1 comments about Apparel Manufacturing: Sewn Product Analysis, 4th Edition.

1. This was the required textbook for my Apparel Manufacturing class. My teacher ran her own manufacturing company several years ago and told our class that no book she has read even came close to providing the wealth of knowledge available in this book. Seam finishes are explained in terms necessary to complete spec packs, including seam diagrams and stitch numbers used as standards in the industry world-wide. If you plan on putting a technical section in your portfolio or plan to work in the manufacturing side of the industry or plan on being a pattern maker, I recommend this book more than any other. It is rare that I enjoy a textbook so much, but I have read it through and referenced it constantly since the class. Worth every penny.

2 comments about The Big Book of Illustration Ideas.

1. Full of fascinating illustrations, this book is a joy to browse through. It contains a seemingly endless variety of styles. The book is divided by subject, for example, people, architecture, concepts, etc. Each section contains a short introduction and next to each illustration is the title, artist's name and other relevant info. I browse this book over and over!



2. Este libro es altamente recomendable. Gracias a él he descubierto a muchos ilustradores que hasta ahora no conocía. Además tiene muchísimas páginas completas de ilustraciones a todo color y en cantidad de estilos. El libro contiene muchas ideas para ilustradores y para gente a la que le gusta el mundo de la ilustración. La relación calidad-precio es fantástica *(^_^)*

5 comments about Diana: Princess of Wales.

1. As a fan of Diana's, I enjoyed seeing a more casual side of Diana. The picutres show a side of the princess that reaffirm how beautiful she was in all settings, not just formal. The pictures however are a little soft in the focus arena.



2. Five months before Princess Diana's death in August, 1997 she sat for what was to be her last photo session with the Peruvian photographer Mario Testino. The results for the most part are quite wonderful. Often shot in natural light, sometimes smiling naturally-- a difficult task for any photographer to capture-- Diana, relaxed and unadorned (she wears no jewelry and is barefoot and seated sometimes on an all-white sofa), seems to be having a very good time and could almost be the exquisitely beautiful woman next door. Having said that, I noticed that in a shot or two she has an unflattering nose. Unlike too many Brits, however, she was blessed with beautiful teeth-- and a smile that would melt concrete.
   
   In an interview with the photographer that accompanies these photos that were shot for a spread in "Vanity Fair" that sold out on the newsstands he reminisces about the day he shot these photographs and the good time that both he and his subject had doing them, commenting on what he calls real laughter, laughter from the inside, that he was able to elicit-- it is obvious in the photographs-- from Diana. In a touching note, he mentions that these photographs became the favorites of Diana's boys.
   
   My two favorites-- at least today as they might change the next time I look at this beautifully printed book by Taschen-- are numbers 33 (Diana is clutching her hands at her ankles) and 54 with 45 (the pensive Diana) as a close third. Other favorites are 42, 43, 9, 10, 36, 10 and 23, where she is most beautiful.
   
   Diana is wearing some of the 79 dresses she auctioned off at Christie's for charity. If you are interested, information about the clothes is included at the back of the book. But this isn't about the clothes. It is about Diana; she is certainly no mannequin here.
   
   Sixty or so photographs, both in black and white and in color, are included in this book; they are reproduced and numbered in the back. Fraydon Carter wrote a foreword; Meredith Etherington-Smith, an introduction.
   
   While these photographs take on a special significance because they are the last formal ones of Princess Diana before her tragic death, had she lived, she would of course have been photographed dozens and dozens of times. I cannot imagine, however, that these by Testino would not have been seen as some of the most beautiful, most compelling and would have held their own with whatever photographs came after them.



3. Stunning pictures, just a beautiful piece of art that will leave you speechless. Princess Diana was beautiful inside and out, there's nothing left to say.



4. AWFUL! Only a few photos, repeated several times, most were out of focus. Would never have purchased if I could have looked inside. I guess that's why it was wrapped in plastic in a local bookstore.



5. Although you can buy plenty of other books with photos of Diana, Testino photographed her like no one else. She looks casual, relaxed and happy in these photos. Diana does not look at all "glammed" up with excessive makeup and hair styling. The way you would see her at home, inspite of the gowns she wears in these photos. Testino captured a Diana that was probably only seen by family and friends, and in these shots he shared that Diana with the rest of the world.

5 comments about Paper Dreams: The Art And Artists Of Disney Storyboards.

1. This is a very informative book about the history of Disney's story department staff and the storyboards they created. I learned a lot. I would have liked to have seen more information about their art techniques, but the information about their careers and the vast amount of images made up for it. I particularly enjoyed the chapter on Carl Barks, which shed more light on the man behind the works I've read since I was a kid.



2. Too often in animation titles, the storyboard element is relegated to a minor footnote. This book presents a wonderful insight to the creative process of animation film making. Many animators and students collect resource material from feature films, and storyboard examples are rare and treasured items. As a storyboarder myself, I was in awe of the beauty and clarity of these works, many I was seeing for the first time. However, anybody with an interest in art or animation will enjoy this book. It is an amazing and definitive collection.



3. I have most of the 'Art of' books and, though this is a little more pricey than the others, it is worth every cent. It is refreshingly reassuring to finally have a Disney art book NOT written by a Disney staffer, but by a film academic. It was great to read about the men who worked alongside Walt and knew him for all his faults as well rather than the godhead he has become to the company. This book, while showing page after page of behind-the-scenes miniature masterpieces that went into making the classic early features, also describes the not-so-happy endings that such chemistry produced among Disney and his storymen sometimes. It also covers the latter-day storyboard masters like Chris Sanders and the Brizzi twins. I have ambitions of being a Disney storyboard artist someday and this book is perfect inspiration. More than worth it.



4. If the Disney American Animated Film has one stigma, is the belief that it is made for childern. Mr.Canemaker's book disproves that notion by recounting stories by those lucky few that got to meet Walt,work with him and put his "Dreams" on "Paper" before they were made a reality on film. We are privy in the world of Walt Disney and the people who put his ideas on paper only to have Walt think that they could be better than that.The book is filled with instances of Walt cursing-four letter words and all,when his Soryman ideas did not cut the mustard. Why should they since Walt "was his own best storyman." We get to meet the men that were up to par with Walt-T.Hee and Bill Peet. But these man could be considered Lucifer to Walt's Christian God-those who wish to be better than him or take his place would end in Hell, which in a sense they did. Finally, lets not forget the geniuses Walt himself dealt with-Salvador Dali and Orson Welles. If there was anyone that could top Disney himself ,it was Orson,as described by Walt Himself.



5. This book shows off the (oddly enough) unsung heros of the Disney Animation Department, the Story Artists. Like his previous book on Disney Inspirational artists, John Canemaker piles on the rarely seen outside of Disney pre-production sketches that form the basis of all to follow. GREAT reproductions--and great to see the subject and the studio treated not only with great respect, but a healthy amount of constructive criticism, too. Beautiful job. I'm waiting for a companion volume featuring unedited complete storyboards for ALL the features(!).

1 comments about Storyboard Design Course: Principles, Practice, and Techniques.

1. If you are a novice artist approaching storyboarding for the first time, or a long-run professional, you will benefit greatly from this book.
   Giuseppe's international experience and intuitions flow from this book to the reader with humor and elegance. I enjoyed very much reading this book, and my skills and knowledge of storyboarding increased. I also added an interesting point of view to my approach to film making.
   I warmly reccomend this book to anybody who works in storyboarding, but also to film-makers and communication professionals.
   thumbs up for Giuseppe

1 comments about Linoleum Block Printing (Dover Craft Books).

1. Haven't read the whole book, am using it for reference. To the point, good tips. Would recommend.

2 comments about Graphic Thinking for Architects and Designers.

1. As an Architecture Student, I really enjoyed this book. It was very helpful with sketching techniques and just general concepts related to architecture. It was a required text for a class, but it has been a helpful reasource since. I recommend this book to any person wishing to develop a good sketching technique. This book refrences very important works by Aalto and Wright. It also addresses important and helpful hints about abstraction of ideals and their graphic weight.



2. As an interior design student I have found this book to be very informative and helpful. The step by step analysis of the design process is terrific and I've practically worn out the copy at the library, so it's time to buy it for myself.

4 comments about How to Write and Illustrate Childrens Books and Get Them Published.

1. Good book for those wishing to know more about the field or not knowing where to start. When you get serious, you'll want to read some additional books on working with the publishing world. From what I've understood, very few agents will touch children's books. So, you'll likely be going it alone up until you really get established, if you do. That means you will be working directly with the publisher/editor yourself. As a result, you will need more information under your belt about the publishing world than what this book contains, but this is an excellent source to learn about everything else. It does include some starter info about the publishing end of things.



2. I found this book to be very useful as a source for writing better children's books. It includes specific style and writing techniques with examples to teach us to make a more powerful manuscript. I wish there were more books like this with even more ideas!



3. Treld Pelkey Bicknell's 'How to Write and Illustrate Children's Books' is really more for illustrators of children's books then the writer's aspect of the book. It's a good source for that particular purpose. If you want a more indepth instruction on the children's book writing process I suggest Barbara Seuling's 'How to Write a Children's Book and Get It Published.' Bicknell's book is valuable for it's comprehensive topics and illustrations. The first part include topics of constructing a story from beginning to end (planning and plotting, story structure, dialogue). There's a section on getting to know your reader and choosing the right words. Plus other informative information like looking into the world of children and the influence of new writing. The second part is devoted to illustration and discusses getting to know your audience, the types of picture books (board, pop-ups, zig-zag, flap, half-flap, holes, pictorial consequences, long text, minimal text, wordless, picture strips). It combines pictures with interpeting a text and using your imagination. Building the porfolio follows in the creation process. The last part is devoted to getting published. Starting from making the book, preparing the roughs, the right style for the right job. The author tops it off with factual writing and researching, Fad & Novelty books and finding the right publisher. To find what's in the market I also suggest the 'Children's Book Writer and Illustrator's Market Book' as a directory in that field to find the right genre of which publisher to contact. This book is a handy source like the other two I mentioned.



4. As a published children's book author and illustrator, I found this book to be one of the more helpful guides for those interested in children's illustration. Most books in the "How to Write Children's Books" genre focus on the writer's perspective and neglect the illustrator. This book, with contributions by an Art Director, also addresses portfolio presentation, picture book layout, style, dummies, tearsheets and roughs. True, the book is somewhat dated and there are more comprehensive books on children's book publishing. However, I would highly recommend this book to fellow illustrators.

2 comments about Character Animation with Poser Pro (Graphics Series).

1. Learn how to bring Poser characters to life through a survey of the latest version of the 3D figure design software, which provides a fine introduction to methods, techniques and character development. Beginning to advanced Poser Pro users receive a survey on integrating animated characters into the 3D applications, including how to fine-tune results. All files needed to create the animations are included on a companion DVD, along with visual training tutorials. Very highly recommended.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch



2. Even if I don't own Poser Pro as yet I have Poser 7 and this also covers that. I see so few actions such as walking and lifting an object by way of animation. There's PoserFusion with Cinema 4D and I only have LightWave 9. Great showing of how to 3D motion reference video.

No comments about NeoCraft.