No comments about Conceptual Drawing.

1 comments about Peruvian Textile Designs (International Design Library).

1. I bought this for my daughter who is in college studying textile design. She found the illustrations very useful for this course of study, and she was able to use samples of the designs in her artwork.

3 comments about Man's Ruin: The Posters & Art of Frank Kozik.

1. What I love about so much of Frank Kozik's work is that on first glance you see a sweet image, but when you start looking at details you see just how twisted they really are! The work in this book is no exception, starting with the cover image of a boy swinging with a giant roach and a leg brace! In fact, I think new things come out with each viewing.

   This is a great book to have on your coffee table to get conversation flowing. Very high quality too!




2. if have bought this book a few month ago. i found a lot of the old style posters from the "salad days". the book is a great summary of the interesting style of kozik. everytime when i take a look on it, i found some new details.



3. This wonderful volume covers the first 12 years of poster Artist Frank Kozik's career. Covers every phase of this lowbrow artist savant's development: from the early punk rock photocopies to the newer, wildly colorful and imaginative silk-screen designs. Kozik's work has brought rock poster art back into the forefront. A must have for any poster collector.

2 comments about The Techniques of Sprang: Plaiting on Stretched Threads.

1. I purchased a hardcover edition of Techniques in the mid-70's and have guarded it carefully ever since. I was first introduced and attracted to the sprang technique through a fun little spiral bound craft book entitled How to Make Your Own Hammock & Lie in It, by Denison Andrews (copyright 1972, Workman Publishing Company, ISBN 0911104186), which I also value highly. Andrews' book very clearly describes how to make sprang (and several other kinds of) hammocks. Andrews shows how to set up a basic loom arrangement which I simplified even further - using a configuration depicted and explained by Collingwood - to two 1" dowels, a pegged 2x6 warping board, 3 thin/narrow "sword" boards from standard wood trim stock, and a few screw eyes and hooks - the whole affair about $15 or less in today's money. Andrews gives a direct, simple, fun and quick technique to make a large rectangle of fabric for the hammock body (about a day and a half's effort) as a great introduction to the craft of sprang.
   
   Collingwood's book is biblical and introduces the techniques of the art of sprang (pronounced "sprong [with 2 dots over the o]", as Collingwood explains). The author covers only sprang, as you would expect from the book's title, and his coverage is in complete, intimate, readily grasped detail, with many helpful and useful illustrations and instructions. The book is exhaustive and engaging, covering sprang history, looms, fabrics, uses, materials, techniques, patterns, and possibilities. If you want to actually fully understand and do the art of sprang weaving to make a wide variety and nature of projects, as well as know about the craft of sprang, this is THE book!



2. superb, like all of collingwood's books. the instructions are clear and easy to follow the book is full of primary source references and diagrams. if you have an interest in sprang this book will tell you everything you could ever concive wanting to know in an interesting and lucid fashion. this review makes it sound stupid but the book will speak for itself -if you have an interest in fiber arts just order it!

4 comments about Pin-Up Art of Bill Ward.

1. For those who can't get ahold of the hardcover, now-sold-out _The Glamour Girls of Bill Ward_ (also edited by Alex Chun) or who can't afford the huge _The Wonderful World of Bill Ward_ (published by Taschen), this is a cheap, readily available alternative with enough of Ward's classic glamour girls to satisfy all but the most hard-core, completist fan of Ward's work. The book is published in trade-paperback format, so the illustration reproductions are not as big as in the other two books, but the quality is quite satisfactory.
   
   As he did in _Glamour Girls_, Chun has chosen to focus on the art that Ward is most famous for, and the art that Ward himself loved the best; the voluptuous, elegantly dressed, Ekbergesque (as in Anita Ekberg, one of the inspirational models for Ward's beauties) lovelies that populated the pages of so many men's magazines in the 1950's and 1960's - and not the raunchier work that he did in his later years, much of which he did strictly for the fee. These classic cartoons, by contrast, were done as much for love as for money, and it shows; there's an elegant lushness in them that doesn't show up in his later X-rated work. The selection includes a healthy number of Ward's (in)famous "telephone girls". While some of the cartoons and drawings chosen for this book are the same as in _Glamour Girls_, many of them are new to book publication; thus, if you really love Ward's girls, you'll want to get all three of the books that are currently in print. Definitely a "must have" for fans of pinup art.



2. If you're a baby-boomer or older, chances are you've seen Bill Ward's art, even if you didn't necessarily know the name. Ward was one of the premiere and pioneering artists of what came to be known as Good Girl Art in the 40's and 50's. Good Girl Art refers to those comics depicting attractive women in various stages of undress or, quite often, in some form of bondage. These covers were quite popular in both pulp magazines and comic books of the era and are highly prized among collectors today.
   
   Ward's most famous creation was "Torchy" Todd, the sexy blonde bombshell who made her first appearance in the mid-1940's. Torchy's run in comics was cut short by the crusade against sex and violence in comics in the 1950's. Leaving comics, Ward moved on to work for editor Abe Goodman's Humorama line of magazines that included titles such as Gee-Whiz, Romp, Snappy, Laugh Riot, and more. There he began his prolific run of sexy one-page cartoons featuring his stunning Good Girl Art.
   
   The Pin-up Art of Bill Ward from Fantagraphics packs 260 pages of these classic one panel pin-up cartoons into the book. The Ward female of these cartoons is classic 1950's pin-up: large breasts, thin waist, wide hips, and a round bottom. The classic hourglass figure complete with the pouty lips and eyes that can make any man melt. These women are bawdy and busty and make no apologies for utilizing their physical assets. Fetishists will love Ward's hilarious series of spanking cartoons, which are often girl-on-girl. In one, an angry boss with a black eye is spanking his secretary and telling her, "This will teach you to let my wife catch you sitting on my lap!" In another, a bank President is showing his gorgeous blonde customer what the penalty is at his bank for overdrawing her account.
   
   Among the other cartoons in the book is Ward's series of telephone girl gags. These generally feature one of his gorgeous models lying on a bed or sofa in a negligee or other type of lingerie, talking on the phone. There's also a fair share of Ward's burlesque stripper cartoons. In one, two men are ogling a dancer clad only in panties and pasties. One exclaims, "This is one thing television will never replace!"
   
   Wardss pin-ups are truly the 50'sand 60's American male view of the perfect female. These classic cartoons and drawings have lost none of their humor even after some fifty years.
   
   Reviewed by Tim Janson



3. Typical for a Bill Ward book, this contains a terrific representation of his gorgeous pinup work. The main drawback of this volume is the rather small size, but the great selection of artwork mostly makes up for that. Recommended for any fan of Ward or pinup art.



4. Now that Alex Chun's first book on Bill Ward is sold out Fantagraphics have wisely decided there is a market for a cheaper edition. This is not a straight reprint of the original, 'The Glamour Girls of Bill Ward' (ISBN 1560975318) which was a large size portfolio edition, beautifully printed. This current title is much smaller with an edited intro from the original but what looks like a different selection of art. Still good value if you like Bill's art.
   
   Considering that he can only really be considered on the fringes of quality girly art it is amazing that three books of his output have been published in the last three years. Ward claims to have drawn thousands of pin-ups over the years so I expect there will be more titles in the future.
   
   The two from Fantagraphics are good but Eric Kroll's The Wonderful World of Bill Ward, King of the Glamour Girls (Various)with its chunky size, comprehensive illustrated biography and hundreds of pin-ups must really be the last word on Ward.

1 comments about The Animation Producer's Handbook.

1. It's the first book I've read on animation production that wasn't just a glorified autobiography about the writers 'fabulous' career!
   
   This book is for people who are unfamiliar with the business side of animation, and have the desire to find out more before they commit to it.
   
   This covers a lot of very basic information, as well as common practices and procedures. It's written in the tone of a dry instructional manual, which I appreciate. This industry (and the people in it!) are emotional enough already.
   
   After reading this, I feel better equipped to begin the process of starting my own studio.

No comments about Package Design.

4 comments about Michael Thompson: Images.

1. I love this book, and Michael Thompson is a great photographer. I always buy a magazine if i know he has a photo spread in it... really great



2. Reviews are here to help us, but even after reading a negative review of the book I figured for the used price of less then half how could you go wrong. Unfortunately I was wrong, I should of listened but this book isn't very good, the best picture is probably the one on the front. There are some good ones, maybe 10 percent. Only half of the pages even have images. Its a blank page on the left and picture on the right etc. Not very neat or interesting images at all. Anyone can paint someone, make it interesting. Anyways I highly recommend you check out this book before buying or you'll be sorry just like me.



3. I've heard about this fashion photographer so when I bought his book, I expected models and beautiful pictures. The book was over 100 pages long but half of them were blank! Also, many of the pictures are odd, like a person, naked in blue paint. There was another pictures of a finger in red powder. The best picture is the cover and that's it. If you're expecting models and designer clothes, this is not the book for you.



4. The book was sent to me exactly when it was supposed to be sent and in excellent shape. kudos to this seller!

No comments about Chloe.

4 comments about Afrikan Alphabets: The Story of Writing in Africa.

1. I had expected this book to be worded differently and to include many alphabets of the afrikan languages. It was a good read.



2. esqueçamos um pouco essa cultura eurocentrada. olhemos além.
   as coisas mais próximas da terra.



3. This book is fantastic in covering the history of indigenous African scripts, a subject many are unaware of. However, the author should have begun by discussing the beginning of African writing which took place in Ancient Kemet (Egypt). He did not discuss it at all. Perhaps one could claim that it is because the script is no longer in use, but then why did the author discuss some contemporary scripts that are not in use? The only other reason I could think of is because Egypt is already so well known and he wanted to focus on the Sub-Saharan groups that are more disregarded. Fair enough, but then the author should have discussed the Meroitic script of the ancient Nubians of Kush and noted the lack of global interest in deciphering this ancient alphabet.
   
   Otherwise, the book is fantastic and the Zimbabwean author a blessing to the global community of people of African descent. His understanding of the unity of our people is unsurpassed and refreshing in light of the separatism we are taught to practice among ourselves.



4. Afrikan Alphabets: The Story Of Writing In Afrika is the impressive result of author Saki Mafundikwa's 20-year effort to collect information on writing systems throughout Africa. Pictographs, mnemonic devices, syllabaries and alphabets are all graphically presented with pronounciation guides, and color photographs of people, art and documents, and brief essays concering the histories of various writing scripts. A superb reference guide and a fascinating linguistic history.