Resource and Book Reviews

[Errol McGillivray]

We have a very good list of tutorials and resources in this guild. I thought it would be useful to have a reading list as well.

[b]Title:[/b]
[b]Author(s):[/b]
[b]ISBN:[/b]
[b]Price:[/b]
[b]Availability:[/b]
[b]Review:[/b]
[b][i]Overall opinion in one sentence.[/i][/b]

Please be sure to include in your review:
-What you like and why
-What you don't like and why
-Difficulty level
-Length
-Why you think the reading is or is not worth the money to get it (This is important because that's pretty much the point of a reivew. To help others before they spend the money).
-If you wouldn't recommend this book/magazine/e-book, then if you can, recommend an alternative.

Thanks guys.  

[Errol McGillivray]

Reserved  

[Errol McGillivray]

Reserved  

[Viceregal]

Disclaimer:Prices and availibility are based only on what I find at chapters.indigo.ca. The books may be priced differently and still availible from other sources.

Title: Painting the Secret World of Nature
Author(s): John Agnew
ISBN 10: 1581804571
Price: $21.03 CDN at chapters.indigo.ca
Availability: sold out
Description: John Agnew shares his secrets for creating subtle, intimate natural scenes, where tiny mammals hide and lizards creep along quietly. The book is filled with mini-demonstrations showing readers exactly how to capture this beauty in their own work, regardless of medium, through control of light, color, textures, point of view and design. They''ll also find guidelines for rendering leaves, mud, snow, fur, feathers, and more, plus one full demonstration that puts animals and an environment together in a single painting.
Review: The book is filled page to page with lush illustrations. I have found that the brief lessons were easy to grasp and easily applied to other projects. For it's price the book was disapointingly short - infact you could probably learn a few things just by thumbing through it. I mainly bought it for the gorgeous pictures which served as reference and inspiration at the time.
Overall opinion in one sentence.I wouldn't recommend buying it, but if you find it in a library it's definately worth a peek.

Title: Fantasy Art Masters: The Best Fantasy and Science Fiction Artists Show How They Work
Author(s): d**k Jude
ISBN: 0823016366
Price: $19.47 CDN at chapters.indigo.ca
Availability: sold out
Description:The brightest talents in fantasy, horror, and science fiction art present their favorite creations in show-and-tell interviews that reveal the inspirations and techniques that guide their spectacular, Work.
Review: This book provides a great "behind the scenes" look at professional illustrators like Brom, John Howe ect. They talk a little bit about their career and describe their creative process. There are also samples of their work from concept to completion. I find it to be an excellent resource when developing good art habits. I still use this book.
Overall opinion in one sentence. It has definately been worth the purchase for me.

Title: Japanese Comickers: Draw Anime and Manga Like Japan's Hottest Artists
Author(s): Comickers Magazine
ISBN: 0060513551
Price: $19.10 CDN at chapters.indigo.ca
Availability: In stock
Description:14 artists include a brief biography, the most representative work and a gallery of their best work with step-by-steps on how to create the work. The last chapter features a who’s who in the industry or "Tree of Japanese Comickers" and information about the art materials used by each artist along with a glossary of terms unique to Japanese comic/anime illustrations.
Review: This is not a cookie cutter How to Draw Manga book. Infact it doesn't teach you how to draw anything. It does reveal how the artists render their art from beginning to end and provide information about what media they use though. The illustrations also make excellent style based references but it's mostly eye candy.
Overall opinion in one sentence. I wouldn't say it was a serious source for learning.

~*~

To be continued. I am absolutely beat.
I have a list of the books I own and use over in my mentee thread if you're curious.  

[Viceregal]

Title: Japanese Comickers 2
Author(s): Comickers Magazine
ISBN: 0060833300
Price: $20.79 CDN at chapters.indigo.ca
Availability: In Stock
Discription:This book profiles twelve Japanese and Korean artists working in anime and manga -- all of whom eagerly discuss their work and share their thoughts on this incredible and increasingly popular genre. Some featured artists use digital tools to create their work, while others work in more traditional media.
Review: It is very much like the first book of the same name but with different artists. It has a lot of delicious eye candy in it as well as some more tips on how an artist conceptualises and colors their work.
Overall opinion in one sentence. It's more for something pretty to look at then a learning tool in my opinion.

Title: Comic Artists - Asia: Manga Manhwa Manhua
Author(s): Rika Sugiyama
ISBN: 0060589248
Price: $19.10 CDN at chapters.indigo.ca
Availability: In Stock
Description: The book introduces the work of a dozen promising young artists who are non-professional or semi-professional in Japan, Korea and Hong Kong.Each artist profile includes an interview, providing insight into how they work and how they regard their craft as well as a gallery of their breathtaking imagery. and step-by-step or idea sources how they work.
Review:This one offers more variation in terms of style. Again the book is mostly eye candy though their brief lessons are insightful.
Overall opinion in one sentence. Again like the other two I wouldn't say this was a good source of learning but it is inspirational.

Title: Manga Matrix: Create Unique Characters Using the Japanese Matrix System
Author(s): Hiroyoshi Tsukamoto
ISBN: 0060893419
Price: $20.79 CDN at chapters.indigo.ca
Availability: In Stock
Description:Using this unique Japanese system, artists can plot and cross-section elements on a matrix diagram to create an infinite number of original characters, creatures, and multiformed beasts. Angels, demons, dragons, monsters, and robots are all included in this book, along with descriptions of costumes and personalities for each.
Review: This is not a cookie-cutter How to Draw Manga book. While it is apparently targetted at a manga artists the lessons can be applied to any style and can even be used by writers. The "matrix" is really just a pundit square where you match up animals, personalities, ect to form new characters. It discusses dynamic character creation from start to finish. It is a good tool for helping teach artists, roleplayers and writers a little creative flexibility.
Overall opinion in one sentence. I personally feel that it was worth the purchase.

EDIT: adding more content here, to avoid spammage

Title:Comic Artists Photo Reference People & Poses (with CD rom)
Author(s):Buddy Scalera
ISBN:1581807589
Price:$20.45CDN at chapters.indigo.ca
Availability: N/A
Discription:The only photo reference book created especially for comic artists with over 500 color images of beautiful women and muscled men in poses comic artists need. With a CD-ROM featuring 500 additional poses!
Review: The book is fantastically useful and perfect for artists who need to see the body but don't want to see the genitals. (lol!) The featured woman isn't a fitness model or a magazine model - infact she looks refreshingly normal. That's right - she has some meat on her bones and a nice softness to her curves. I havn't looked at the CD yet, what's availible in the book has been valuable enough. It offers dynamic poses, hard to find poses like loading a gun, drinking, flying, hand to hand combat and romance. It has a few involving capes - giving you a good feel of how cloth drapes ect.
Overall opinion in one sentence: A needed resource that was well worth the purchase.