Still, only a few of us have the discipline to make it past the first few entries, and fewer still manage to create diaries whose insight and visual beauty can inspire anyone but their authors. Drawing from Life: The Journal as Art is an exploration of these exceptionsbooks of obsessive wonder filled to their borders with drawings, sketches, watercolors, graphs, charts, lists, collages, portraits, and photographs. Jennifer New takes readers on a spirited tour into the private worlds of journal keepersan architect, a traveler, a film director, an archeologist, a cancer patient, a songwriter, a quiltmaker, a gardener, an artist, a cyclist, and a scientist, to name just a fewillustrating a broad range of journaling styles and techniques that in the end show how each of us can go about documenting our everyday lives. Excerpts from journals by such artists as Maira Kalman, Steven Holl, David Byrne, and Mike Figgis give us a peek at how creative souls observe, reflect, and explore.For those who already keep a journal, Drawing from Life will be an inspiration. For those who have always wanted toor tried and failedit might just be the motivation needed to get past that first week.

    Munari insisted that design be beautiful, functional and accessible, and this enlightening and highly entertaining book sets out his ideas about visual, graphic and industrial design and the role it plays in the objects we use everyday. Lamps, road signs, typography, posters, children's books, advertising, cars and chairs - these are just some of the subjects to which he turns his illuminating gaze.How do we see the world around us? The Penguin on Design series includes the works of creative thinkers whose writings on art, design and the media have changed our vision forever.Bruno Munari (1907-1998), born in Milan, was the enfant terrible of Italian art and design for most of the twentieth century, contributing to many fields of both visual (paint, sculpture, film, industrial design, graphics) and non-visual arts (literature, poetry). He was twice awarded the Compasso d'Oro design prize for excellence in his field.If you enjoyed Design as Art, you might like John Berger's Ways of Seeing, also available in Penguin Modern Classics.'One of the most influential designers of the twentieth century ... Munari has encouraged people to go beyond formal conventions and stereotypes by showing them how to widen their perceptual awareness'International Herald Tribune

    He makes a compelling argument for its history and value, much as E. H. Gombrich tackled representation fifty years ago in "Art and Illusion," another landmark A. W. Mellon Lectures volume. Realizing that these lectures might be his final work, Varnedoe conceived of them as a statement of his faith in modern art and as the culminating example of his lucidly pragmatic and philosophical approach to art history. He delivered the lectures, edited and reproduced here with their illustrations, to overflowing crowds at the National Gallery of Art in Washington in the spring of 2003, just months before his death. With brilliance, passion, and humor, Varnedoe addresses the skeptical attitudes and misunderstandings that we often bring to our experience of abstract art. Resisting grand generalizations, he makes a deliberate and scholarly case for abstraction--showing us that more than just pure looking is necessary to understand the self-made symbolic language of abstract art. Proceeding decade by decade, he brings alive the history and biography that inform the art while also challenging the received wisdom about distinctions between abstraction and representation, modernism and postmodernism, and minimalism and pop. The result is a fascinating and ultimately moving tour through a half century of abstract art, concluding with an unforgettable description of one of Varnedoe's favorite works.

    Additional demonstrations cover other fantasy creatures, such as wyverns, basilisks, and gargoyles.

    Join rock star illustrators Julia Rothman, Leah Goren, and Rachael Cole for ten evenings of fun and art-making. Each night is led by a talented guest artist and themed around a particular topic, from large-scale ink painting to making art with kids. Samantha Hahn, Mary Kate McDevitt, Joana Avillez, and many more share their expertise. Each chapter includes loads of exciting artwork, insights about drawing, and instructions for that night's project. A rare peek into the minds and sketchbooks of some of the best female illustrators working today, this inspiring volume is an irresistible invitation to host your own Ladies Drawing Night!

    The R. R. Donnelley and Eisner Award–winning book posed, explored, and answered the question: "Do you wish you could write?" Now with Picture This, Barry asks: "Do you wish you could draw?" It features the return of Barry's most beloved character, Marlys, and introduces a new one, the Near-Sighted Monkey. LikeWhat It Is, Picture This is an inspirational, take-home extension of Barry's traveling, continually sold-out, and sought-after workshop, "Writing the Unthinkable."

    Now, as we enter the twenty-first century, the explosion in computer technology has created a corresponding boom in animation. Using desktop hardware and software, animators can easily produce high-quality, high-artistry animation and mix the aesthetics of traditional cel animation with dazzling 3-D effects. Kit Laybourne's digital revision to The Animation Book brings you to the cutting edge of animation technology. Richly illustrated with frame-grabs, production stills, and diagrams, this volume shares Kit's infectious enthusiasm for the limitless possibilities of today's hybrid techniques, and it provides beginning animators with all the information they need to jump in and start their own animation projects. More advanced animators will find The Animation Book to be an invaluable resource with detailed descriptions of filmmaking gear, computer hardware and software, art supplies, plus Internet and other resources.Using an innovative case-study approach, Kit deconstructs how a range of digital projects were carried out at some of today's hottest animation studios, including Wildbrain, Blue Sky, Protozoa, Fantome, Broderbund, Nicktoons, and Klasky Csupo. These step-by-step studies show how desktop animators can follow the same creative process in their own films.

    Often moving beyond the traditional image associated with this medium, this survey illustrates the richness, eclecticism, dynamism and contemporaneity of painting.

    With Emmy award-winning, longtime PBS host Mark Kistler as your guide, you'll learn the secrets of sophisticated three-dimensional renderings, and have fun along the way -- in just twenty minutes a day for a month. Inside you'll find:Quick and easy step-by-step instructions for drawing everything from simple spheres to apples, trees, buildings, and the human hand and faceMore than 500 line drawings, illustrating each stepTime-tested tips, techniques, and tutorials for drawing in 3-DThe 9 Fundamental Laws of Drawing to create the illusion of depth in any drawing75 student examples to encourage you in the process

    Combining practical, theoretical, and historical, this book is a must for graphic artists, editors, or anyone working with the printed page using digital or traditional methods.Having established itself as a standard in its field The Elements of Typographic Style is house manual at most American university presses, a standard university text, and a reference work in studios of designers around the world. It has been translated into italian and greek, and dutch.

    This complete guide helps you build your understanding of perspective to an intuitive level so you can draw anything you can imagine. Inside you'll find:Complete instruction on drawing in one-, two- and three-point perspective and four- and five-point curvilinear perspective (where "straight" lines are drawn as curves). Curvilinear perspective has not been taught in any other perspective book - until now!Full-color, step-by-step demonstrations move you beyond the theories and let you practice the techniques in real scenes.A special chapter on drawing curves helps you break out of the box and draw cylinders, ellipses, cars and, most importantly, people in perfect perspective.Shortcuts and tips show you how to create believable perspective in no time flat.No matter what your skill level, Vanishing Point offers you a new way of looking at perspective and lets you draw as though you have decades of drawing experience - even if you don't. You'll learn everything you need to know to pour your imagination on the page with power and confidence.

    Chiarello explains the entire coloring process, from computer and software choice to creating color effects that give the action its maximum impact. Klein discusses whether to letter by hand or by computer--a hotly debated topic among working letterers--and demonstrates an array of techniques for creasting word balloons, fonts, logos, and much more.The animated step-by-step instructions are informative, stimulating, and clear enough for even beginners to follow. In addition, every technique shown in this guide conforms to up-to-date industry standards. The perfect how-to on everything coloring and lettering, this one-stop sourcebook is packed with a wealth of tested techniques, practical advice, and professional secrets for the aspiring comic artist.

    In their fun and friendly teaching style, Mark and Mary Willenbrink show you how to realistically capture the world around you. All you need to get started are some simple supplies, basic techniques, and inspiration. From field to forest, beach or mountain, begin with a structural sketch, apply values and textures, and, before you know it, you'll be drawing everything you see. You'll even learn how to render favorite wildlife such as chipmunks, deer and eagles! Follow along with easy step-by-step demonstrations to draw rocks, seashells, butterflies and even more developed nature scenes. Gain a working understanding of key concepts such as perspective, value and composition. Discover simple tools and tips you can use right away to improve your art. Your artistic journey can be as pleasant as your final destination with drawing instruction meant for everyone.

    Chapters cover composition, abstraction, texture, layering, using found objects, encaustic, integrating text, and adding digital imagery.

    Zenspirations dangles are a unique form of patterning...and although they look complicated, they are actually easy to create. If you enjoyed Joanne's first book, Zenspirations Paterns & Lettering then you'll love Zenspiration Dangle Designs.