4 comments about Animation Art: From Pencil to Pixel, the World of Cartoon, Anime, and CGI.

1. I loved this book, read it four times. It covered all types of animation
   including stop motion. It was organized by decade, by country. There were
   many contributors who chose what they were most interested in and I guess
   their passion rubs off because it is hard to put down and very informative.
   If you want a course in animation history, just read this and save your
   tuition money. I don't know how Jerry Beck does it all but we all
   benefit from his dedication. Thank you, Jerry. Keep up the good work.



2. Animation Art is a comprehensive look at the history, development and cultural effects of animation and cartoons.
   
   From the early days up to the latest blockbusters of the 21st century, the authors have covered all concepts, genres and media. Including European, Asian and Canadian cartoons, stop motion, CGI and more.
   
   Beautifully presented with many colour pictures and written by experienced contributors it leaves no stone unturned.
   
   The only disappointment is the amount of text devoted to one of my all time favourites, Tom & Jerry.
   
   Otherwise a comprehensive tome that will provide for anybody interested in animation.



3. This is a magnificent achievement. Serving as General Editor, Jerry Beck has brought together in a single volume a riveting narrative which examines the history of cartoon, anime, and CGI with stunning full-color illustrations of that history. As he explains in his Introduction, "We have assembled an international team of animation authorities to tell the tales behind the toons. -The story is told in chronological sequence with choice images that enhance its history...From popular Disney characters to obscure personal films, it is all covered: Hollywood hits and Japanese anime, as well as Russian masterpieces and Asian artfilms. Looking it over, it is quite a wild ride." Indeed it is. The material is skillfully organized within twelve chapters which range from "The Origin of the Art" to "The New Century." By no means do I claim to be an expert on the subject of animation art but I presume to observe that I cannot imagine what has been left out. The illustrations are stunning; the prose narrative is crisp and lucid.
   
   In the Foreword, Jeffrey Katzenberg observes that animation art provides a unique opportunity "to remember to know who has gone before, to really know the stories, take lessons from them, and bring that knowledge to the future. My hope is that, one day, other people will feel the same way about about those of us who are making animated films now. While it is an amazing thing to have the opportunity to create films and to bring these enormous enterprises to the world, it is something entirely different and entirely more rare to have our work remembered and considered part of the continuing evolution of an art form." Thanks to Beck, those who work their way through this magnificent volume will not only remember what has been achieved in animation art thus far; they will also understand what can yet be accomplished as others who have yet to reveal themselves through their art.
   
   I highly recommend this volume to anyone interested in animation art, of course, but also to those who have an interest in the creation and evolution of comic books. Also to those who share my high regard for illustrators such as Al Hirschfeld whose art is celebrated in Hirschfeld on Line, now available from Amazon in both book and DVD formats.



4. Informative and entertaining,another good effort by Mr. Beck. I recommend this for any fan of animation.

5 comments about Observing the User Experience: A Practitioner's Guide to User Research.

1. I bought both your book as well as Mental Models AS PER YOUR RECOMMENDATION AND REGRETTED THAT MORE.
   
   Yours is information vaguely spread along 560 pages and Indi's book is totally abstract, which I am still trying to understand. I would have appreciated if you could have cut all the fluff in 60 pages instead.
   
   GOD KNOWS how do you guys get all the five stars FROM



2. If only all my college textbooks were this well written and practical, I would have saved tons of money on coffee! The style of the book is conversational, the organization is clear, and the user research tips are great! This book has been a valuable resource to frame my graduate course in human computer interaction. Each week we cover a chapter and post our reactions to our Shiny Happy People user experience blog. The book has many layers, so that the usability novice to expert can glean plenty of tips and techniques.



3. I can recommend this book. It is well-written and readable, with practical advice and examples. I am referencing it as part of my daily work as a Usability Analyst in a large government department.



4. This book rocks! Of all the reference resources I have in my cube, this is the one I lend out to people who ask, "jb, what is user research and how do you do it?" Mike's book has the techniques down - soup to nuts -- useful for the novice and seasoned practitioner.



5. I'm always recommending this book to my colleagues. This is not a book that is meant to be read cover to cover. It's more of a desk top reference for all kinds of user research techniques. I've found it to be very comprehensive. Buy it, you won't regret it!

5 comments about Brian Froud's World of Faerie.

1. I purchased this book for a gift and was very disappointed that it didn't look like the book advertised. It was missing the paper jacket cover with the faerie holding the mask. Is there anyway I can get the original cover for this beautiful book?



2. If you like Brian Froud, this is a must for your collection. Here we have a welcome return to the magical lands that only Froud has the gifts to take us to. The production values of this edition are first rate, the colours are rich and the subject matter alone justifies the oversized format. The added mini-books within the book are a special surprise, showing just how individual and innovative volumes of this genre can be. If you have been following Froud's work for some years (like I have) you may notice some of his earlier works from other publishers reprinted here, personally I don't mind, this collection is of higher quality and should hold up better over time. So sit back, grab a nice cup of tea and visit or revisit the dark and dangerous and sometimes silly Lands of Faerie, brought to you by the man who sees it best.



3. This is Brian Froud's best book yet. I subscribe to his newsletters, and Froud has been raving about how excited he is about this book for months. I received a copy for my birthday, and I totally understand his excitement. It contains pieces of art that have never never been published before, as well as old favorites from his other books such as Faeries, or Good Faeries, Bad Faeries. Reading through the book is a magical experience as Brian Froud leads you through the World of Faerie, helping you discover things along the way. He takes you behind the scenes of some of his work and points out hidden things, symbolism, and the folklore behind the image you are looking at. Froud delves into the personal meaning in some of his pieces, as well as the circumstance in which he painted it. I've been a fan of his work for ten years now (I'm only twenty-two), and have realized new things about his work that I had not noticed before reading this book. I highly recommend it to any Froud fan. It is a must-have for your collection.



4. What else can be said about Brian Froud, other than the fact that he is brilliant and overwhelmingly talented? I own every one of his publications, including a first edition 1978 book, "The wind between the stars". Brian's imagination can't be touched. I, too am an artist and his drawings and movies inspire the living daylights out of me.



5. I do so love Brian Froud's work... unflinchingly insisting that faeries do in fact exist, he shows us the good and the bad, not just the pretty ones. But even the ugliest fae are full of life and mischief. I am joining in the dance, quite sure that the human race is not alone.

No comments about Dos & Don'ts 2: 13 Years of Vice Magazine's Street Fashion Critiques.

1 comments about Design Fundamentals for New Media.

1. Was not happy with at all, did not even get product because problems before it was supposed to be shipped. Canceled order. Only good thing was I got my refund right away. If you need the product fast, don't order from this person.

3 comments about 500 Metal Vessels: Contemporary Explorations of Containment (500 Series).

1. I got this book for my husband, a blacksmith, to inspire him. Even though he may not always be creating vessels, the variety of forms, surface treatments, and overall concepts is fabulous. We both loved looking through it. We wished there was more description of process by the artists (there were quotes from them just sporadically), so that we could further investigate!



2. I love ALL of the 500 books from Lark. They are great for inspiration and for learning new artists. I have almost the whole series!



3. I really like this book, there is a lot of good work. For those of you who had a fit about the unwearable jewelry in the various 500 jewelry books: many of these vessels are non functional. So I don't want to hear your complaints like, "I don't see how anyone could use that teapot..."

5 comments about Drawing Shortcuts: Developing Quick Drawing Skills Using Today's Technology.

1. Every once in awhile, a life changing book comes along. I've been creating Architectural Illustrations for over 40 years using airbrush, water color and pen and ink. I've never felt comfortable doing quick sketches. Jim's book clearly delineates the tools and techniques needed to produce drawings fast and on-site. Living in New Orleans, I'm involved in a lot of post Katrina planning and development. These new skills are an invaluable asset for my continued survival.
   
   Richard L. Gardner, New Orleans, LA



2. There are lots of good tips in this book. It is one I recommend to my architectural drawing students. It is very good on how to make quick presentations and it shows several midias and how to use them. As most of the students use 3d software for final presentations right now, I think this book is a very good motivation for using traditional midia techniques during process work. Making good and quick drawings for explaining ideas is a very useful skill and this book helps.



3. I got this book after participating in a Web Seminar with Mr. Leggitt. I think this is a very good source for anyone that would like to hone their quick drawing skills or look for different approaches for doing presentation drawings from all levels of detail. It might even give you a few ideas about using technology to your advantage to produce quick drawings. I would definately recommend this book to a beginner or students in architecture school. I know that students are always looking for ways to product great looking drawings in a minimal amount of time.



4. Very dissapointed in this book...especially since he is an advocate of Sketchup (which is why I anxiously wanted this book). I think some of his shortcuts are ok, but I found the book very, very repetitive (almost painfully) and the authors rendering style is just simply BRUTAL! I mean, it seems as if every one of his renderings include happy,smiley 1980's rocky mountain-type scale figures and all of the scale children hold teddy bears! His library of projects lack any pizzazz and there's just no sophistication to his rendering style. The most tedious read of the year for me.



5. I was left with the feeling from the other reviews that this book would be great for architects, which it is not. It is more for an art student. If you want a better book on architecture drawing get "Color Drawing: Design Drawing Skills and Techniques for Architects, Landscape Architects, and Interior Designers, 2nd Edition" by Michael E. Doyle

4 comments about Exploring Web Design (Design Exploration Series).

1. I found this book a little disappointing. If you already have a basic knowledge of Colour theory and know about CMYK & RGB, raster and vector images then this book may be too basic for you. It has173 pages with about 36 in colour. I found this quite annoying particularly when the author was talking about the effect of colour in a screenshot and the page is printed in black and white (grayscale) - so you can't see what he is talking about unless you go to the website yourself.
   
   I learned some new things but I don't think it is enough to rate this book any higher than a 3.



2. Hi Jeremey thank you and all affliated with the design and information provided in the book! For those who don't know Jeremey was a teacher at my college, Virginia College in Birmingham. He really helped me convey my inner thoughts of how to actually create something. I was stuck in design limbo for a long time till his teachings changed my life forever! To all involved with the work on this title it is our first book and hopefully we will have many more from VC our students and teachers are some of the best! Congrats!



3. I teach web design at a community college. Our biggest teaching issues aren't technology skills -- most students pick those up easily, and there are literally hundreds of technical books around to help -- but design skills. It's very hard to make a group of technology students care about color, type, and all the details that make a page communicate visually. There are other books that attempt to fill this gap (Robin Williams spring to mind) but no book has really done it WELL. This book has. I was worried asking my students to buy 'yet another' textbook with costs skyrocketing, but this book is a worthwhile investment. If you don't understand design basics is the place to start.



4. It took me two years to write this book.
   If you do not understand basic design principles this is the right book for you.

2 comments about What is Exhibition Design? (Essential Design Handbooks).

1. As a graduate student studying Exhibition Design and totally new to the field, this book gives a fantastic overview of what the practice really is. I find myself going back to the book a lot to find inspiration for projects. The best part of the book is the list of companies and and examples of work they have created. It gives you an idea of who you may want to work with in the future. I also met all 3 authors and Mr. Berger and Mr. Skolnick frequently visit my classes and they are great down to earth guys. They have a genuine interest in meeting with students and helping us to develop our ideas since we are the future designers in this industry. Whether you are a designer or not this book is great read, and has lots of pretty pictures. It provides a foundation of what the practice is about; past, present and future.



2. This is a great introductory book to exhibition design. I keep it at work and my co-workers always want to borrow the "pink book". I was primarily intersted in seeing the way that other firms produce design documents. Since only 6 pages of the book are dedicated to this, it gets 4 out of 5 stars. The book is divided into three sections: Issues (such as "What is exhibition design?", "Who do we design for?", "But is it art?"), Anatomy (types of exhibition design from museums to trade shows to visitor centers), and Portfolios (16 leading firms are covered). The photographs of existing exhibition design are what make this book a must buy if you are interested in the subject. You'll come back to it over and over again when brainstorming to generate ideas for your projects. Happy reading!

3 comments about Collagraphs: And Mixed Media Printmaking (Printmaking Handbooks (PH)).

1. There are some useful ideas in this book, but you have to dig them out. The authors have given us a hodge-podge of techniques, often without the detail one needs to use them confidently. There isn't much literature around about making collagraphs, so any information at all is welcome. Buy it if you're interested in this subject, but be prepared to live with trial-and-error printmaking till you get the hang of it.



2. If you're looking for a how-to guide, this is definitely not it. It lists possible materials, but that's about it. It shows a wide range of artists and pictures of their work, which is nice, if that's what you're looking for.



3. This is a great book showing the work of many artists and discussing the history and placement of the colloraph. I enjoyed it thoroughly and bought one for a friend of mine who does this type of work. Since I am a printmaker I think one cannot have too many good books on the subject.