From Asia to America, Japan to the jungles of South Africa, the vast menagerie of exotic and legendary creatures has populated the imaginations of all cultures for centuries.Beautifully illustrated and fantastically detailed, Dracopedia: The Bestiary is a modern, but no less unsettling reimagining of the ancient version. It is an A-to-Z artist's guide to animals of the legendary world. Some, like the griffin and yeti, may be familiar to you. Others--like the enigmatic questing beast and ferocious manticore--may seem new and strange. Some may even haunt your dreams. Inside the bestiary, you will find:Secrets of each animal's evolution--origins, habitat, anatomy, diet and more.Fantastic illustrations created using pencil sketches and digital coloring.Four-stage demonstrations taking you from concept and design to under-painting and finishing details.By drawing on the forms and features of more pedestrian animals, you'll learn how to give shape to the bizarre creatures that roam the depths of your imagination, adding to the bestiary of the ages.

    For the first time, beloved best-selling author and artist Camilla d’Errico pulls back the curtain to give you exclusive insights on topics from the paints and brushes she uses and her ideal studio setup, to the dreams, notions, and pop culture icons that fuel the creation of her hauntingly beautiful Pop Surrealist paintings. With step-by-step examples covering major subject areas such as humans, animals, melting effects, and twisting reality (essential for Pop Surrealism!), Pop Painting gives you the sensation of sitting by Camilla’s side as she takes her paintings from idea to finished work. This front row seat reveals how a leading artist dreams, paints, and creates a successful body of work. For fans of Camilla and the underground art scene, aspiring artists looking to express their ideals in paint, and experienced artists wanting to incorporate the Pop Surrealist style into their work, Pop Painting is a one-of-a-kind, must-have guide.From the Trade Paperback edition.

    Her collection is both international and democratic--dime-store pins share pride of place with designer creations and family heirlooms. Included are the antique eagle purchased to celebrate Albright's appointment as secretary of state, the zebra pin she wore when meeting Nelson Mandela, and the Valentine's Day heart forged by Albright's five-year-old daughter. "Read My Pins" features more than 200 photographs, along with compelling and often humorous stories about jewelry, global politics, and the life of one of America's most accomplished and fascinating diplomats.

    Each knot is shown in a close-up photograph with clear step-by-step diagrams showing how they are tied. Starting with the basics, the knots progress on to more complicated and complex designs, but the clear diagrams make it a cinch to follow along. This invaluable guidebook covers the different types of threads or cords available, and shows a range of clasps and other findings and beads to use in your knotwork. It also includes tons of expert tips like how to set up your work board or how to keep track of the cord ends for less confusion. Thirty-three projects featured in the book range from simple jewelry like a classic friendship bracelet and watch straps to more complex ones like bags and baskets.

    Bloom traveled 30,000 miles to trace a single pearl—from the moment a diver off the coast of Australia scoops from the ocean floor an oyster containing a single luminescent pearl to the instant a woman on the other side of the world fastens the clasp of a strand containing the same orb. Bloom chronicles the never-before-told saga of the global pearl trade by gaining access to clandestine outposts in Japan, China, the Philippines, French Polynesia and Australia. Bloom infiltrates high-tech pearl farms and processing facilities guarded by gun-toting sentries, and insinuates himself into the lives of powerful international pearl lords. Bloom farms for pearls in rural China, goes behind scenes at million-dollar auctions in Hong Kong, trails pearl brokers and Internet entrepreneurs in Asia, hires himself out as a deckhand on an Australian pearling vessel, and goes backstage at Christie’s for a fast and furious auction of the most expensive pearl ever sold. Teeming with rogue humor and uncanny intelligence, Tears of Mermaids weaves a nonstop detective story of the world’s most enduring gem.

    In the process, the book covers all the bases--from working with hand tools to cutting dovetails. Includes two complete projects: a bench and a small cabinet.

    On this painterly journey, Tracy Verdugo leads you from self-doubt to self-appreciation by helping you find your voice through a myriad of vibrantly-hued mark making, painting and self-reflection techniques. There are no mistakes here, only opportunities to learn and grow.- Learn the language of your own sacred marks by painting with personal symbology. - Discover the inspiration that exists around you, in your home, your community, the present moment. - 19 step-by-step exercises use popular mixed media materials such as pastels, acrylic paints, inks and more! - See how to use art making to plant creative seeds and cultivate your wildest dreams. Turn on your Paint Mojo and make an awesome, shiny, perfectly imperfect mark of you.

    Author Carol Marine was herself suffering from painter's block--until she discovered "daily painting." The idea is simple: do art (usually small) often (how often is up to the individual) and, if you desire, post it and sell it online. Today Marine is among the best and most celebrated daily painters, and the curator of the popular online gallery dailypaintworks.com. In her debut, "Daily Painting," Marine reveals the tips and tricks that helped her and other daily painters pick up the paintbrush and start creating beautiful, bountiful, marketable work.

    Improve your drawing skills, expand your creativity, and learn new art techniques—and have loads of fun doing it!—with Drawing and Painting Imaginary Animals.

    You'll get journaling prompts and techniques to help you develop a handwriting style you'll love and words you'll want to write! Then, you'll move onto drawing: you'll learn not only how to train your hand, but also how to appreciate your own unique drawing ability. As you continue through the eight chapters, you will learn additional mixed-media techniques to help you overcome your fears of new materials, using photos of yourself, creating layers, working without a plan and much more.Put your worries aside and create fearlessly!You'll find:- Eight common journaling fears dispelled - Twenty techniques to give you art journal courage - Dozens of colorful art journal pages to inspire your own art

    Author Sera Beak's unique hybrid perspective, hilarious personal anecdotes, and invaluable exercises encourage her readers to live more consciously so they can start making clearer choices across the board, from careers to relationships, politics to pop culture and everything in between. For smart, gutsy, spiritually curious women whose colorful and complicated lives aren't reflected in most spirituality books, The Red Book is an open invitation to find your true self and start sharing that delicious truth with the world.

    From a sailor missing the love he left ashore, to a school boy's crush on his teacher, the stunning pages of this book will inspire you to dust off the vintage ephemera you've been collecting for years and combine it with basic collage elements to create romantic pieces you can wear as well as display.In addition to delectable inspiration for a multitude of projects, you'll learn several practical techniques that can aid you in all your creative endeavors, including:Simple soldering techniques that anyone can do right awayThe art of layering with beeswax to add an intriguing depth to your workMagic tricks for turning metal repair tape into aged sheet metalIn-the-know sources for finding vintage ephemera, as well as tips for transforming new items into ones that appear to have stood the test of timeGive in to the seduction of the past. Let Collage Lost and Found take you to a world where collage sings to you of a simpler time where your creativity knows no bounds!

     The companion DVD enclosed inside, beautifully filmed in Florence, Italy, provides real-time drawing lessons so that any gaps in the learning process are filled in with live instruction.

    This profusely illustrated book teaches serious beginners the fundamental skills of graphic design as an introduction to their formal study in fine art, illustration, computer game design, interior design, animation, and virtually all other avenues in the visual arts. The author advises on setting up a proper workspace and assembling the needed materials--everything from sketchpads and paints to affordable computer software. Chapters that follow present themes and related projects that instruct readers in The basics of line art for illustration and lettering Understanding color and tone and using color media Texture in art Spatial relationships and perspective Creating shapes and relating them to other elements of composition More than 200 color illustrations demonstrate art principles and practical techniques, and show students how to apply what they are learning in a wide range of media.

    Unlike the typical watercolor textbooks, this unique, beautiful volume is a field book of inspiration, creative ideas, how to's, and projects, all from an artist's perspective. Each creative exercise features a technique, shows step-by-step photographs, and includes a clever idea for a gift or project that can be made from the painted samples.