I know from experience. In the summer of 2016, I decided to learn hand lettering to create coloring pages for my book, Broken Crayons Still Color. I watched every video I could find and tried all the recommended techniques. However, no matter what I did, even with the best of pens, my lettering looked horrible. Let's admit it: Learning calligraphy is not as easy as some of the artists online make it look. And I was frustrated. I continued my research and discovered faux calligraphy. I decided to use it, along with block lettering, to create my hand-drawn coloring pages. What is Faux Calligraphy? It's fake calligraphy. In my opinion, it is the easiest way to get started. You can achieve a beautiful outcome almost right away, even with your own handwriting. In this book, Calligraphy for Beginners, I will walk you through the steps of how to get started as well as the mistakes to avoid. In calligraphy, your letters will have thick downstrokes and thin upstrokes. With faux calligraphy, you simply add the thickness to your downstrokes after you write the letters. It's a three-step process you'll learn in chapter three. Traditional calligraphy and brush lettering require months of consistent practice to train your hand and develop the muscle memory required to achieve the thick and thin strokes. Even after years of practice, I continue to improve every day. And, honestly, I notice the difference in my lettering if I don't practice consistently for several weeks. Therefore, if you want to achieve a beautiful outcome right away or need to use lettering for a project immediately (like I did), faux calligraphy is a great way to get started. It's a fun way to add text to coloring pages and create beautiful artwork, hand-lettered cards, bookmarks, and so much more. Bonus: As a bonus to this book, you get free access to my faux calligraphy online class ($39 value). To make it as easy as possible for you, I filmed a video demonstrating every letter in the alphabet. Plus, you can download my practice sheets to print off for reference and blank practice sheets for your own lettering. Click the buy button and let's get started!

    In Make Ink, Logan delves into the history of inkmaking and the science of distilling pigment from the natural world. Readers will learn how to forage for materials such as soot, rust, cigarette butts, peach pits, and black walnut, then how to mix, test, and transform these ingredients into rich, vibrant inks that are sensitive to both place and environment. Organized by color, and featuring lovely minimalist photography throughout, Make Ink combines science, art, and craft to instill the basics of ink making and demonstrate the beauty and necessity of engaging with one of mankind’s oldest tools of communication.

    This e-book contains 16 patterns written from 2009 to 2013. Included are a piggy hat, a Cheshire cat headband for the kids, flower balls to decorate the house, winter hats, scarfs and many other beautiful patterns. Sayjai is best known for her Amigurumi: the pink lady doll, monster rabbit, plus a little witch, nurse and mermaid. The patterns in this book are mostly easy, but you have to know the basic crochet stitches to read them.

    Composition is the harmonious arranging of the component parts of a work of art into a unified whole. Henry Poore examines the works of old masters and moderns in this book and uses these examples to explain the principles of compositions in art.All the paintings that the author analyzes are illustrated in the text — 166 illustrations, including 9 in full color. Thirty-two diagrams by the author accompany his textural discussion of such topics as the importance of balance, entrance and exit, circular observation, angular composition, composition with one or more units, and light and shade. Balance is the most important of these topics, and it is considered in the greatest detail — balance of the steelyard, vertical and horizontal balance, and so on. A complete index enables the reader to locate his own specific areas of interest.To see how a painting by Cézanne, Goya, or Hopper, for example, follows definite principles of composition allows the practicing artist or art student to learn composition from the finest instructors — the artists themselves. This book is also very useful to the art devotee, who will find his appreciation of the subject greatly enhanced.

    The exciting pieces come from an international array of artists, each with a unique perspective. The stylishly varied collection has a little bit of everything: the cups range from handbuilt to wheel-thrown, practical to sculptural, round to square. Benjamin Schulman's "Stacked Teacup Set" takes a strictly functional approach, while Heather O'Brien's "Dessert Cups on Stand" focuses on aesthetic form rather than usefulness. Annette Gates' "Espresso Shot Cups with Rubies" has a surface design of simple abstract lines and dots of glaze and jewels. Some are whimsical, others starkly conceptual. Every one is a treat for the eye.

    Sixteen accomplished contributors—including calligraphers, painters, collagists, card makers, fiber artists, and graphic designers—give their personal perspectives on lettering. They all offer their favorite tools, how they use them, their signature technique with step-by-step instructions and photos, and an alphabet sampler of their own font. Gorgeous gallery images of each contributors work are also included. Contributors include:Andy Ainger   •   Francois Begnez   •   Flora Chang   •   Barbara Close   •   Philippe Debongnie   •  Karyn Denten   •   Aimee Dolich   •   Lisa Engelbrecht   •   Pam Garrison  •   Stine Kaasa   •   Rhianna Lederman   •   Martha Lever   •   Linda Schneider   •   Jessica Swift   •   Madeline Tomkins   •   Lori Vilegen   •

    Great for the beginner and the expert, this book offers readers exercises to improve their work.

    This is such a book. For more than two years, Linda Cateura has pursued teacher / artist David A. Leffel, notebook in hand, as he critiqued the work of students. Linda Cateura's succinct notes capture his insights, philosophy, painting hints, and general comments.Leffel's classic, painterly, twentieth-century old master style, much in the manner of Rembrandt or Chardin, affords ample illustration of the ideas expressed - through his many paintings, details, demonstrations, and diagrams, almost all in color.No matter what your level of ability, there is something here to apply to your own work, ideas that will cause you to rething your own ways of painting, hints to save you effort, or solutions to persistent painting problems.

    Going beyond the practical application of techniques, Whyte helps new artists capture not just the model's physical likeness, but their unique personality and spirit. Richly illustrated, the book features Mary Whyte's vibrant empathetic watercolors and works by such masters of watercolor as Mary Cassatt, Thomas Eakins, Winslow Homer, John Singer Sargent, and Georgia O'Keeffe.

    In 1989 Fili founded her own graphic design studio, Louise Fili Ltd, and branched out into the fields of restaurant and food packaging design. Her lavish and elegant typography, often hand drawn, helps advertise and market such well-known brands as Sarabeth's, Bella Cucina, Jean-Georges, and Good Housekeeping, among many others. Known for her intense attention to detail, her fresh reinterpretation of vintage sources, and her passion for all things Italian, Fili has won numerous awards. Elegantissima, the first monograph on her work, covers the breadth of her nearly forty-year design career and is a must-have for graphic design students and professionals, as well as anyone interested in advertising, food, restaurants, Italy, and books.

    

    But, you think, Learning to paint must be hard and frustrating. Not with Cathy Johnson as your teacher! Here, she makes learning to paint in watercolor fun--even easy!With Painting Watercolors, you'll learn to paint by picking up a brush and painting--not by reading about a bunch of confusing theories.Cathy tells you everything you need to begin--including:- Which tools and materials you should buy to get off to a good, affordable start - When, what, even where to paint - Explanations of watercolor terms (such as washes and puddles) - Easy and useful painting tricks--such as glazing and drybrush.Exercises help you loosen up and learn the ins and outs of putting paint on paper. Easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions show you how to paint water, believable skies, a variety of trees in different seasons and other popular elements. Plus, a dozen demonstrations show you how paintings come together, from initial sketch to final brushstrokes.With Cathy's help, you can start painting right away!

    In this book, Margaret Shepherd, America's premier calligrapher, shows you that calligraphy is not simply a craft you can learn, but an elegant art form that you can make your own.Calligraphy remains perennially popular, often adorning wedding invitations, diplomas, and commercial signs. Whether it is Roman, Gothic, Celtic, Bookhand, or Italic style, calligraphy conveys class and elegance. Margaret Shepherd makes this ancient art form accessible in a completely hand-lettered technical guide that will:* Provide context for calligraphy as an art, exploring the rich tradition of hand-lettering and mapping the evolution of the most popular styles.* Give detailed technical advice on choosing pens, paper, and inks, setting up your workspace, mastering various pen angles, along with step-by-step illustrations to guide you as you practice.* Explain which alphabets are appropriate for different forms of writing. For example, the Roman alphabet works well for short, unpunctuated passages, while the Italic alphabet is more suited to informal everyday communication.* Encourage you to personalize your lettering by using variant strokes and interpreting how you would like the words to look on the page.* Inspire you with carefully chosen illustrations and examples, which bring letters to life.In Margaret Shepherd's own words, Calligraphy trains not only your eye and hand, but your mind as well. Learn Calligraphy is the authoritative primer for this age-old craft, and will help develop a new appreciation for lettering as you discover your creative personality.

    In the ensuing decades, he has led hundreds of metalsmiths to explore and expand on his pioneering work. Now for the first time, the results of those efforts are compiled into a comprehensive review. With practical techniques and over 450 photographs, this groundbreaking book sets a standard for breadth, authority, and inspiration. Eight by 10.5 inches; 160 pages; full color; hardcover with dust jacket; 450+ photos.

    This book can help you bring all of these together in one beautiful creation.Here you'll see magnificent collages by leading artists who show you--in step-by-step demonstrations--how to begin, how to design, how to apply collage techniques in exciting ways.Plus you'll get your chance to use those techniques with nearly fifty projects that challenge you to do your most creative work.