WOW, 18 May 2008
This book is truly beautiful. I adore fashion books and this is one of my favourites; whether you are interested in fashion, illustration, art or just want a beautiful coffee table book, this is the one to buy!

Buy this book!, 25 Jun 2007
Whether your studying fashion or you just love to shop this book is an amazing insight into the world of fashion illustration. Each page features a beautiful drawing, information about the author, and the media used (when possible). There are some reading pages throughout out the book highlighting changes in fashion and the influences on fashion illustration. This book is a perfect guide for those studying fashion to find reference and inspiration. Each page is colourful and different from the last. It is definately worth the money and is a great book to have! It would also make a gat gift for anyone with a remote interest in fashion, BUY IT NOW!

WOW, 18 May 2008
This book is truly beautiful. I adore fashion books and this is one of my favourites; whether you are interested in fashion, illustration, art or just want a beautiful coffee table book, this is the one to buy!

Buy this book!, 25 Jun 2007
Whether your studying fashion or you just love to shop this book is an amazing insight into the world of fashion illustration. Each page features a beautiful drawing, information about the author, and the media used (when possible). There are some reading pages throughout out the book highlighting changes in fashion and the influences on fashion illustration. This book is a perfect guide for those studying fashion to find reference and inspiration. Each page is colourful and different from the last. It is definately worth the money and is a great book to have! It would also make a gat gift for anyone with a remote interest in fashion, BUY IT NOW!

a beautiful book but I do miss the earlier 'Art of' editions....., 16 Jul 2008
Ever since I was a kid, I'd buy an animation art book almost yearly. The Art of The Lion King was probably the first art book of this type I ever had given to me and it kindled my love of animation art all the more, finally in these pages were beautiful concept illustrations, story board art works, inspirational paintings and final prints from the film, all of which were bound up in beautifully presented cloth covered large scale folio editions (originally printed by Hyperion). Books like these emphasised the storytelling process the Disney studios believed in and presented imagery which spoke volumes above the text, since the key to all great artistic works be it in animation, illustration, theatre design or film is the artists ability to simply draw from life, observe it, relish it and understand it -- and from that process you have great storytelling, you need imagination naturally and that's the art part, how you see marks you out ........... these books just need to show us more art when the film was evolving as that is inspirational and they could be designed better.

This is a fine book but doesn't really live up to my expectations when compared to what came before. It is smaller, I can't see the point in printing images which are the size of postage stamps on these pages and I want to see more final, well chosen film prints and pencil, painterly, illustrations than these digital smooth works which lack texture. The Monsters Inc. art book is a better example of Pixars ability to portray wonderful characters and displays more traditional means of creating concept illustrations for these films.

Brilliant!!!!!!, 09 Jul 2008
Amazing book. I cannot recommend it enough. If your a fan of pixar you will love it. If you have any of the other pixar "art of" books then you know what to expect. Brilliant Brilliant Brilliant

WOW, 18 May 2008
This book is truly beautiful. I adore fashion books and this is one of my favourites; whether you are interested in fashion, illustration, art or just want a beautiful coffee table book, this is the one to buy!

Buy this book!, 25 Jun 2007
Whether your studying fashion or you just love to shop this book is an amazing insight into the world of fashion illustration. Each page features a beautiful drawing, information about the author, and the media used (when possible). There are some reading pages throughout out the book highlighting changes in fashion and the influences on fashion illustration. This book is a perfect guide for those studying fashion to find reference and inspiration. Each page is colourful and different from the last. It is definately worth the money and is a great book to have! It would also make a gat gift for anyone with a remote interest in fashion, BUY IT NOW!

a beautiful book but I do miss the earlier 'Art of' editions....., 16 Jul 2008
Ever since I was a kid, I'd buy an animation art book almost yearly. The Art of The Lion King was probably the first art book of this type I ever had given to me and it kindled my love of animation art all the more, finally in these pages were beautiful concept illustrations, story board art works, inspirational paintings and final prints from the film, all of which were bound up in beautifully presented cloth covered large scale folio editions (originally printed by Hyperion). Books like these emphasised the storytelling process the Disney studios believed in and presented imagery which spoke volumes above the text, since the key to all great artistic works be it in animation, illustration, theatre design or film is the artists ability to simply draw from life, observe it, relish it and understand it -- and from that process you have great storytelling, you need imagination naturally and that's the art part, how you see marks you out ........... these books just need to show us more art when the film was evolving as that is inspirational and they could be designed better.

This is a fine book but doesn't really live up to my expectations when compared to what came before. It is smaller, I can't see the point in printing images which are the size of postage stamps on these pages and I want to see more final, well chosen film prints and pencil, painterly, illustrations than these digital smooth works which lack texture. The Monsters Inc. art book is a better example of Pixars ability to portray wonderful characters and displays more traditional means of creating concept illustrations for these films.

Brilliant!!!!!!, 09 Jul 2008
Amazing book. I cannot recommend it enough. If your a fan of pixar you will love it. If you have any of the other pixar "art of" books then you know what to expect. Brilliant Brilliant Brilliant

The Meanings of Enchantment!, 19 Nov 2007
I was introduced to Arthur Rackham's magical illustrations as a child via the old St. Nicholas children's magazines, and his pictures have lost none of their magic in the ensuing years. His pen-and-ink drawings are complemented by a muted palette of colors that transform the pages into insubstantial doors into an enchanted world populated by slender butterfly-winged fairies, multitudes of elves and gnomes, and twisted anthropomorphic trees that capture a child's imagination, without being threatening. And yet the sharp angular faces of the children in his drawings suggest a subtle mischievous humor that prevents Rackham's illustrations from ever sinking into sentimentality.

Rackham's pen covered a wide range of subjects, from Shakespeare's "Midsummer Night's Dream" and "The Tempest" by way of Kenneth Grahame's "Wind in the Willows", Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland," and classical fairy tales, to Wagner's "Ring of the Niebelungen."

We are so lucky to have these beautifully reproduced Dover illustrations in a single book. They should be introduced to one's grandchildren so that their imaginations may also take flight with the enchanting creatures of Arthur Rackham's world.

Well worth the money, 13 Mar 2007
This is a very nice little book. It contains some of the not quite so well known illustrations too which I liked. It's so cheap that it's good to buy 2 copies. One to keep and browse, and the prints are of a reasonable size so that you could cut out your favourites to frame up. Well worth the money.

WOW, 18 May 2008
This book is truly beautiful. I adore fashion books and this is one of my favourites; whether you are interested in fashion, illustration, art or just want a beautiful coffee table book, this is the one to buy!

Buy this book!, 25 Jun 2007
Whether your studying fashion or you just love to shop this book is an amazing insight into the world of fashion illustration. Each page features a beautiful drawing, information about the author, and the media used (when possible). There are some reading pages throughout out the book highlighting changes in fashion and the influences on fashion illustration. This book is a perfect guide for those studying fashion to find reference and inspiration. Each page is colourful and different from the last. It is definately worth the money and is a great book to have! It would also make a gat gift for anyone with a remote interest in fashion, BUY IT NOW!

a beautiful book but I do miss the earlier 'Art of' editions....., 16 Jul 2008
Ever since I was a kid, I'd buy an animation art book almost yearly. The Art of The Lion King was probably the first art book of this type I ever had given to me and it kindled my love of animation art all the more, finally in these pages were beautiful concept illustrations, story board art works, inspirational paintings and final prints from the film, all of which were bound up in beautifully presented cloth covered large scale folio editions (originally printed by Hyperion). Books like these emphasised the storytelling process the Disney studios believed in and presented imagery which spoke volumes above the text, since the key to all great artistic works be it in animation, illustration, theatre design or film is the artists ability to simply draw from life, observe it, relish it and understand it -- and from that process you have great storytelling, you need imagination naturally and that's the art part, how you see marks you out ........... these books just need to show us more art when the film was evolving as that is inspirational and they could be designed better.

This is a fine book but doesn't really live up to my expectations when compared to what came before. It is smaller, I can't see the point in printing images which are the size of postage stamps on these pages and I want to see more final, well chosen film prints and pencil, painterly, illustrations than these digital smooth works which lack texture. The Monsters Inc. art book is a better example of Pixars ability to portray wonderful characters and displays more traditional means of creating concept illustrations for these films.

Brilliant!!!!!!, 09 Jul 2008
Amazing book. I cannot recommend it enough. If your a fan of pixar you will love it. If you have any of the other pixar "art of" books then you know what to expect. Brilliant Brilliant Brilliant

The Meanings of Enchantment!, 19 Nov 2007
I was introduced to Arthur Rackham's magical illustrations as a child via the old St. Nicholas children's magazines, and his pictures have lost none of their magic in the ensuing years. His pen-and-ink drawings are complemented by a muted palette of colors that transform the pages into insubstantial doors into an enchanted world populated by slender butterfly-winged fairies, multitudes of elves and gnomes, and twisted anthropomorphic trees that capture a child's imagination, without being threatening. And yet the sharp angular faces of the children in his drawings suggest a subtle mischievous humor that prevents Rackham's illustrations from ever sinking into sentimentality.

Rackham's pen covered a wide range of subjects, from Shakespeare's "Midsummer Night's Dream" and "The Tempest" by way of Kenneth Grahame's "Wind in the Willows", Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland," and classical fairy tales, to Wagner's "Ring of the Niebelungen."

We are so lucky to have these beautifully reproduced Dover illustrations in a single book. They should be introduced to one's grandchildren so that their imaginations may also take flight with the enchanting creatures of Arthur Rackham's world.

Well worth the money, 13 Mar 2007
This is a very nice little book. It contains some of the not quite so well known illustrations too which I liked. It's so cheap that it's good to buy 2 copies. One to keep and browse, and the prints are of a reasonable size so that you could cut out your favourites to frame up. Well worth the money.

Mixed up, 15 Sep 2008
Being a professional design teacher for new design students I think this book lacks structure and depth in the topics it treats. There are many inspirational pictures and examples of mixed techniques the may inspire, and the book is well made and presented therefore an extra star

Excellent introduction to contemporary design methods, 10 Aug 2008
This book works, not because it shows one how to master any particular technique in detail, but, because it shows how a vast array of contemporary design tools and techniques can be bought together to communicate design intent. Alan Pipes has sourced some astounding examples of modern technical illustration and has put together some very revealing case studies.

I do agree with the previous reviewer that some techniques are not covered in enough detail to develop mastery and that there are sections where it is a little hard to understand who exactly the author is thinking of when he wrote them. However the book's real value is showing how traditional skills as well as computer based methods an be used with equal value. How a sketch with a bic biro, a conventional orthographic drawing, a ray traced 3d solid model and a photoshop manipulated image all have value in the product design process. The only notable omission for me was any real investigation of Computer Aided Manufacturing, one might be left with the impression that the only value of a cad model was to produce hyper realistic illustrations.

This said Alan Pipes should be congratulated on this and excellent reference volume and at the amazon price suberb value for money.

Not sure what it's aim is..., 02 Apr 2008
As a fussy professional designer I am forever trying to improve all of my skills, and although a competent and descriptive sketcher, I thought buying this book might have some more indications as to areas I can do exercises in to improve my sketching even further; please note this is not the case, this is NOT a 'tutorials' book.

I'm a bit confused by this book, I'm not sure what it's aiming to do! It was a toss up between this book and 'Sketching: Drawing Techniques for Product Designers' (yes, I realise sketching is different to drawing). Too much text, not enough visuals which I wasn't really expecting. What was/is interesting is seeing the difference of drawing from the Italian designers (i.e. Perry King) and current American designers (Michael DiTullo). I feel the information sometimes goes way off course (i.e. describing what a computer is, what RAM is, what a hard drive is... is this really essential?) and I wonder how many pages would actually be in the book if they were to take out the seemingly useless information.

Basically, I think Pipes has missed his market, I think there is too much text which feels like 'filler', and not enough visuals to whet the appetite and make me enthusiastic and energetic about drawing/sketching.

WOW, 18 May 2008
This book is truly beautiful. I adore fashion books and this is one of my favourites; whether you are interested in fashion, illustration, art or just want a beautiful coffee table book, this is the one to buy!

Buy this book!, 25 Jun 2007
Whether your studying fashion or you just love to shop this book is an amazing insight into the world of fashion illustration. Each page features a beautiful drawing, information about the author, and the media used (when possible). There are some reading pages throughout out the book highlighting changes in fashion and the influences on fashion illustration. This book is a perfect guide for those studying fashion to find reference and inspiration. Each page is colourful and different from the last. It is definately worth the money and is a great book to have! It would also make a gat gift for anyone with a remote interest in fashion, BUY IT NOW!

a beautiful book but I do miss the earlier 'Art of' editions....., 16 Jul 2008
Ever since I was a kid, I'd buy an animation art book almost yearly. The Art of The Lion King was probably the first art book of this type I ever had given to me and it kindled my love of animation art all the more, finally in these pages were beautiful concept illustrations, story board art works, inspirational paintings and final prints from the film, all of which were bound up in beautifully presented cloth covered large scale folio editions (originally printed by Hyperion). Books like these emphasised the storytelling process the Disney studios believed in and presented imagery which spoke volumes above the text, since the key to all great artistic works be it in animation, illustration, theatre design or film is the artists ability to simply draw from life, observe it, relish it and understand it -- and from that process you have great storytelling, you need imagination naturally and that's the art part, how you see marks you out ........... these books just need to show us more art when the film was evolving as that is inspirational and they could be designed better.

This is a fine book but doesn't really live up to my expectations when compared to what came before. It is smaller, I can't see the point in printing images which are the size of postage stamps on these pages and I want to see more final, well chosen film prints and pencil, painterly, illustrations than these digital smooth works which lack texture. The Monsters Inc. art book is a better example of Pixars ability to portray wonderful characters and displays more traditional means of creating concept illustrations for these films.

Brilliant!!!!!!, 09 Jul 2008
Amazing book. I cannot recommend it enough. If your a fan of pixar you will love it. If you have any of the other pixar "art of" books then you know what to expect. Brilliant Brilliant Brilliant

The Meanings of Enchantment!, 19 Nov 2007
I was introduced to Arthur Rackham's magical illustrations as a child via the old St. Nicholas children's magazines, and his pictures have lost none of their magic in the ensuing years. His pen-and-ink drawings are complemented by a muted palette of colors that transform the pages into insubstantial doors into an enchanted world populated by slender butterfly-winged fairies, multitudes of elves and gnomes, and twisted anthropomorphic trees that capture a child's imagination, without being threatening. And yet the sharp angular faces of the children in his drawings suggest a subtle mischievous humor that prevents Rackham's illustrations from ever sinking into sentimentality.

Rackham's pen covered a wide range of subjects, from Shakespeare's "Midsummer Night's Dream" and "The Tempest" by way of Kenneth Grahame's "Wind in the Willows", Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland," and classical fairy tales, to Wagner's "Ring of the Niebelungen."

We are so lucky to have these beautifully reproduced Dover illustrations in a single book. They should be introduced to one's grandchildren so that their imaginations may also take flight with the enchanting creatures of Arthur Rackham's world.

Well worth the money, 13 Mar 2007
This is a very nice little book. It contains some of the not quite so well known illustrations too which I liked. It's so cheap that it's good to buy 2 copies. One to keep and browse, and the prints are of a reasonable size so that you could cut out your favourites to frame up. Well worth the money.

Mixed up, 15 Sep 2008
Being a professional design teacher for new design students I think this book lacks structure and depth in the topics it treats. There are many inspirational pictures and examples of mixed techniques the may inspire, and the book is well made and presented therefore an extra star

Excellent introduction to contemporary design methods, 10 Aug 2008
This book works, not because it shows one how to master any particular technique in detail, but, because it shows how a vast array of contemporary design tools and techniques can be bought together to communicate design intent. Alan Pipes has sourced some astounding examples of modern technical illustration and has put together some very revealing case studies.

I do agree with the previous reviewer that some techniques are not covered in enough detail to develop mastery and that there are sections where it is a little hard to understand who exactly the author is thinking of when he wrote them. However the book's real value is showing how traditional skills as well as computer based methods an be used with equal value. How a sketch with a bic biro, a conventional orthographic drawing, a ray traced 3d solid model and a photoshop manipulated image all have value in the product design process. The only notable omission for me was any real investigation of Computer Aided Manufacturing, one might be left with the impression that the only value of a cad model was to produce hyper realistic illustrations.

This said Alan Pipes should be congratulated on this and excellent reference volume and at the amazon price suberb value for money.

Not sure what it's aim is..., 02 Apr 2008
As a fussy professional designer I am forever trying to improve all of my skills, and although a competent and descriptive sketcher, I thought buying this book might have some more indications as to areas I can do exercises in to improve my sketching even further; please note this is not the case, this is NOT a 'tutorials' book.

I'm a bit confused by this book, I'm not sure what it's aiming to do! It was a toss up between this book and 'Sketching: Drawing Techniques for Product Designers' (yes, I realise sketching is different to drawing). Too much text, not enough visuals which I wasn't really expecting. What was/is interesting is seeing the difference of drawing from the Italian designers (i.e. Perry King) and current American designers (Michael DiTullo). I feel the information sometimes goes way off course (i.e. describing what a computer is, what RAM is, what a hard drive is... is this really essential?) and I wonder how many pages would actually be in the book if they were to take out the seemingly useless information.

Basically, I think Pipes has missed his market, I think there is too much text which feels like 'filler', and not enough visuals to whet the appetite and make me enthusiastic and energetic about drawing/sketching.


The magic of Rackham, 24 Sep 2003
I discovered Arthur Rackham's wonderful illustrations about 4 years ago, thanks largely to the book on him by James Hamilton.From the late 1890s until his death in 1939 he illustrated many classics-the Brothers Grimm, Alice in Wonderland,English Fairy Tales, Irish Fairy Tales, The Wind in the Willows,3 different versions of A Midsummer Night's Dream,even Wagner's Ring Cycle. You won't find Ratty or Toad or Shakespeare or the Valkyries in this particular volume but you will find many of the things Rackham is famous for: gnarled and angry dwarfs, terrifying witches, the Sleeping Beauty in her finery, also dark, twisted trees in dark landscapes.If, like me, your appetite for Rackham has been whetted, this book is for you.If you don't know his work, but simply like fairy stories,this is also a good buy.There's virtually no text-just the title of each illustration and the title of the book it originally appeared in.No analyses, no biography-for that, there's James Hamilton's excellent book.

WOW, 18 May 2008
This book is truly beautiful. I adore fashion books and this is one of my favourites; whether you are interested in fashion, illustration, art or just want a beautiful coffee table book, this is the one to buy!

Buy this book!, 25 Jun 2007
Whether your studying fashion or you just love to shop this book is an amazing insight into the world of fashion illustration. Each page features a beautiful drawing, information about the author, and the media used (when possible). There are some reading pages throughout out the book highlighting changes in fashion and the influences on fashion illustration. This book is a perfect guide for those studying fashion to find reference and inspiration. Each page is colourful and different from the last. It is definately worth the money and is a great book to have! It would also make a gat gift for anyone with a remote interest in fashion, BUY IT NOW!

a beautiful book but I do miss the earlier 'Art of' editions....., 16 Jul 2008
Ever since I was a kid, I'd buy an animation art book almost yearly. The Art of The Lion King was probably the first art book of this type I ever had given to me and it kindled my love of animation art all the more, finally in these pages were beautiful concept illustrations, story board art works, inspirational paintings and final prints from the film, all of which were bound up in beautifully presented cloth covered large scale folio editions (originally printed by Hyperion). Books like these emphasised the storytelling process the Disney studios believed in and presented imagery which spoke volumes above the text, since the key to all great artistic works be it in animation, illustration, theatre design or film is the artists ability to simply draw from life, observe it, relish it and understand it -- and from that process you have great storytelling, you need imagination naturally and that's the art part, how you see marks you out ........... these books just need to show us more art when the film was evolving as that is inspirational and they could be designed better.

This is a fine book but doesn't really live up to my expectations when compared to what came before. It is smaller, I can't see the point in printing images which are the size of postage stamps on these pages and I want to see more final, well chosen film prints and pencil, painterly, illustrations than these digital smooth works which lack texture. The Monsters Inc. art book is a better example of Pixars ability to portray wonderful characters and displays more traditional means of creating concept illustrations for these films.

Brilliant!!!!!!, 09 Jul 2008
Amazing book. I cannot recommend it enough. If your a fan of pixar you will love it. If you have any of the other pixar "art of" books then you know what to expect. Brilliant Brilliant Brilliant

The Meanings of Enchantment!, 19 Nov 2007
I was introduced to Arthur Rackham's magical illustrations as a child via the old St. Nicholas children's magazines, and his pictures have lost none of their magic in the ensuing years. His pen-and-ink drawings are complemented by a muted palette of colors that transform the pages into insubstantial doors into an enchanted world populated by slender butterfly-winged fairies, multitudes of elves and gnomes, and twisted anthropomorphic trees that capture a child's imagination, without being threatening. And yet the sharp angular faces of the children in his drawings suggest a subtle mischievous humor that prevents Rackham's illustrations from ever sinking into sentimentality.

Rackham's pen covered a wide range of subjects, from Shakespeare's "Midsummer Night's Dream" and "The Tempest" by way of Kenneth Grahame's "Wind in the Willows", Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland," and classical fairy tales, to Wagner's "Ring of the Niebelungen."

We are so lucky to have these beautifully reproduced Dover illustrations in a single book. They should be introduced to one's grandchildren so that their imaginations may also take flight with the enchanting creatures of Arthur Rackham's world.

Well worth the money, 13 Mar 2007
This is a very nice little book. It contains some of the not quite so well known illustrations too which I liked. It's so cheap that it's good to buy 2 copies. One to keep and browse, and the prints are of a reasonable size so that you could cut out your favourites to frame up. Well worth the money.

Mixed up, 15 Sep 2008
Being a professional design teacher for new design students I think this book lacks structure and depth in the topics it treats. There are many inspirational pictures and examples of mixed techniques the may inspire, and the book is well made and presented therefore an extra star

Excellent introduction to contemporary design methods, 10 Aug 2008
This book works, not because it shows one how to master any particular technique in detail, but, because it shows how a vast array of contemporary design tools and techniques can be bought together to communicate design intent. Alan Pipes has sourced some astounding examples of modern technical illustration and has put together some very revealing case studies.

I do agree with the previous reviewer that some techniques are not covered in enough detail to develop mastery and that there are sections where it is a little hard to understand who exactly the author is thinking of when he wrote them. However the book's real value is showing how traditional skills as well as computer based methods an be used with equal value. How a sketch with a bic biro, a conventional orthographic drawing, a ray traced 3d solid model and a photoshop manipulated image all have value in the product design process. The only notable omission for me was any real investigation of Computer Aided Manufacturing, one might be left with the impression that the only value of a cad model was to produce hyper realistic illustrations.

This said Alan Pipes should be congratulated on this and excellent reference volume and at the amazon price suberb value for money.

Not sure what it's aim is..., 02 Apr 2008
As a fussy professional designer I am forever trying to improve all of my skills, and although a competent and descriptive sketcher, I thought buying this book might have some more indications as to areas I can do exercises in to improve my sketching even further; please note this is not the case, this is NOT a 'tutorials' book.

I'm a bit confused by this book, I'm not sure what it's aiming to do! It was a toss up between this book and 'Sketching: Drawing Techniques for Product Designers' (yes, I realise sketching is different to drawing). Too much text, not enough visuals which I wasn't really expecting. What was/is interesting is seeing the difference of drawing from the Italian designers (i.e. Perry King) and current American designers (Michael DiTullo). I feel the information sometimes goes way off course (i.e. describing what a computer is, what RAM is, what a hard drive is... is this really essential?) and I wonder how many pages would actually be in the book if they were to take out the seemingly useless information.

Basically, I think Pipes has missed his market, I think there is too much text which feels like 'filler', and not enough visuals to whet the appetite and make me enthusiastic and energetic about drawing/sketching.


The magic of Rackham, 24 Sep 2003
I discovered Arthur Rackham's wonderful illustrations about 4 years ago, thanks largely to the book on him by James Hamilton.From the late 1890s until his death in 1939 he illustrated many classics-the Brothers Grimm, Alice in Wonderland,English Fairy Tales, Irish Fairy Tales, The Wind in the Willows,3 different versions of A Midsummer Night's Dream,even Wagner's Ring Cycle. You won't find Ratty or Toad or Shakespeare or the Valkyries in this particular volume but you will find many of the things Rackham is famous for: gnarled and angry dwarfs, terrifying witches, the Sleeping Beauty in her finery, also dark, twisted trees in dark landscapes.If, like me, your appetite for Rackham has been whetted, this book is for you.If you don't know his work, but simply like fairy stories,this is also a good buy.There's virtually no text-just the title of each illustration and the title of the book it originally appeared in.No analyses, no biography-for that, there's James Hamilton's excellent book.

Buy it!, 22 Jul 2007
A truly inspiring book. Beautiful illustrations together with comments/notes by each artist.
Nothing more to say! I borrowed it from the library and don't want to return it!!

Brilliant, 05 Mar 2007
Being a student, I bought this book to help me with my graphics course. It is full of amazing contemporary illustrations carefully selected to complete a great book. Many types and varieties of pictures in the book help to create a very helpful collection that will give any artist inspiration after taking even the quickest glance. Great book, buy it.

WOW, 18 May 2008
This book is truly beautiful. I adore fashion books and this is one of my favourites; whether you are interested in fashion, illustration, art or just want a beautiful coffee table book, this is the one to buy!

Buy this book!, 25 Jun 2007
Whether your studying fashion or you just love to shop this book is an amazing insight into the world of fashion illustration. Each page features a beautiful drawing, information about the author, and the media used (when possible). There are some reading pages throughout out the book highlighting changes in fashion and the influences on fashion illustration. This book is a perfect guide for those studying fashion to find reference and inspiration. Each page is colourful and different from the last. It is definately worth the money and is a great book to have! It would also make a gat gift for anyone with a remote interest in fashion, BUY IT NOW!

a beautiful book but I do miss the earlier 'Art of' editions....., 16 Jul 2008
Ever since I was a kid, I'd buy an animation art book almost yearly. The Art of The Lion King was probably the first art book of this type I ever had given to me and it kindled my love of animation art all the more, finally in these pages were beautiful concept illustrations, story board art works, inspirational paintings and final prints from the film, all of which were bound up in beautifully presented cloth covered large scale folio editions (originally printed by Hyperion). Books like these emphasised the storytelling process the Disney studios believed in and presented imagery which spoke volumes above the text, since the key to all great artistic works be it in animation, illustration, theatre design or film is the artists ability to simply draw from life, observe it, relish it and understand it -- and from that process you have great storytelling, you need imagination naturally and that's the art part, how you see marks you out ........... these books just need to show us more art when the film was evolving as that is inspirational and they could be designed better.

This is a fine book but doesn't really live up to my expectations when compared to what came before. It is smaller, I can't see the point in printing images which are the size of postage stamps on these pages and I want to see more final, well chosen film prints and pencil, painterly, illustrations than these digital smooth works which lack texture. The Monsters Inc. art book is a better example of Pixars ability to portray wonderful characters and displays more traditional means of creating concept illustrations for these films.

Brilliant!!!!!!, 09 Jul 2008
Amazing book. I cannot recommend it enough. If your a fan of pixar you will love it. If you have any of the other pixar "art of" books then you know what to expect. Brilliant Brilliant Brilliant

The Meanings of Enchantment!, 19 Nov 2007
I was introduced to Arthur Rackham's magical illustrations as a child via the old St. Nicholas children's magazines, and his pictures have lost none of their magic in the ensuing years. His pen-and-ink drawings are complemented by a muted palette of colors that transform the pages into insubstantial doors into an enchanted world populated by slender butterfly-winged fairies, multitudes of elves and gnomes, and twisted anthropomorphic trees that capture a child's imagination, without being threatening. And yet the sharp angular faces of the children in his drawings suggest a subtle mischievous humor that prevents Rackham's illustrations from ever sinking into sentimentality.

Rackham's pen covered a wide range of subjects, from Shakespeare's "Midsummer Night's Dream" and "The Tempest" by way of Kenneth Grahame's "Wind in the Willows", Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland," and classical fairy tales, to Wagner's "Ring of the Niebelungen."

We are so lucky to have these beautifully reproduced Dover illustrations in a single book. They should be introduced to one's grandchildren so that their imaginations may also take flight with the enchanting creatures of Arthur Rackham's world.

Well worth the money, 13 Mar 2007
This is a very nice little book. It contains some of the not quite so well known illustrations too which I liked. It's so cheap that it's good to buy 2 copies. One to keep and browse, and the prints are of a reasonable size so that you could cut out your favourites to frame up. Well worth the money.

Mixed up, 15 Sep 2008
Being a professional design teacher for new design students I think this book lacks structure and depth in the topics it treats. There are many inspirational pictures and examples of mixed techniques the may inspire, and the book is well made and presented therefore an extra star

Excellent introduction to contemporary design methods, 10 Aug 2008
This book works, not because it shows one how to master any particular technique in detail, but, because it shows how a vast array of contemporary design tools and techniques can be bought together to communicate design intent. Alan Pipes has sourced some astounding examples of modern technical illustration and has put together some very revealing case studies.

I do agree with the previous reviewer that some techniques are not covered in enough detail to develop mastery and that there are sections where it is a little hard to understand who exactly the author is thinking of when he wrote them. However the book's real value is showing how traditional skills as well as computer based methods an be used with equal value. How a sketch with a bic biro, a conventional orthographic drawing, a ray traced 3d solid model and a photoshop manipulated image all have value in the product design process. The only notable omission for me was any real investigation of Computer Aided Manufacturing, one might be left with the impression that the only value of a cad model was to produce hyper realistic illustrations.

This said Alan Pipes should be congratulated on this and excellent reference volume and at the amazon price suberb value for money.

Not sure what it's aim is..., 02 Apr 2008
As a fussy professional designer I am forever trying to improve all of my skills, and although a competent and descriptive sketcher, I thought buying this book might have some more indications as to areas I can do exercises in to improve my sketching even further; please note this is not the case, this is NOT a 'tutorials' book.

I'm a bit confused by this book, I'm not sure what it's aiming to do! It was a toss up between this book and 'Sketching: Drawing Techniques for Product Designers' (yes, I realise sketching is different to drawing). Too much text, not enough visuals which I wasn't really expecting. What was/is interesting is seeing the difference of drawing from the Italian designers (i.e. Perry King) and current American designers (Michael DiTullo). I feel the information sometimes goes way off course (i.e. describing what a computer is, what RAM is, what a hard drive is... is this really essential?) and I wonder how many pages would actually be in the book if they were to take out the seemingly useless information.

Basically, I think Pipes has missed his market, I think there is too much text which feels like 'filler', and not enough visuals to whet the appetite and make me enthusiastic and energetic about drawing/sketching.


The magic of Rackham, 24 Sep 2003
I discovered Arthur Rackham's wonderful illustrations about 4 years ago, thanks largely to the book on him by James Hamilton.From the late 1890s until his death in 1939 he illustrated many classics-the Brothers Grimm, Alice in Wonderland,English Fairy Tales, Irish Fairy Tales, The Wind in the Willows,3 different versions of A Midsummer Night's Dream,even Wagner's Ring Cycle. You won't find Ratty or Toad or Shakespeare or the Valkyries in this particular volume but you will find many of the things Rackham is famous for: gnarled and angry dwarfs, terrifying witches, the Sleeping Beauty in her finery, also dark, twisted trees in dark landscapes.If, like me, your appetite for Rackham has been whetted, this book is for you.If you don't know his work, but simply like fairy stories,this is also a good buy.There's virtually no text-just the title of each illustration and the title of the book it originally appeared in.No analyses, no biography-for that, there's James Hamilton's excellent book.

Buy it!, 22 Jul 2007
A truly inspiring book. Beautiful illustrations together with comments/notes by each artist.
Nothing more to say! I borrowed it from the library and don't want to return it!!

Brilliant, 05 Mar 2007
Being a student, I bought this book to help me with my graphics course. It is full of amazing contemporary illustrations carefully selected to complete a great book. Many types and varieties of pictures in the book help to create a very helpful collection that will give any artist inspiration after taking even the quickest glance. Great book, buy it.

A grown-up book about journals/sketchbooks, 18 Sep 2008
This is the best book of journals I've seen - journals actually logging ideas rather than just prettified pages. Not that there isn't a place for that, but this is like getting to leaf through other artists' sketchbooks. Quite different from all the scrapbooking/journalling books.

inspiration aplenty, 02 Dec 2007
I liked this book very much. Essentially, it is a collection of samples of the journals of a wide range of different kinds of people, some who use journals professionally, some as recreation. Therefore, the styles and contents vary widely. For me it is an invaluable source of reference material and ideas to try out in my own journals.

stunning, 29 Aug 2005
This book is absolutely stunning. It's a collection journals and notebooks from people of varying professions and interests. The book is broken down into 4 sections: observation, reflection, exploration and creation. Each section headed with introductory text with further text on the individual "journalists". The journals themselves vary widely in styles, from scribbled notes to pages that have been rigourously worked on. If you want to see some images then you should visit www.pergl.net/jennifernew. The shape of the book resembles a traditional journal, the paper is of good quality and the layout is clean and easy to enjoy. Drawing from life is truly inspirational.

WOW, 18 May 2008
This book is truly beautiful. I adore fashion books and this is one of my favourites; whether you are interested in fashion, illustration, art or just want a beautiful coffee table book, this is the one to buy!

Buy this book!, 25 Jun 2007
Whether your studying fashion or you just love to shop this book is an amazing insight into the world of fashion illustration. Each page features a beautiful drawing, information about the author, and the media used (when possible). There are some reading pages throughout out the book highlighting changes in fashion and the influences on fashion illustration. This book is a perfect guide for those studying fashion to find reference and inspiration. Each page is colourful and different from the last. It is definately worth the money and is a great book to have! It would also make a gat gift for anyone with a remote interest in fashion, BUY IT NOW!

a beautiful book but I do miss the earlier 'Art of' editions....., 16 Jul 2008
Ever since I was a kid, I'd buy an animation art book almost yearly. The Art of The Lion King was probably the first art book of this type I ever had given to me and it kindled my love of animation art all the more, finally in these pages were beautiful concept illustrations, story board art works, inspirational paintings and final prints from the film, all of which were bound up in beautifully presented cloth covered large scale folio editions (originally printed by Hyperion). Books like these emphasised the storytelling process the Disney studios believed in and presented imagery which spoke volumes above the text, since the key to all great artistic works be it in animation, illustration, theatre design or film is the artists ability to simply draw from life, observe it, relish it and understand it -- and from that process you have great storytelling, you need imagination naturally and that's the art part, how you see marks you out ........... these books just need to show us more art when the film was evolving as that is inspirational and they could be designed better.

This is a fine book but doesn't really live up to my expectations when compared to what came before. It is smaller, I can't see the point in printing images which are the size of postage stamps on these pages and I want to see more final, well chosen film prints and pencil, painterly, illustrations than these digital smooth works which lack texture. The Monsters Inc. art book is a better example of Pixars ability to portray wonderful characters and displays more traditional means of creating concept illustrations for these films.

Brilliant!!!!!!, 09 Jul 2008
Amazing book. I cannot recommend it enough. If your a fan of pixar you will love it. If you have any of the other pixar "art of" books then you know what to expect. Brilliant Brilliant Brilliant

The Meanings of Enchantment!, 19 Nov 2007
I was introduced to Arthur Rackham's magical illustrations as a child via the old St. Nicholas children's magazines, and his pictures have lost none of their magic in the ensuing years. His pen-and-ink drawings are complemented by a muted palette of colors that transform the pages into insubstantial doors into an enchanted world populated by slender butterfly-winged fairies, multitudes of elves and gnomes, and twisted anthropomorphic trees that capture a child's imagination, without being threatening. And yet the sharp angular faces of the children in his drawings suggest a subtle mischievous humor that prevents Rackham's illustrations from ever sinking into sentimentality.

Rackham's pen covered a wide range of subjects, from Shakespeare's "Midsummer Night's Dream" and "The Tempest" by way of Kenneth Grahame's "Wind in the Willows", Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland," and classical fairy tales, to Wagner's "Ring of the Niebelungen."

We are so lucky to have these beautifully reproduced Dover illustrations in a single book. They should be introduced to one's grandchildren so that their imaginations may also take flight with the enchanting creatures of Arthur Rackham's world.

Well worth the money, 13 Mar 2007
This is a very nice little book. It contains some of the not quite so well known illustrations too which I liked. It's so cheap that it's good to buy 2 copies. One to keep and browse, and the prints are of a reasonable size so that you could cut out your favourites to frame up. Well worth the money.

Mixed up, 15 Sep 2008
Being a professional design teacher for new design students I think this book lacks structure and depth in the topics it treats. There are many inspirational pictures and examples of mixed techniques the may inspire, and the book is well made and presented therefore an extra star

Excellent introduction to contemporary design methods, 10 Aug 2008
This book works, not because it shows one how to master any particular technique in detail, but, because it shows how a vast array of contemporary design tools and techniques can be bought together to communicate design intent. Alan Pipes has sourced some astounding examples of modern technical illustration and has put together some very revealing case studies.

I do agree with the previous reviewer that some techniques are not covered in enough detail to develop mastery and that there are sections where it is a little hard to understand who exactly the author is thinking of when he wrote them. However the book's real value is showing how traditional skills as well as computer based methods an be used with equal value. How a sketch with a bic biro, a conventional orthographic drawing, a ray traced 3d solid model and a photoshop manipulated image all have value in the product design process. The only notable omission for me was any real investigation of Computer Aided Manufacturing, one might be left with the impression that the only value of a cad model was to produce hyper realistic illustrations.

This said Alan Pipes should be congratulated on this and excellent reference volume and at the amazon price suberb value for money.

Not sure what it's aim is..., 02 Apr 2008
As a fussy professional designer I am forever trying to improve all of my skills, and although a competent and descriptive sketcher, I thought buying this book might have some more indications as to areas I can do exercises in to improve my sketching even further; please note this is not the case, this is NOT a 'tutorials' book.

I'm a bit confused by this book, I'm not sure what it's aiming to do! It was a toss up between this book and 'Sketching: Drawing Techniques for Product Designers' (yes, I realise sketching is different to drawing). Too much text, not enough visuals which I wasn't really expecting. What was/is interesting is seeing the difference of drawing from the Italian designers (i.e. Perry King) and current American designers (Michael DiTullo). I feel the information sometimes goes way off course (i.e. describing what a computer is, what RAM is, what a hard drive is... is this really essential?) and I wonder how many pages would actually be in the book if they were to take out the seemingly useless information.

Basically, I think Pipes has missed his market, I think there is too much text which feels like 'filler', and not enough visuals to whet the appetite and make me enthusiastic and energetic about drawing/sketching.


The magic of Rackham, 24 Sep 2003
I discovered Arthur Rackham's wonderful illustrations about 4 years ago, thanks largely to the book on him by James Hamilton.From the late 1890s until his death in 1939 he illustrated many classics-the Brothers Grimm, Alice in Wonderland,English Fairy Tales, Irish Fairy Tales, The Wind in the Willows,3 different versions of A Midsummer Night's Dream,even Wagner's Ring Cycle. You won't find Ratty or Toad or Shakespeare or the Valkyries in this particular volume but you will find many of the things Rackham is famous for: gnarled and angry dwarfs, terrifying witches, the Sleeping Beauty in her finery, also dark, twisted trees in dark landscapes.If, like me, your appetite for Rackham has been whetted, this book is for you.If you don't know his work, but simply like fairy stories,this is also a good buy.There's virtually no text-just the title of each illustration and the title of the book it originally appeared in.No analyses, no biography-for that, there's James Hamilton's excellent book.

Buy it!, 22 Jul 2007
A truly inspiring book. Beautiful illustrations together with comments/notes by each artist.
Nothing more to say! I borrowed it from the library and don't want to return it!!

Brilliant, 05 Mar 2007
Being a student, I bought this book to help me with my graphics course. It is full of amazing contemporary illustrations carefully selected to complete a great book. Many types and varieties of pictures in the book help to create a very helpful collection that will give any artist inspiration after taking even the quickest glance. Great book, buy it.

A grown-up book about journals/sketchbooks, 18 Sep 2008
This is the best book of journals I've seen - journals actually logging ideas rather than just prettified pages. Not that there isn't a place for that, but this is like getting to leaf through other artists' sketchbooks. Quite different from all the scrapbooking/journalling books.

inspiration aplenty, 02 Dec 2007
I liked this book very much. Essentially, it is a collection of samples of the journals of a wide range of different kinds of people, some who use journals professionally, some as recreation. Therefore, the styles and contents vary widely. For me it is an invaluable source of reference material and ideas to try out in my own journals.

stunning, 29 Aug 2005
This book is absolutely stunning. It's a collection journals and notebooks from people of varying professions and interests. The book is broken down into 4 sections: observation, reflection, exploration and creation. Each section headed with introductory text with further text on the individual "journalists". The journals themselves vary widely in styles, from scribbled notes to pages that have been rigourously worked on. If you want to see some images then you should visit www.pergl.net/jennifernew. The shape of the book resembles a traditional journal, the paper is of good quality and the layout is clean and easy to enjoy. Drawing from life is truly inspirational.

Fine if you want to produce way out creations........, 20 May 2008
I am a serious photographer with many years experience of using Photoshop and have a keen interest in the merging of art and photography. So the title and description sounded just the thing. But I have to say I was disappointed. The book is well written with lots of how-to examples but much of the content relates to "way out" creations more appropriate to the work of illustrators than photographers. So if you want to create images of people with segmented heads, design comics or cartoons, make your mother-in-law look 30 years older or produce weird and fanciful art - then this may be just for you. On the other hand if you live a little closer to the real world - be warned!

Excellent book, by an exceptional artist., 14 May 2008

Creative Photoshop by Derek Lea, is an easy to follow, extremely well written book and includes a CD Rom with all the necessary image files, so you could recreate the tutorials inside the book.

A great book, by a great artist.

A must have!, 28 Dec 2007
I don't usually write reviews but after going through this book in depth I want to recommend it to everyone who is interested in digital art. Finally, a Photoshop book that tells you how to create stunning art in depth is here!

The cool thing about Lea's book is that it is a series of very detailed tutorials. What sets it apart is that each chapter walks you through the process of creating a single, stunning piece of art. All of the files are on the disc and the linear, methodical, step-by-step approach helps you produce something amazing, rather than leaving you to fend for yourself. The cool thing about Lea's approach is that each chapter is self contained and as long as you follow each step, you'll create the amazing image at the beginning. You can jump around from chapter to chapter rather than building up from start to finish, which is also cool.

There is also a lot of inspirational art included in galleries at the end of each chapter. So even though you created the art in the tutorial, you have a clear indication of what else you can do after learning Lea's techniques. It really is amazing to see how much diversity one guy is capable of. I found the explanations clear and on the same level with my skills, which I guess could be considered intermediate.

If you want to create impressive art in Photoshop, this is the book for you. However, if you're a newbie, and you want to learn quick and simple tricks this isn't the book for you. If that is the case, you might benefit more from some of the very basic tutorials for free on the net, or you may want to check out something from the more basic 'classroom in a book' series.

This book is essential for those who want to really flex some creative muscle in Photoshop and aren't afraid to get into something complex. You'll learn to work in a range of different styles and the techniques you'll learn can be applied to original work of your own.

Detailed discussion of sophisticated digital art techniques, 12 Nov 2007
This is one of very few Photoshop books that focuses on the creation of digital art, rather than the techniques required for certain standard tricks and effects. I'd say that the book to which it can be most closely compared is Daniel Giordan's 'The Art of Photoshop'.

Each chapter provides detailed, step-by-step instructions for the development of a piece of striking Photoshop art: all of the tutorial images are genuinely inspiring, rich in textures, reflecting the author's emphasis on the importance of incorporating scans of real world objects into digital illustration. There is plenty of valuable advice on gathering source materials: simple effects generated from old fax machines and photocopiers provide the raw materials for some of the most impressive pictures.

For me, the most useful feature of the book is its discussion of alpha channels, which are used again and again to build up each image's complexity. I had never before appreciated quite how powerful channels can be as a means of adding convincing textures and distressed effects to digital imagery. This book illustrates their versatility more clearly than any other I've read. If you are interested in creating 'grungy', 'weathered' digital imagery, you must read 'Creative Photoshop'.

Congratulations to Derek Lea, and needless to say, highly recommended!

Fantastic! , 23 Oct 2007
I have a fan of Derek Leas work for a number of years since first discovering his tutorials in Computer Arts magazine. I often emailed Derek asking him if he was going to write a book on advanced digital imaging techniques. Derek finally took the challenge of writing a book and to say that the wait was worthwhile is an under statement! If you are a keen digital artist hungry for new techniques to apply to your work this is the book for you. I cannot recommend this book highly enough!!!

WOW, 18 May 2008
This book is truly beautiful. I adore fashion books and this is one of my favourites; whether you are interested in fashion, illustration, art or just want a beautiful coffee table book, this is the one to buy!

Buy this book!, 25 Jun 2007
Whether your studying fashion or you just love to shop this book is an amazing insight into the world of fashion illustration. Each page features a beautiful drawing, information about the author, and the media used (when possible). There are some reading pages throughout out the book highlighting changes in fashion and the influences on fashion illustration. This book is a perfect guide for those studying fashion to find reference and inspiration. Each page is colourful and different from the last. It is definately worth the money and is a great book to have! It would also make a gat gift for anyone with a remote interest in fashion, BUY IT NOW!

a beautiful book but I do miss the earlier 'Art of' editions....., 16 Jul 2008
Ever since I was a kid, I'd buy an animation art book almost yearly. The Art of The Lion King was probably the first art book of this type I ever had given to me and it kindled my love of animation art all the more, finally in these pages were beautiful concept illustrations, story board art works, inspirational paintings and final prints from the film, all of which were bound up in beautifully presented cloth covered large scale folio editions (originally printed by Hyperion). Books like these emphasised the storytelling process the Disney studios believed in and presented imagery which spoke volumes above the text, since the key to all great artistic works be it in animation, illustration, theatre design or film is the artists ability to simply draw from life, observe it, relish it and understand it -- and from that process you have great storytelling, you need imagination naturally and that's the art part, how you see marks you out ........... these books just need to show us more art when the film was evolving as that is inspirational and they could be designed better.

This is a fine book but doesn't really live up to my expectations when compared to what came before. It is smaller, I can't see the point in printing images which are the size of postage stamps on these pages and I want to see more final, well chosen film prints and pencil, painterly, illustrations than these digital smooth works which lack texture. The Monsters Inc. art book is a better example of Pixars ability to portray wonderful characters and displays more traditional means of creating concept illustrations for these films.

Brilliant!!!!!!, 09 Jul 2008
Amazing book. I cannot recommend it enough. If your a fan of pixar you will love it. If you have any of the other pixar "art of" books then you know what to expect. Brilliant Brilliant Brilliant

The Meanings of Enchantment!, 19 Nov 2007
I was introduced to Arthur Rackham's magical illustrations as a child via the old St. Nicholas children's magazines, and his pictures have lost none of their magic in the ensuing years. His pen-and-ink drawings are complemented by a muted palette of colors that transform the pages into insubstantial doors into an enchanted world populated by slender butterfly-winged fairies, multitudes of elves and gnomes, and twisted anthropomorphic trees that capture a child's imagination, without being threatening. And yet the sharp angular faces of the children in his drawings suggest a subtle mischievous humor that prevents Rackham's illustrations from ever sinking into sentimentality.

Rackham's pen covered a wide range of subjects, from Shakespeare's "Midsummer Night's Dream" and "The Tempest" by way of Kenneth Grahame's "Wind in the Willows", Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland," and classical fairy tales, to Wagner's "Ring of the Niebelungen."

We are so lucky to have these beautifully reproduced Dover illustrations in a single book. They should be introduced to one's grandchildren so that their imaginations may also take flight with the enchanting creatures of Arthur Rackham's world.

Well worth the money, 13 Mar 2007
This is a very nice little book. It contains some of the not quite so well known illustrations too which I liked. It's so cheap that it's good to buy 2 copies. One to keep and browse, and the prints are of a reasonable size so that you could cut out your favourites to frame up. Well worth the money.

Mixed up, 15 Sep 2008
Being a professional design teacher for new design students I think this book lacks structure and depth in the topics it treats. There are many inspirational pictures and examples of mixed techniques the may inspire, and the book is well made and presented therefore an extra star

Excellent introduction to contemporary design methods, 10 Aug 2008
This book works, not because it shows one how to master any particular technique in detail, but, because it shows how a vast array of contemporary design tools and techniques can be bought together to communicate design intent. Alan Pipes has sourced some astounding examples of modern technical illustration and has put together some very revealing case studies.

I do agree with the previous reviewer that some techniques are not covered in enough detail to develop mastery and that there are sections where it is a little hard to understand who exactly the author is thinking of when he wrote them. However the book's real value is showing how traditional skills as well as computer based methods an be used with equal value. How a sketch with a bic biro, a conventional orthographic drawing, a ray traced 3d solid model and a photoshop manipulated image all have value in the product design process. The only notable omission for me was any real investigation of Computer Aided Manufacturing, one might be left with the impression that the only value of a cad model was to produce hyper realistic illustrations.

This said Alan Pipes should be congratulated on this and excellent reference volume and at the amazon price suberb value for money.

Not sure what it's aim is..., 02 Apr 2008
As a fussy professional designer I am forever trying to improve all of my skills, and although a competent and descriptive sketcher, I thought buying this book might have some more indications as to areas I can do exercises in to improve my sketching even further; please note this is not the case, this is NOT a 'tutorials' book.

I'm a bit confused by this book, I'm not sure what it's aiming to do! It was a toss up between this book and 'Sketching: Drawing Techniques for Product Designers' (yes, I realise sketching is different to drawing). Too much text, not enough visuals which I wasn't really expecting. What was/is interesting is seeing the difference of drawing from the Italian designers (i.e. Perry King) and current American designers (Michael DiTullo). I feel the information sometimes goes way off course (i.e. describing what a computer is, what RAM is, what a hard drive is... is this really essential?) and I wonder how many pages would actually be in the book if they were to take out the seemingly useless information.

Basically, I think Pipes has missed his market, I think there is too much text which feels like 'filler', and not enough visuals to whet the appetite and make me enthusiastic and energetic about drawing/sketching.


The magic of Rackham, 24 Sep 2003
I discovered Arthur Rackham's wonderful illustrations about 4 years ago, thanks largely to the book on him by James Hamilton.From the late 1890s until his death in 1939 he illustrated many classics-the Brothers Grimm, Alice in Wonderland,English Fairy Tales, Irish Fairy Tales, The Wind in the Willows,3 different versions of A Midsummer Night's Dream,even Wagner's Ring Cycle. You won't find Ratty or Toad or Shakespeare or the Valkyries in this particular volume but you will find many of the things Rackham is famous for: gnarled and angry dwarfs, terrifying witches, the Sleeping Beauty in her finery, also dark, twisted trees in dark landscapes.If, like me, your appetite for Rackham has been whetted, this book is for you.If you don't know his work, but simply like fairy stories,this is also a good buy.There's virtually no text-just the title of each illustration and the title of the book it originally appeared in.No analyses, no biography-for that, there's James Hamilton's excellent book.

Buy it!, 22 Jul 2007
A truly inspiring book. Beautiful illustrations together with comments/notes by each artist.
Nothing more to say! I borrowed it from the library and don't want to return it!!

Brilliant, 05 Mar 2007
Being a student, I bought this book to help me with my graphics course. It is full of amazing contemporary illustrations carefully selected to complete a great book. Many types and varieties of pictures in the book help to create a very helpful collection that will give any artist inspiration after taking even the quickest glance. Great book, buy it.

A grown-up book about journals/sketchbooks, 18 Sep 2008
This is the best book of journals I've seen - journals actually logging ideas rather than just prettified pages. Not that there isn't a place for that, but this is like getting to leaf through other artists' sketchbooks. Quite different from all the scrapbooking/journalling books.

inspiration aplenty, 02 Dec 2007
I liked this book very much. Essentially, it is a collection of samples of the journals of a wide range of different kinds of people, some who use journals professionally, some as recreation. Therefore, the styles and contents vary widely. For me it is an invaluable source of reference material and ideas to try out in my own journals.

stunning, 29 Aug 2005
This book is absolutely stunning. It's a collection journals and notebooks from people of varying professions and interests. The book is broken down into 4 sections: observation, reflection, exploration and creation. Each section headed with introductory text with further text on the individual "journalists". The journals themselves vary widely in styles, from scribbled notes to pages that have been rigourously worked on. If you want to see some images then you should visit www.pergl.net/jennifernew. The shape of the book resembles a traditional journal, the paper is of good quality and the layout is clean and easy to enjoy. Drawing from life is truly inspirational.

Fine if you want to produce way out creations........, 20 May 2008
I am a serious photographer with many years experience of using Photoshop and have a keen interest in the merging of art and photography. So the title and description sounded just the thing. But I have to say I was disappointed. The book is well written with lots of how-to examples but much of the content relates to "way out" creations more appropriate to the work of illustrators than photographers. So if you want to create images of people with segmented heads, design comics or cartoons, make your mother-in-law look 30 years older or produce weird and fanciful art - then this may be just for you. On the other hand if you live a little closer to the real world - be warned!

Excellent book, by an exceptional artist., 14 May 2008

Creative Photoshop by Derek Lea, is an easy to follow, extremely well written book and includes a CD Rom with all the necessary image files, so you could recreate the tutorials inside the book.

A great book, by a great artist.

A must have!, 28 Dec 2007
I don't usually write reviews but after going through this book in depth I want to recommend it to everyone who is interested in digital art. Finally, a Photoshop book that tells you how to create stunning art in depth is here!

The cool thing about Lea's book is that it is a series of very detailed tutorials. What sets it apart is that each chapter walks you through the process of creating a single, stunning piece of art. All of the files are on the disc and the linear, methodical, step-by-step approach helps you produce something amazing, rather than leaving you to fend for yourself. The cool thing about Lea's approach is that each chapter is self contained and as long as you follow each step, you'll create the amazing image at the beginning. You can jump around from chapter to chapter rather than building up from start to finish, which is also cool.

There is also a lot of inspirational art included in galleries at the end of each chapter. So even though you created the art in the tutorial, you have a clear indication of what else you can do after learning Lea's techniques. It really is amazing to see how much diversity one guy is capable of. I found the explanations clear and on the same level with my skills, which I guess could be considered intermediate.

If you want to create impressive art in Photoshop, this is the book for you. However, if you're a newbie, and you want to learn quick and simple tricks this isn't the book for you. If that is the case, you might benefit more from some of the very basic tutorials for free on the net, or you may want to check out something from the more basic 'classroom in a book' series.

This book is essential for those who want to really flex some creative muscle in Photoshop and aren't afraid to get into something complex. You'll learn to work in a range of different styles and the techniques you'll learn can be applied to original work of your own.

Detailed discussion of sophisticated digital art techniques, 12 Nov 2007
This is one of very few Photoshop books that focuses on the creation of digital art, rather than the techniques required for certain standard tricks and effects. I'd say that the book to which it can be most closely compared is Daniel Giordan's 'The Art of Photoshop'.

Each chapter provides detailed, step-by-step instructions for the development of a piece of striking Photoshop art: all of the tutorial images are genuinely inspiring, rich in textures, reflecting the author's emphasis on the importance of incorporating scans of real world objects into digital illustration. There is plenty of valuable advice on gathering source materials: simple effects generated from old fax machines and photocopiers provide the raw materials for some of the most impressive pictures.

For me, the most useful feature of the book is its discussion of alpha channels, which are used again and again to build up each image's complexity. I had never before appreciated quite how powerful channels can be as a means of adding convincing textures and distressed effects to digital imagery. This book illustrates their versatility more clearly than any other I've read. If you are interested in creating 'grungy', 'weathered' digital imagery, you must read 'Creative Photoshop'.

Congratulations to Derek Lea, and needless to say, highly recommended!

Fantastic! , 23 Oct 2007
I have a fan of Derek Leas work for a number of years since first discovering his tutorials in Computer Arts magazine. I often emailed Derek asking him if he was going to write a book on advanced digital imaging techniques. Derek finally took the challenge of writing a book and to say that the wait was worthwhile is an under statement! If you are a keen digital artist hungry for new techniques to apply to your work this is the book for you. I cannot recommend this book highly enough!!!

An inexpensive, well presented collection of works by a master...great , 20 Jul 2008
This proves to be an inexpensive and worthy accompaniment to Dante's Divine Comedy. Now I say accompaniment but Dore's engravings are wonderful to study on their own, now I don't think they show the amount of inventiveness that William Blake does but if you're looking for finely executed artwork that tells expressively and artfully Dante's masterpiece, then this I definitely recommend. Dore's work is dark and brooding, epic and vivid in its intensity. This edition taking account of its price is worth buying; there's a brief but informative introduction by the publisher concerning Dore's practice and a bit of background, a list of all the plates contained follows, all 135. Each plate is presented clearly, the paper quality reflects the price but its by no means bad. The plates are large, 25 x 20 cm and under many is a short quote taken from The Divine Comedy that reflects the image, from these you see how faithful Dore has been to the text. This is as much about Dante as it is about Dore and both are brilliant, truly an enjoyment to peruse.

Gustave Dore's superb engravings for Dante's classic work, 29 Apr 2005
I have a horrible confession to make: I much prefer to look at Gustave Dore's fantastic and grotesque scenes depicting Dante's "Divine Comedy" with just appropriate lines from the Longfellow translation then have to deal with all those tercets. Even worse, I think these 135 illustrations from the 1861 edition comprise Dore's best body of work, even better than his famous Bible illustrations completed five years later, mainly because I think Dore's style is better suited to the depths of Hell and the realms of Purgatory, rather than the stories of the Bible. Clearly Dore found his kindred soul mate in Dante and even though he did classic engravings to illustrate everything from "Don Quixote" to "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner," this is his monumental achievement. Many admirers like the plates depicting the souls writhing in the fiery torments of Hell, but my favorite has to do with the lower level of hell where Dante and Virgil encounter the souls frozen in ice (Canto XXXII). This Dover edition is relatively inexpensive, which means the paper quality is geared towards economy rather than reproduction, but I think that it a satisfactory tradeoff, all things considered.

In a word--- Fantastic, 03 Mar 2005
Beautiful portraits detailing the story of the Divine Comedy from Inferno to Paradise. Complements the text wonderfully.

Stunning Pictures, 18 May 2001
This book is fantastic for reading along side the Divine Comedy, as it clearly shows Dore's interpretations of Dante's book. It allows you to understand The Divine Comedy better in that it gives you a visual stimulus for some of the harder to understand parts of the book. Dore's pictures are fascinating, and also intriguing. I would definately recommend this book for anyone who is reading The Divine Comedy

WOW, 18 May 2008
This book is truly beautiful. I adore fashion books and this is one of my favourites; whether you are interested in fashion, illustration, art or just want a beautiful coffee table book, this is the one to buy!

Buy this book!, 25 Jun 2007
Whether your studying fashion or you just love to shop this book is an amazing insight into the world of fashion illustration. Each page features a beautiful drawing, information about the author, and the media used (when possible). There are some reading pages throughout out the book highlighting changes in fashion and the influences on fashion illustration. This book is a perfect guide for those studying fashion to find reference and inspiration. Each page is colourful and different from the last. It is definately worth the money and is a great book to have! It would also make a gat gift for anyone with a remote interest in fashion, BUY IT NOW!

a beautiful book but I do miss the earlier 'Art of' editions....., 16 Jul 2008
Ever since I was a kid, I'd buy an animation art book almost yearly. The Art of The Lion King was probably the first art book of this type I ever had given to me and it kindled my love of animation art all the more, finally in these pages were beautiful concept illustrations, story board art works, inspirational paintings and final prints from the film, all of which were bound up in beautifully presented cloth covered large scale folio editions (originally printed by Hyperion). Books like these emphasised the storytelling process the Disney studios believed in and presented imagery which spoke volumes above the text, since the key to all great artistic works be it in animation, illustration, theatre design or film is the artists ability to simply draw from life, observe it, relish it and understand it -- and from that process you have great storytelling, you need imagination naturally and that's the art part, how you see marks you out ........... these books just need to show us more art when the film was evolving as that is inspirational and they could be designed better.

This is a fine book but doesn't really live up to my expectations when compared to what came before. It is smaller, I can't see the point in printing images which are the size of postage stamps on these pages and I want to see more final, well chosen film prints and pencil, painterly, illustrations than these digital smooth works which lack texture. The Monsters Inc. art book is a better example of Pixars ability to portray wonderful characters and displays more traditional means of creating concept illustrations for these films.

Brilliant!!!!!!, 09 Jul 2008
Amazing book. I cannot recommend it enough. If your a fan of pixar you will love it. If you have any of the other pixar "art of" books then you know what to expect. Brilliant Brilliant Brilliant

The Meanings of Enchantment!, 19 Nov 2007
I was introduced to Arthur Rackham's magical illustrations as a child via the old St. Nicholas children's magazines, and his pictures have lost none of their magic in the ensuing years. His pen-and-ink drawings are complemented by a muted palette of colors that transform the pages into insubstantial doors into an enchanted world populated by slender butterfly-winged fairies, multitudes of elves and gnomes, and twisted anthropomorphic trees that capture a child's imagination, without being threatening. And yet the sharp angular faces of the children in his drawings suggest a subtle mischievous humor that prevents Rackham's illustrations from ever sinking into sentimentality.

Rackham's pen covered a wide range of subjects, from Shakespeare's "Midsummer Night's Dream" and "The Tempest" by way of Kenneth Grahame's "Wind in the Willows", Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland," and classical fairy tales, to Wagner's "Ring of the Niebelungen."

We are so lucky to have these beautifully reproduced Dover illustrations in a single book. They should be introduced to one's grandchildren so that their imaginations may also take flight with the enchanting creatures of Arthur Rackham's world.

Well worth the money, 13 Mar 2007
This is a very nice little book. It contains some of the not quite so well known illustrations too which I liked. It's so cheap that it's good to buy 2 copies. One to keep and browse, and the prints are of a reasonable size so that you could cut out your favourites to frame up. Well worth the money.

Mixed up, 15 Sep 2008
Being a professional design teacher for new design students I think this book lacks structure and depth in the topics it treats. There are many inspirational pictures and examples of mixed techniques the may inspire, and the book is well made and presented therefore an extra star

Excellent introduction to contemporary design methods, 10 Aug 2008
This book works, not because it shows one how to master any particular technique in detail, but, because it shows how a vast array of contemporary design tools and techniques can be bought together to communicate design intent. Alan Pipes has sourced some astounding examples of modern technical illustration and has put together some very revealing case studies.

I do agree with the previous reviewer that some techniques are not covered in enough detail to develop mastery and that there are sections where it is a little hard to understand who exactly the author is thinking of when he wrote them. However the book's real value is showing how traditional skills as well as computer based methods an be used with equal value. How a sketch with a bic biro, a conventional orthographic drawing, a ray traced 3d solid model and a photoshop manipulated image all have value in the product design process. The only notable omission for me was any real investigation of Computer Aided Manufacturing, one might be left with the impression that the only value of a cad model was to produce hyper realistic illustrations.

This said Alan Pipes should be congratulated on this and excellent reference volume and at the amazon price suberb value for money.

Not sure what it's aim is..., 02 Apr 2008
As a fussy professional designer I am forever trying to improve all of my skills, and although a competent and descriptive sketcher, I thought buying this book might have some more indications as to areas I can do exercises in to improve my sketching even further; please note this is not the case, this is NOT a 'tutorials' book.

I'm a bit confused by this book, I'm not sure what it's aiming to do! It was a toss up between this book and 'Sketching: Drawing Techniques for Product Designers' (yes, I realise sketching is different to drawing). Too much text, not enough visuals which I wasn't really expecting. What was/is interesting is seeing the difference of drawing from the Italian designers (i.e. Perry King) and current American designers (Michael DiTullo). I feel the information sometimes goes way off course (i.e. describing what a computer is, what RAM is, what a hard drive is... is this really essential?) and I wonder how many pages would actually be in the book if they were to take out the seemingly useless information.

Basically, I think Pipes has missed his market, I think there is too much text which feels like 'filler', and not enough visuals to whet the appetite and make me enthusiastic and energetic about drawing/sketching.


The magic of Rackham, 24 Sep 2003
I discovered Arthur Rackham's wonderful illustrations about 4 years ago, thanks largely to the book on him by James Hamilton.From the late 1890s until his death in 1939 he illustrated many classics-the Brothers Grimm, Alice in Wonderland,English Fairy Tales, Irish Fairy Tales, The Wind in the Willows,3 different versions of A Midsummer Night's Dream,even Wagner's Ring Cycle. You won't find Ratty or Toad or Shakespeare or the Valkyries in this particular volume but you will find many of the things Rackham is famous for: gnarled and angry dwarfs, terrifying witches, the Sleeping Beauty in her finery, also dark, twisted trees in dark landscapes.If, like me, your appetite for Rackham has been whetted, this book is for you.If you don't know his work, but simply like fairy stories,this is also a good buy.There's virtually no text-just the title of each illustration and the title of the book it originally appeared in.No analyses, no biography-for that, there's James Hamilton's excellent book.

Buy it!, 22 Jul 2007
A truly inspiring book. Beautiful illustrations together with comments/notes by each artist.
Nothing more to say! I borrowed it from the library and don't want to return it!!

Brilliant, 05 Mar 2007
Being a student, I bought this book to help me with my graphics course. It is full of amazing contemporary illustrations carefully selected to complete a great book. Many types and varieties of pictures in the book help to create a very helpful collection that will give any artist inspiration after taking even the quickest glance. Great book, buy it.

A grown-up book abou