1 comments about Colour Etching (Printmaking Handbooks (PH)).

1. This modest-sized handbook is packed with useful tips for intaglio color printing. You will find detailed information about paper, inks, wiping, and edition handling beyond most general printmaking books. I have an extensive collection of printmaking guide books, yet found myself underlining and starring numerous technical tidbits unique to this book. Particularly useful is the treatment of photopolymer methods in addition to the expected coverage of traditional acid etching approaches. Finally, one gets the occasional "bon mot" such as this:
   "..there is no mystery to etching but plenty of magic."

3 comments about Wardrobe Strategies for Women.

1. The most informative, detailed, explanatory style guide and wardrobe manual I have read (and I've read them all). Totally recommend this book to anyone obsessed with dressing for themselves and making sense of the information provided in other books to date.



2. It may say 2002, but it's actually the second printing. 1996 is the year and the photos say outdated and are distracting. The information is great, but then again some of it is based on the then current looks and fashion. And in the last month the price has dropped about in half, it must be clearance time, because the book sure needs a new look. The book in the intro. mentions an "instructor book", so where is that?
   I saw Judith in a sewing seminar, and thought that she really knows her stuff, and the book is well defined and divided in very concise chapters.
   I've always wanted to find more about her, she was an inspiration, a reference point. But did I remember all the the information from her seminar? In wanting the book, making sure I didn't miss anything, giving myself a gift for Christmas. Well, I bought the book and feel ripped off.



3. Rasband says personal color differences are so subtle that people needn't limit themselves and reminds that coloring is relative and appears to change depending on setting and does change with age and health. She then goes on to give detailed advice, from color theory, on how to alter the appearance of a color that is difficult for you to wear by, for example, using the Law of Areas. That's really what I want to know - how to wear whatever color I want by experimenting with the amount of it and the colors juxtaposed with it and, yes, an adjustment to my makeup colors or intensity.
   
   The book is formatted as a course workbook and thoroughly covers everything in one volume, surpassing my two shelves worth of wardrobe books. In fact, I am going to purge a number of confusing and misleading volumes in favor of referring to this one and plan to check Rasband first before I decide to read yet another wardrobe book. If you only buy one, I would start with this one.
   
   She uses a yin yang system of analysis of fashion "types" and garment details, much like Kibbe's Metamorphosis. They also seem to break down according to ingenue versions and more mature versions of the same sort of type. Superior and unique method of editing your closet and analyzing as you do. Scaling Down is better on why you really don't need to be afraid to let go of too much but Rasband is better on figuring out what little you do need and how to decide what goes. Covers capsule wardrobe ("clothing clusters"), borrowing from other types a la Emily Cho whom she credits (yes, I have those books, too), body builds including pregnancy, closet arrangement, wardrobe care, analysis of print fabrics and texture. Much is presented in detailed charts and throughout she anticipates your questions and answers them.
   
   Very much a "just the facts, Ma'am" pragmatic kind of approach. This is the antithesis of those shmaltzy books that try to prop your failing ego with little pep talks and exhortation or that chide you for letting yourself get out of hand. I didn't feel psychologized. She assumes no knowledge on your part and proceeds to tell you everything useful in a straightforward, respectful manner with no condescension or imperiousness. She explains and justifies her points throughout and does not ask you to take her word on faith. It is utterly factual and is about the information and how you can apply it and not about her or trying to be like her.
   
   Though this is the older edition, I found most of the photo illustrations still appealing and wearable. Ignore the atypical mannish outfit on the cover.

5 comments about M. C. Escher.

1. After viewing a display of Esher's art we wanted more information about him and his work. This book was perfect! It included so much of his work and his own thoughts about the creations. It is a good quality paperback book at a great price!



2. I thought I was buying a wall calendar, and instead received this engagement book. However, it is a very nice item. It is spiral bound, with sturdy, cardboard type pages. It contains both weekly pages and monthly pages. The monthly pages have squares too small to write anything in except a word or two. The weekly pages have enough room to write down projects, assignments or reminders. I am not educated in art - the only thing I know of M.C. Escher is optical illusions, but this book contains drawings, wood engravings, watercolors, etc. The pictures are spectacular and Escher has a new fan. I bought this as a gift, and thought of returning it, but I think the teen artist I bought it for will like it more than a wall calendar.



3. Many words come to mind when attempting to describe the work of Dutch artist M.C Escher: surreal, haunting, mysterious, dream-like.
   Escher is best known for his exploration of the boundaries between art and reality ("Drawing Hands", "Reptiles", "Print Gallery"), and for his distortion of everday objects and mathematical experimentation with geometric shapes, patterns and perspectives (too many of his paintings to number). His best and most characteristic works, including "Depth" (1955), "Stars" (1948), and (naturally), "Other World" (1946) are highly imaginative, creating a fantastic and indescribable dream-universe all their own, one which must ultimately be experienced in order to be fully appreciated.



4. M.C. Escher is one of those artists that editors and art critics can't help but spew nonsense about. Taschen's collection of Escher's work is remarkably sparse on editorializing and allows the works to do what they have always done best: draw the viewer into the magical and hypnotic realm of M.C. Escher. The prints are extremely crisp and thoughtfully arranged, unlike other collections that throw works together in a hodge-podge fashion.

   No other artist of the 20th century has had such wide approval and acclaim as M.C. Escher, and this slim volume perfectly expresses why that is so without resorting to pages upon pages of discussions on deconstruction, reality vs. illusion or image vs. icon, and all the other blah-blah-blah that you'll find in other collections. This collection just allows you to turn the pages and enjoy, which I did and you will too.




5. Just as the title suggests this book contains The Graphic Work of M.C. Escher. In the beginning of the book there are short descriptional insights about each of the pieces. The rest is filled with Eschers work. If you're an artist and need inspiration or like Eschers work this is a great book. Out of about 90 pages, 70 contain full page prints of Eschers work.

1 comments about Landscape and Power.

1. When reading this book, you'll find yourself having to reread portions again just to know what you read. As for myself, I read the first chapter (30 pages) and had to go back the next day and read again because I had no idea what I had just read, only that it was something about landscape. The language does not flow, and too many quotations from sources within the essays interrupt the flow of the author's own ideas. It may be groundbreaking in the study of landscape, but the difficulty of writing style gives it a definite drawback.

5 comments about Off the Cuff: The Guy's Guide to Looking Good.

1. My old boss recommended this book to me when I said that I knew nothing about men's fashion. The book has some decent advice, but I can't stand Kressley's writing style. How many times did he need to introduce a sentence with the word "people"? Also, his snotty decision not to include ironing tips for men's shirts because you should dry clean all your clothes anyway is retarded. Good tips if you don't feel like doing a lot of reading, but be prepared to be annoyed.



2. This is actually a pretty good book for the fashion novice. For a long time, I never considered myself at all interested in what I wore or how I looked. However, when I decided to try becoming an actor, appearance began to matter a bit more. This was around the the time I purchased this book, and I admit I purchased it not because I love the show Queer Eye, but because it was cheap.
   And the information in here is, to be fair, quite solid. Before reading this, I was overly fond of the color black, despite my fair skin and slim build. But on a tip from this book, I started switching to more greens, blues, and yellows, and have gotten nothing but compliments for it. I've also started taking more fastidious care of my skin and hair, and have to admit its a routine I have fallen into quite comfortably.
   The biggest drawback of this book, for me, was the author himself. Contained herein is great and accessible suggestions for how to match the colors up, how to freshen up your wardrobe, how to watch what pants with what shirt and shoes, etc. But behind it all is the obnoxiously flamboyant style of a man who's wrist is probably limper than wet noodle. For some fellows, like myself, it becomes annoying to read when each sentence whispers "I'm gay, tee hee!"
   Overall, a fairly quick read and solid information. Just do not purchase if you are excessively homophobic.



3. For a little over $12, this book gives a lot of info about the different types of clothes/accessories that the average guy would not have been aware of. It simple enough for anyone to read and gives a lot of useful tips without getting into too much detail about useless stuff.
   
   For example, the discussion on different types of pants and when it is appropriate to wear them is really very practical. A highly-recommended book for anyone who wants to improve their wardrobe.



4. This book has lots of good advice and helpful tips. It is written in Carson Kressley's inimitable style which means you will laugh out loud at times.



5. I bought this book for my husband. He's an engineer and they have a "uniform" - khaki pants and a golf shirt. I tried for years to upgrade this image, but to no avail. With a recent promotion and some hard earned weight loss, I wanted him to be more knowledgeable about how he gets dressed in the morning. I bought several books on men's fashion, but this is the one he refers to most often. It's simple, straight forward and funny, and it's getting good results. Thank you Carson!

3 comments about Pictorial Archive of Lace Designs: 325 Historic Examples (Dover Pictorial Archive Series).

1. I ordered this book in the hopes that I would find something I could use for work. I am a graphic designer. From my point of view, this book is perfect. Every page is filled with black and white, (probably bitmapped) images of lace. Some are art deco in style. Some look more like they are from the arts and crafts style. Some are more geometric. All are intricate. There are about 2 pages of publisher's note focusing on the history of lace. There are 2 sets of alphabets and 1 set of numbers. It was an excellent find for me. Hope it will be for you as well.



2. While this book shows incredible detail in the images of lacework, it does not provide a single word on the sources or dates of the lace pieces. This book will provide inspiration for lacemakers or designers (not patterns!) Historical costumers or reproduction lacemakers who require documentation for their work will wish to pass by this resource.



3. I know and appreciate very much Ms. Grafton's books. Being a lacemaker, a crocheter and an embroiderer, I really love the variety of laces presented in this book. Antique prints, drawings and photographs bring us many examples of historical laces. Needlelace plus Bruges, Venetian, Milanese, Teneriffe, Battenberg laces and Square-net embroidery are all presented in this book. Although very appealing to the eye, it could disappoint the novice lacemaker, because there are no instructions, prickings or diagrams; only a wealth of exquisitely detailed laces from many ages and countries. Anyway, it's a good source for advanced lacemakers (embroiderers, crocheters...): they can draw inspiration from those patterns to develop their own designs and prickings.

5 comments about Manga Mania Bishoujo (Manga Mania).

1. This book came with another one that I ordered. It's another great book to have.



2. Had good drawings of eyes, face, and etc. But is for more beginners than advanced drawers. It's kind of show steps you would take to get to the final product.



3. I must say, that looking at this cover is exactly what you will get throughout all of this book, well almost. Hart put his drawing in their as well, but it's not alot of it. Anyway, This book gives you examples of hair styles, facial expressions, clothes, and girl type. Although Hart's simple so called manga style is in some of the pages,the book is still very good. The contents of this book includes:
   The details of the head
   Character types
   Bishoujo hair
   The bishoujo body
   Advanced poses
   Bishoujo clothing
   Drawing characters in costumes
   Creating glamour
   Creating chemistry (only very little images of this section.)
   Magical girl effects. (Only a small portion of effects in this section)
   
   This book is a good start to giving you the basic idea of giving your girl character a appealing standing pose, as well as attractive hair. I definitely recommend this book for those who are having a slight problem with giving their female characters sex appeal, and if this book isn't your cup of tea, then I would recommend "More how to draw manga Volume 1: The basics of character drawing." That is another great book. Other than that Hart picked some good artists' for this book, so it's definitely worth buying.



4. This book is adorable. The art is stunning (That's because Christopher Hart only drew about 22 illustrations out of the whole book.)Christopher was never a good artist in the style of manga. I'm was never a fan of his art and still isn't.
   But this book is great to have for refrence, most of the book is not for beginners, But it might be useful for them to buy it anyway. It does has some simple steps for them in drawing the heads.
   It starts you off drawing beautiful eyes. Then the many lips and mouths and their expressions.
   Then drawing the head in different poses.
   And then it goes to teaching you how to draw the Cheat between the Pretty Girl (only two pages though.)
   It shows you 9 pages on hair, when wind is blowing, between short, long, medium, and wild hair. The many curves of hair and style. Also "When you change a hair style, you change a character" page. It gives you 12 pages on body expressions and poses and Body Language.
   3 pages on the poses of hands and (2 pages)
   on feet (note all feet pictures except one, is wearing some kind of shoe.) It also tells you between a Stylish Figure and a Seductive Figure,a Cool Figure, and Warrior Figure(4 pages.)
   It also have Advance Action Poses (11 pages.)
   It also has Bishoujo Clothing from Primitive to Techno Soldier to School to Professional Uniforms to Magical and non-Human costumes (11 pages.) They have Drawing Characters in Costume
   (17 pages)(the following is in order); Futuristic fighter and in medieval Futuristic Fighter, Fantasy Elf Princess and Rich Elf Princess, Traditonal in Country and Tropical, Athlete in Gymnast and Runner, Villian is Fantasy and Sci-fi, Scientist in Pretty and Beautiful, School Girls and their many uniforms.
   Glamouring up a Character (9 pages) shows you how you can make a character more glamourous by changing the hair, outfit, or pose. But afterwards it's Creating Chemistry (7 pages).
   And last but not least "Magical Girl Special Effects" (on the last 7 pages.) <--That might be very useful if you creating a Magical Bishoujo Manga.
   I'll give it 5 stars cause it was a very good book and most of the illustraions were amazing. It was worth the money.
   A Super Good Book for Kids. Cause it contains no nudy at all.
   But I think that this book is better than Christopher Hart's Shoujo Book.



5. Manga Mania was actually not bad. Chris Hart's books are rather hit or miss for me, but this book was very comprehensive. It covers the female figure in great detail in Japanese style. The contributing artists were wonderful and did a good job of showing the female figure and face from various angles.
   
   The sad thing about Chris Hart's books is that his own artistic style is so very poor. Frankly I could've done without his own illustrations, which is really too bad since he is the author.
   
   I think the couples illustration at the end, and the drawings of the face from various angles were worth this book's price alone.
   
   5 stars. A book I'll use again and again!

1 comments about Motion Graphic Design: Applied History and Aesthetics, 2nd Edition.

1. Jon's done a terrific job with this stunning new book, which is packed with a wide variety of examples from network station idents, movie graphics design and much more.
   
   What I liked best about this book is:
   
   + packed with tons of color photos, the most photo-packed, professional, slick and well illustrated book I've seen on the topic
   + wide variety of examples discussed and annotated, from broadcast station logo work to movies and much more
   + features examples and discussions of works from top design shops, like Blur and others
   + concise, accurate, insightful treatment of content: he's on target with his comments and I learned a lot about how the artistry plus creative design process works, with cutting edge examples
   + current and professional content; not dated, very topical and timely
   
   In short, his book is to "how to do motion graphic design right" what the Meyer's books on how to use AE are, for the industry. Exceptionally well done book and one of my top 2-3 favorites, of dozens I have on the topic.
   
   Well done, Jon - thanks for putting this together, and for producing such a professional, well thought out and illustrated resource. A "must have" for any of us who are learning and refining our craft in motion graphics design work. A+++! Get this book now.
   
   -Ken

5 comments about The Essence of Style: How the French Invented High Fashion, Fine Food, Chic Cafes, Style, Sophistication, and Glamour.

1. Nice book. Gives us an indepth knowledge of how fashion took place and evolved. Nice to read how the many common articles of fashion we see today were styled and how the entire process of style took place



2. Fantastique! As entertaining as it is enlightening! Authoress Joan DeJean's delightful and witty style of writing will make you feel as if you too are partaking of all the lavish indulgences and gossip of King Louis the Fourteenth's court!



3. This is not really a book, but more of a collection of essays examining the origin of various modern concepts of style: hair, culture, fashion, marketing/tourism, footwear, fine dining, coffee, champagne, diamonds, mirrors, nightlife, umbrellas, shopping, perfumes, and entertaining.
   
   As a scholar of French history and culture, the unifying theme of Joan DeJean's work is that the origins of these parts of our modern society came in the reign of Loius XIV of France, and fairly amazing are largly unchanged since their implementation.
   
   By this I mean not the specifics of style, but in the way they function in the greater culture.
   
   DeJean speaks well to the technology being developed at the time as well as the reasons that the late 1600's were the first time these aspects of life could be mass consumed, instead of say, the 1200's.



4. I wasted an hour searching for something of substantive interest in this work. It was time spent in vain. A frivolous book about frivolous things.



5. Topic Selection: B+ Although the book may seem a little all over the place to some, focusing on such diverse aspects of culture as food, clothing, champagne, perfume, parties, and even umbrellas, DeJean does a good job of relating the different parts of the book to one another. She ties them all to a very specific period of history and especially to Louis XIV.
   
   Scholarship: C- DeJean seems to rely fairly heavily on a rather small number of sources, despite the fact that the total number of sources is pretty good. Also, at least some footnotes would help the book.
   
   Readability: A- This book was obviously written to be consumed by a general audience. DeJean's style is very easy to read, although some of the chapters seem repetitive, as she often comes to the same conclusion.
   
   Impartiality: C I detected a definite "France is great" tone to this book that could sometimes be a little distracting. One also gets the impression that DeJean thinks that the move towards rapidly changing fashions was inevitably a good thing, for which she does not give a reason. She was not biased in an overbearing way, but there is definitely a bias there.
   
   Overall: B- I really enjoyed the book and for beginners to this area of history, I think it is ideal. You learn a lot of those little things that you always wondered about, such as where the concept of dessert comes from. DeJean's style is readable and she is obviously passionate about the subject. Serious scholars should stay away, as the book does not always adequately cite it's sources and does not prove its argument as adequately as it could.

No comments about 101 Celtic Spirals (101 Celtic).