Customer Reviews

Artist's Manual: A Complete Guide to Paintings and Drawing Materials and techniques

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have thumbed through many an art technique book, and have found many lacking. This one is great! Not only is it a feast for the eyes with gorgeous illustrations, but I learned things I never even heard of before! It is a wonderful way to introduce yourself to many different mediums and how to use them, including oils, watercolore, acrylic, gouache, colored pencil, glazing, ink... and plenty more...Very, very helpful. I read it all the time. A valuable overview of art technique and all the goodies available at your local art supply. I love this book!

This book gives good, basic descriptions of a wide variety of drawing and painting media and techniques. The photographs and illustrations are easy to follow. The organization is well thought out. However, if you are looking for a substitute for Ralph Mayer's ...... "The Artist's Handbook of Materials and Techniques," this book will not have the technical depth you may want.

This manual is essential and practical, the informative text is very clear, it has hundreds explanations about techniques, composition, color, artist's materials and tools. And also is superbly ilustrated. If you are a professional artist so improve your knowledge with this book, if you are a beginner, here is everything you need to start your work.

I am an adult who recently decided to venture into the world of art. I happened upon this book and after rifling through it, decided to buy it. It has been invaluable to someone like me, who knew nothing about supports (canvas, paper, etc.), and the different painting and drawing mediums. It's a great starter book!

I received this book as a gift, but I have been eyeing it for a few months now. I have looked through this book a hundred times now in the few days that I've had it. It has all the information to answer all of your questions that you could EVER think to ask. With out this book I would barely know where to begin in my studies. It has information on supports and painting media covering oil painting and water colors and acrylic. It has information on drawing painting, everything you could think to draw with, there are techniques in this book for it! And even as wonderful as that sounds, it still gives information on how to go about choosing your subject, and where you should put your studio. I absolutely love this book. The pages are so crisp and clean now, but not for much longer.

I'm incredibly impressed with this book. Anyone with a twinkling of creativity could pick it up and begin almost anything. I found this in a bookstore and vowed I would own it. It's beautifully photographed and illustrated as one might expect, but often can't find in art guides. The text is right on the money. In my opinion it's the most comprehensive guide out there and it doesn't just cater to beginners, which is why I was so taken with it. I've been dabbling in the arts since I could walk and wanted something that might cover some of the mediums that I haven't experimented with yet.

The chapters are divided into: Supports, Drawing Media, Painting Media, Color and Composition, Subjects and Themes, The Studio, Reference. I was especially impressed with the Reference section, as this was one of the first general art guides I'd found that carried health and safety info as well as a list of suppliers. The artwork examples in each of the sections are really well chosen. If I were an art teacher, I would make this text required reading material. It's intelligently written without being dry, boring, or patronizing. And never overly simplistic--a huge bonus if you're tired of pat-on-the-head guides.

This is a good book to become familiar with a wide range of materials and basic techniques. Appearance wise, it is heads and shoulders above the competition.

However, the text itself is more of a dummy's guide to art materials. Essentially, it gives enough information for someone to be able to communicate effectively with others on the subjects. It gives some basic instructions, which are perfect for someone with little background in the subjects.

I would really give this text two scores, one on the body of content, and another on its helpfulness to amatures. The scores would probably be a 3 and a 5.

I'm a true novice, a friend once said I like to "color". She may be right!

I find this book informative (basic info for people like me who didn't go to art class in school) and inspirational. I love the art in it and the collage with art materials on the cover and throughout the book is stunning. A must even for us non-artists!

I bought the book a few years back and still dig it out when I feel the urge to be creative. That to me is a sign of a good book! It is a book that I look at over and over again, and doesn't get "dated".

This is an incredable book! It has so much info about drawing and painting in watercolor, oil, and acrylic. It has everything from the basic pallet to the materials and brushes, to the techniques. A definate must buy!

Essential, practical and inspirational, this is an ultimate how-to, hands-on artist's manual. With 256 pages filled with clear informative text, 234 color drawings, and 523 color photos, this book is a pure visual treat for readers. The photographs and illustrations are easy to follow.

Concentrating on partnership between personal vision and technical ability, this book will provide you with insight on craftsmanship needed to produce a work of art - from support preparation (canvases--how to stretch, prime, size, and tone) to the final steps of protecting, matting and framing art. For drawing media advice is presented for colored pencils, charcoal, cont crayon, pastels, markers, pen and ink.

The chapters are divided into: Supports, Drawing Media, Painting Media, Color and Composition, Subjects and Themes, The Studio, Reference. For more advanced approach see Ralph Mayer's "The Artist's Handbook of Materials and Techniques."

Julia Shpak
Author of "Power of Plentiful Wisdom". Available on Amazon.
For more reviews visit my blog "Julia's Library" at: ForwardQuoteDOTcom