3 comments about Prints and Printmaking: An Introduction to the History and Techniques.

1. If you've just started your love affair with fine prints, you're sure to want a better understanding of just what this thing is and how its unique character came about. Griffiths's book would work well as your first guide to the technique and history of printmaking.
   
   The tour starts with the major categories of technique (relief, intaglio, litho, and silkscreen), then discusses the extensions needed for printing in multiple colors, followed by a summary of photo processes applicable to each technique. This isn't a how-to for the aspiring printmaker or an academically meticulous history. Instead, it's just enough to let the new printlover know what the words mean and what the differences are, along with a sketch of the major who and when in printmaking innovation. I fault it only for under-representing the incredible art and technique of the Japanese woodcut masters.
   
   Illustrations abound, demonstrating nearly every point that Griffiths brings up. The bibliography by itself is worth attention - it not only lists sources of information, it categorizes them by areas of interest and adds other comments about each one. Very few bibliographies in any field offer that kind of help to the reader. And, as the beginner might hope, it ends with a list of common abbreviations and a strong glossary. This book is a great way to introduce new printlovers to the object their of affection.
   
   -- wiredweird



2. This is an excellent book for anyone trying to learn more about the various kinds of printmaking techniques. It is very useful for identification of prints. Lots of great pictures and text that explains the techniques and history very well. I highly recommend it.



3. Have you ever tried to explain to an art student what is printmaking? Better. Have you ever tried to explain to an art student why it's still important? You can try to do a very long speech about how it was and still is important for artists. You can say that print was for an artist like Rembrant a way of thinking. And you could even explain how the techniques used by the artists were connected with their subjects. But you can't only talk you must show some pictures. That is exactaly what this book does. The autor was very sucesfully in showing us the value of printmaking since the "unknow masters" to our century. He can explain without being boring how etchings were doing and I believe he could do so because the pictures were sharpily choosen. Without doubt no art teatcher can miss these piece. And it's essential to any print lover.

No comments about Writing About Visual Art (Aesthetics Today).

No comments about Guide to Producing a Fashion Show.

No comments about Restaurant Graphics.

2 comments about Sneaker Freaker.

1. With a look that's very much in keeping with sneaker culture and history and anecdotes which could make even the least interested develop a sneaker fetish, this is a must have book for anyone with a love of sneakers, shoes or fashion in general.



2. this is a great book for anyone who's into sneakers. you don't have to be a "head" to enjoy the pretty pictures and the interviews. it's great that the author talked about where to hunt for sneakers in various cities around the world. now if only the book was bigger in size so the details of the sneakers can be appreciated more....

1 comments about Wildflowers CD-ROM and Book (Dover Electronic Clip Art).

1. Having been a fan of these Electronic Clip Art books for some time now, I was delighted that Wildflowers didn't let me down. The images are good, clear ones with plenty of detail and will give good results whether you print them out using the CD-Rom, or opt for copying or tracing from the pictures in the book.
   
   There are also coloured pictures to print or to use as a guide should you prefer to do the colouring yourself. Perfect way to impress your friends with your skills as a botanical watercolour artist!

5 comments about Let's Toon Caricatures.

1. Keelan is a master a simple caricatures, cartooning, and creating abstract design within the face. This book will show a beginner how to understand and create caricatures as well as equipping a novice with the knowledge and tools to sell caricatures in a retail or party environment. This is a great beginner's manual and perfect for anyone trying to understand the "why and how" of basic line-based caricature.
   
   As a seasoned illustrator, character designer, caricaturist, and author of my own caricature book (REJECTS: the Extreme Art of Retail Caricature), I can safely say that my experience in the field has shown me that one of the hardest thing to do is train a new artist to draw a caricature and explain why you make the choice you make. This book is great and will show you just that.



2. I highly recommend this book! It is a fun and easy read. It breaks down the drawing process step by step, body part by body part getting you on your way to start drawing caricatures like a pro!



3. For a complete novice who suddenly realised it would be fun to have a go at drawing caricatures, I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Other "how to" books on the subject left me feeling inadeqate and incapable of drawing anything resembling my victims. When Keelans book safely and quickly arrived to me here in the UK, the easy step by step illustrations immediatley gave me the confidence and skill I was lacking and my results have rapidly improved.
   
   I now find myself staring a strangers trying to decide how I would tackle their caricature by wondering what their head shape is and how their features are arranged. Thanks Keelan!



4. Keelan, I am so happy for your success selling your great "How To" book. I have shown it to curious youngsters and it's a wonderful starting point for future Face Hustlers. Concise and fun to look at.
   
   Thanks for the inspiration. I am trying to get mine for sale here as well. Wish me luck!
   
   All the best and Watch out for those Hurricanes!
   
   Sam Klemke
   Gypsy Caricaturist



5. Yap it's a useful Book..it help me a lot in improving my drawing.. learn a lot from this book.. it's a great book to buy! Pic is more than the word, not like others like writing grandmother story.. word more than pic..that would be boring but this book won't..overall this book is very useful to me for drawing pic for my teachers..

3 comments about Francis Bacon: 1909-1992 (Taschen Basic Art).

1. I found this book very, very good for those wishing "to meet" the artist as I did. I didn't know anything about Bacon before but had strong decision to explore his paintings and himself as an artist. This book serve well for this purpose.
   It contains many illustrations, all in color but it's not all his paintings. Book covers everything mainly in chronological manner, gives overall picture of Bacon's life journey.
   Book is very good, maybe even best start for exploring Bacon's art. After that it's easy to orientate and dive deeper. And besides, Taschen series are really known for their good quality, at least in my mind.
   Personally me, I started to explore Bacon's art with exactly this book and it very impressed me. In Bacon's art I found something inspirational for myself. Taking into account Bacon art's specific features this book and Bacon art could
   be strongly suggested for animators, game developers, painters, concept artists who's into horror genre. But, by Bacon's own words:"I am not seeing any horror in my pictures"!



2. This book contains a superb range of beautifully printed Bacon pieces in full colour, and at a very modest price. However, the drawback of this book is the writings of Luigi Ficacci. His essays on Bacon are excruciating to read and immensely difficult to follow. It's like being at an art gallery and overhearing pretentious art-wannabes trying to outdo each other with big words and obscure psychoanalytical references.
   
   So if you're looking for a book containing a comprehensive collection of artwork by Francis Bacon, this is an excellent and affordable collection. However, if you're looking for insight into this fascinating artist, try "Interviews with Francis Bacon" by David Sylvester, or "Bacon" by Ediciones Poligrafa.



3. Luigi Ficacci in his Taschen book FRANCIS BACON: 1909 - 1992 has managed to give us a short survey in words about the particular genius of Francis Bacon, but at the same time presents a solid framework in which to study the primary contributions of Bacon's output by focusing on eleven of the most important works. And while the bookstore shelves have many fine expensive surveys of all of Bacon's works, this little book is a gift to the student whose pocketbook would be stretched as much as the shelf weight by those greater volumes!
   
   Ficacci's writing style is a bit dry, but his points are well made and even better related to the paintings he emphasizes. His work divides Bacon's obsessions into chapters on 'The Poetics of Bacon', 'The Expression of Horror', 'The Human Body', 'The Scene of Tragedy', 'The Portraits', and 'Sources of Inspiration'. Ficacci crowns his book with one of the finest capsulated biographies in print: each phase of Bacon's amazing career is played out in terse paragraphs as a timeline.
   
   Though Ficacci dwells on eleven paintings, this book includes fine reproductions of most of Bacon's works from the earliest to the last, with many little inclusions of works rarely seen in other books. For a superb introduction to one of the 20th century's most influential artists in a readable and affordable scale, this book is among the top choices. Grady Harp, December 05

1 comments about Game Level Design (Game Development Series).

1. This book offers a solid foundation for the planning stages and a good overview of the implementation stages of level design. Good for those who are looking for general strategies for level creation and wanting to get up to speed on terminology/workflow for this type of work. It's all fairly theoretical with only one chapter on actual nuts and bolts level design, where you make a single room in the Unreal editor. If you're wanting something covering more specifics for a given level editor (like 'how do you create water?' or 'how do you make displacements') you should probably look for something more in a technical bible or a video tutorial series for the tool in question.

1 comments about Calligraphy in the Copperplate Style.

1. This is a fabulous manual for beginners, explaining the 17th century calligraphy technique which imitates copper etchings of the same, using a fine nib. A great buy with nice detail.