By Subject Books

I wish I had found this book 20 books ago. The simplified figure is extremely helpful to say the least and together with the Bargue, and the Hogarth dynamic figure, I believe you have everything you need to draw the human figure from your imagination. It's a shame it's out of print, but I believe it was worth every penny I spent for it. Forget the overpriced goldfugue and such...this is the one you need.

Uses a system of a properly constructed stick figure to rough in your ideas, from which a finished figure can be built up. I find this speeds the process of sorting ideas, working up thumbnails, and roughing in crowd scenes, though I still rely on Hogarth for anything beyond that point. If Hogarth's dynamism (his trees writhe with energy) doesn't sit well with you, this big book is a passable alternative, though it does not cover as much as _Dynamic Figure Drawing_ does: things like foreshortening, the extremely tucked figure, or female [...] are not covered. A little too much time is spent on detailing small bones and deep muscles that make no difference in the drawing of what is visible.

This is the first book I'd recommend to anyone wanting to study artistic anatomy. After slogging through other anatomy books,I found this one explaining everything I needed to know with simplicity and thoroughness. Not that other books are without merit, but this is the place to start. A treasure if you can find it!

I've always been attracted to Illuataation as an art form.Whether it is in nature art,,Bev Doolittle ,book illustrations.B&W line art, Pen& Ink,and various others. I have often read where the art "purests" look down on Illustration as an art form.I have never felt they were correct.In recent years we have been treated to an explosion in this art form,particularly with Fantasy Art.It is mentioned that Michelangelo's frescoes and Leonardo da Vincis art was at the time considered to be nothing more than pure fantasy.Much of their work was certainly illustrative and I think they knew a bit about art.
This book details the work of one of the best Illustrative artists,and shows how he and his brother made a very successful career in this area. There is a great deal of information dealing with their techniques and in manys the book can be considered a teaching resource.Although I am not an artist;I found it very interesting and it told me a lot about what to look for in these paintings.There is also considerable information on what is involved for someone who has a desire to be a successful painter or illustrator.
A very good and informative book for an artist or just someone who admires art and wants to learn more about it.This is a large,beautiful book with excellent paper,printing ,and wonderful color rendition.
Anyone who likes Illustration Art will certainly enjoy this book.

I picked this up because I thought if nothing else, there would be some interesting stuff to look at it.

Quite a bit of the not overly dense text is associated with tips or technical comments aimed at artists, so not really of much interest in general to the rest of us.

There are examples of different styles and media, and even a prototype Star Wars poster.

It also talks about how he uses toys and even a stuffed iguana as models sometimes - which explains some of the weird dragons.

As a professional illustrator and fan of the brothers Hildebrandt I was pleased this book was made. Since my purchase of this book I studied it carefully from cover to cover and it's contents are well worth the cost of the book. Although the book isn't written by Hildebrandt himself it's full of good information on how Tim Hildebrandt works. I recommend this book to artist's of all levels of experience due to it's technical info and to fans of fantasy and sci-fi art as well for it's entertainment value.

Any who would watercolor flowers needs Janet Wittle's Watercolour Flowers, an inspirational guide to color and techniques which assumes no prior knowledge of watercolor. Pages packed with color are perfect for general-interest lending libraries where art is an attraction, and show how to produce professional results, from combining species of flowers to best effect to a series of reference paintings from black and white patterns to finished projects for individual flowers. An outstanding, easy approach beginners will appreciate.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

This book has the most beautiful pencil drawings that compliment or preceed the vibrancy of the paintings. The compositional elements are excellent and the book covers a range of flowers that jump out of the page because of the background techniques. Thanks.

If you like painting floral subjects, Janet Whittle's method may be of interest to you.

Starting with masked subject areas and dropping in pure colors, Whittle creates a lively, mottled background and then goes on to paint negative spaces around leaves and background flowers. This gives the effect of distant leaves and petals in shadow. Then the main flowers are painted in, dropping colors into the center, shadowing petals and adding detail to stamens, pistils and other structures.

The good thing about this technique is it makes effective bouquet subjects. The bad thing is that the technique leads to somewhat of a sameness to every painting. In this book, the author adds vases, pots and other subjects to the still life, which helps. If you have this book, you probably don't need any of the others as this one is more comprehensive. I don't feel inspired to copy this technique, but there are worthwhile tips to absorb in handling iris especially.

I really enjoy his style of drawing. The step by step approach is perfect for this left brain person who is trying to learn how to draw landscapes. I was very pleased with the outcome of my pictures after following the steps. Also encourage you to look at Janet Wittle's Draw & Sketch Landscapes - sketch & draw with confidence in 6 steps or less. Both of these are great step by step books.

I have to say that this book is an extremely enjoyable introduction to the art of landscape drawing. I would recommend it for those starting out.
The explanations and examples are clear and concise. The exercises given are good and the introduction on what materials are required have been very helpful.

I have found the book very good on the ways to do Landscapes ,bushes,rocks
and water.How to get the right shadows and placement.It has been very helpful.

Can we ever get enough effete left wing dingbats warbling about "McCarthyism" and the labor movement? Hell no we can't! Enter this too-long book better filed under the "bowel" movement section of your libary.

The authors solicited recommended reading from well-known people in each field. The lists on each topic were themselves enlightening, and the recommended books are bound to be worthwhile. Doesn't just list the books, but often gives brief descriptions or explanations as to why the book was included, why it is important or influential

I'm not sure what book "a reader from New York" read, but it wasn't this one. Mark Hatfield (R-OR) is hardly an "effete left wing dingbat" and there's exactly one entry (out of dozens) devoted to labor. Certainly, the contributors have their own biases, but they're generally forthright & part of the fun -- and hardly confined to a one-dimensional political axis. The real danger here is that, regardless of your own bias, just selecting the most tantalizing recommendations could easily overwhelm your reading list.

A definitive biography of the man and his work, this book is thouroughly engrossing. The pictures reveal all aspects of this leatherman's ideals, and the text offers insights into his life and inspirations.

This book examines the life and motivations of the famous and well-loved erotic artist; Tom of Finland. With many pictures from Tom's comic strip style early drawings through his evolution as a skilled master of the homoerotic.

Tom of Finland has become a permanent fixture in gay male popular culture. He is known for the ultramasculine/butch depictions of men in his artwork, perhaps in miltary uniform or in leather. The men's hyper-accentuated masculine bodies have become a paradigm of sorts in gay male culture to emulate...or to clone. TOM OF FINLAND: HIS LIFE AND TIMES is a biography of Tom of Finland the artist. It sheds light on his motivations to draw his men the way he does. It's a quick read, with lots of pictures that show the evolution of the Tom of Finland man. It would have been great to see the pictures in color. This book is a very interesting read for those interested in gay popular culture. It certainly opened my eyes...

I would like to preface this by saying that I am not a fan of coffee table books or particularly photographic books, however this book is extaordinary in that it captures every day people and every day scenes in a refreshing and most importantly, a thoughtful manner. It elevates the ordinary to romantic, whimsical and in some cases majestic beauty. The perspectives that this photographer has shown of a city, that I formerly thought was boring, is now illuminated to me as a city that can transcend time. Admirers of this book should absolutely review Tim Peter's first book, "Rhythm of the Tides," a four year perspective and photographic study of Grand Manan (Island) in which he has captured a disappearing lifestyle. Peters' is not just a great photographer, he is a modern day historian!

Tim Peters has produced an outstanding work of architectural photography with his unique ability to capture the character and style of buildings that are important to the urban fabric of Toronto. My offices are located in the famous Gooderham Flat-Iron Building, a notable historic structure that is featured in this new book. The photos taken by Tim Peters of the ornamental facades, the stylish windows and the entertaining mural are a delight to the eye and the finest photography I have seen of the Flat-Iron building.

This book will be an important addition to anyone's collection of architectural photography on the city of Toronto.

This collection of photographs fails to bring out any uniquely defining character of Toronto, though it might be argued this is not the photo-journalist's flaw but simply a reflection of Toronto's own blandness. The collection of photographs could have been for any of a number of North American metropolises.

The photographs, not unbeautiful in some regards, are unoriginal in perspective and uninspired in insight.

In Zero!, Martin Caidin has brought amazing insight from a perspective otherwise(at least previous to 1956)seldom heard within American historical literature. Zero! recalls from two first-hand sources, the development of Japanese aviation from the Sino-Japanese War to Hiroshima/Nagasaki.
The contributions of Japanese wartime senior flying officer Masatake Okumiya brilliantly and in typical Japanese style, artistically reveals the triumphant rise and embarrassing fall of Japanese air superiority in WWII. Okumiya's contemporary accounts of some of the war's most savage air campaigns are unbelievable. As one reads Okumiya's stories, you can feel the pain of defeat mounting as American technological, economical, and military superiority develop throughout the Pacific Campaign. Okumiya's brilliant insight is a frank assessment of Japan's futile attempt at a war it could not pursue beyond several months. Further, is Okumiya's conclusion of the terrible price paid by Japan with the atomic bombs. But this comes with his belief that had these weapons not been employed, a much higher price would be paid by both sides.
Jiro Horikoshi, the engineer who created the Zero has also given his thoughts of the war and the chaos it brought to the Japanese home islands. His observations are equally frank, and critical of the Japanese political system in place before and during the war.
The stories often go forward and back with some repetition, this is common in translated works, but in this case provides a more complete picture of events as they unfold.
Anyone who questions the American use of atomic weapons against Japan should read the comments written by both these men who agree, as Caidin concludes in his preface, "gave the Japanese... an excuse and means of ending a futile war with honor intact."
If you enjoy works by current authors like Donald Goldstein, or historians like the late Katherine Dillon or Gordon Prange and you haven't read this yet, do yourself the favor of reading Zero! THEN REVIEW IT! REVIEW EVERY BOOK YOU READ, AUTHORS DESERVE YOUR OPINIONS!

This is the true story of a Zero pilot who started flying combat in 1937 and continued until he was shot down by an F6F in 1944 at Rabaul. It is excellent. His encounters with our combat aircraft are dramatic. He leads a suicide mission from Iwo Jima to find our task force. We had just left the Bonins after a raid and we were covered by a rain storm.

Alex Thomas

This book covers the early succeses of the Japanes Navy from the early years in China to the fall of the empire and the decline of the zero fighter against the newer American aircraft. It is a detailed and interesting insight into the Navys dependence on air cover in all their land based and carrier operations in world war two. I found this book well written and very detailed. This is not a story to be read like a novel but as a student of Japanese operations in the second worl war.

BOOK WAS BIGGER AND MORE DETAILED THAN I WAS EXPECTING. EXCELLENT VALUE FOR MONEY.
MY CHILDREN ABSOLUTLEY LOVE THE BOOK AND ARE ABLE TO DRAW MUCH BETTER SINCE USING IT.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED TO ANY ONE INTERESTED IN DRAWING.

This is a fun book for drawing dragons and other fantasy mythological creatures. I didn't care for the artist's interpretation of some of the characters, as they were a little cartoonish for my style. However, I was expecting that from looking at the cover, and this book held up to my expectations and more. He covers a wide variety of mythological creatures from around the world in step by step format. I even found myself interested in the brief explanations of each creatures' origins, and wanting to know more. Overall, it was a fun book that can spark your imagination, and inspire some creative drawing.

The work is a completely new translation by Christopher Lynch. His goal was to produce as accurate and faithful translation as the two languages would allow. That job was handled particularly well. There are extensive notes on the translation process and word choice. If you are looking for a very faithful tranlation, this book is for you.

However, it's not for me. I am an avid military history reader and I was looking forward to this book. But, the dense run on sentences that characterize the Italian original makes for tough going.

Lynch begins the book with an extensive introduction that sets the work in context both in Italian politics and in Machiavelli's life. I thought that was quite good.

He (Lynch) ends the volume with an interpretive essay that I thought was a bit choppy and is more focused on Machiavelli (no surprise, that's his field). I was hoping for more on the art of war part. This is a facinating book in that it was written by a civilian with very little practical experience in the field. More of a compare/contrast look at how his ideas stacked up against the more conventional masters would have been nice.

This translation of Machiavelli's Art of War is a job well done. If you are interested in studying Machiavelli's work then you should certainly pick up this book.