5 comments about After Effects Apprentice (DV Expert Series).

1. A hands on approach to learning Adobe After Effects software. An excellent choice for anyone who wants to jump right into After Effects and for those of us who learn the best by examples and using the software right away.



2. I wanted to be a step ahead of the rest before I entered into my first class dealing with after effects. This book did it in record time! I even finished the second book in the series before our first project. I learned the ins and outs and beyond, and I didn't know how to do anything with AE before hand. I HIGHLY recommend this book as well as it's counter-part!!!



3. For anyone wanting to learn professional After Effects techniques, starting from scratch, this book is the one book I would recommend. Should be required reading for any motion graphics artist.
   
   I also recommend ALL the other books by Chris and Trish Meyer.
   
   Written in an engaging and readable style, the book nonetheless documents all the important functions of Adobe After Effects up to and including CS3, as well as including some secrets that are not easily discovered from reading the manual.
   
   Some of the tips, individually, are worth the price of the book.
   
   A genuine bargain, interesting presentation, and contains tips and details you may not find elsewhere.
   
   Good for beginner, to high-intermediate level after effects users.
   Includes information on incorporating the rest of Adobe's Creative Suite products into the workflow.



4. I bought this book because it was a required text for my After Effects class in junior college. This book is geared more towards beginner and intermediate users of After Effects CS3 and is written by Chris and Trish Meyer who have written many other books on After Effects and are two of the best motion graphics artists around. So if you're looking for an organized book to learn the ins and outs of After Effects then I would definately give this book a try.



5. clear explanation and good instruction. However, too many hints diverse readers from what they are reading.

5 comments about The Pocket Stylist: Behind-the-Scenes Expertise from a Fashion Pro on Creating Your Own Look.

1. Kendall Farr is one of the best stylists in the business. The chapter on tailoring is excellent. How many of us have passed up a great article of clothing just because it didn't fit perfectly? She mentions classic, timeless but modern looks throughout the book. I like her wide range of designer recommendations for each body type, and no, they're not ALL super expensive. Now I NEVER waste time shopping for clothes I know won't look right on me. I bought this book in 2004, when first published, and still review it regularly. It should be on every woman's bookshelf.



2. This terrific book changed the way I think about clothing fit, and what I should be wearing and buying. It's the most useful fashion/clothing book I own, and probably a good purchase for many women. The ideas are timeless, but still immediately applicable for a variety of women, budgets, sizes, and style preferences. I highly recommend it. I had come to Amazon just to buy the Lucky shopping guide, and bought this in addition to the Lucky book because of all the positive reviews -- I'm so glad I did, because this is the book I like better of the two!



3. Reading this book is like listening to a big sister tell you the things that you really need to know, but no one else is saying. She'll tell you when to get rid of things, when to rethink them, and how to choose what will flatter you. I've had my stylish moments before, but now I know what exactly made them work, and how to create a look that is my own. Thank you Kendall for putting pen to paper on behalf of American womene everwhere.



4. very helpful book. i wish i had it long ago. i would have avoided useless purchases.



5. The Pocket Stylist is the best of the books on style and wearing what flatters your shape, including larger sizes.
   
   I also purchased the Lucky Shopping Manual which was like reading the magazine, not near as good as The Pocket Stylist.
   
   The Pocket Stylist: Behind-the-Scenes Expertise from a Fashion Pro on Creating Your Own Look

1 comments about Hellboy II: Art of the Movie (Hellboy).

1. Anyone who purchased the first Art of HELLBOY will not be disappointed by this "sequel". Mike Mignola & Wayne Barlowe are now joined by the talents of Francisco Ruiz Valasco & Stephen Scott. Guillermo Del Toro again includes his notebook sketches for some evolutionary insight between his imagining to finished character. The complete & final script is once again included. As impressive as this book is I must admit I am even more eager about the forthcoming Monsters of Hellboy II. But this book does stand alone quite easily for anyone, Either for fans of the series or anyone interested in design.

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 Dress Your Best: The Complete Guide to Finding the Style That's Right for Your Body.

1. What a stupid book. The entire book is poorly laid out and the information given for each body type is vague at best. For example, I'm considered curvy, average height and the book tells me to wear "a straight dress for an hourglass shape to accentuate curves." How the hell does a STRAIGHT dress do that? It doesn't even get into skintone and color which is essential!



2. Stacy and Clinton have provided a useful guide to help both men and women max out their style quotients.
   
   That being said, bear in mind that the authors wanted this book to be as helpful to as many people as possible. As a result: even though this book is over two hundred pages long, only a few pages (eight on average, my rough guess) could be devoted to any one unique physical type. So if you're slim and petite, eight pages of this book will be very useful to you. The rest won't. Tall and stocky? Again, eight pages of this book should be right down your alley, but that's all. Muscular and medium height? Eight pages, that's it. And so on...
   
   Another quibble with this book is that it never really touches on the subject of matching the right color to your skin tone. We've all seen on the show where the authors will tell their makeover candidate, "Don't wear this color, it brings out the yellow in your skin more, it washes you out. THIS color, on the other hand, looks GREAT with your skin tone. Notice the difference, how it brings out the color in your cheeks and your eyes?"
   
   You won't get that type of counseling here. So if you're wondering whether burgundy will go better with your complexion than red, or if shade X works better with your skin tone than shade Y, you're on your own. (Hopefully, future editions of this book will rectify this.)
   
   Those criticisms aside, this book is an entertaining read and provides good, clear, easy-to-follow instructions on how to improve your wardrobe, regardless of what your body type is.



3. The book is fantastic. I sent it to five other people and they all liked it very much. Even my husband found useful information in the men's 'tall' section.
   Grace Lundergan



4. This book was full of good concepts and ideas for building of one's wardrobe. I would recommend it to anyone looking to upgrade their style and have a fresher, fabulous look.



5. Lots of very good tips in this book and even if they dont have your exact body type you can find whats close to yours and go from there.

5 comments about Dream Worlds: Production Design for Animation.

1. Hans Bacher has created a wonderful, insightful and beautiful book, which is a work of art in its own right. Yet, it IS an instructional book on the process of Production Design for animation. Whether you are a student of animation, a film aficionado, or a working industry professional, you will find something new to think about and much to appreciate on every page.
   
   The images are clear, and both appropriately chosen to illustrate Mr. Bacher's points and serve as coffee table worthy art. His precise and yet easy way of presenting the subject of Production Design is a fast read, while remaining, educational, interesting, and enjoyable all the way through. Well worth the investment.



2. I've been looking for a book like this for years! I've been able to find some great books about the principles of moving an animated character around and the "Art of"-type of books about a particular movie can be very inspiring and educational in their own right, but a book that deals with the thought process that goes into the production design of an animated film is long overdue. I wish it could have delved deeper into the more theoretical "nuts and bolts" of things like setting up camera shots for both 2D and 3D animation--I guess I'm looking for something more technical, where this book still has a "coffee table" feel to some of the individual chapters on particular films--but it's already had a big impact on the way I lay out scenes in my own work. I have a feeling this one is going to be on my drawing table for a long time!



3. Hans Bacher's retrospective of his years at Disney should be in every animation professional's library, actually it should be in every filmmaker's library. This is all the work that goes on behind the scenes to create the beauty we see on the screen. Hans is a genius when is comes to screen composition, color, visual motif.



4. Everything in it is golden. The information is superb. Definitely a must have for production artist interested in animation field.
   I can see this book become the most sought book in animation field.
   Filled with nothing but legendary works of arts.
   Definitely a must have.
   
   Now i have praised everything that i need to praise about the content, let's deal with the bad.
   
   Everything will be perfect if only the publishers know the difference between a bad paper and a good paper.
   For a hard cover book, i do not expect such poor quality of papers to be used.
   
   It is a bit insulting to see maestro works such as Eyvind Earle's and many others to be presented in a low quality paper. The book is as guilty as Leonardo Da Vinci's glorified failure of his "Last Supper", if you know what i mean.
   
   Everything is great but the presentation and the medium used ruin the supposedly a glorious victory.



5. What a wonderful opportunity the publishers have squandered here. The author is clearly very informed and his own art work, outstanding. The illustrations are essentially wonderful too. So what's wrong? Lack of courage on the part of the publishers. A work of this magnitude needs to be reproduced at a size to fit its contents. The illustrations are very often way too small - little bigger than postage stamps at times - and even the full-pagers would have benefitted from a larger page to fill. The text is also far too brief - almost anecdotal and saying far less than it could. This book cries out for pages that are 2 - 3 times larger and the text demands a book of twice the length. It was extremely frustrating to peer at art work that so deserves to be reproduced at a good size on quality paper. Would I recommend it? Of course. Much of the art work has not to my knowledge been published elsewhere. Just make sure you have a magnifying glass to hand!

5 comments about Visual Explanations: Images and Quantities, Evidence and Narrative.

1. In this third book by Tufte on graphics, he provides great examples through history where good pictures conveyed important information to decision makers and bad graphics left uncetainty and indecision. A great success story is the identification of the source of the cholera epidemic in London in the 1850s. With regard to the Challenger Space Shuttle, Tufte suggests that one good picture may have convinced the NASA engineers of the need to avoid launching at low temperatures. Great pictures, great examples and great advice are found throughout the book. You may not believe that graphs can be used to answer all scientific questions but Tufte will convince you that they are important and must be done right!



2. Many excellent examples on conveying many types of quantitative data across a wide variety of subjects. The only problem is that, to create most of these, one must be a graphic artist. If one needs to convey highly technical quantitative information, especially to layman, this gives the reader a good idea/perspective of how to explain to graphic artists hired along what general lines an illustration should be made.



3. Tufte's series on visualization will surely go down as classics. He's readable, he's right, and he's engaging.
   
   The only thing is, as pretty and as well-founded the book is in certain principles, it's my opinion that... that the average reader doesn't understand design problems enough that this book will present anything new.
   
   Meaning, the book is so intuitive, that, it seems pointless anyone would ever have to write a beautiful book like this -- *UNLESS* you have been stymied over and over again by mudglobs of creative ad hoc-kery and ad-hoc functionality, or, if you have been victimized by the unfunctional sheen of superglossy animated 3-d search engines (data visualizations, etc).
   
   Here's maybe the test -- if the price tag of this book seems excessive, you haven't been slogging through enough terrible textbooks to see what a light and airy gem of fresh... >sigh< air this book is.
   
   Otherwise - buy the Tufte series all at once, and see if you can't save bucks on the group discount.



4. Visual Explanations is not a usual book. It is like a knowledgeable friend walking with you through a museum: pointing out good design and bad ideas; linking various domains (graphic design, usability, psychology) together. You learn things slowly, almost by symbiosis. Visual Explanations will be enchanting for people who have the time to read it in that way. It will be frustrating for people looking for a practical guide: This is not a textbook. The book itself is beautifully produced.
   Topics covered include: clarity and purpose of information, color scheme choice, and composition of images.



5. In this book, an expert of visual explanations uses visual explanations to tell us his ideas how to use visual cues to explain concepts, quantities, timelines etc. Tufte, with his eternal self-confidence and succinct prose gives good examples and shows how a good image can be better; gives bad examples and has no hesitation to call something (even authorities' products) 'ghastly' or 'nightmare'. I think this book is a must for anybody who wants to use visual cues and examples for the ideas they want to convey. That is, everybody, in this time and age of information.

5 comments about The Fashion Designer Survival Guide: An Insider's Look at Starting and Running Your Own Fashion Business.

1. As a fashion design student, I was given this book before attending school by a friend. I read it all in one day and really appreciated all the information in it. But, I will say that I understood most of the business end of the information because I had already taken a college level business class.
   
   The information in this book is very general and I would say it is excellent for someone who is thinking about going into the fashion industry and wants a realistic view of the process. Reading it before attending classes will give you a head start to understanding key concepts that will be covered.
   
   If you already have a degree, I agree with one of the other reviewers, I wouldn't buy it.



2. This extremely well written book is enough to put you off even thinking of venturing into starting your own fashion label!! It is very well researched and obviously written by someone who is EXTREMELY conversant with the notoriously fickle and difficult fashion industry.I have worked in fashion at the design level as a patternmaker for well over 30 years and Mary Gelhar has put together a very informative manual.
   It is exactly as it is, no matter what country you live in.
   Take note anyone attempting to start your own label!!!



3. This is a great book for those interesting in the fashion business. I am not a designer, but I am a marketing consultant to several fashion designers. This book has helped me, help my clients.



4. This is an excellent tutorial IF you already have a basic background in the fashion industry, otherwise, you might not understand certain information predicated on the assumption of a knowledge base.
   
   I would most certainly recommend it for anyone thinking of starting their own business in the fashion industry. It will skillfully guide you through the land mines of the fashion landscape and prevent you from getting a leg blown off!
   
   Clear, concise and thorough. Lots of 'white space' on every page prevents the reader from being overwhelmed and sublimimally infers that starting your own business IS simple enough that you absolutely can succeed!
   
   Just do your due diligence with Mary. Good luck!



5. I am not a fashion designer, but when I bought this book, I was starting my own fashion business and this book was exactly what I needed to help me along. For someone just starting out in the fashion business, this book explains everything you need to know from what kind of company to set up, setting up a business plans and legal issues to production and PR. This is a great, well rounded guide that is easily set up so it is very easy to understand and read. This is a must have for anyone who wants to get into the business of fashion

5 comments about Tony Duquette.

1. This is a wonderful book and with Amazon's amazingly inexpensive price, you really can't pass this one up. Tony Duquette was a master of style with an incredible eye, and a creative genius. HIGHLY recommended.



2. Tony DuquetteI am an interior designer of some 20 years and while I found this book interesting it had very little to do with interiors and more to do with a very specific, unique and strange lifestyle. I'm sure the man was brilliant just know this book is not about liveable interiors.



3. Having lived in Los Angeles since 1981 and working as an art editor for a regional magazine, the name Tony Duquette came up time and again in my social circles. Without question, he was an amazing talent the likes of which we may never see again in our lifetime. His imagination and passion for his unworldly, surrealist visions are captured in this brilliantly orchestrated book. Bravo and brava to the authors! A must-have for everyone's art library!



4. I met Tony and his wife in Ireland - we were staying at Heney McIlhennys castle - he was terrible charming - I did not know of his career and am so sorry I didn't question him til he was exhausted.
   
   karen marcus



5. This is a visually beautiful book that surveys the creative life of Tony Duquette, an artist best-know for his stage sets (Kismet, etc.)and high fashion jewelry. Less well known are his amazing home interior and garden designs, as well as his free-wheeling sculptures, many of them made from recycled and re-imagined objects. The photography is of the highest quality - most of it, I suspect, archival from fashion magazines over the decades.

2 comments about LogoLounge 4: 2000 International Identities by Leading Designers.

1. This book, like the other LogoLounge's, is very helpful. It shows different logos and always helps me find new solutions from the inspirations in the book.



2. As with previous editions, this book continues to provide designers with superb reference for contemporary logo designs.
   
   Extremely inspiring...at a great price!