that can be...



4. If you're one of those who loves the zoetrope at the local museum, this book makes you feel like you took a piece of it home with you! My whole family enjoyed it. I think it will make a great birthday present for some of our young friends.