Category: Inspiration

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Inspiration in Photography: Training Your Mind to Make Great Art a Habit

As a photographer it’s possible to train your mind to see inspiration in any situation, and this book will show you how. By introducing you into her creative process, Brooke Shaden—one of the most recognized names in modern art photography—reveals techniques and exercises that you can undertake in order to be inspired by your environment, everyday, everywhere. In addition to the exercises, you’ll learn how to compose, plan and shoot colorful, atmospheric, fairy-tale artistic photography, so you can adapt Shaden’s techniques and apply them to your own photographic style. Indeed, all artistic photographers seek to achieve their own style, but it’s not always easy to see how to get there. This book provides the perfect balance of insight and instruction to help you find inspiration whenever you need it, and capitalize on it every time.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

The Art of Simple Food II: Recipes, Flavor, and Inspiration from the New Kitchen Garden

Alice Waters, the iconic food luminary, presents 200 new recipes that share her passion for the many delicious varieties of vegetables, fruits, and herbs that you can cultivate in your own kitchen garden or find at your local farmers’ market.
 
A beautiful vegetable-focused book, The Art of Simple Food II showcases flavor as inspiration and embodies Alice’s vision for eating what grows in the earth all year long. She shares her understanding of the whole plant, demystifying the process of growing and cooking your own food, and reveals the vital links between taste, cooking, gardening, and taking care of the land. Along the way, she inspires you to feed yourself deliciously through the seasons. From Rocket Salad with Babcock Peaches and Basil to Moroccan Asparagus and Spring Vegetable Ragout to Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic, Alice shares recipes that celebrate the ingredients she loves: tender leaf lettuces, fresh green beans, stone fruits in the height of summer, and so much more. Advice for growing your own fruits and vegetables abounds in the book—whether you are planting a garden in your backyard or on your front porch or fire escape. It is gleaned from her close relationships with local, sustainable farmers.

Posted on by — 3 Comments

DIGITAL PHOTO RETOUCHING: Beauty, fashion & portrait photography: Inspiration, Tips & Video Workshop by Julia Kuzmenko (MADARTISTPUBLISHING.COM MASTER SERIES COLLECTION)

Check out the digital version of this book at http://retouchingebooks.com/ebooks-mad-artist-book.html to gain access to additional materials (custom Beauty Brushes & Actions) + 2 extra pages and 30 minutes of video tutorials on how to use them. All links in the digital book are clickable, the navigation inside the book is very simple and convenient. You will also receive a 25% off discount code for the print version upon your digital book purchase. We only made the print book available as an additional option for those few who still prefer holding printed books in their hands. There are scannable QR codes in the print copy, which will take you to the video tutorials on your internet enabled device. And there are simply clickable Video icons, which will take you to the private Youtube videos on your computer (or tablet). We’ve put together a beautiful book for you to get inspired and learn professional Beauty, Fashion & Portrait retouching tricks and techniques from a successful internationally published photographer, retoucher and educator Julia Kuzmenko McKim. The cover photo won second place in the global Wacom & AfterCapture Digital Imaging Contest 2012 in the Portrait category, and you can follow its retouching process with Julia in a 5-page illustrated text and 40-minute narrated video workshop. It’s an inspirational book full of beautiful images, real-world retouching and photography tips, articles and a few illustrated text and video tutorials (over 60 min in print copy and over 90 min in digital) for amateur and professional photographers who edit their work in Adobe Photoshop. This book is created with intermediate and advanced Photoshop users in mind. HIGHLIGHTS: Pages 24-28: Cover Image Illustrated Text Workshop Pages 36-37: Retouching Face + Video (13 min) Page 44: Cover Image Video Retouching Workshop (42min) Pages 50-51: Photographing & Retouching Hair + Video (10 min) Tons of Images & Real World Photography & Retouching Tips Articles on shooting on location, in studio, working with models Custom Beauty Brushes & Actions sets (see Digital Goodie Bag subfolder) (only in digital book) Pages 58-59: Working with the custom Brushes & Actions mentioned above + Video tutorial (30 min) (only in digital book) The video tutorials in this book are private Youtube videos exclusively accessible to the readers of this book

Posted on by — 2 Comments

Journal Fodder 365: Daily Doses of Inspiration for the Art Addict

Art Journal Adventures!

Learn how to journal your exceptional story. Life is not always extraordinary in all its details, but it is the sum of those ordinary events that add up to extraordinary lives. The journal is no different.

With Journal Fodder 365, the Journal Fodder Junkies will lead you on a year-long adventure in drawing and writing, in painting and collage, and in the flotsam and jetsam of your daily experiences. You will uncover simple strategies to make the visual journal a part of your life and you’ll discover new techniques for refining your personal narrative in an authentic and unique voice.

Inside You’ll Find: 12 themed chapters, ranging from Personal Mythologies and Histories to Connections and Relationships to Symbolically Speaking and beyond Dozens of step-by-step demonstrations for painting, drawing, writing, and collage techniques 12 suggested excursions for you and your journal 12 exploded views showing real-life applications of the lessons and prompts Let your journal be a living, breathing document of your life, a personally meaningful and relevant artifact.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Dior Impressions: The Inspiration and Influence of Impressionism at the House of Dior

A gorgeous exploration of the relationship between the haute couture of Dior and the Impressionist movement. Christian Dior grew up in Granville, in Normandy, in a natural environment similar to the setting favored by the Impressionist artists. Throughout his career, he designed dresses that show links with this art movement, such as the elegance seen in the Impressionist paintings, with subtle connections through common themes such as nature, light, color, and the notion of movement. Published to accompany the Impressions Dior exhibition presented at the Musée Christian Dior in Granville, France, this lavish volume features over 150 pieces of gorgeous art—including noted artworks by Monet, Renoir, Degas, and Manet—alongside a magnificent visual tour of Dior garments, from Christian Dior’s first designs to Raf Simons’s latest collection.

Posted on by — 3 Comments

Information Design Workbook: Graphic approaches, solutions, and inspiration + 30 case studies

New in paperback, this workbook is a methodical yet comprehensive approach to conveying the fundamentals of avant-garde, innovative, information design by examining history, theory, criticism, technology and media, process, method, and practice.

 

Opening with a very brief history followed by an instructive breakdown of the discipline, readers get an intimate understanding of the complexities of crafting information design to effectively improve communication both functionally and aesthetically. The back half of the book contains a wide range of case studies from design firms around the world so designers can see the techniques previously outlined in the first half of the book. The author also critiques and explains why the design is successful in terms of formal quality (Aesthetics) and function (How does it improve communication?).

Posted on by — 2 Comments

Polymer Clay Color Inspirations: Techniques and Jewelry Projects for Creating Successful Palettes

Lindly Haunani and Maggie Maggio are renowned for their courses and workshops on color as well as for their outstanding polymer clay work. In this book, they offer instruction and inspiration that focuses on polymer clay as a learning tool that readers can use to explore their own color instincts and preferences and develop their own palettes.

Each chapter investigates a specific color principle, with the discussion supported by a related exercise, a “studio tool” assignment or demonstration, a polymer clay jewelry project, and a profile of a prominent polymer clay artist. Sample topics include:

•The Complexity of Color
•Three Properties of Color
•Choosing Your Palette
•Mixing Colors That Flow
•Matching Colors with Precision
•Games Colors Play
•Orchestrating Color Combinations
•Color Composition: Placement and Proportion
•Playful Patterns
•Tantalizing Textures

Posted on by — 3 Comments

Color Inspirations: More than 3,000 Innovative Palettes from the Colourlovers.Com Community

The rules for color are not black and white.   Color Inspirations contains some of the very best color palettes from the popular website COLOURlovers.com, organized by color family in a logical, easy-to-use format. In this complete reference, you’ll discover 3,286 fresh, inspiring color palettes–ready to be applied to your latest design or project and complete with accurate CMYK, RGB and HEX values. In fact, you can use the included CD to import any color palette into your design software immediately.   This comprehensive book also includes a brief primer on color theory and an inspiration section that will help you discover new color combinations in the world around you. It contains everything you need to find the best color palettes for your project in a snap.  From the Introduction: “We all have some common connections and associations to color based on cultural influences and popular theories, but color is ultimately a unique experience for all of us. And because of that, there is not just one set of rules for how to think about and use color. We live in a global community with tools that allow us to create something independently and share it with the masses. This interconnected environment generates a much wider spectrum of color ideas and color applications.”

Posted on by — 2 Comments

The Sketchbook Challenge: Techniques, Prompts, and Inspiration for Achieving Your Creative Goals

Have you ever bought a new sketchbook, opened to the first page, and thought, “Now what do I do?” Sue Bleiweiss and the talented minds behind The Sketchbook Challenge are here to help.

Imagine a supportive community of artists sharing the innermost pages of their sketchbooks and offering you tips and techniques for overcoming creative blocks. That’s what The Sketchbook Challenge is all about, and the popular blog of the same name has already inspired thousands. Inside this book, you’ll find:
 
· Themes that will motivate you to start your sketchbook—and, more important, keep at it

· Tutorials spotlighting such mixed-media techniques as thread sketching, painted papers for collage, digital printing, and much more

· Strategies to get off the sketchbook page and start creating inspired art—whether you’re into painting, collage, fiber art, or beyond.

· In-depth profiles of artists who have taken the Sketchbook Challenge and used it as a launching pad for their own meaningful artwork