Product Description

2008 Association of American University Presses Award for Jacket Design

Author interview on Brian Lehrer Live
Podcast with KERA in North Texas

The Art of Ill Will is a comprehensive history of American political cartooning, featuring over two hundred illustrations. From the colonial period to contemporary cartoonists like Pat Oliphant and Jimmy Margulies, Donald Dewey highlights these artists uncanny ability to encapsulate the essence of a situation and to steer the public mood with a single drawing and caption. Taking advantage of unlimited access to The Granger Collection, which holds thousands of the most significant works of Thomas Nast and the other early American cartoonists, The Art of Ill Will provides a survey of American history writ large, capturing the voice of the peopleᾹhopeful, angry, patriotic, frustratedᾹin times of peace and war, prosperity and depression.

Dewey tracks the cartoonists role as a jester with a serious brief. Ulysses S. Grant credited cartoonists with helping him win his election and was not the only president to feel that way; political bosses and even state legislatures have sought to ban cartoons when they endangered entrenched interests; General George Patton once promised to throw beloved wartime cartoonist Bill Mauldin in jail if he continued to spread dissent. (Mauldin later won the Pulitzer Prize.)

Customer Reviews (3)

Not the best, but not bad
I've been a big fan of political cartooning for a long time, dating from reading Pogo in the daily papers back in the 1950s, and acquiring Bill Mauldin's two published wartime collections when I was in college. Dewey is a general writer of popular nonfiction, not a specialist in this field, but he does a pretty good job of surveying the history of the editorial cartoonist's art in U.S. history, from Ben Franklin and Paul Revere and Thomas Nast to Herblock and Pat Oliphant and Gary Trudeau. He seeks not only to present telling examples of each artist's work but also each man's influence, why those being lampooned sometimes tried to bring pressure to bear (Patton hated Mauldin and many papers relegated Doonesbury to the editorial section under pressure from advertisers), and how the public's attitudes changed over time. There are some reservations, however. First, not all artists lived or worked in New York or Washington, but you would think so from the selection in this book. Second, he doesn't seem to quite "get it" when he's discussing certain periods of American history, especially the age of imperialist expansion at the turn of the 20th century. (Maybe because, as noted, he's not an historian.) Many of the drawings in the very lengthy introduction are too small to read the text, but don't worry -- they all seem to appear again in the body of the book, which is divided into thematic chapters.

Artless
A very good title, a very good subject, but ultimately a mediocre book.

Donald Dewey starts strong about the early history of political cartoons, but then fades into boring personal views in his overlong "Introduction."

The actual cartoons are the guts of this book, and most interesting on their own. Unfortunately the author is not a real historian and this collection suffers from a lack balance. For example, very few local editorial/political cartoons are presented in the chapter on "Local and Domestic Politics": most are from the L.A. or New York papers.

I think American political cartoons are more important than does Mr. Dewey and hope that this subject is taken up by another author in a more comprehensive and positive way.

Wonderful. And yet...
This is a fantastic collection of political cartoons wonderfully presented. A beautiful coffee table book.

But, upon reflection, all this celebration and I ended up with a question instead of answers.

What have political cartoons ever done?

On second thought, maybe I do have an answer because the answer is nothing. Political cartoons appeal to the converted but have never converted. Political cartoons amuse those who agree and anger those who don't. But can anyone name a single political cartoon that has changed anything?

Even the politicians who have tried to pass laws against political cartoons have BEEN elected despite those cartoons.

So, while this collection is very interesting and historical, I have to say that the entire field of political cartoons amounts to absolutely nothing. ... Read more

Product Description
In the tradition of the smash hits Toy Story, A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, and The Incredibles comes the newest film from Pixar Animation Studios, Cars, the story of a race car who learns that it's not all about the fast lane. (In fact, life begins at the off-ramp.) Offering an insider's view into the artistic development of Cars, this gorgeously illustrated book celebrates the whimsical yet painstaking research that fueled Pixar's directors, production designers, and artists. Fascinating storyboards, full-color pastels, on-the-road snapshots, and hundreds of character sketches reveal the origins of Pixar's charming and clever automobile-based world. Gleaned from the team's trips to racetracks and down the famed Route 66, The Art of Cars is as colorful as its memorable story and characters, making this book -- the only movie tie-in for adults -- a spirited ride down the road of a masterful animated feature film. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (20)

Creativity On Wheels!
Anyone interested in Animation and Character Creation will enjoy this book as I did. I always enjoy seeing the Pencil sketches before the final scene is approved. This is where you see the Animator's Creative Spirit which is the basis for the Final Film.

Great book.
If you're a "Cars" and a Pixar fan like me, this book is a must.The artwork and design that goes into their films is fantastic, and it's great to get a glimpse into the earlier, developmental stages.

This book contains a great sampling of both the early and finished works that went into "Cars,"as well as a peak at how the story came about.Beautiful book, simple as that.

Wonderful Journey Through Research and Art
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R2GX5U2BQRCI62 From John Lasseter's foreword:
It also became a journey with its own reward, one we wanted to share with you in this book. -end-

With that, the book brings you onto a fantastic journey on the creative process of creating Cars, the movie close to John Lasseter's heart.

The few pages of stories separating the art let you understand how research was done, what the artists learn and ideas they want to bring across to the audience.

This book is filled with plenty of concept art drawings. Pixar artists draw hundreds of drawings each day but only selected ones were included into the book due to the limited number of pages. Every page is packed with art.

Also included are storyboards, architectural drawings, landscape drawings, lighting studies, car decor sketches, photos from their road trips.

This is a wonderful selection of drawings pulled off directly from the drawing board.

(More pictures are available on my blog. Just visit my Amazon profile for the link.)

Tha Art of Cars
I was pleased to have this book be in prime condition when it arrived. The price was excellent. The order came in a timely fashion.

The Art of books by Pixar are wonderful. For the artist these books give a great background into how the art brought the story alive.

I highly recommend these books, especially for those who love Pixar.

Beautifully compiled book of the art and animation process
If you enjoy learning the behind the scenes process that goes into many of the animated and computer animated films of today, you will love this book.

It shows step by step the drawings and thoughts that went into each character in Radiator Springs and also the creation of all the backdrops. From the smallest signs and orange cones to the racetrack and beyond, you can see how it all evolved.

It's nicely bound with a great jacket cover.Definitely a nice coffee table book your guests will enjoy leafing through or the perfect addition to the library of any art and animation lover. ... Read more

Product Description
All the Art That's Fit to Print reveals the true story of the world's first Op-Ed page, a public platform that& mdash;in 1970& mdash;prefigured the Internet blogosphere. Not only did theNew York Times's nonstaff bylines shatter tradition, but the pictures were revolutionary. Unlike anything ever seen in a newspaper, Op-Ed art became a globally influential idiom that reached beyond narrative for metaphor and changed illustration's very purpose and potential. Art director Jerelle Kraus, whose thirteen-year Op-Ed tenure far exceeds that of any other art director or editor, unveils a riveting account of working at theTimes. Her insider anecdotes include the reasons why artist Saul Steinberg hated theTimes, why editor Howell Raines stopped the presses to kill a feature byDoonesbury's Garry Trudeau, and why reporter Syd Schanburg& mdash;whose story was told in the movieThe Killing Fields& mdash;stated that he would travel anywhere to see Kissinger hanged, as well as Kraus's tale of surviving two and a half hours alone with the dethroned peerless outlaw, Richard Nixon.All the Art features a satiric portrayal of John McCain, a classic cartoon of Barack Obama by Jules Feiffer, and a drawing of Hillary Clinton and Obama by Barry Blitt. But when Frank Rich wrote a column discussing Hillary Clinton exclusively, theTimes refused to allow Blitt to portray her. Nearly any notion is palatable in prose, yet editors perceive pictures as a far greater threat. Confucius underestimated the number of words an image is worth; the thousand-fold power of a picture is also its curse.Op-Ed's subject is the world, and its illustrations are created by the world's finest graphic artists. The 142 artists whose work appears in this book hail from thirty nations and five continents, and their 324 pictures-gleaned from a total of 30,000-reflect artists' common drive to communicate their creative visions and to stir our vibrant cultural-political pot. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (22)

All the Art That's Fit to Print (And Some That Wasn't) Inside the The New York Times Op-Ed Page.
No one tells it like it is until now in this up-close view of what really goes on inside The Times. Jerelle, a modern Renaissance woman (writer, designer, artist), is uniquely qualified to enthrall you with a treasure trove of visual & verbal information. The only comprehensive, insightful anthology & chronicle of the most exciting years at the NYT, All the Art was a daunting endeavor to undertake; you'll be so glad Jerelle met the challenge. I know I am!

Incredible Collection and Celebration of Illustration
Jerelle Kraus does a wonderful job in showcasing and exploring the art and talented artists whose work have appeared in The New York Times in her book "All the Art That's Fit to Print". All The Art shows both the successes and failures that artists and art directors go through in a respectful and interesting way that I have to recommend this book to anyone who loves newspapers and illustration.

I enjoyed very much, both the book and prose as well as the quality of the work and insights to each illustration. Jerelle presents the viewer with a complex collection of work that needs multiple readings in order to appreciate the effort that goes into a single image. For example, the chapter "Peerless Outlaw" shows insight and complexity about Richard Nixon in such a human and unexpected manner that I can't help but believe will change your views and perceptions.

If you are someone who enjoys looking at art with meaning, then this book is needed as both a collection of work and a history lesson on Op-Ed illustrations. It will provide you with hours of valuable insights not only on the illustrations but the artists who produce the images and the art directors and editors who .

If you are an artist or student of art who loves editorial illustration and wonder where it has gone, then Jerelle has put together a book that will help define and record the shifts in editorial art by some of the best artists in our country.

If you just love political art or newspapers than this back story will give you a new insight to an area that has yet to be explored.

Wonderful booka Must read for burgeoning Illustrators!
I purchased this book after an artist friend of mine (Elaine Clayton-Boughton) mentioned it. Elaine had done some editorial illustrations for the NYTIMES and I infact very early on in my career did a couple. We both remember walking the halls to the art department at this formidable publishing establishment. But to read about the goings on behind the scenes at the New York Times during the "age of golden illustration" in the 70's and 80's in this book by veteran art director Jerelle Kraus is a real adventure. Ms. Kraus's breezy writing style brings you back to the moment, reading about famed illustrators like Brad Holland and what illustrations were banned from publication and why, is fascinating.

Now that illustration is rising to become a respected profession again, I would recommend all art students, art school teachers and up-and-coming illustrators buy and read this book! It should be a staple in every illustrator's library!

Suzanne Urban

work for the Times and for all time
As an artist who once worked with Jerelle Kraus at the Times, way back in the Reagan era, I can say that she was a fiercely independent art director, with courageous political convictions and an outstanding aesthetic sensibility. Her use of famous artists as well as little-known American and European illustrators made the op-ed page look classic as well as classy, and invited readers to appreciate the fine art of illustration as they contemplated the meaning of the news of the day.The book is a wonderful collection of anecdotes and artwork of the highest caliber--David Levine, David Suter, Andrzej Dudzinski, and a host of artistic geniuses and luminaries of the illustration world.Anybody who appreciates symbolic thinking and the sensitive and intelligent use of black line on white paper will love this book.

Should be absorbed by every college student!!
Finally, a real insider's perspective on the most powerful (for good and ill) newspaper in history!! Had Jerelle Kraus been in charge of the rest of the NYT instead of just directing the art there for 30 years, our planet would be SOOOOO much healthier right now in so many ways. Ahhh, to dream...

Scott Pellegrino ... Read more

Product Description
Former Disney animator offers expert advice—with over 700 illustrations—on drawing animals both realistically and as caricatures. Use of line, brush technique, establishing mood, conveying action, much more. Construction drawings reveal development process in creating animal figures. Many chapters on drawing individual animal forms—dogs, cats, horses, deer, cows, foxes, kangaroos, etc. 53 halftones. 706 line illustrations.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (24)

Exactly What I Wanted
This book isn't going to be any good to you if you're looking for hardcore muscle/bone structure, but if that's the case a veterinary textbook will probably serve you just fine. What this DOES have is basic form and MOVEMENT, which is the key to believable, natural animals in my opinion. Not many words in this one, but not many are needed-- what words are there are extremely insightful and helpful. Cannot recommend this enough!

Amazing!
The book is a real masterpiece. The drawings are great refference to any artist, and includes even some animation. Recomend to any animal artist or creature designer.

Best book for animal drawing
If you want to learn to draw animals from memory, that's the book to get. I bought a couple others books on the subject since, but i always come back to this one. I find this book the equivalent of the Andrew Loomis series for human anatomy.

Love it!
I ordered this book last year, and I love it! I use it when I need references for anatomy. There are tons of visual references, and not too much explaining. It also includes information on caricature, and shows how to draw animals in motion. Well worth the price!

Best book hands down for animal drawing
As an animal artist simply put, Ken Hultgren is my hero and this is the best book on the subject by far.While there may not be a lot of words and the coverage may not be as expansive, when you study animals you only need to understand how to get to the most basic shapes and forms.On this note, Hultgren is the master in this area.His accuracy in pen and construction is unparalleled and even though I've spent years drawing animal anatomy, my construction hasn't even begun to approach that of hultgren's abilities.

The detail and execution he gives to every animal more than makes up for any percieved lack of species.So if there's any book you have to get to draw animals, get this one.

And lastly if you want to see what Hultgren's art has done, go to deviantart and look up whisperpntr.While I do not have a lot of old work to show, you can see a clear before and after difference.I credit it all to this man. ... Read more

Product Description
Like jazz and baseball, cartoons are an indelible, indigenous part of American culture. Cartoon America celebrates 250 years of American cartooning with an unprecedented selection of original art by the best, most accomplished creators in the history of comics illustration, including Thomas Nast, Charles Schulz, Winsor McCay, Jules Feiffer, and many, many others. With accompanying essays written exclusively for this volume by such luminaries as John Updike, Art Spiegelman, and Chris Ware, the book includes many firsts, earliests, and one-of-a-kinds, including cells from classic animated films, vintage editorial cartoons, newspaper strips, comic books, and much more. Published in conjunction with the Library of Congress’s landmark exhibition of original art from the collection of cartoonist J. Arthur Wood, Jr., this is a treasure trove for the comics and cartoon enthusiast and an authoritative survey of this distinctly American art form. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Every cartoon tells a story
A fascinating sampling of the cartoon artifacts in the Library of Congress.Clearly this is not meant to be a two hundred year comprehensive history of this popular art form though the book's editor Harry Katz kicks things off with his chapter: A Brief History of American Cartooning.The rest of the colorful pages are essentially based round the original artwork the Library holds and I was surprised by how much they have, like the 1871 woodblocks used by Thomas Nast for his Harper's Weekly illustrations, a Sunday supplement page of George Herriman's Krazy Kat from 1941 or a Herblock syndicated political cartoon from 1998.In fact the Library has one of the world's largest collections of cartoon and caricature original art which it has been acquiring since about 1840.A recent acquisition was the Art Wood collection of 32,00 originals by 3,000 artists, he also contributed a chapter to the book.

One of the main strengths of the book are chapters from the thirty-five contributors, a rich selection of professions like David Levine on caricatures, Art Spiegelman on the Lionel Feininger's Kin-der-Kids and Wee Willie Winkie's World, Trina Robbins on Rose O'Neill and Nell Brinkley, Paul Conrad on Herblock or John Canemaker on animation art in the Library collection.Each contributor's essay is backed up with reproductions of original art or printed pages.

As a sampling of American cartoon art I thought this was a fascinating look at the subject (though a bit disappointing that there is no bibliography for further study) and handsomely presented, too.My compliments to designer Laura Lindgren for presenting so much visual material in a very sympathetic way.

It's worth remembering that all the wonderful American art in this book is held by the Library of Congress for the benefit of everyone and if you can't make it to Washington their popular website means it is only a click away.

***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.

Very attractive book
First, I want to comment on Englund's review, which I think is too harsh.This book is about CARTOONS.The sub-title which includes the word "comic" is indeed misleading.This book is not about comic books, it's about cartoons, mostly political but also gag cartoons and comic strips.There is one short chapter on animation (and I agree that it's out of place), and one short chapter on comic books (ditto), but the other 36 chapters are interesting, and the drawings are very attractive and representative of the art.Anything from the Yellow Kid and Blondie, through Clare Briggs, Charles Scultz, and James Thurber, to Jeff MacNelly and Herblock.If you like cartoons, if you like the art, it's a great book to read and browse, and it will be a great book 20 years from now just as well.

Another Book That Fails to Do Justice to the Comic Genre
What a disappointment ! ! ! With all the books published over the past fifty years on comic art in general, one would would expect more useful reference material to exist on the subject.Other than the publications of Brian Walker, Bill Blackbeard, Richard Marchall, and precious few others, most authors and editors, including those who produced this volume, fail to understand that not all art that is described by the terms comic and cartoon appeals to the same audience and thatthese various art forms are not all appropriately discussed in the same book.As an inevitable result we get books which do not fulfill the expectations of those interested in any of the loosely related fields.

Comic strip art and comic book art are closely related -- the initial and constant appeal of both lie in the existence of continuing characters who develope over time, thereby becoming small parts of the lives of the readers.Animation art can be similarly ingrained into the viewer's psyche, as the films that are the ultimate product of such art are viewed and reviewed over the course of many years.But it is hard to do justice to both comic stiip/book art and animation art in the same book, given the very different manners by which the two forms of art are produced.Political cartoons are even less compatible with discussions of comic strip/book art, since they serve a very different purpose and are intended for a markedly different audience.Very few comic strip or comic book fans have more than a passing interest in political cartoons.

Few readers seeing the title "Cartoon America" would expect a volume wherein at least half the text and illustrations deal with political cartoons.Aside from the reproduction of some important comic strip originals, this book will probably fall short of almost everyone's expectations.The animation and comic book chapters are particularly weak, not because of the commentary but because the examples of such art in the Library of Congress (specifically the Art Wood collection) are not at all distinguished.Even the chapters devoted to comic strip art are somewhat disappointing.It is becoming increasingly apparent that the vaunted Wood Collection was neither as broad nor as deep as most people assumed and that a large number of the thousands of items in that collection consisted of political cartoons, not comic art.Perhaps the collection would have appeared more impressive if it had been presented through serparate books on the various subjects. It is too bad that we have been given just another in a long line of books that fail to do justice to any of the art forms because they are lumped together in what is an inherently inapropriate mix.

Craig Englund

Cartoon America:Comic Art in the Library of Congress
I'm sure this is a great book, but I could read neither the mouseprint text nor see much of the cartoons. The unwieldy size made a manifier hard to use so I gave up and dumped it at the library.

Aiming High
This is a handsome book, covering the entire history of our country as seen by the critics with the least restraints - the political cartoonists and the comic strip cartoonists. It aims to be comprehensive, and it is, and it includes some wondeful text by people who have spent their lives in the field.

Buy it for your coffee table, but read it before you put it there. ... Read more

Product Description
The book that Janet Maslin of The New York Times has called "indispensable" and "a transfixing study of American mores and manners that happens to incorporate boundless laughs, too" is finally available in paperback—fully updated and featuring a brand new introduction by Adam Gopnik.

Organized by decade, with commentary by some of the magazine's finest writers, this landmark collection showcases the work of the hundreds of talented artists who have contributed cartoons over the course ofThe New Yorker's eight-two-year history. From the early cartoons of Peter Arno, George Price and Charles Addams to the cutting-edge work of Alex Gregory, Matthew Diffee and Bruce Eric Kaplan (with stops along the way for the genius of Charles Barsotti, Roz Chast, Jack Ziegler, George Booth, and many others), the art collected here forms, as David Remnick puts it in his Foreword, "the longest-running popular comic genre in American life."

Throughout the book, brief overviews of each era's predominant themes—from the Depression and nudity to technology and the Internet, highlight various genres of cartoons and shed light on our pastimes and preoccupations. Brief profiles and mini-portfolios spotlight the work of key cartoonists, including Arno, Chast, Ziegler, and others.

The DVD-ROM included with the book is what really makes the "Complete Cartoons" complete. Compatible with most home computers and easily browsable, the disk contains a mind-boggling 70,363 cartoons, indexed in a variety of ways. Perhaps you'd like to find all the cartoons by your favorite artist. Or maybe you'd like to look up the cartoons that ran the week you were born, or all of the cartoons on a particular subject. Of course, you can always begin at the beginning, February 21, 1925, and experience the unprecedented pleasure of reading through every single cartoon ever published in The New Yorker.

Enjoy this one-of-a-kind protrait of American life over the past eight decades, as captured by the talented pens and singular outlooks of the masters of the cartoonist's art. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (79)

The Immortal New Yorker Cartoons
For those thinking of brightening up somebody's day for the years to come (provided that person has a sense of humor) this book falls nothing short of perfect. Rich with history (and a great intro.; despite what others might say) that special someone's coffee table will forever be the sanctuary of the party when things start to mellow down. Must buy!

Great collection
"The Complete Cartoons of the New Yorker" is a wonderful collection of consistently funny cartoons that, more times than not, make us laugh at our own short-sightedness and habits. My only complaint, and the only reason I didn't give this five stars, is that the resolution of the images on the included DVD-ROM is not that great. In some cases, it's a bit difficult to catch the "sight gag" in the illustration- unacceptable. Too bad- a little more care in this department would have made this a near-perfect volume.

A Phenomenal Resource - at an Excellent Price; But a Couple of Problems...
I've been quite a fan of cartooning for a number of years - from modern strips like the Far Side and Calvin & Hobbes to the classic cartoons of Esquire and the New Yorker, and of particular cartoonists (such as Peter Arno and, more recently, Charles Addams, of "The Addams Family" fame). I was searching one day for a book on New Yorker cartoons over the years, and was greatly pleased to have found this - "The Complete Cartoons of the New Yorker" is as good as its title suggests (up to 2006, that is).

Here's what is included: a hefty volume of phone-book proportions (670 pages) in large format (suitable for a coffee table or a good, sturdy bookshelf), on good, glossy, quality paper. In this book are collected a massive "best of" selection of New Yorker cartoons from 1925 on through 2006; additionally included are comments and biographies (usually 2-page spreads) on artists (Arno and Addams among them) as well as certain themes that continually crop up in the cartoons - television, for instance, or the space race.

This, however, is only scratching the surface. Within the front cover, in a little transparent plastic sleeve is a DVD-ROM disc, which contains each and every one of the more than 70,000 cartoons published in the New Yorker up through 2006. The cartoons are set up in a PDF format (no worries - if you don't have Adobe Acrobat, the disc allows you to download it) for easy reading and access.

I have very few qualms about the book itself; I am, however, a little disappointed with the DVD-ROM. Essentially, it isn't as easy to search for the cartoons as you might hope. The disc is broken down into decades, and those decades are broken down into specific years. As far as I've been able to ascertain, you can only search for the cartoons of a particular artist within a certain year - you can't, for instance, just type in "Sid Hoff" and come up with all of his cartoons ever published in the New Yorker; you have to find a particular year and search for him within it. While this may seem like a quibble (I mean, really, they're giving you all of their cartoons - for less than $30!) it is rather disappointing, and makes it difficulty to pick and choose what you want. Also, while the PDF format allows you to enlarge the cartoons, you can't make them much larger than 100% without them beginning to get fuzzy.

Overall, anyone interested in comic art, American culture, or a good, educated laugh will appreciate this book and this disc; those who are not very tech-savvy, however, may want to think twice.

great gift
i got this for my 20something son and he enjoys it.great conversation for a party.

Low resolution?
I have no idea what the other reviewers who see a "low resolution" image are talking about. The cartoons on the CD in PDF format and anyone who can run Adobe Reader can easily increase the zoom level. The pics are quite clear in all their glorious hilarity. The introductions for each decade are basic but to "get" some of the puns, one may need to research a bit into the parlance of that era especially those of us born a generation or two after the publication date. ... Read more

Product Description
Fun, step-by-step examples and instructions all but guarantee success for budding cartoonists! Starting with simple shapes and the most basic materials, professional cartoonist Steve Barr shows young artists the essential skills involved in combining shapes to make characters and objects, simplifying, and coloring them.

1-2-3 Draw Cartoon Aliens and Other Space Stuff includes general drawing tips, friendly alien heads and expressions in front and side view, bodies in different positions, space craft and planets and comets.

Steve Barr is an artist specializing in the illustration of children's books, board games, card decks and other educational products. He is also the author and illustrator of a nationally syndicated comic strip and the author of 1-2-3 Draw Cartoon People, 1-2-3 Cartoon Faces and 1-2-3 Draw Cartoon Animals. He lives in Columbus, North Carolina. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

easy, educational, and fun
The 1-2-3 Draw books are so much fun!I am 35 and still draw the same as when I was in grade school.My kids ages 9 and 7 are always are asking me to help them draw something but they draw better than me so I am no help at all!Now that we have these books, we all are learning the little tricks you need to know to be a better artist.It's simple, very clear and easy instructions to follow, fun AND everything turns out looking great!They'll be teaching their friends how to draw before they know it.I wish I would have had these when I was a kid. ... Read more

Product Description
An illustrated biography of a brilliant Canadian artist whose reputation has been hidden behind the familiar and beloved cartoon characters he designed - Bugs Bunny, Punkinhead, Elmer Fudd and Little Hiawatha, to name just a few. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Amazing book!
Thank you to Gene Waltz for researching and writing this book. Anyone interested in the history of animation *NEEDS* to read this book. We all hear tons about Chuck Jones, Tex Avery, Bob Clampett, Friz Freleng, McKimson etc. but few have probably heard of Charles Thorson and yet his contributions to animation were significant. Thorson was an absolutely fantastic character artist and illustrator as the color plates in the book so aptly show. The entire book is just extremely well put together making it a must-have, must-read item.

on Charles Thorson
This comprehensive book on the life of Charles Thorsen is proof of the sad affairs present in the early years of the animation studios. Charles worked in many studios during the 30's but his contributions to character design were never credited in the many books on animation that I have in my files. For some reason, producers didn't give adequate recognition to the many talented workers and designers in their employ. If you look at the credits in early Warner Bros. and Disney cartoons you'll find that in many cases only the producers took credit. Later, credits began to appear, but this practice seemed to last a lot longer at Disney, where many artists' whose work appeared in picture book form were not accorded credit even in fairly recent publications. At last Charles Thorson, through this book on his life, if finally receiving due credit for his contribution to the animation industry. ... Read more

Product Description
Easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions for creating cartoons, from character construction to comic strip illustration and basic animation. ... Read more

Product Description
Because people are captivated by the "human" traits in animals, especially those that make us laugh, animals have been an endless source of humor for cartoonists. We chuckle at the antics of Marmaduke and Garfield, recognizing in them amusing behavior in our own pets. We also find humor in more human-like characters such as the irascible Donald Duck and the gloomy Eyore because their personalities remind us of people we know. With their ability to make people laugh, animals are essential in the repertoire of every cartoonist.

In this book, Christopher Hart teaches an easy method for capturing the forms and expressions of animals. The book begins by showing how to create simple drawings with just a few strokes of the pen. Following the basic shapes, Hart goes on to depict animal personalities that are based on their physical traits. He covers many different species, from exotic African beasts to common breeds of dogs and cats. A final section shows how animals can be turned into "human" characters that stand upright and wear clothes. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

It's okay...
I'm an experienced cartoonist and wanted to venture into animal animation. This book is good for the over all view of the animals body shape...but's that's all it's good for. So, pretty much the basics. Still, it's always good to have when you forget the shape of the animal...after all there are thousands of animals that are shaped differently!

Instant Artist
My daughter (age 10) LOVES to draw and uses this book as a guide - easy to follow instructions.Real fun to use for drawing animals!

Impressed
I like this book very much.

I didn't think it would help as much as it did.

Within an hour I had drawn several very quality cartoon animals. My wife and I were both impressed.

It still takes me a long time to make the drawing, but I feel the speed with improve with practice.

My drawings were all progressivly better as well, as I became more familiar with reoccuring concepts, like: sketch lightly, use basic shapes and adjust them, etc.

While I drew several different animals some of the component parts were the same and it helped.

I wish I had received this when I was a kid, I could work for Disney right now!

Best book i have:)
This book is by far the best one in my collection:) It's stuffed with inspirational pictures and it's very easy to read:) It took me only about a half hour to create my very own cartoon character after reading a bit in this book:D

The step-by-step drawing guides in here are so easy to follow, and the book also show you different degrees of hardships in creating a character. You have the easily drawn characters, the medium hard-to-draw characters, and the really hard-to-draw characters:S

I'd say i was already in the "Medium" category when i bought this book, so the easily drawn characters were just to simple for me to even bother with. But still, they make good reference::)

If i am to say something about what audience this book is aimed for, then i'd have to say it's for beginners and people like me(A bit past beginner:p). There are VERY few hard-to-draw pictures in here, so i'm gonna have to buy another book soon if i keep progressing like i do:p

Different animals you can learn to draw from this book: Cats, dogs, horses, sharks, elephants, lions, tigers, bears and a few other critters...

I love this book :) I do not regret buying it at all:) I can actually REALLY reccomend this book to people who are out for learning this subject:)

Love this book
I actually have some of my own characters now just from reading this book.Keep up the good work ... Read more

Product Description
Great art has an enduring place in our hearts and society because it says something about who we are. And that's what makes these cartoons about art, the artistic life, and our responses to them so much fun. The themes are timeless: Is it noteworthy? What is the artist trying to say? Why did he paint a soup can?

The New Yorker's cartoonists have found endless humor in their fellow artists and in the art-loving public (as well as those who are dragged along to exhibits). The subjects of their wry wit range from the famous heavy hitters of art history to amateur strivers, and from swank museum shows to lonely artists at the easel, searching for a muse.

With more than one hundred cartoons, this collection is a masterpiece bound to amuse fans and friends of art and artists. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (3)

A great book.
My daughter has borrowed a lot of drawing books from the library, including this one.But she liked this one so much that I bought it for her.The pictures are really fun.

Great!!!
I love every one of the "My Very Favorite Art Books".I have some as featured books in my classroom and my students love to look at them and practice the drawing techniques in their free time.These books are wonderful!

Wonderful art instruction books!
All of the "I love to..." books are fabulous.Buy them all!You wont be disappointed! ... Read more

Product Description
All skill levels and ages, particularly beginners who may have little or no experience, will learn how to draw a wide variety of fun, simple cartoon people. Author, Harry Hamernik starts with basic lines and shapes, and then lets you in on great secrets to redrawing your characters in many different poses that bring them to life. This encouraging book is loaded with techniques, exercises and step-by-step demonstrations that will give you results you can be proud of. ... Read more

Product Description
Before the rise of underground comics in the late 1960s, there was no place for eccentric talent in the comics industry. Rather than creating super heroes like Superman and Spider-Man, or comic strips like Peanuts, the artists represented in "Art Out of Time" created their own "ingenious" versions of the super hero, western, romance, humour, and horror genres that dominated the comics of their day. All of them were unappreciated in their lifetimes, and all of them remain outside the usual narratives of comic book history. "Art out of Time" reprints complete comic book and comic strip stories. In five thematic sections, this anthology is a counter history of comics, containing nearly thirty undiscovered visionary American cartoonists from 1900 to 1969. These artists, including Robert Crumb, Art Spiegelman, Chris Ware, Dan Clowes, Charles Burns, and Ben Katchor, foreshadowed and influenced the comics medium of today. Together for the first time, these oddballs and obsessives truly constitute an art that is out of our time. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

BUY
It's a great book, though some of the reprints are too small and hard on the eyes.
For those who like art, comics and poetry it's a must have.

Fair Warning
Yes...it is a great compliation of some of the forgotten Golden Age cartoon work...like the wonderful "Explorigator"...but, and this is a Big BUT...

Those great old full-sheet Sunday Comics have been reduced to 8 x 11...can't even read the type-face with a good glass magnifier. And while the art work has some fabulous color it too is reduced to the point of....well you think about it!

The good news is the Intro, the Bibliography and the Resources are excellent for your further research.

P.S. My "mint" copy will be available on eBay shortly

Rescued from Obscurity!
This book is an eye-opener. Beautiful quality and reproductions here. Every time I look through this I discover something else. I love the works of McCay and Herriman as much as anyone...but there are real treasures here waiting to be rediscovered. Dan Nadel has done an outstanding job bringing this work to the attention of present day comics afficionados and art lovers in general. I really hope that Dan decides to do a volume 2 of this...and if you own this book, you'd know exactly what I mean.

Comic Art Supreme
I bought this book for my husband for Christmas on the recommendation of one of his friends who knows his taste.A comics afficiado from way back, he has been over the moon about the book to the extent that we have given copies to various other of his friends as well.Everyone who has received it RAVES about it ... its coverage, thoroughness, graphics, etc.So no doubt that this book is da bomb!If you're even vaguely interested in the subject area, this is definitely the book for you.

Readers involved in comic history, evolution and art simply must have
Any involved in the comics must have ART OUT OF TIME: UNKNOWN COMICS VISIONARIES, 1900-1969: it celebrates the lesser-known work of Bob Powell, Astan MacGovern, Boody Rogers and others who proved eccentric but influential comic visionaries before the rose of underground comics in the late 1960s. These artists created their own versions of western, romance, humor and horror genres and worked within the confines of popular comics of their times to provide visionary works. Some became famous, others remained obscure. ART OUT OF TIME reprints complete comic book and strip stories: many appear here for the first time since their first appearance. A thematic organization allows for quick access while surveys of pre-underground stars makes for a winning collection. Another big plus: the strips appear in full color, capturing all the nuances of the originals and losing nothing in translation. Readers involved in comic history, evolution and art simply must have ART OUT OF TIME.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch
... Read more

Product Description
It's a cartooning fun-fur-all!

Draw 48 animal characters in short, simple steps

Four paws-up for Cartoonimals! This book makes drawing animal characters super easy and more fun than a barrel of monkeys. It begins with the basics - sketching, drawing facial features, body types, finding the right pose - ultimately, you'll learn how to give your characters the kind of expressions, actions and attitudes that make them much more than lines on a page. Over 45 step-by-step demonstrations help you draw a cool and comical variety of characters, from a guitar-strumming octopus, to a porcupine pirate, to a surfing vulture.

Before you know it, you'll be bringing your own original creations to life. With the expert advice in this book, if you can dream it, you can draw it! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Want to create your own animal characters?Buy this book!
I carry this book around with me (especially to my dreary day time job) to reference and work on my characters in my head and on paper.I work daily on my goal of someday getting out of the box (9-5 job) and inspire others to go for their dreams and their characters and what can be brought to life on paper, internet, video, etc..
This is an excellent book to help you work on your dream characters!Go for it!

How to draw Amazing Cartoon Animals
I am an animator. Every person who try to draw cartoons founds out what it is not simply. I can say what it is very difficult to create the nice character by using only simply shapes. This book devotes to this problem. I found this one very useful. The book includes many tutorials "step by step", the great advices. .. So I glad to recommend this book to everybody who wish to draw for animations. By the way, I have many books of drawing and animation, and I compared it with other books.:-)

Now..that's teaching
(Excuse my English, I am not a native speaker). I love this book. I had a lot of "How to draw.." books, but none of them did really enable me to create my own drawing without a reference. Reference are a must in drawing, but how would anyone find a shark standing? or a camel driving a bike? this book enabled me to draw animals from any view or position I want. This is because it divides the animal into three parts (head, torso, and hips) so you can manipulate them in the way that suits your concept.

The author steps-by-step are very clear and way better than others, especially since the author encourages utilizing ruler and the square pallets which are seen throughout the sketches.

The only thing that made me give it 4 stars rate is the rendition of the color. As you can see from the cover, they are no shadows or highlight. On the contrary, the author's early stage of the drawing (the step-by-step sketches) are way better than the final coloring.

very good.something strange about the inking
Overall this seems far above average (like many Impact titles) among the how-to-draw-cartoon/comics/manga books on the shelves.The author gives serious advice instead of just giving a bunch of examples to fill pages.

One thing that seems really weird.The inked and colored versions of the animals look crappy.Mediocre, pedestrian.The penciled versions of the exact same drawings look outstanding -- fresh, alive.I can't put my finger on what made such a difference, but something did.Dude needs another inkier, or to try a different inking technique!

IMHO of course.

Excellent Cartoon Manual for Beginners and Experts Alike
[...]
This cartoon manual by Harry Hamernik (author of the equally excellent carticature manual - "Face Off")neatly bridges the gap between beginner and expert instruction. It does this via a brief introduction to materials, leading in turn to basic shapes, anatomy and character design - all in an easy to follow, step by step method which will have even beginners able to draw the basics by page 31.

What it then does, which will be useful to more experienced cartoonists who may not have specialised in cartoon animals before, is to present over seventy pages of "practice gallery" featuring projects on a wide range of animals - from chimpanzees to crocadiles and snakes to sharks - which again are basic enough for the beginner, but also rich enough in character for the more experienced artist to use as a base for detailed work or for animation.

All in all, I would highly recommend this book as a great introduction to anyone interested in drawing cartoon animals, at whatever level. ... Read more

Product Description
One hundred political cartoons you wanted to see, but weren’t allowed to: all were banned for being too hot to handle.Think you live in a society with a free press? These celebrated cartoonists and illustrators found out otherwise. Whether blasting Bush for his “Bring ’em on!” speech, spanking pedophile priests, questioning capital punishment, debating the disputed 2000 election, or just mocking baseball mascots, they learned that newspapers and magazines increasingly play it safe by suppressing satire.

With censored cartoons, many unpublished, by the likes of Garry Trudeau, Doug Marlette, Paul Conrad, Mike Luckovich, Matt Davies, and Ted Rall (all Pulitzer Prize winners or finalists), as well as unearthed editorial illustrations by Norman Rockwell, Edward Sorel, Anita Kunz, Marshall Arisman, and Steve Brodner, you will find yourself surprised and often shocked by the images themselves—and outraged by the fact that a fearful editor kept you from seeing them. Needed now more than ever because of a neutered press that’s more lapdog than watchdog, Killed Cartoons will make you laugh, make you angry, and make you think. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Behind the Scenes
This book was not what I expected...but it ended up beingbetter. It's does feature cartoons that have been "killed" by various publications for various reasons but the focus is more on the reasons then the cartoons themselves. That said, I found it a very interesting read.

Slightly Disappointing
I was expecting a compilation of editorial cartoons that had been "killed" by editors for their controversial content, and to some extent, that's what this book is. But each cartoon (or group of two or three) is accompanied by a story about how and why it got cut. While some of the stories are pretty interesting, it also means that there are about half as many cartoons as I was expecting. In addition, the text often comes across as preachy (even though I largely agree with the politics of the author) and in almost all cases, gives away the punchline of the cartoon before you see it, greatly lessening the impact. As you might have guessed, I was a little disapointed in the format of this book. If you get it, I suggest looking at the cartoons first, and then reading the text accompanying the ones you want to know more about.

editorial cartoon hell
Wherein you find examples that the press within the USA is timid and still serves the whims of people who pay the advestisements and those who own the papers and whose leaning in the political spectrum often rule over sensibilities.

A previous complaint that there is too much text is irrelevant. The substance is in the illustrations and the text. They go hand in hand.

As a sidebar to this book I'd recommend the combined collections of Stephan Pastis PEARLS BEFORE SWINE, where he has written of censorship on his own little morbid strip, showing that the fears of offending any audience still rides high.

As it is, this book is pretty good. It's funny, the land of the free still cowers at offending the guys who advertise, when a little bit of truth pokes its ugly head upright.

And the Philadelphia Inquirer was the only place USA wise that printed some of those "Muhammed" political cartoons that caused an uproar in Europe.

Boo!

None of those here though.

Antidote to editorial timidity
If you're disheartened by pusillanimous publishers who lack the sand to back up their writers and cartoonists when they come up with controversial material, David Wallis is your man.In his previous work, "Killed: Great Journalism Too Hot To Print," he championed journalists whose articles were decommissioned by their fearful overseers; now in KILLED CARTOONS he's back with a book that does the same for editorial cartoonists.Clever, thoughtful, and brave.

Kartoons that did not see print
What a shame these weren't printed.All were to the point, and pertinant. ... Read more

Product Description
With clear, step-by-step instructions, young artists will learn to draw a variety of fun and friendly cartoon monsters.

Starting with the basic shapes, the easily-followed lessons lead to full-color final drawings. And in addition to traditional favorites such as Frankenstein, Count Dracula, the Mummy and vampires, Steve Barr includes a number of originals.

1-2-3 Draw Cartoon Monsters includes plenty of humor and encouragement, including a reproducible cartoonist's apprentice certificate. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

good step by step instructions
I picked this book up for my 4 year old who loves to draw monsters and other creatures. We've had other step by step drawing guides and I found that my son can follow them pretty well at his age. What I like about this book is that many of the characters start out with the same basic shapes. I think this works well with reinforcing shape recognition and getting the child to think about different ways to manipulate shapes to create new characters.The steps are easy to follow.

My son's only complaint is that the monsters weren't creepy or scary enough. The monsters all wore happy or silly expressions.I think they're cute. But if you're looking to draw some creepier monsters check out Monsters!: Draw Your Own Mutants, Freaks & Creeps

Loads of Fun!
Not only was this book easy to use and understand, it was fun to experiment with.Each monster starts out with a set of shapes that really don't look like they'd form much of anything, but as each step progresses, you start seeing a character come alive before your very eyes, and before you know it, you've drawn something that looks like it could go into a comic strip! ... Read more

Product Description
The supreme achievement of Disney is revealed in this dazzling collection of sketches, layouts, animation drawings, effects animation, and cel setups. 310 full-color illustrations. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Perfect!
As an animator and one of the biggest Disney fans out there, this big has everything you want to know and need to know about how the Disney animation process is done.This book along with the Art of Disney and The Illusion of Life are a great combo together. ... Read more