Best Animation Graphic Design
The Avatar’s adventures continue right where the TV series left off, in this beautiful oversized hardcover of The Promise, from Airbender creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko and Eisner and Harvey Award winner Gene Luen Yang!
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"We find out Toph went on to start a metalbending school (and we meet a few characters--her students, whom she calls "lily livers"), and we see that Aang and Katara have officially cemented their relationship."
"I cried when I got to the end of this book because I know I will have to wait till they write a new one."
"The Firelord is cooling his heels in prison and his son, Zuko, is doing his best to work with the other kingdoms and restore order and balance to the world. But trying to undo a hundred years of occupation of the other kingdoms has unexpected consequences."
"It is not in whatever way predictable, in my opinion, and the complicated relationships in the Royal FIre Nation family are more fleshed out than ever before. As for the artwork, the artistic team continues to produce illustration that shows great attention to detail, including the very obvious physical and mental changes that the characters experience as they go through adolescence."
"It continues the life of Aang, Katara, Zuko, Sokka, Toph, Mai, Suki, Iroh and Ozai. This trilogy is named the promise because of the relationship that Zuko and Aang have after the war. The books revolves around this Promise. I suspect this comes from Sokka repeatedly calling Aang and Katara's PDA, Oogie."
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. Richard Williams has won more than 250 international awards for his animation.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"One of the best well written art books I have read in a long time, Mr. Williams is full of knowledge, which he generously shares with others."
"This is a must have for everyone learning animation, it could be used by yourself or by teachers to teach about animation principles, and the amount of knowlege in the content of the book and animation exercises is amazing."
"It has so much detail to it that it still blows my mind every time I. open it."
"If you are getting into animation this is the book for you; in depth information on all the necessary topics that you need."
"An excellent book."
"Bought this as a gift for a friend when she started her Animation degree."
"This is one of the most useful animation books I have every purchased."
"One of the most detailed animating books I have purchased so far, it is really helpful."
Steven Universe: Art & Origins is the first book to take fans behind the scenes of the groundbreaking and boundlessly creative Cartoon Network animated series Steven Universe. He creates animation for television programs that have included Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I got it for a friend who is obsessed with SU, she is also a great artist and I thought this book would just be a "how-to" for the characters and backgrounds of the show."
"This book has much more behind-the-scenes artwork than what the show's creators have posted online."
"A very interesting and detailed book describing the process of creating the show along with beautifully designed concept sketches, and interview input."
"It's a beautiful book full of insight on how Steven Universe became what we know and love."
"Obviously just about everything is "notable" with a book of this magnitude, so this may get long, but I'll try to include anecdotes that have some unique insight or perspective on the main source material--with as little of "OMG this was the original idea for this!" Rebecca mentions having wanted to bury her femininity for a while, but coming back to draw female forms and include dancing after she learned to sort through her issues using art. Some really slick promo art is shared--posters, sketches, great concepts that were designed to bring in new viewers and make them curious about the show. Rebecca and some of the other crew, in interview format, talk about getting the team together and allowing for both nailed-down character essentials and flexibility for the writers to explore and collaborate. Developing the setting was also a big part of the to-do list; coming up with Beach City itself, its businesses, its residents, and also the creatures the Gems would fight. Some cute stories are shared about the early Crewniverse hanging out at a cabin and talking about the show all the time, hashing it out. They discuss how the pilot got released and fans grew attached to what they initially looked like, only to be "outraged" by the changes, making tons of assumptions about who was controlling the process. Main, palette, and distance models are discussed, with some technical details of what different artists do on the team and how they handle props or special poses. More Crewniverse interviews provide insight into the process, including how much is revised from the early days and how collaborative everything is. Some specific episodes, like "Ocean Gem," "Monster Buddies," and "Island Adventure" are put into perspective with how they were written by the group. There's some good continued discussion of concepts in Part 4, especially about fusion and relationships and the larger message the show is sending. There are many answers to that, and sometimes it's about fun and sometimes it's about a message and sometimes it's about wanting to make an episode about something you've never seen a cartoon do before--something specific to you that other people can suddenly see represented. One of my favorite parts of it is when they discuss Steven discovering the Gems' weaknesses over time and having that NOT make him think less of them--more like he admires them for being strong enough to shoulder the burdens he didn't know they were carrying before. His focus on detail is really fascinating to read about--it's really him who nails down the locations in Beach City and where an outlet is in a house on the wall. The directors and other Crewniverse folks discuss the use of color and background items in the show, and how they use it to create mood or feel changeable enough to be real. The intention of the section is unclear at first based on the title of the chapter, but you can quickly see they're discussing the forward-thinking message the show has--how its representation of its creators' experiences has also struck a chord with people who wanted and NEEDED its diversity. Kat Morris acknowledges that there are more important things than making a feelsy and entertaining piece of media, but as she says, the point is to let people see themselves in something and be challenged. I was relieved to see Rebecca state it plainly in the foreword: the items you see from the development phases of this show are not to be taken as canon or as "real" insights into how you should interpret it now. We all become different from what we were even though we grew from it and may have roots in it still, but that doesn't mean you can point at the seed and say its flower is meant to be understood surrounded by dirt. Themes were given to them initially (like Amethyst being "flora and fauna," which you can sort of see in her pilot intro with her lying on big cats). This is particularly interesting because non-creatives commonly think creative people simply receive inspiration and birth their creations into the world wholesale. Initial notes for Garnet say she should have the coolest shoes of the three, that she's commanding and outer-spacey and also weird, and that she's inspired by Grace Jones, boy Michael Jackson, and Estelle in "I Can Be a Freak." Initial notes for Amethyst insist on the "fanny pack" pouch and suggest her clothes are cut, her hair is in chunks, and she should have an animal theme with a wild texture. There's a note in the early character design section that says "the girls can all turn into Steven" with an accompanying illustration of Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl shapeshifted as him. Rebecca Sugar shares an anecdote about thinking there was a "best" way to draw that was objectively correct (influenced by some art-school stuff), and through that she arrived at the idea that Pearl was a cone, Amethyst was a sphere, and Garnet was a cube, because all of those things say something about who they are (pointedness, fluidness, stability). It's kind of adorable to see common drawing errors or misconceptions or inconsistent details discussed in a how-to format for the people who actually work there. Some ideas for a story which was later used in "Future Boy Zoltron," covering Mr. Smiley's romance/comedy partnership with an old flame, were shared with more emphasis on the characters being lovers. People were apparently worried that Garnet would be replaced by her component Gems in the story if she were to unfuse, but obviously since Ruby and Sapphire want to be together, that doesn't happen. Kat Morris's "rules" as discussed in Part 4 are "Garnet never asks questions" and "the story has to stay in Steven's perspective." It's a fine line between defining something so that people are aware it exists, which is so important, but also letting it breathe, so it's not forever contained in a box labeled 'queer media.'". Tom Scharpling and Charlyne Yi were voice actors that Rebecca specifically had in mind for her characters (Greg and Ruby respectively). Rose's Fountain is in Spain or Portugal; the Sky Spire and Strawberry Battlefield are in Norway; the Shooting Star Shrine is in the middle of the drastically different Asian continent; the Galaxy Warp is in the Tunguska Sea; the Lunar Sea Spire is off the coast of Canada; Mask Island is in the Atlantic near Beach City; the Comm Relay is in the Western United States. It was known from interviews that Shelby Rabara (voice of Peridot) is a dancer and provided the foot sounds and coaching to create the short tap number in the episode "Mr. There's a really cute story in the last section about Amber Cragg ascending from fan to Crewniverse member through posting Pearl art in response to the pilot and eventually getting contacted to take a board test."
"This is a beautiful quality book, perfect for any Steven Universe fan."
"My daughter is going to LOVE this book!"
"There are many details written about the production process that will keep fans entertained for a long time."
Best Individual Directors
Also available from Matt Zoller Seitz: The Oliver Stone Experience , The Wes Anderson Collection: Bad Dads , The Wes Anderson Collection: The Grand Budapest Hotel. , and Mad Men Carousel . “In The Wes Anderson Collection , Seitz expands a series of video essays on Anderson’s influences, illuminating as much of Anderson’s process as possible in a massive, beautifully rendered volume. Although it looks (and sometimes reads) like a coffee table book, The Wes Anderson Collection brings together style and substance to provide a loving homage to Anderson’s films and moviemaking in general.”. ( FILTER ). “ The Wes Anderson Collection comes as close as a book can to reading like a Wes Anderson film.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I bought this for my boyfriend as we're both Wes Anderson fans and this book is lovely!"
"This book is like a beautiful, creative, inspiring story book for grown ups- it's full of images and interviews on every film that Wes Anderson has directed- storyboards, frames and screenshots from the films, screenshots from other films that inspired Anderson, plus tons of ephemera from all of the films."
"Essays and interviews by Mark Zoller Seitz, amazing illustrations by Max Dalton and endless fascinating stills from the films plus a potpourri of relevant items from old films, books, magazines, catalogs and advertisements that will have you intrigued and wanting to keep returning again and again to marvel at all this content."
"It's a cool book to page through in moments of time or fully immerse yourself in if you're interesting in making films."
"Not only all that but there are essays and interviews by Zoller, who has followed Anderson's career from the beginning, jam packed with details on his artistic process for the films, his thoughts on different circumstances surrounding his scripts and general Wes Anderson quotables."
"The production stills for Fantastic Mr. Fox are particularly stunning, but the on-set photos from The Royal Tenenbaums and The Life Aquatic really give you a sense of the camaraderie between the actors."
"Anderson doesn't release many films....this book shows you why."
Best Teen & Young Adult Asian Historical Fiction
An in-depth look at the concept and watercolor artwork of the film "My Neighbor Totoro," the story of children who discover a new world in a tree trunk inhabited by magical creatures called Totoros, which can't be seen by adults. Hayao Miyazaki is the prominent director of many popular animated feature films.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"One of my favorite Miya-san films, Totoro here gets the 'Art of' treatment and it's wonderful to see the concept sketches, cell work, and gorgeous background work of Kazuo Oga in beautiful glossy paper stock."
"If you're a fan of Totoro this book is excellent."
"I love this book my only concern is i [fire the second time] have an oily dirty thumbprint on it."
"Great book with lots of beautiful images!"
"It's hard back and reasonable length packed full of art work from the film and concepts as well."
"I have watched the movie a number of times but had not fully appreciated the delicacy and refinement of the art, which just flies by too fast for the eye to perceive in detail."
"This book is a very nice shelf addition for the Totoro fan in us all."
"Bought this for a friend as a Christmas present."
Best Airbrush Graphic Design
Coloring book full of beautiful designs, incorporating hilarious alternative swear words!
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Bought for my girlfriend who is a art teacher."
"Purchased as a teacher gift."
"There are very few pages."
"The perfect gift for your child's teacher."
"This was a perfect gift for my kids teacher."
"Funny teacher humor."
"Sent as a gift to a granddaughter teaching high school."
"The pictures are somewhat larger spaced than I thought from viewing online."
Best Commercial Graphic Design
How to Draw Cool Stuff shows simple step-by-step illustrations that make it easy for anyone to draw cool stuff with precision and confidence.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"As adults, we over-complicate so much, and this book teaches us that maybe slowing things down and using just the basics can give very surprising results."
"There is a good reason why every reviewer is giving this book 5 Stars. To open the book, the author provides an extensive section on suggestions for teachers helping the beginning artist. From the Introduction: "Through Art we have the opportunity to showcase our personal strengths in a meaningful way." Some of my favorite drawing lessons: The "Ancient Masks" section, the "Basketball Hoop" drawing, and the "Foreshortened person" lesson. ▲ Honestly, Catherine Holmes has produced a MAGNIFICENT book for students and teachers alike. The amount of time spent producing this book must have been enormous."
"A discussion with a friend got me interested in trying out sketching and drawing as a fun and creative outlet. This is a great eBook for two groups of beginners: 1) the instant gratification type: you just got your pencils and sketch pad and you just want to start drawing things. Okay, drawing attempts is a better description, but my bad art is not what's reviewed here :). The second group of beginners are ones who want to learn more, in an easy to digest format. So we can't have it both ways :). The ebook is comfortable to read on the 7 inch Kindle Fire tablet (or anything larger), and you can zoom on the pictures whether you have your device in portrait or landscape orientation. Some of them have a semi-usable image zoom option (Paperwhite, classic Kindle with Keyboard), so if you are patient, you can also go through the drawing exercises with those. The tiny basic Kindle does not have image zoom, so it's not very useful if you are doing the drawing exercises (but still fine if you want to read the text parts)."
"9 year old who is an amazing artist already understood when I showed her the steps."
"Will want to buy the other books in this series now."
"This was a present for my daughter and she said it is the most helpful instruction guide she has ever gotten."
"This book was so awesome that I couldn't stop reading it's the best on the market I even read it when ever I have time."
"I bought this, along with a set of drawing pencils, for a kid."
Best Graphic Design Clip Art
From the positive wish that’s right for anyone. TAGS: coloring book,adult coloring book good vibes,adult coloring book calligraphy,adult coloring book for women,adult coloring books best sellers for women, adult coloring book animals, adult coloring books stress relieving patterns, adult coloring books relaxation, adult coloring books relaxing,black coloring book, midnight coloring book, black adult coloring book, midnight adult coloring book, adult coloring books black background.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Another great find to help you relieve stress and encourage a positive outlook in your life."
"Wife loves to color, she liked the book."
"It was a gift she loved it."
"Love the pictures included in this book!"
"love the patterns, but the paper is a bit lower quality than what I would prefer."
"Very pretty pages to color."
"The drawings are absolutely beautiful!"
"This is a great book to color."
Best Graphic Design Techniques
Specially designed for experienced colorists, Owls and other Creative Haven® adult coloring books offer an escape to a world of inspiration and artistic fulfillment. Marjorie Sarnat is a New York Times bestselling author and illustrator of several coloring books and more than a dozen books on art and creativity.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The pages of the book are single-sided and are perforated at the bound edge so you can remove the page to color or to frame afterwards. The images have a wide range, including: an owl sitting on a wildly decorated crescent moon, an owl with butterflies, a "smart" owl amongst his/her books, owls on a wooden rocking horse, pirate owls, fairy tale owl, totem pole owls, steampunk owl, the owl and the pussycat (yes, cat included!)."
"She has filled this book with Charming Owls that entrance you and entwined them with intricate, captivating, unparalleled combinations of patterns, embellishing the backgrounds, scenery, borders, and even adorning the Owls creating illustrations that will make this your favorite coloring book, and you won’t be able to put it down. All Markers and Gel Pens leak through the pages so place two pieces of paper under the page you are coloring to prevent damage to the next page. If you love this book, you will also want to look at Marjoie Sarnats first coloring book (Creative Haven Cats)."
"This is a really cute and charming coloring book perfect for owl aficionados and colorists who like quirky pictures."
"The attached photos show a page from this book colored with the Sharpie Ultra-Fine Tip 24 pack markers and the very minimal bleed-through."
"I love owls so I'm probably bias about this coloring book."
"Markers will bleed through, but that's easy to fix with a couple of sheets of paper behind that one your coloring."
"This makes using water colored pencils and markers easier as they do not bleed through to the other picture. I do put another piece of paper or thin cardboard in between so that it also helps to catch the bleeding if I am being heavy handed."
"5 bucks for a coloring book?"
Best Lithography
Featuring 24 unique and creative designs, ranging in complexity from to simple to advanced, this coloring book will provide hours and hours of stress relief, mindful calm, and fun, creative expression. Long before adult-coloring books were introduced to the world, Dani was turning store-bought children's coloring books into adult-coloring books for her own enjoyment.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Great value for price."
"Great item."
"Gift for grand-daughter...she loved it!"
"It was awesome!"
"This is so cute!!"
"A coloring book that isn't worth more then $1.00."
Best Typography
Chalkfulloflove was created to encourage, inspire and make you giggle, so just pour yourself a cup of coffee or a glass of wine and settle in to start your own unique, adorable lettering creations! Hardcover, oversized gold wire-o binding and gold corner protectors Step by step instructions on how to create various fonts and designs Thick premium paper, perfect for lettering Beautiful coffee table book and practical workbook. A day in her life looks like taking a crazy number of photos, dancing in the garage while packaging up orders, and cuddling with her pups.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"This book is beautiful!"
"Gorgeous book!"
"This book makes learning hand lettering SO easy!"
"BUT, the blank pages.... About 45% of the book is blank pages, not to mention all the white space. Pages 96-110 are ENTIRELY BLANK but for the page number, and so is almost half of the book."
"I should have listened to the other people who reported that this book was full of nothing, but I was encouraged by the the claim that additional content was added."
"If you want to learn upper case, you have to also buy Hand Lettering 201."
"In purchasing a $30.00 book I expect more inside information, tips and tricks and showing me HOW she achieves her style of lettering, etc... For example, the flourishes pages literally just tells you that flourishes and illustrations are great to add to your lettering then shows you a 2" x 2" example of the author's own "Bless Your Heart" design (with zero instructions on how she achieved it) and has about a 6"x3" area next to that design that says "Practice Here.""
"Got the lower case letters down and then realized there's no upper case letters to practice to!!"
Best Printmaking
Pen & Ink Drawing: A Simple Guide covers the essential aspects of pen and ink drawing and more. He actively maintains a YouTube channel featuring hundreds of videos and tutorials on drawing, sketching, pen and ink, watercolor, and more for learners of all levels.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Dunn takes that a step further and shows you how to develop a shadow using the texture you are trying to illustrate. C. Dunn takes the learner into the importance of different ways of drawing. I think what is important about this book is that Dunn is very aware of how he learned and what his questions were and he tried very hard to make a book that would have helped him."
"He has spent most of his time teaching people for free and he put all of his knowledge into this wonderful book."
"The book helped me get back into inking and I enjoyed it more than painting digitally."
"It's really safe to say that here in this book all the information is greatly structured. You can find all the nuts and bolts which are just vital for anyone who's anything serious about drawing itself. Just think of the following: if you don't know 'the letters' than how you're gonna write? Well the book's called 'a simple guide'."
"I have watched and rewatched these videos so many times that I made a personal vow to buy his book as soon as it became available in order to take a small step towards repaying him for all of the hours he commits to his fans."
"I have been watching Alphonso Dunn on YouTube for over three years and everything I love about his teaching there is found in his book. I have taken MANY art courses and most I paid for, but Mr Dunn's teachings go above and beyond any of the teaching I received else where."
"This book is all I have been working with for several weeks and I'm having fun and see improvement in my drawings. I do mostly line and wash and this book helps me really better understand light and shadow, as well as texture."