Watson Books

Another great addition to Hart's xtreme art series. Following the monster, chibis and villains, comes the mini manga draw guide. Gorgeous & irresistible to draw, these little creatures come to life in four simple steps to follow. With few words to read and simple examples; from the large basic outline down to the details -these silly but adorable little creatures are developed. Suitable for the young as well as the more advanced cartoonist, this book will keep you entertained for quite a while, Enjoy.

Then this is a great book. No comprehensive instruction here, but a vast variety of techniques and materials: pencil, pen, watercolor pencils, oil bars, pastel and pastel pencils, charcoal, hatching, stippling, dry wash, landscapes, still-life and more. 50 pages of materials and tools. Weak on clothed figures - no nudes.

To draw realistic is very easy, I think. I wanted to come out of a slump, so I bought this book. I received many ideas by this book. In this book, there are many heart exercises, you should try all of them, if you want to know yourself. I paint & draw with CG tools, but the methods written in this book, are valid and more important than soft operation !

this is the best book I have ever read after reading this book I've made aroud $1500 it brings you throgh step by step until you can understand how to really draw farley well I was probaly the worst drawer ever until I picked up this book.:-]

From Front Jacket:

[More than 120 tonal drawings.
More than 150 line drawings, including diagrams]


"Here is a figure-drawing book that shows how to draw the female nude as it really is, not only with anatomical accuracy but with the individual characteristics that make it come alive. More than 270 drawings in line and tone illustrate what to look for in a model, basic drawing techniques, and how to render the female figure with authority and verve.

The author, whose previous book 'Anatomy: A Complete Guide for Artists' laid the groundwork by establishing a basic knowledge of human anatomy, now shows how to draw the female figure in line and in tone, in every position and from every angle, including difficult foreshortened views.

The author begins by explaining proportions, viewing the figure from front, back, and side, as well as in standing and sitting positions. He then shows how to draw each part of the female anatomy -- head and neck area, upper torso, lower torso, arms, hands, legs, and feet. He shows how to render the forms of the female figure in light and shade, analyzing the shadows, highlights, shadow accents, reflected light, and cast shadows. The author describes effective drawing procedures: finding the 'key' line; capturing the attitude, or pose, of the subject; rendering accents, shadow areas, and highlights.

A separate, detailed, chapter is then devoted to each major pose: the standing figure, the seated figure, the kneeling figure, the crouching figure, the reclining figure, the figure in action, and the foreshortened figure.

'Drawing the Female Figure' is a fundamental book for students as well as teachers, beginners as well as professional artists who wish to improve their figure drawing."

This is a wonderful book for anyone seeking to create beautiful & unique dried flower displays with ease. It conveniently arranges the 20 different flower displays by season. The color photos of the arrangements are inspiring.

Each grouping includes a complete materials list, color photo & helpful advice on its use. Step-by-step instructions accompanied by color illustrations follow on a fold-out page to guide you seamlessly through the arrangement process.

My favorite uses bundles of dried yellow roses in a tree to create a cloud effect. I also enjoyed the purple sphagnum moss twisted into a spiral & a glass vase filled with dried citrus fruit.

I found the discussion of containers very helpful. The basic drying techniques, arrangement advice & maintenance tips were also of great help. A plant directory & a suppliers list are nice bonuses.

Mary Greenwood Author of How to Mediate Like a Pro: 42 Rules for Mediating Disputes and How to Negotiate Like a Pro: 41 Rules for Resolving Disputes

I bought this book for my 93 year old father who has loved whaling since he read Moby Dick many years ago. We have visited New Bedford, Massachusetts many times to see the National Whaling Museum.

Dundee is an interesting city because of the jute factories, which needed whale oil as part of the softening process and thereby extending the need for whale oil in this locale when everyone else no longer needed it now that electricity was available. Dundee built the whaling ships for polar exploration (Byrd, Scott and Shackleton) and used the same whaling ships.

It is a fascinating book for anyone interested in the history of whaling.

When Mr. Dyer was 50, he married his lifelong sweetheart, Jewel. Jewel and Watson were the presidents of the Floyd County Historical SOciety and wrote a newsletter each month. They wrote and published about 4 books. For twenty years, Mr. Watson B. Dyer and his wife Jewel, traveled all over the US collecting info on the Dyers. He called it a "Labor of Love". He gave me permission to copy and place his info on the internet for the Dyer family to be able to draw from. He gathered family traditions, bits and pieces and as much "real" information as there was time to get.

The lines of Dyers that Mr. Dyer personnally researched were correct. Other lines that were handed down to him, copied from a Bible, or told by Great Grandma or Grandpa, were not always fully correct.

He left us so much GOOD info that we can use it as foundation while we research it for ourselves.

Watson B. Dyer passed away this Feb. 2005, at the age of 103. He was a wonderful friend, 5th cousin, and had a great sense of humor. Jewel died about 25 yrs. ago.
[...]

EARLY CHINESE LITERATURE. By Burton Watson. 304 pp. New York : Columbia University Press, 1962. ISBN 0-231-08671-7 (pbk.)

Burton Watson has always struck me as an eminently civilized scholar and as a fine translator. Unlike certain others, he wears his scholarship lightly, and doesn't overburden his books with extraneous matter. His many translations and studies of Chinese and Japanese Literature are of uniformly high quality, and are well worth owning as they are books one often to returns to.

In the present book he has given us an account of Chinese writing from the time of the Chou Dynasty (1100 B.C. to 249 B.C) to the middle of the Latter Han (A.D. 25 to A.D. 220). The important works of this period are described with many illustrative quotations.

After a brief but typically excellent Introduction, three main sections follow : HISTORY; PHILOSOPHY; POETRY. Each section includes a selected list of translations, and the book is rounded out with a Chronology and a detailed Index.

Of especial interest in the Introduction is Watson's discussion of Classical Chinese, where, after a few remarks on the nature of the language, he makes a point of telling us that "the reader should perhaps be reminded that when he reads these early Chinese works in translation, he is at many points reading not an incontovertible rendering of the meaning of the original, but only one of a variety of tentative interpretations" (p.12). This is a useful reminder for those laboring under the misapprehension that there can be such a thing as a 'definitive' translation from Classical Chinese.

Watson covers a wide range of topics in his book. HISTORY gives us his discussions of, and translations from, The Book of Documents, The Spring and Autumn Annals, The Tso chuan, The Kuo yu or Conversations from the States; The Chan-kuo ts'e or Intrigues of the Warring States; and several other works.

PHILOSOPHY takes up Confucian Writings such The Lun yu or Analects, The Meng Tzu or Mencius, the Hsun tzu, etc.; Ritual Texts such as The Li chi or Book of Rites, The Hsiao Ching or Classic of Filial Piety (in style and contents similar to the Li chi though transmitted separately), The I ching or Book of Changes, etc. Then follow the Mohist Writings, the Taoist Writings (The Lao tzu, The Chuang Tzu, The Lieh Tzu), Legalist Writings (Book of Lord Shang, The Han Fei Tzu) and Eclectic Writings (The Kuan Tzu).

POETRY offers Watson's interesting discussions of, and fine translations from, The Book of Songs, The Ch'u Tz'u or Elegies of Ch'u, The Han Fu, and a few selected Songs and Ballads.

Watson's book is civilized, informative, well-written, and richly illustrated, and can be strongly recommended as an excellent survey of a fascinating period, and as interesting background reading for both students and the general reader.

This is a book about astrology from China, India and Tibet. I do not know of any other book in which there are so many different astrological techniques from the East. Everything is clearly explained. In this book, you will find the wisdom of the sages of the East who have spotted the stars and planets for centuries. Now you can learn about their insights.