Automotive Holiday Deals HolEdit Shop Women's Dresses Learn more nav_sap_SWP_6M_fly_beacon Indie for the Holidays egg_2015 All-New Amazon Fire TV Luxury Beauty Gifts Under $100 Street Art Project Amazon Gift Card Offer aos aos aos Amazon Echo Starting at $49.99 Kindle Voyage AntMan Outdoors Gift Guide on Amazon.com Deals

Enter your mobile number or email address below and we'll send you a link to download the free Kindle App. Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

  • Apple
  • Android
  • Windows Phone
  • Android

To get the free app, enter your email address or mobile phone number.
Download to your computer
Kindle Cloud Reader
Facebook Twitter Pinterest
Buy New
$9.72
Qty:1
  • List Price: $10.95
  • Save: $1.23 (11%)
FREE Shipping on orders over $35.
Only 12 left in stock (more on the way).
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.
The Elements of Dynamic S... has been added to your Cart
Want it Thursday, Dec. 10? Order within and choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details
Ship to:
Select a shipping address:
Select a shipping address:
To see addresses, please
or
Please enter a valid US zip code.
or

Sorry, there was a problem.

There was an error retrieving your Wish Lists. Please try again.

Sorry, there was a problem.

List unavailable.
Have one to sell? Sell on Amazon
Flip to back Flip to front
Listen Playing... Paused   You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more
See all 3 images

The Elements of Dynamic Symmetry (Dover Art Instruction) Paperback – June 1, 1967

by Jay Hambidge (Author)
3.9 out of 5 stars 17 customer reviews
See all 16 formats and editions Hide other formats and editions
Price
New from Used from
Kindle
"Please retry"
$10.69
— —
Hardcover
"Please retry"
—
— $12.95
Paperback
"Please retry"
$9.72
$4.99 $0.01
Unknown Binding
"Please retry"
—
$8.74 —
Get it before Christmas. Select delivery options in checkout.
Deals in Books
$9.72 FREE Shipping on orders over $35. Only 12 left in stock (more on the way). Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.

Frequently Bought Together

  • The Elements of Dynamic Symmetry (Dover Art Instruction)
  • +
  • Geometry of Design, Revised and Updated (Design Briefs)
  • +
  • The Power of Limits: Proportional Harmonies in Nature, Art, and Architecture
Total price: $48.84
Buy the selected items together
NO_CONTENT_IN_FEATURE
Hero Quick Promo
Up to 85% Off Over 1,000 Kindle Books
Visit our Holiday Deals store and save up to 85% on more than 1,000 Kindle books. These deals are valid until December 31, 2015. Learn more

Product Details

  • Series: Dover Art Instruction
  • Paperback: 174 pages
  • Publisher: Dover Publications (June 1, 1967)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0486217760
  • ISBN-13: 978-0486217765
  • Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.3 x 0.5 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #811,068 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 55 people found the following review helpful
A bit arcane, but very useful for artists and designers!
By A Customer on February 6, 1999
Format: Paperback
Hambidge writes about design principles found in nature which can be applied to the work of the artist and designer. Since the time of the ancient Egyptians, these compositional techniques have been used to give proportion, symmetry, and beauty to buildings, sculpture, paintings, etc. Because of their complexity and rigor, the principles are no longer taught widely, but they are useful for any artist or designer interested in making compositions which appeal to humans' unconscious sense of proportion. The book is old, and a little difficult to understand, but Dover has reproduced it well.
Comment Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Great Detail!
By Sheila McFather on April 22, 2009
Format: Paperback
I purchased this book because an artist friend of mine was using the term "dynamic symmetry" while evaluating my paintings for an art exhibit in Colorado. He concluded that my paintings were of outstanding quality, as he could see that I had used "dynamic symmetry" in all my compositions. I did not know that term, so I guess this is something I have done intuitively for many years without even realizing it. An artist friend and mentor of his was very much into this concept for his own paintings, and would "mark" his surface before beginning any drawings or applying the first stroke of paint to a canvas. Even though I have a degree in Art Education, I have never heard anyone use this term before, so I did a search and found this book. I am also very much into detail, so, fortunately, the book offers great explanation and disgrams of all the different types of symmetry that can be seen in both the natural and creative worlds. I find this book to be highly intriguing, yet very technical, so find a quiet place and be prepared to apply a great deal of concentration while reading it. I am still in the process of reading this book. I may try to "conscientiously" apply this "dynamic symmetry" to some of my artwork, once I get it all figured out, though I prefer painting intuitively. I hope this newfound knowledge will not cause me to be overly analytical when creating my own artwork or enjoying other artists' creations, but the book truly is fascinating. P.S. Break out your straight edge and compass. Doing a little drawing will help you understand these concepts more easily.
Comment Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Dry and rather confusing, but a good supplement to other books
By Amazon Customer VINE VOICE on September 3, 2011
Format: Paperback
The concept of Phi (The Golden Ratio) is the foundation of classical art and design. They're somewhat simple principles that can yield a complex array of artistic applications. Elements of Dynamic Symmetry is full of useful knowledge on this subject, but is definitely not for beginners.

If you're unfamiliar with Phi and the Golden Ratio by no means should you start with this book. The writing is very dense and confusing, with little more than dry diagrams to illustrate points. And it doesn't help that the author constantly refers to the Golden Rectangle by the more arcane term "Rectangle of the Whirling Squares."

It does go into more detail than other books I've read on the subject. Even if a fair bit of it was flying over my head I did learn some geometric relationships and ways to construct forms that I hadn't seen before.

The actual artistic (or even scientific) application of all this is effectively nonexistent in this book. In the end you'll know many ways to construct and arrange these elements, but have no idea what to do with them.

I'd personally recommend Geometry of Design, Revised and Updated (Design Briefs) as a good starter book on learning this stuff and using this book to extend your knowledge later on.
Comment Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Excellent Learning Text
By J. Clark on November 4, 2013
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
The ideas discussed in this book have become paramount to how I approach graphic design. It is very mathy, so don't go into this as an artist and expect it will make any sense to you if you aren't comfortable with geometry, numbers, ratios, and the like.
Comment Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
5 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Not Dynamic in Today's Sense but Visually Helpful
By Let's Compare Options Preptorial TOP 500 REVIEWER on May 21, 2013
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
For the price, artists who want to study a slice of the elementary math behind projective geometry and their static creations could do a lot worse. The author (in 1919!) discovered that the Greeks used "dynamic" in Geometry to refer to ratio and proportion, which pleased him since he coined that term for his book before discovering this, but the actual translation of the word (Dunamaei) is closer to "power" -- as in X^2, bisecting the square, etc.

A LOT of this little book is about spirals, proportions and bisecting rectangles. Today, "dynamic" systems in math refer to differential equations and time series that DO mimic nature-- as in population curves, birth/death sims, etc. (technically, point variance with time). This is NOT the use in this book-- symmetry is actually pretty static in the sense used here. Of course there also are over 600 primary articles on Wiki starting with the word "dynamic" so much has changed since 1919! Back then, "dynamic" in art/math meant a type of mental "animation" where, for example, repeated symmetrical bisections could produce a "golden ratio" spiral, etc.

Nevertheless, I'm always pleased when Dover or any other publisher takes the risk of publishing ANY math that connects to visuals. And in fact, this one is easily comprehensible by an average High School audience. For example, it doesn't look at symmetry in today's terms at all (Group Theory), and actually doesn't even seem to realize that symmetry is the ability to rotate without changing the visual! For more advanced, but still inexpensive math on symmetry, try Chapter 7 in Stewart: Concepts of Modern Mathematics.Read more ›
2 Comments Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse

Most Recent Customer Reviews

Confusing

hard to understand, but will keep on trying.

Published 6 months ago by Cindy
The Best

Great book

Published 10 months ago by mgm
I'm taking away so much great info from this book

incredible knowledge! I'm taking away so much great info from this book. It will change how I plan art from now on.

Published 13 months ago by Amazon Customer
Four Stars

Thank you!

Published 15 months ago by Kathleen ROmanishan
Elements of Symmetry

Great book for a reference in the study of symmetry for the artist or anyone just reviewing art work. There are many examples, more than I had expected

Published 19 months ago by Martoni48
Difficult to me

To others this book is easy to understand, for me it was a challenge. I have read several chapters at least once to understand it. Read more

Published 23 months ago by Deb
Elements of Dynamic Symmetry

This copy was purchased for a friend. I have had my copy for at least 30 years, and have used it for a serious
reference for the duration. Read more

Published on August 31, 2013 by Taktime
Great

Most interesting and refreshing to basically review basic math as it relates to art and its art forms, very suser friendly

Published on August 23, 2013 by Robert Breton
Entirely theoretical... no artistic application discussed

This book is entirely theoretical on the issue of dynamic symmetry. And be warned, its manner is that of a geometry or mathematics treatise, not a discussion of the aesthetic... Read more

Published on August 6, 2011 by OhYeah
Pointless!

This book explains in great detail the concepts of Dynamic Symmetry, but from a practical point of view, teaches you nothing. Read more

Published on February 22, 2011 by Graphic Lunatic

Set up an Amazon Giveaway

Amazon Giveaway allows you to run promotional giveaways in order to create buzz, reward your audience, and attract new followers and customers. Learn more
The Elements of Dynamic Symmetry (Dover Art Instruction)
This item: The Elements of Dynamic Symmetry (Dover Art Instruction)
Price: $9.72
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com
Set up a giveaway

There's a problem loading this menu right now.

Learn more about Amazon Prime.



Want to discover more products? Check out these pages to see more: dynamics dover, scale symmetry