Illustration Books

A remarkable collection of powerful and memorable images: protest posters produced in Vietnam, Cuba and the United States. The art is incredible, and the essays skillfully provide insight into the posters themselves and the contexts in which they were created. I wish i had seen the exhibition myself, but this book is a valuable substitute.

Dutch artist Roel Wielinga came to American at the age of nine and spent 20 years in the United States Air Force. This multi-talented artist is comfortable and capable of working in many mediums, pencils, paints, and even digitally. Roel's women are sexy and powerful and his creations filled with magic. This collection shows off a variety of his outstanding art in sci-fi and fantasy. A perfect example of his powerful women is shown on page 7 as a bold and proud warrior stands with her dragon-crested shield in front of her.

Pages 14 to 19 show off some of Roel's gorgeous cyborgs and robots with their glinting, cybernetic bodies. Included are several illustrations of his fantasy character Domonisk, a skull-visaged, massive warrior developed for Sirius Entertainment. On page 31 there's a nude jungle warrior queen with her pet leopard, prowling the jungle for prey. Page 39 is a pencil variation of the front cover to the book with an elegantly dressed, bat-winged female demon holding a severed head. But my favorite pieces in the book are probably the series of illustrations of nude pixies and sprites showing playing about or resting leisurely on toadstools or flowers. Tinkerbell was never this sexy!

The book includes both finished and rough illustrations and Roel's notes and comments allow you into his creative process. This is a great collection as SQP continues to provide a fantastic outlet for some of the hottest artists in the world.

Reviewed by Tim Janson

This is a beautiful collection of manga shoujo artworks by Koge-Dombo, the creator of Digi Charat and Pita-Ten. It is definately worth your money even if you can't read the Japanese interview/GemaGema comic (the art makes up for all of that!).=3

I didn't get the whole set, just the hardcover book for $30.00, and I was more then satisfied. You can find the package which includes a pencil board and enlarged prints if you want, but the book itself was enough for me.

Koge-Domo's unique super-cute style is something you want in your manga collection for sure.=D

Wonderful book documenting the life of Dick Bruna and showing many examples of his work, not just Miffy. It's just BEAUTIFUL!

"Der Spiegel," a popular German weekly news magazine is not only known for its timely provocative articles but also for its unique cover illustrations. These covers reflect the current events covered within the magazine, and thus stand as a testament to their time.

Now, teNeues has collected some 200 illustrations commissioned by "Der Spiegel" and presented them in a folio size volume. These covers span five decades and include works by such internationally known artists as Braldt Bralds, Michael Matthias Prechtl, and Rafal Olbinski. The catalogue accompanies a museum exhibition which may be seen early next year in New York City. In addition to the cover illustrations readers will find biographical sketches of the artists as well as informative texts describing how various artists approach their work.

Steven Heller who is considered to be one of the foremost experts on the development of graphic design has said of this volume, "For at least one week each of these images was deemed important enough to be on the cover of a major national magazine.. This catalogue allows the ephemeral to be permanent and the fleeting to be treasured."

Those with an interest in graphics and images will find much to enjoy in "The Art of Der Spiegel."

- Gail Cooke

- This Book is Unreal .. it takes you through a complete review of the digestive system ... First it talk about the Emberyology development of the GI tract through a great text & drawings of Dr.Frank Netter , Then it start describing the anatomy of the GI tract through a separate chapter ... then it start talking about the Diseases of the GI system .. the Texts are great & the Drawings are so realistic with many X-rays pictures showing you how theses drawings are seen in reality .

- I'm studying Surgery .. & i find this book is very helpful for people studying Surgery .. most of my professors have the Whole collection .. It's like an Atlas for Surgery .. NOT anatomy Alone

The Graphic Artists Guild's Directory of Illustration features thousands of illustrations from hundreds of the best illustrators working today. The book is distributed annually each year in November to 21,000 art buyers coast to coast.

Excellent reference for art students, illustrators, artists or art directors. You'll see so many beautiful illustrations and techniques from different illustrators around the country.

"Distinctive House Design and Decor of the Twenties: With Over 500 Floor Plans and Illustrations," edited by Richardson Wright, is yet another in Dover's superb series of architectural reprints. The bibliographic note on this book's copyright page states that it "is an unabridged republication of the work originally published by the Conde Nast Publications, Inc., New York in 1925 under the title _House & Garden's Second Book of Houses_."

This volume is full of great visual material: floor plans, elevation drawings, drawings and photos of interior furnishings, drawings of landscaping ideas, and photos of actual houses and architectural details. The book also contains a lot of text. The articles include "Hints for Builders and Buyers," "How to Build a Smokeless Fireplace," "Facts about Paints, Stains and Varnish," and more.

Many different architectural styles are represented: Georgian, Spanish, Tudor, French, bungalow, Dutch colonial. The photos, drawings, and floor plans are full of fascinating details: brickwork, molding styles, bay windows, dormers, wrought iron balconies, fireplaces, chimneys, and more. If you are interested in period home architecture, don't miss this great book. Thanks again, Dover!

"Timeview" is an aptly named little book indeed. It showcases Frank Bellamy's fine "Doctor Who" illustrations, truly superior examples of graphic art that added a visual flair to the Radio Times magazine in Britain in the early to mid-1970's. This span of time covers the hey-day of the Jon Pertwee era along with the classic Hinchcliffean early Tom Baker years considered by some fans to be a high point in the show's history, and Bellamy's renderings of these storylines will transport anyone who peruses them back to those times with all the efficiency of a Tardis. And, speaking from the other side of the Pond, it will also transport American fans spatially as well as temporally--somehow much of the excitement and freshness of "Doctor Who" as originally broadcast right home in England, the anticipation of the latest adventure never yet seen but coming up soon on Saturday evening, is conveyed in these pages--not as re-runs of a cult classic on PBS but as the newest, coolest thing on BBC.

But besides all that, this is great stuff artistically speaking, graphic design and illustration at its most professional and aesthetically compelling. Bellamy's sense of composition alone is simply outstanding--even static scenes bristle with latent energy, and dynamic scenes practically jump off the page. And I was simply gobsmacked at how with a few well-placed lines and dots he can totally and convincingly capture the very unique physiognomies of Baker (especially) and Pertwee, which for artists is no easy feat. In just one little picture about the size of a postage stamp he can render all the subtlety of Roger Delgado's Master or all the ecological seriousness of "The Green Death", while in a full page comic book version of "Colony in Space" he can imaginatively and yet authentically flesh out for real what the show's limited budget could only suggest imperfectly--here a rather ordinary stone quarry a few miles out of London magically becomes an expansive rocky landscape almost like something out of Maxfield Parrish.

In addition, the book is graced with the reminiscences of Bellamy's son, who kindly shares with the reader his late father's ideas and ideals about his craft, his artistic methods and working habits, his personality, his gentle modesty and sincere professionalism, and his tastes and interests. It's truly a nice privilege to get to know the artist even as you're enjoying his work in this manner. For Doctor Who fans then this book will of course be a joy to behold, but anyone who likes great illustrative art will doubtlessly find it a rare little treasure as well. And for any aspiring illustrators out there, well, this is how it's done, folks.

P.S. If you like this book you may also want to check out some of Frank Bellamy's other science fiction art of a slightly earlier period as included in Thunderbirds Classic Comics.