Force: Dynamic Life Drawing for Animators


Michael D. Mattesi - 2006
    He has been a professional production artist and instructor for the last fifteen years with clients including Disney, Marvel Comics, Hasbro Toys, ABC, Microsoft, Electronic Arts, DreamWorks and Nickelodeon.Audience level: Intermediate to advanced

History of Beauty


Umberto Eco - 2004
    What is beauty? Umberto Eco, among Italy’s finest and most important contemporary thinkers, explores the nature, the meaning, and the very history of the idea of beauty in Western culture. The profound and subtle text is lavishly illustrated with abundant examples of sublime painting and sculpture and lengthy quotations from writers and philosophers. This is the first paperback edition of History of Beauty, making this intellectual and philosophical journey with one of the world’s most acclaimed thinkers available in a more compact and affordable format.From the Trade Paperback edition

A Perfect Red


Amy Butler Greenfield - 2005
    Treasured by the ancient Mexicans, cochineal was sold in the great Aztec marketplaces, where it attracted the attention of the Spanish conquistadors in 1519. Shipped to Europe, the dye created a sensation, producing the brightest, strongest red the world had ever seen. Soon Spain's cochineal monopoly was worth a fortune. Desperate to find their own sources of the elusive dye, the English, French, Dutch, and other Europeans tried to crack the enigma of cochineal. Did it come from a worm, a berry, a seed? Could it be stolen from Mexico and transplanted to their own colonies? Pirates, explorers, alchemists, scientists, and spies—all joined the chase for cochineal, a chase that lasted more than three centuries. A Perfect Red tells their stories—true-life tales of mystery, empire, and adventure, in pursuit of the most desirable color on earth.

Printmaking + Mixed Media


Dorit Elisha - 2009
    From screen printing to collagraphy to sun printing, the techniques are shown with step-by-step photographs and can be done without printing presses or special papers. A variety of projects are included to demonstrate a wide range of possible creations, such as fabric-arts books, hand-printed calendars, wall-art collages, aprons, holiday books, greeting cards, and more. For further inspiration beyond the projects, a gallery of completed works by the author and other artists make up the final portion of this resource.

Art of McSweeney's


McSweeney's Publishing - 2010
    Literary journals bound by magnets, or designed to look like junk mail. The sharp wit, gorgeous design, and playful why not invention of independent literary publisher McSweeney's have earned it a large and loyal following and made its journals, books, The Believer magazine, and Wholphin DVDs collectible favorites of readers and graphic designers alike. Created by the McSweeney's staff to commemorate their 11th (or 12th) anniversary, this book showcases their award-winning art and design across all the company's activities. It features hundreds of images, interviews with collaborators such as Chris Ware and Michael Chabon, and dozens of insights into McSweeney's quirky creative process and the visual experience of reading.

Slow Stitch: Mindful and Contemplative Textile Art


Claire Wellesley-Smith - 2015
    The pleasures to be had from slowing down can be many, with connections to sustainability, simplicity, reflection, and tuning into traditional and other multicultural textile traditions.Slow Stitch is a much-needed guide to adopting a less-is-more approach, valuing quality over quantity, and bringing a meaningful and thoughtful approach to textile practice.Claire Wellesley-Smith introduces a range of ways in which you can slow your textile work down, including:Using simple techniques inspired by traditional practice (including hand-stitch rhythms)Reusing and re-inventing materials (reuse even old textile projects)Limiting your equipmentMending revisited (practical and decorative techniques)Project ideas and resources that help towards making a more sustainable textile practiceRichly illustrated throughout, and showcasing work from the best textile artists who work in this way, this is a truly inspirational book for those looking to reconnect with their craft and to find a new way of working.

Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art


Scott McCloud - 1993
    Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics is a seminal examination of comics art: its rich history, surprising technical components, and major cultural significance. Explore the secret world between the panels, through the lines, and within the hidden symbols of a powerful but misunderstood art form.

Action! Cartooning


Ben Caldwell - 2004
    Its simply larger, better illustrated, and more in depth than any similar title on the market. In elaborate detail, it focuses on superheroes and their atmospheric world filled with speed and movement. Every aspect of creating cartoons is taught: the supplies, developing mood, and the techniques that endow characters with personality. See how to draw a variety of faces (female, heroic, cute, gaunt), and give the appearance of age. From the skeleton to the torso, to the arms, hands, and legs, follow every stroke that goes into producing bodies of all shapes and sizes. Finally, theres instruction on sending those figures into running, jumping, punching, kicking action in a fully realized scene. With advice so thorough, any amateur can become a pro.

The Animator's Survival Kit


Richard Williams - 2001
    During his more than forty years in the business, Williams has been one of the true innovators, winning three Academy Awards and serving as the link between Disney's golden age of animation by hand and the new computer animation exemplified by Toy Story. Perhaps even more important, though, has been his dedication in passing along his knowledge to a new generation of animators so that they in turn could push the medium in new directions. In this book, based on his sold-out master classes in the United States and across Europe, Williams provides the underlying principles of animation that every animator--from beginner to expert, classic animator to computer animation whiz --needs. Urging his readers to "invent but be believable," he illustrates his points with hundreds of drawings, distilling the secrets of the masters into a working system in order to create a book that will become the standard work on all forms of animation for professionals, students, and fans.

Botanical Drawing in Color: A Basic Guide to Mastering Realistic Form and Naturalistic Color


Wendy Hollender - 2010
    Whether you’re just broaching this unique skill or are already an expert, these step-by-step instructions are an invaluable reference guide, written by one of the nation’s leading experts in the field, Wendy Hollender.  Each lesson here increases in complexity to build your skill set in a clear, concise, and accessible way. With a focus on the natural world through the botanical life-cycle, each project is not only a technical study, but a beautiful piece of artwork in and of itself.  Learn:    • Single light source toning technique   • Principles of perspective for drawing flowers   • The fundamentals of plant anatomy   • Colored pencil techniques and color theory of the natural world

Meet Mr. Product: The Art of the Advertising Character


Warren Dotz - 2003
    Product youll find a vibrantly colorful tribute to such pop-culture icons as the Jolly Green Giant, natty Mr. Peanut, the cute little Morton Salt Girl, and the countless other advertising characters who have been helping us navigate the grocery aisles and choose our products for years. Offering up a bustling gallery of over 500 spokescharacters, this chunky compendium charts the origins and development of the advertising character and gives brief glimpses into some of their most intimate secrets. (Did you know that the Michelin Man has been spotted with glamorous ladies on his arm? Or that Bordens Elsie the Cow was married to Elmer of household glue fame?) Famous faces and a host of recently rediscovered characters fill Meet Mr. Products pages to bursting.

The Art of Final Fantasy IX


Dan Birlew - 2000
    The book includes rarely-seen concept art and detailed pencil sketches, an immense collection of character art, airship and vehicle designs, monsters and unique weapon images, and full-page scenes from the most beautiful cinemas in video game history. Entertaining and informative commentary is provided as well as anecdotal captions relevant to story and events of FINAL FANTASY IX.

Gustav Klimt: 1862-1918


Gilles Néret - 1992
    In his own time, Kilmt (1862-1918) was a highly successful painter, draftsman, muralist, and graphic artist; in the intervening years, iconic works such as The Kiss have been elevated to nothing less than cult status. Klimt's unfading popularity attests to the appeal of not only his aesthetic sensibilities but also that of the recurrent universal themes in his work: love, feminine beauty, aging, and death. He once wrote, "I am a painter who paints day after day from morning to night...Who ever wants to know something about me...ought to look carefully at my pictures." With this overview of Klimt's work, readers will delight in taking up that challenge.About the Series: Each book in TASCHEN's Basic Art series features:a detailed chronological summary of the life and oeuvre of the artist, covering his or her cultural and historical importance a concise biography approximately 100 illustrations with explanatory captions

Wisconsin Supper Clubs: An Old-Fashioned Experience


Ron Faiola - 2013
    Also recorded in this book are the regional specialties served at these clubs, ranging from popovers and fried pickles in the northern part of the state to Shrimp de Jonghe in the south. One Northwoods supper club even features fry bread, a traditional Native American dish uncommon to most any restaurant.The "supper club experience" is a tradition embodied by many long-standing restaurants scattered throughout the small towns of Wisconsin. It is based around a bygone idea that going out to dinner is an experience that lasts an entire evening. The clubs emphasizing food made from scratch, slow-paced dining, and family-run businesses. Combine this with stately dark-panel decor, complimentary relish trays, and the best brandy Old Fashioned sweet you'll ever have, and you have barely scratched the surface of the Wisconsin supper club's appeal.Author Ron Faiola is the critically acclaimed director and producer of the documentary by the same name. Supper clubs are hugely popular with Wisconsin locals and regularly frequented by all Midwestern foodies "in the know." With Wisconsin Supper Clubs as a guide, these establishments are primed to be choice summer road trip destinations for anyone looking for low-cost vacations this summer. After the successful debut of Faiola's documentary, this book is sure to be a hit throughout the region and beyond.

Persona 4: Official Design Works


Atlus - 2008
    Featuring the character designs of Shigenori Soejima! Go behind the scenes of Persona 4, the final game of the landmark Persona series! Inside you'll find character designs, rough sketches, backgrounds and settings, an exclusive interview with the game's creators, and more!