5 comments about The Essential Blender: Guide to 3D Creation with the Open Source Suite Blender.

1. This book is composed by 372 (black and white) pages featuring 15 chapters, describing Blender 2.43 and later bug fix revisions in its essential features needed to start working with this wonderful piece of always evolving software. The book try to "hit" the biggest audience possible and it is tailored to three kind of people: those who are completely new to 3D and Blender, those who are new to Blender but have reasonable 3D experience (and maybe want to read the book for software evaluation)and those who already know Blender but need a refresh in their knowledge to fill the gap with latest Blender development.
   This book has been written by well renowed Blender artists and chapters are packed and extended in a wonderful book by editor and lead author Roland Hess. Each chapter speaks its own voice, so you can read the book in a non particular order and they're divided in two parts: a tutorial part (in which you explore main tools and techniques with a "learn by doing" approach) and a discussion part in which more detailed concepts are explained, completing the topic with further advices and tips.
   Chapters are grouped by topic (basics, modelling, animation and rendering) and they are:
   
   Chapter 0: How to Get Blender and Install it.
   Maybe this chapter is completely unuseful. If you're interested in this software, probably you already own Blender, you know where to get it and you know how to unzip/untar an archive or double click on an executable to install it (depending on your operating system). Fortunately, it's only 3 pages long and include a reference on where to get help when you need it.
   
   Chapter 1: An Introduction to 3D Art (Roland Hess)
   This 11 pages long chapter gives you a gently introduction to 3D art, how it is accomplished and what working with a 3D app means. It's short but still worth reading, especially for those who are completely new to the 3D world. It describes the main differences between triangles and quads (and their relationship), the necessity of materials to achieve realism, the importance of modeling tools and an accurate lighting description and the (very basic) principles of animation, keyframing and rigging. Read this chapter if you're new to 3D, you will surely be interested.
   
   Chapter 2: The Blender Interface (Roland Hess)
   As the title imply, this chapter gives you an overview of the Blender interface. Many new users gets frustrated with the Blender interface at first. This is no longer the case, as the chapter gives you nice informations on how to master the basic concepts to work proficently. After reading this chapter, you will finally appreciate this interface and you will be able to exploit the real potential of the efficient workflow it produces. Headers, the toolbox, the buttons window, orthographic/perspective modes, layout adjustments, all is covered here.
   
   Chapter 3: Object Manipulation (Roland Hess)
   No exageration, this is the most important chapter of the book. The material covered here will be used all over the book and it's a description of the basic knowledge to use the program and its main tools. Many important principles described here are the basis of most of the Blender tools. This chapter is structered in a way you will work through a simple Blender project, complete with a keyframe animation.
   Main hotkeys and functionality are covered and it will touch concepts like undo/redo, the meaning and use of the 3D cursor, adding objects to a scene, moving/rotating/scaling principles, transform manipulators and their activation/use, mouse gestures, object duplication, what empties objects are and how to use them, object parenting, the snapping menu (very important), layer management, object constraints and the basic of keyframing animation. If you are new to Blender and 3D in general, this chapter will teach you the basics of working with a 3D modelling package. A very well written and informative chapter. You will be surprised on how many topics can be well covered in just 37 pages.
   
   Chapter 4: Mesh Modeling (contribution by Kevin Braun)
   How to produce complex objects with Blender using its modeling tools. I really enjoyed this chapter. You will build a complete bridge with wonderfully decorated pillars. You will discover various kind of selection tools fo verticies, edges or faces, how to effectively use the mirror modifier, how to subdivide objects, the art of the knife tool, object extrusion, a good introduction of the proportional editing tool, the loopcut tool, edge slide, edge loop/ring selections, the use of the array modifier and much, much more... Even experienced users may learn something new from this chapter. Personally speaking, I liked the technique described to pull vertices into inline. This is used everywhere in modeling but it wasn't described in any book I bought in the past.
   
   Chapter 5: Multiresolution Sculpting (Tom Musgrove)
   Multiresolution sculpting is an approach to mesh modeling that allows you to shape and add detail to a mesh by pushing and pulling polygons with specific sculpting tools (brushes), instead of direct manipulating vertices/edges/faces. Not much to say about this chapter, you will produce a nice detailed monster using the draw/layer/grab/inflate/pinch brushes. It will teach you all the tools needed for sculpt modeling, including informations on how to use a regular texture and transforming it in a brush. Mesh hiding to improve performance is also explained in detail. Advices and tips complete this nicely structured chapter.
   
   Chapter 6: Character Animation (contribution by Ryan Dale)
   Character animation is a huge field and not much can be covered in 23 pages. But this chapter make a tremendous good job in concentrating much of the key concepts of character animation in a good practical tutorial. You will produce a complete walkcycle and you will be introduced to various stages of the walkcycle poses. The Timeline Window, the Action editor and the NLA editor are the main actors for character animation production and they're well covered in this chapter. Inverse Kinematic (IK) and Forward Kinematic (FK)are also introduced. Good the choice of presenting character animation before introducing rigging/skinning concepts (which are concepts explained in the next chapter).
   
   Chapter 7: Rigging and Skinning (contribution by Ryan Dale)
   The natural extension to the previous chapter. All the basic knowledge you need to create a solid rig and hook it to a mesh is here. You will be introduced to bone creation/manipulation, bone naming and its importance, bone layers, parent/child relationship with bones, IK (inverse kinematic) chains, constraints usage and explanations like Locked Track, Copy Location/Rotation, Track To, Floor, Stretch To and the IK solver. The skinning part (hooking the final rig to a mesh) covers the main concepts like the Armature Modifier, envelopes, vertex groups and has a nice tutorial on weight painting too for a fine control of mesh deformation. Rigging/skinning is the essence of character animation and naturally not everything can be covered here. The only complain I do with this chapter is that it doesn't cover many useful constraints.
   
   Chapter 8: Shape Keys (by Andy Dolphin)
   Shape keys are the Blender implementation of what other packages call "morph targets" and it's a new implementation of what Blender called RVK (Relative Vertex Keys) and AVK (Absolute Vertex Keys) in the past. Very useful in facial animation, shape keys are the way Blender implements mesh deformation in a time aware manner (animatable). This tutorial teach you how to create/edit multiple shape keys and how to use them in conjunction with the action editor to produce mesh deformations by editing vertex keys in the action editor. And it does a good job in this. After you read this chapter, you will have full control of these concepts.
   
   Chapter 9: Materials and Textures (contribution by Colin Lister)
   The chapter I liked less. It stresses a lot on real materials observation (and this is right) but it gives little informations on the settings meaning. You will produce a "wood like" material and you will enrich it with a coffee stain. It left out many interesting concepts on material creation and this is a real pity. It does not even mention the difference of having two texture channels with the same texture and two separate channels with the same texture. Fortunately, the discussion part of the chapter try to fill the gap but it's still insufficient. I was expecting more from a chapter that's 30 pages long, to be honest. There is nothing about shader editing with nodes. What a pity!
   
   Chapter 10: UV Mapping (contribution by Modron)
   Suzanne unwrapping! Modron will guide you through the art of mesh unwrapping, a refined method for texturing complex objects. As an exercise, you will going to unwrap the Suzanne mesh (Blender's mascotte) using the automatic unwrapper (the easy method ...) exploring texture painting in the UV editor and in 3D view using texture painting mode. You will have fun with the live unwrap transform. Easy, informative and direct to the point.
   
   Remaining chapters are a gentle introduction to the topics and are not advanced at all, but they give you the understanding you need to read more advanced material on these subjects.
   
   So, from what I said so far, you have already understood we are speaking about a very good book to begin with, with many topics covered, useful to read more advanced documentation. A very good book, but still far to be perfect and these are the reasons why I give it 4 stars:
   
   1) It doesn't cover scene management (link/append features) also known as "the blender database" and the obData system. This is very basic knowledge (and unintuitive, I would say, expecially the obData system) so it really should have been covered in this book.
   2) Figures are (sometimes) really too dark to be useful. Fortunately they can be downloaded from the support site (*).
   3) It has many errors. Not bad errors but still it has many of them (again, look the support site).
   4) It does not cover many new features since the 2.3 guide, so its use for updating your knowledge is limited.
   
   (*): The book has a support site that contains an errata, all images used in the book and some additional files to play with.
   You can reach this site at http://wiki.blender.org/index.php/Books/Essential_Blender
   
   Conclusion: if you are a new Blender user (new to Blender and 3D) you should buy this book without thinking twice. If you're new to Blender but you already know 3D, you should buy this book as well. If you know Blender and you have already read the 2.3 guide, you may want to skip this book and buy something more advanced and illuminating, like "Introducing Character Animation With Blender" by Tony Mullen, for example, if you're interested in animation or "Bounce, Tumble and Splash!" by the same author, if you're interested in physical simulations. New features can always be learned from the user manual on the Blender wiki, assuming you already have the basics.



2. I have not actually read through the book entirely yet, so I'm not going to address the content at all. What I did want to clarify is that there seem to be a lot of comments about poor picture quality. Okay - they're not stellar full-color prints with 3D popouts. But they're hardly as bad as I've seen them repeatedly described. I was a bit nervous about ordering this book, but the pictures easily compare to the quality of "Introducing Character Animation with Blender" by Tony Mullen (which, btw, are black and white as well), a book we probably all know and love (and I'm very glad I own). So, to those interested in buying, don't let a bunch of negativity about image quality get in your way. I'm very much looking forward to using this book.



3. I am not done reading the whole book, but so far I feel much more knowledgeable about Blender. There are a few problems with the book though. A lot of the pictures are small and hard to make out, also they are not in color so showing off how Blender uses color for different modes is impossible. Overall it seems to be a very good book for beginners, it does skip a lot of more advanced features for other books to cover.



4. This is exactly what I needed to learn Blender - well written with lots of illustrations.



5. I think it is well written but the illustrations are rather poor. A book like this that teaches a subject dealing with imagery etc. should be well illustrated.

1 comments about Gothic & Lolita Bible Volume 2.

1. Am I the only one who thinks these mooks could stand to the talents of someone with a marketing or even a graphic design degree? The few pages that are original to the english version are painfully obvious with the super amateur high school magazine feel. Other than that, the original content was fine and its always fun to read translations!

5 comments about Caffeine for the Creative Mind: 250 Exercises to Wake Up Your Brain.

1. After reading the reviews and product description, I was looking forward to some fresh activities that would inspire some creativity for Graphic Design projects that I work on constantly. So when the book arrived I flipped through scanning activities and quotes to get a feel for the book and what it had to offer. I was surprised. To my disappointment this book almost had nothing to do with Graphic Design. It was filled with activities that lent themselves more to Elementary school creative activities -Build something out of "_", describe your favorite "_" without using the words like or as. The book design itself even became tough to read as well with various typefaces, multiple type sizes scattered through the pages. In conclusion not what I was looking for.



2. Both my daughter (a regional marketing analyst) and I (a high school graphics design teacher) share several graphic design texts, and we are very satisfied this text as reference.



3. This book read more like a long marketing piece about how awesome the book is. Littered with quotes from people who obviously found previous editions useful, it just gets in the way of what I think it was built to do - excite and energise creative thought.
   
   Some exersices are useful, some are good fun, but a lot are rather plain and boring. If you have no imagination at all, this book may be a useful kick-start to any brain storming or creative session. I would suggest that it might be useful for school teachers too - as some of the ideas leverage a lot of imagination which kids would be great at.
   
   On the good side, the typographic treatment of the content is exciting and inspiring, each page has something new to look at and read, if nothing else it's a nice example of how unconventinal type treatment can enhance an otherwise bland book.



4. On first view (size and inside design) I was not impressed!
   
   I took a few minutes to review the pages and I was sold! I took the book home and dove right into the exercises that span 6 types of activities! My son, who wants to be a designer @ 16, completed some of the projects until midnight!
   
   I love this book, the breakdown of the projects in the back and the interviews inspire even rookie designers and reignite the fire of the design practitioner. It is a breakdown of the the elements of creativity, including writing projects, design, writing, and problem solving!
   
   Enjoy!



5. I love this book it was full of great ideas, althought some of ideas were recycled a couple of times. This is great book for anyone creative field or whom is serious about creative hobby.

5 comments about The Private World of Tasha Tudor.

1. Beautiful book about a very interesting person and shows her lovely artwork. Love Vermont and the photographs were wonderful. Gave it as a gift to my daughter, who was very pleased.



2. I love this book. I saw her in Victoria magazine years ago, and then again in a bookstore, and finally ordered it on Amazon and read it from front to back in 2 days. I could not put this down. This amazing lady is living life as She wants to live it. This will transport you to a more gentler time, slower than today's crazy pace. You'll be inspired to live up to your own dreams. I love seasons, but I happen to live in a place where we don't have them, this book has enabled me to enjoy them when I need to. Her home and gardens are very inspiring and the photo's are great.



3. If we could all live in a fantasy world this book would probaly be more meaningful. Got this book as a garden/back to nature resource. Not for people who have to balance their families,work and of course money. Skip unless you are an absolute Tasha Tudor fan.



4. I bought a Tasha Tudor print for my daughter's birthday and ordered this book to go with it. It came just in time.



5. The book was a delight, and I enjoy reading it over and over. The gorgeous illustrations are a joy. Tasha has done exactly what she wanted to do in life...spend it simply, and creatively. She is such an inspiration, that I've bought several of her other books, as well as one of her videos, "Take Joy."

5 comments about Figure Drawing for Fashion Design (Pepin Press Design Books).

1. I got this book and was not thrilled. It has some nice pictures, but they don't teach much about drawing. There is also nudity for no real reason. Some of the illustrations look more pin-up than fashion. I find most of the illustrations very short waisted.



2. This book is full of graphics and excellent information about drawing the fashion figure. I teach fashion design and illustration and I recommend this to anyone, beginner or intermediate!



3. I bought this book because I *just* wanted templates. (I know that as a designer, my strong suit is not in fashion sketching like this, never has been- but sometimes you have to.)
   
   What this book provides is more of a how to create the bodies you want based off of the 9-head model. For some, this is great- a classroom in the book. For me, who has been working in this field for a long time and I just needed to crank some bodies out without putting in (for me) an excruciating ammount of work, it fell short.
   
   Also, the proportions of the bodies are a little strange and the hand placement a bit rough. I spent more time fiddling with more natural hand positions on the templates than actually drawing the garments on them.
   
   It is a good book for those who can't attend an actual sketching course, but if you're looking for templates- good luck.



4. This book helps a lot, it open your eyes transporting in the world of fashion draw. is really nice material.



5. Though I haven't had a chance to study the book in detail yet, I skimmed through the book, & it seemed like it covered some pretty basic drawing concepts. It also included differing styles of collars, sleeves, etc., which seemed particularly helpful for those in the field.

5 comments about How to Make Webcomics.

1. Scott, Brad, Kris and Dave draw upon everyday household items you might have laying around to create a time machine or a flying car. For good measure they also pass on the secret to eternal youth and the location of the lost Ark.
   
   Well, they might as well have.
   
   Starting from the idea that the reader can already draw enough to make a comic (there is no "How to draw a..." section), they mold the reader into a writer, agent, techie and business person. They pass on all of their secrets in a full confession sharefest that reads like a conversation between the authors (similar to the discussions on their "Webcomics Weekly" Podcast).
   
   The book is full of humor and brilliant ideas. The art comes from each contributor's comics and really adds to the points of the book.
   
   You should buy two books as one will likely fall apart from constant use and you will need the second to give to your children someday. I bought four extra copies and hidden them at the corners of the world, and in my will I have clues to find each copy in an elaborate race to determine who I will leave my entire fortune to.



2. As someone who's been creating a webcomic for many years (Pewfell), I found this book to be very well put together, helpful and inspirational. I would definitely cite it as being essential reading for anyone hoping to monetize their own webcomic. Though much of it was stuff I already knew, I still found very many useful insights from these four guys who've actually walked the walk. All the information is put together in a fun, lighthearted, easy-to-read and well-thought-out way with lots of practical examples, great illustrations and comic strips. Great work & thanks for sharing, guys!



3. Not many books manage to give a decent introduction to combining being an artist and a businessman. Guigar, Kellett, Kurtz and Straub do this excellently. I bought this book because I'm writing a Master's thesis on webcomics -- and "How to make webcomics" will definitely be quoted heavily in it -- but reading this book also gave me a renewed interest in making my *own* webcomic.
   
   The best authors for books on how to make webcomics are definitely webcomics creators who love what they do. Guigar, Kellett, Kurtz and Straub show an enthusiasm in this book that rubs off, and in a wonderful mix of creative chapters (writing, creating your characters), practical chapters (scanning your comic, making a website) and business-related chapters (making an income out of your webcomic), it becomes very clear that the authors love what they do, and that anyone who loves webcomics may one day compete with them on the webcomics arena. You learn that you have to love webcomics to make one, as they won't give you much income the first couple of years, but you also learn to not feel guilty for monetizing on your work. This is the perfect combination of a "how-to-be-creative"-book and "how-to-sell-your-art"-book.
   
   If there is one thing I hope will change in the second edition, I wish for a more global perspective. The book is great, but many of the points stated in it aren't really that useful for non-Americans. For instance, when I make a webcomic in Norwegian, I will probably never get ten thousand readers. I could write it in English, but that would create problems with a store, since I'm still physically based in Norway and won't be able to send books and T-shirts to USA or UK without charging a lot for sending them -- probably more than my readers want to pay. And if I need to use print-on-demand, there aren't really anyone over here that can offer that, ... and so on, and so on. I hope that a future "How to make webcomics" will be able to have a chapter answering some of the additional questions that rise when creating a webcomic outside the US.
   
   But that is nitpicking, really. This is the epitome of a five-star book.



4. Great book!
   Essential to anyone who wants to make his own webcomics. And essential to anyone who wants to monetize his website.
   
   Great!



5. Book showed and stated the basics of getting your own comic up and going on the web. I can't think of any other book that did it better than what these guys threw together. Good work!

5 comments about Picture This: How Pictures Work.

1. I can't say I'm overly well versed in composition, namely because most books on the subject are so dense. But in Picture This, the author has found easily understandable way to show the basic fundamentals of art.
   
   Rather than teach composition with diagrams drawn over old master paintings like some books, Molly Bang uses simple bits of paper to demonstrate how shape, color and placement can affect the mood of a picture. And once you understand these principles, it's easy to see how they can be applied to more complex artwork.
   
   Bang's pace is very deliberate. Every change to her construction paper compositions is well documented and explained. It's that simplicity and directness that allow her to communicate such a large amount of knowledge in only 96 pages.
   
   And don't let the short page count and the fact that this book is recommended for grade schoolers fool you. This is a book every artist should have her shelf.



2. This book is amazing...the illustrations are simple, clear and compelling and the narrative approach to understanding the art elements and principles makes this rather dry topic into a fascinating tale. I have purchased several copies of this book for friends and plan to use it in my middle school art classroom.



3. Don't be misled by the simple pictures and storybook style into thinking this a just a book for children. I have given this book to several adult friends, including some who are professional artists. We all learned something from Molly Bang's clear and compelling explanations of the principles of visual composition.



4. I love this book and using it for teaching basic design ideas...a fellow teacher uses it in Psychology! The simple story of Little Red Riding Hood serves as the basis for discussion how line, color, shape, etc. work in art. Such a great idea...wish there were others of this type. I will be using it to teach the elements of art in Art History this fall.



5. Using the story of Little Red Riding Hood this book is focusing on the basic principles of composing images.

   Reduced to the maximum and using simple colors and arrangements of basic elements like circles or triangles, the drawings as well as the short, precise text within this book are pointing out, how simple and complex arrangements within pictures work, transfer obvious (and hidden) messages, how philosophy and psychology witin pictures works. Therefor its a book telling the story why pictures may lie, may influence, may manipulate an observer even though obviously just showing "reality".

   Whether you are taking photographs, drawing or designing - this book is a absolute must! A photo/image tells more than thousand words - here you will find the answer how and why. Great to read and watch, easy and fast to understand - even though dealing with a most complex matter.

   Finally a personal statement and hint for an esthetes: if you like to possess a book with an outer shape and appearance that promises, what the contents keeps, than you have to buy the nice hard cover version instead of the cheaper soft cover version - it will pay off for sure.

2 comments about Megaman Zero Official Complete Works.

1. This is a great book filled with tons of art, a nice amount of concept art never seen before(like phantom's second form which wasn't used in-game). My only complaint is the way the last sentence on Pg. 169 is left off "Since we had left the first game with such an open ending, I think we managed to pull of the...", I assume he was going to say sequel so I left it at that. Aside from that small flaw, which might not actually be a flaw and might just be what he had exactly said considering it's a translated interview, the book is great. I'd recommend it to anyone who loves Megaman Zero or great art.



2. After so many moons of waiting and waiting for this book to come out it is finally here! To put into perspective how long I've been waiting for this book to come out I believe that the first pre-order I put with Amazon.com was on February 20th, 2007. That's over a year ago! I can safely say that this book delivers on all fronts and is well worth the wait.
   
   This book is 176 pages of filled with great art and information about the Megaman Zero Series. It provides inside information on the characters of the series as well as how some came about and more information about them that might not necessarily have been included in the games. It even provides great insight into characters that were cut from the final product of said series. Great art, great insight into the series and it's creators, what more could you ask for?
   
   There are actually two things that I could ask for and those come in the forms of errors. On page 169 leading into page 170 there is a sentence that seems to have been cut off. "Since we had left the first game with such an open ending, I think we manage to pull of the..." Pull what off? Pull of the correct way to open the second game? Pull of the best way to start the second game? What is it? As soon as you hit page 170 a new question is asked and the previous sentence is never finished.
   
   The second error comes in on page 153; there is a picture that was reused from page 152. The picture in question fits perfectly in 152 but not in 153 which a different scene is playing out entirely. You're reading scene after scene then you stop abruptly at this scene that doesn't even belong there!
   
   These two errors make me feel a bit disappointed in the book. For a book that was often delayed as this I feel like the book should have no errors in it what-so-ever. Very disappointing indeed.
   
   Still this book makes a great accompaniment to the video game series overall with beautiful artwork and a better insight into the creation and the things that were created in the game. If you love the Megaman Zero series then you'll love this book.

5 comments about Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination (Vintage).

1. I have read all of the most popular biographies of Walt. By far, this is the best. The best researched, the best written, the deepest, the most fair and unbiased of all of them. It won the LA Times Book Award and it definitely deserved it. I think one of the best qualities of this book is how Gabler treats Walt as a human being, with all our faults, but one that had great talent who found that success did not necessarily bring happiness nor the "Magic Kingdom" which he longed for in his mind since a child.



2. For one of the 20th century's more mythologized figures, it appears Walt Disney made for an easier character study than one might have expected. Given how his movies are known for watering down some very graphic tales, perhaps it shouldn't come as a surprise that Disney was the salt-of-the-earth daydreamer Gabler portrays. Gabler's take on the man and his life's work sometimes veers a bit into self-parody territory, as the unpretentious Midwesterner who was so unpretentious he loved polo and so Midwestern he chose to live in California when he could have lived anywhere, and Gabler doesn't seem to see any contradiction. But still, there's no reason to doubt Gabler is accurate in his portrayal of a man who built an empire on his longing for a mythical small-town paradise.
   
   Speaking of accuracy, Gabler expertly knocks down a number of myths about Disney, most notably the belief that he was cryogenically frozen when he died, and sheds light on controversial issues such as Disney's purported anti-Semitism. Which makes it all the more maddening when Gabler inadvertenly repeats the misleading-at-best claim that Disney wore a Goldwater-for-president button on his lapel when he accepted his Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Johnson in 1964. While probably not completely false, that story has been blown wildly out of proportion and deserves far more scrutiny than Gabler gives it. (He mentions the incident only in passing, leaving unchallenged the definitely-false impression that it was a large and prominently displayed button.)
   
   Gabler's research is undeniably impressive, and his vision of Disney is remarkably consistent across the different stages of his life. This inadvertently leads to my one serious criticism of the book: sometimes Gabler is TOO thorough, and there are lengthy stretches that simply aren't very interesting. That's an occupational hazard for biographers, and some are better at overcoming it than others. The ending is also a bit abrupt, with no information to speak of on what became of Disney's family, close friends, and the workings of his company in the aftermath of his death. After all those hundreds of pages, we feel like we know them, and it's a bit frustrating to be left with no epilogue at all.
   
   Still, overall, this is a very impressive source on a subject that was very much in need of a definitive record.



3. Simply amazing book. The depth of research and objective look into WD's personality is an awesome feat. The willingness to set aside the national collective notion of who and what Disney is and let the facts speak for themselves is refreshing when delving into the world of Disney. So much of the copious copy on the man and the World that is recycled in numerous books, simply supports and fuels the myth that has endured. Gabler's book minutely documents how the mythological force of Walt Disney came to be in the first place.
   
   It's a long book (I felt accomplished to have read the whole thing) but there is so much research done- with primary sources that every page is packed and dense with information. I never felt the text to ramble on.
   
   Gabler didn't shy away from the touchy subject of whether Walt was a good guy or bad guy and simply presents the human who was Walt Disney. That said, I would have liked to see a little bit more information on Gunther Lessing. It seems as if the lawyer was extremely influential on Disney yet only mentioned in passing in the book.
   
   It would be great to see an equal book to this chronicling the history of the Disney company after Walt's death to the present.



4. When I saw this book in my local library and saw that there were 26 CDs, I thought, "This better be a good book!" I did not want to be bored to death by someone droning on about Walt Disney. I was not let down. It fulfilled my image of Walt Disney and gave tremendous insights into his life and quest to achieve perfection.
   
   I was very impressed and enjoyed the book a great deal. I am an attorney by trade and a study of successful people by hobby. I have read numerous biographies and consider this one of my favorites. There were times I laughed out loud and, by the time I reached the 25th CD, I cried with his family at his death. It was an excellent read and the 26 CDs go quickly!



5. This book gives more information about Walt Disney than I thought was known. Well written and detailed. A must read about Walt Disney.

5 comments about Fashion Sketchbook.

1. This book is a great source for aspiring fashion illustrators. I would highly recommend it. Teaches you how every aspect from shading, to creating fabric folds, to drawing lace, and plaids. In addition to this book I would also recommendDraw Fashion Models! (Discover Drawing Series), which briefly goes into how to draw flats.



2. This book is great. It's excellent help for anyone interested in sketching fashion figures or going into fashion.
   Bina Abling has published lots of books, but each edition of this Fashion Sketchbook keeps getting better and more refined.



3. This is The authority on illustrating for fashion. Abling's attention to detail and artistic ability make her a perfect tutor on the topic, and every explanation is clear--it's the sort of thing where you look at the example, and it clicks in your head, "Oh, Now I see!".
   
   The book goes over Everything you need, but in case you want to know exactly what is inside, here is a quick summary:
   
   Ch 1: Fashion Figure Proportions
   Figures on grids broken down in several ways, extensive work on proportion. Abling divides figures into geometric shapes: foot, head, hips, chest, upper arm, thigh; she then puts them together, showing how they fit and relate to one anther. It then goes further and shows how different poses and types of movement affect the torso (upper and lower), as well as different types/shapes of figures, from the elongated fashion figure to petite and full. The chapter also features a figure map, interpretations of anatomy, different poses and artistic approaches, balance, and movement.
   
   Ch 2: Basic Figure Forms
   Drawing legs, arms, feet, shoes, hands, fingers, and foreshortening. There are so many helpful diagrams from multiple perspectives, numerous poses.
   
   Ch 3: Model Drawing
   Gesture drawing, exercises on isolated sections of the body, angles, and more; balance line, supporting leg (where the weight is distributed so the figure looks planted to the ground, not floating around or unevenly/awkwardly perched), arms.
   
   Ch 4: Fashion Heads
   Faces, different ethnicities, facial features, dissection of the head with a map on the placement of eyes, nose, lips, etc. The head in different positions, from different angles; techniques to maintain proportion and balance: diamond technique, working with angles and planes of the face, shading/highlights/shadows. Hair: styles, hairlines, period styles.
   
   Ch 5: Drawing Men
   Comparison to female figure, legs, arms, hands, hair, gesture, dressing the figure, suits, and details on how the fabric falls, where to put certain features like the cuff, armhole, etc. Proportions, classic menswear techniques, fashion croquis technique, vintage styles.
   
   Ch 6: Drawing Children
   Proportions by age, with many dissections and comparisons, tons of helpful illustrations and examples. Infants, toddlers, children, tweens; heads, facial expressions, hairstyles, arms, hands, legs, feet, vintage styles.
   
   Ch 7: Garment and Garment Details
   Necklines, collars, sleeves (different types, lengths, etc), skirts (folds, fall of fabric, gathering, flaring, volume, pleats), pants (folds, gathering, lengths, fit), blouses, blazers, jackets, coats, ruffles, smocking, shirring, cowls, fur, quilting, formal gowns, applying the concepts to garments.
   
   Ch 8: Accessories
   Jewelry and how they sit on the body, eyewear, hats (male, female), belts (types, fit), trims, notions, closures, handbags, shoes (different angles, heel heights, types).
   
   Ch 9: Basic Rendering Techniques
   Working with stripes and other fabric types/prints. Shading, highlighting, rendering with marker, fall fabrics, more fabric types: shiny fabrics, flat/matte, sheers, layers, velvet, satins, chiffon, etc. Working with all black fabrics.
   
   Ch 10: Color Rendering
   Chapter features color renderings to show skin tones, menswear with marker, children; using gouache, using watercolors, rendering hair in color.
   
   Ch 11: Drawing Knits
   Necklines, knit patterns, treatments/embellishments.
   
   Ch 12: Designer Sketching and Fashion Illustration
   Poses: I-pose, S-pose, X-pose, T-pose. Attitude, "look" and feel, style, emphasis.
   
   Ch 13: Drawing Flats and Specs
   Layout styles, freehand sketching, proportion, chart on measurements by size: Women, Men, Unisex, Belts, Hats, Socks. Gathering, buttons, closures, top stitching. Mixing croquis and flat drawings.
   
   Ch 14: Layout
   Combining multiple drawings, elements, or figures; groupings,
   
   Appendix
   More necklines, collars, sleeves, armholes, tops, dresses, skirts, pants, jackets, coats, sleepwear, underwear, design details, ties, hats, waistlines, pockets, handbags, shoes, collars, cuffs.
   One of the neatest sections in the book is titled "problem spots" and features examples of the right and wrong way to do various details. Showing examples of how amateurs or beginners make mistakes and then showing the correct way works So well! Better than explanation, this simple and clear approach is crucial.
   
   This book is filled with immensely helpful diagrams, exercises, and demonstrations. Every part of it is useful to students and designers, and because it is so comprehensive, this could be the single most important book in fashion illustration. If you could only have one book on the subject, get Fashion Sketchbook by Bina Abling.



4. This book was exactly what I needed for my fashion illustration class. I received it in perfect condition. I really like it!



5. This sketchbook is very comprehensive and great for all levels of fashion sketching. It is a wonderful book if you are trying to conquer the croquis. I was an absolute beginner and this book has developed my skills greatly and the step by step lessons in the book are extremely helpful. This book is spiral-bound which makes a big difference when practicing, especially if you like to using tracing paper prior to your sketching attempts. Not all fashion drawing books are spiral-bound so make sure you take note, it makes a big difference when working on your art.