Keeping a Nature Journal: Discover a Whole New Way of Seeing the World Around You


Clare Walker Leslie - 2000
    Encouraging you to make journaling a part of your daily routine, Keeping a Nature Journal is full of engaging exercises and stimulating prompts that will help you hone your powers of observation and appreciate new aspects of nature’s endlessly varied beauty.

Manga Matrix: Create Unique Characters Using the Japanese Matrix System


Hiroyoshi Tsukamoto - 2006
    Using this unique Japanese system, artists can plot and cross-section elements on a matrix diagram to create an infinite number of original characters, creatures, and multiformed beasts. Angels, demons, dragons, monsters, and robots are all included in this book, along with descriptions of costumes and personalities for each.Manga Matrix is unlike any other manga instructional guide and is an invaluable resource for both the budding artist and the polished professional.

The Art of Frozen


Charles Solomon - 2013
    Encountering Everest-like conditions, mystical trolls, and a hilarious snowman named Olaf, Anna and Kristoff battle the elements in a race to save the kingdom.Taking inspiration from Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale "The Snow Queen" and the culture and landscape of Norway, the artists of Frozen have created a dynamic, other-worldly icy setting filled with striking background work and detailed costumes. Featuring stunning artwork from the film's creation—including sketches, storyboards, colorscripts, and much more—The Art of Frozen is the ultimate behind-the-scenes look at the research and artistry that went into the making of this wintry action-packed adventure.

In This House


Angela Cartwright - 2007
    Using the theme of "home," each artist designed five altered art rooms to complete an individual 9"x12" 'house' that closes like a book or can stand accordion style. Each house is a part of a larger whole; a neighborhood of twelve unique and fascinating art-full houses, varying in execution, theme, and style, yet united as part of the larger neighborhood. Each "house" is a unique interpretation on the theme, reflecting the artist's style and incorporating the mixed media techniques for which each artist is most well known. The thirteen artists have created an inspiring collage technique workbook for readers. The back of the book includes a blank "house" template and a clip-art gallery of home-themed imagery that readers can alter and use in their own collage work.

Artist's Journal Workshop: Creating Your Life in Words and Pictures


Cathy Johnson - 2011
    Artist's Journal Workshop provides all the guidance, structure and inspiration you need to create a meaningful art-journaling practice. Starting with the question, What do you want from your journal? you'll build a sound journaling concept that will serve your unique creative needs and give you the freedom to practice, play and develop as an artist. Featuring rich visual examples on every page, you'll receive continual guidance and inspiration from:- 27 international artists who share pages and advice from their own art journals - More than 25 hands-on exercises to help you personalize your journal while developing new ideas and techniques - Journal pages featuring travel sketching, nature studies and celebrations of daily life - Prompts for visually commemorating life events and milestones - Support for working through creative doubts and blocks - A range of artistic styles and perspectives to study and admire - Instruction for trying your hand at new methods and materialsThis is the perfect opportunity for you to begin realizing your artistic potential--one page at a time. Begin the journey today!

Dream Worlds: Production Design for Animation


Hans Bacher - 2007
    A truly unique visual delight offering insight into the development of animation classics like Bambi, Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Lilo and Stitch as well as a tantalizing examination of unfinished Disney projects.

Map Art Lab: 52 Exciting Art Explorations in Mapmaking, Imagination, and Travel


Jill K. Berry - 2014
    This fun and creative book features 52 map-related activities set into weekly exercises, beginning with legends and lines, moving through types and styles, and then creating personalized maps that allow you to journey to new worlds. Authors Jill K. Berry and Linden McNeilly guide readers through useful concepts while exploring colorful, eye-catching graphics. The labs can be used as singular projects or to build up to a year of hands-on creative experiences. Map Art Lab is the perfect book for map lovers, creative/DIY-inspired, designers. Artists of all ages and experience levels can use this book to explore enjoyable and engaging exercises. Everyone loves maps. And what's not to love? They are beautiful and fascinating, they teach you things, they show you where you are, places you long to go, and places you dare to imagine.

642 Things to Write About


San Francisco Writers' Grotto - 2011
    From crafting your own obituary to penning an ode to an onion, each page of this playful journal invites inspiration and provides plenty of space to write. Brimming with entertaining exercises from the literary minds of the San Francisco Writers' Grotto, this is the ultimate gift for scribes of every stripe.

The Art of Polymer Clay Millefiori Techniques: Projects and Inspiration for Creative Canework


Donna Kato - 2008
    In Venetian glassmaking, slender rods of molten glass are shaped, then cut to reveal amazingly detailed patterns: flowers, geometric shapes, dancing colors. These slices are called millefiori, “thousand flowers,” because they form a carpet of flowers when placed side by side. Now celebrity author Donna Kato shows crafters exactly how to re-create these intricate, fascinating designs in polymer clay. The Art of Polymer Clay Millefiori Techniques reveals the entire process: how to work with the polymer clay, the basics of planning and creating a cane, and using color effectively. Dozens of canes, from simple to simply stunning, are included, and everything is clearly explained and illustrated with full-color photos, the Donna Kato way. Throughout the book, examples of stunning work by such millefiori artists as Kathy Amt, Pier Voulkos, and Kathleen Dustin provide inspiration. There must be a thousand ways to make beautiful millefiori . . . explore them all in The Art of Polymer Clay Millefiori Techniques.

Overlay: Contemporary Art and the Art of Prehistory


Lucy R. Lippard - 1983
    Viewed by critics, artists, art historians, and students as the essential text on how prehistoric images have been “overlayed” onto contemporary art by today’s artists, Overlay is for anyone interested in the possibility of reintegrating art into the fabric of society as a whole, as in prehistoric times.From megalithic monuments such as Stonehenge to Richard Long’s minimalism, from the earliest examples of cave drawings to Ana Mendieta’s Cuban site art, from the matriarchal fertility rituals of the ancient Celts to Judy Chicago’s Dinner Party, Lippard shows a continuum in the forms, materials, symbols, and imagery that artists have employed for thousands of years.Lavishly illustrated with over 320 black-and-white photographs and 8 pages of color images, Overlay includes the work of artists Carl Andre, Louise Bourgeois, Robert Smithson, Robert Morris, Charles Simonds, Mary Beth Edelson, Anna Sofaer, Michelle Stuart, Sol LeWitt, Ad Reinhardt, Alice Aycock, Nancy Holt, Emily Carr, Dennis Oppenheim, and many others.

One Zentangle A Day: A 6-Week Course in Creative Drawing for Relaxation, Inspiration, and Fun


Beckah Krahula - 2012
    This step-by-step book is divided into six chapters, each with seven daily exercises.  The Zentangle method was created by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas as a way to practice focus and meditation through drawing by using repetitive lines, marks, circles, and shapes. Each mark is called a "tangle," and you combine various tangles into patterns to create "tiles," or small square drawings. Each of the six chapters explores a different aspect of Zentangle:Basics and EnhancementsTangles and Value PatternsGeometric and Organic PatternsUnderstanding and Using ColorDefining and Using StyleCreating the Rest of Your Zentangle JourneyEach exercise includes new tangles to draw in sketchbooks or on Tiepolo (an Italian-made paper), teaches daily tile design, offers tips on related art principles, and contains an inspirational "ZIA" (Zentangle Inspired Art) project on a tile that incorporates patterns, art principals, and new techniques.   Drawing Zentangles is a relaxing and replenishing diversion that can be enjoyed by people of all ages and skill levels. In addition to its soothing benefits, a Zentangle practice can also help with self-image, phobias, addictions, pain management, conflict resolution, and coping with grief. Step away from the daily hustle and untangle with a Zentangle.

Vitamin D: New Perspectives in Drawing


Emma Dexter - 2005
    In the following and largest section of the book (over 300 pages and approximately 500 illustrations), the 100 or more artists are presented in an A to Z order. Some artists are presented on 2 pages, some on 4 pages. About 5 selections of work are reproduced for each artist, along a text written by an author who is a specialist on the artist's work. The 500-word texts are brief surveys of the artist's career to date, and aim at introducing the methods and subject matter at issue in their recent works. A selected list of exhibitions and bibliography also complements the reproductions and text on each artist.

Painting Abstracts: Ideas, Projects and Techniques


Rolina van Vliet - 2008
    All the basic information relating to picture elements, composition, theme and design is provided at the start of the book, together with an exploration of the meaning of abstract painting, and its importance as a means of self-expression and creativity.

In Progress: See Inside a Lettering Artist's Sketchbook and Process, from Pencil to Vector


Jessica Hische - 2015
    See everything, from Hische's rough sketches to her polished finals for major clients such as Wes Anderson, NPR, and Starbucks. The result is a well of inspiration and brass tacks information for designers who want to sketch distinctive letterforms and hone their skills. With more than 250 images and metallic silver ink printed throughout to represent her penciled sketches, this highly visual book is an essential—and entirely enjoyable—resource for those who practice or simply appreciate the art of hand lettering.

Pop Manga: How to Draw the Coolest, Cutest Characters, Animals, Mascots, and More


Camilla d'Errico - 2013
     In her first instructional guide, D'Errico reveals  techniques for creating her emotive yet playful manga characters, with lessons on drawing basic body construction, capturing action, and creating animals, chibis, and mascots. Plus, she gives readers a behind-the-scenes look at her character design process, pointers on creating their own comics, and prompts for finishing her drawings. Pop Manga is both a celebration of creativity and an indispensible guide that is sure to appeal to manga diehards and aspiring artists alike.