gdbooks tag:ns-3.com,2009-08-04:/gdbooks//14 2010-03-02T15:56:57Z Movable Type Pro 4.34-en Hi Fructose tag:ns-3.com,2010:/gdbooks//14.807 2010-03-02T15:33:55Z 2010-03-02T15:56:57Z From the publishers of Hi Fructose Mag. Some serious illustration talent (most fairly known already) packed into one great book. If you ever wondered who was doing what in kids toys this would be a good reference book. There are... Hiller Higman Hi Fructose Mag. Some serious illustration talent (most fairly known already) packed into one great book. If you ever wondered who was doing what in kids toys this would be a good reference book. There are plenty of entertaining and interesting interviews as well, some from one artist to another, that give a quick look into the lives of emerging and already successful illustrators.

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Mark Ryden

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Brian Mccarty

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]]> Juxtapoz Illustration tag:ns-3.com,2010:/gdbooks//14.805 2010-02-22T18:05:17Z 2010-02-25T21:46:14Z Hiller Higman Juxtapoz Illustration says, "Juxtapoz Art & Culture Magazine was established to document the exploding lowbrow art movement." It represents that very well. The images are fairly raunchy at times (yes, raunchy) and its almost unfortunate because it can be a turn off to some amazing illustration but it is what they claim it to be.

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Amy Sol

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Mickey Duzyj

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]]> One Show Design tag:ns-3.com,2010:/gdbooks//14.800 2010-01-11T18:27:42Z 2010-02-06T02:20:04Z Hiller Higman One Show Design is a great collection of conservative but amazing design (especially if you like works produced by Ogilvy & Mather & Apple).  They have a good broad spectrum of advertising, design, and packaging which make it worth the price.

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Most notable is the brilliant campaign by Big Ant Int. for the Global Coalition for Peace, What Comes Around Goes Around.

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]]> Dirty Fingernails tag:ns-3.com,2009:/gdbooks//14.793 2009-12-22T17:11:24Z 2009-12-22T17:31:26Z Straight up graphic design, for some reason coined under the sub title "uniquely designed by hand". Granted a lot of the designs are potentially designed by hand, most are finished digitally and the materials list ends in "software".Aside from that... Hiller Higman
Aside from that its an amazing collection and well worth putting on the shelf. Works by:

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Ron Liberti

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El Jefe Design

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Joanna Wecht

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]]> Illusive - Contemporary Illustration Part 3 tag:ns-3.com,2009:/gdbooks//14.791 2009-12-03T22:43:04Z 2009-12-07T21:51:15Z Beautiful book and worth the price. Illusive 3 has large pages, well displayed illustrations (that you haven't seen a thousand times in every design book already) and is thick (340 pages). This is one of those rare visual books you... Hiller Higman Illusive 3 has large pages, well displayed illustrations (that you haven't seen a thousand times in every design book already) and is thick (340 pages). This is one of those rare visual books you can leaf through 3 or 4 times and keep on the shelf.

Works by:

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Franceso D'sla

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Lesja Chernish

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Kristiana Parn

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Shohei

Gestaltan, 2009 4stars.png

]]> IdN 15th Anniversary Edition tag:ns-3.com,2009:/gdbooks//14.786 2009-11-09T18:55:56Z 2009-11-18T17:22:27Z IdN is a great publication that exposes many artists, both online and in print. While I could never justify the cost of the magazine I thought the 15th Anniversary Edition would be a good compromise. It features a collection of... Hiller Higman IdN is a great publication that exposes many artists, both online and in print. While I could never justify the cost of the magazine I thought the 15th Anniversary Edition would be a good compromise. It features a collection of artists "who have collaborated with us over the last decade and a half". It's a great collection of illustrations, some good, some bad.

I've noticed an upward trend in the cost of design books lately. I wonder how long the publishing world can sustain that. Whether or not this book is worth the $60 for inspiration, im still uncertain.

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]]> Hi-Fi Color for Comics tag:ns-3.com,2009:/gdbooks//14.785 2009-11-09T18:34:45Z 2009-11-09T18:54:50Z A great book with major problems. Hi-Fi Color for Comics has good step by step tutorials that are easy to follow and understand, great real world examples and its very inspiring.Unfortunately, the major flaw is that the tutorials rely on... Hiller Higman A great book with major problems. Hi-Fi Color for Comics has good step by step tutorials that are easy to follow and understand, great real world examples and its very inspiring.

Unfortunately, the major flaw is that the tutorials rely on scripts and actions (supplied on the CD ROM) that don't work in CS4 and there is no clear definition of them anywhere in the book. Given that they are the 3 most basic and major actions you need to do in order to flat art it can leave you frustrated.

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]]> Mail Me Art tag:ns-3.com,2009:/gdbooks//14.772 2009-09-21T16:11:07Z 2009-11-04T19:00:21Z Hiller Higman mailmeart.jpg

Super fantastic book with amazing illustrations.  Mail Me Art

How Books, 2009 4.5stars.png]]> An Illustrated Life tag:ns-3.com,2009:/gdbooks//14.771 2009-09-08T16:17:20Z 2009-09-08T16:52:24Z Danny Gregory is likely an inspiration to many artists, from graphic designers trapped in the ad world to illustrators looking for something new. His first book Everyday Matters definitely inspired and helped my own artwork. Reading the descriptions by some... Hiller Higman Everyday Matters definitely inspired and helped my own artwork. Reading the descriptions by some famous, some not so famous, artists from far and wide about their experiences and uses for sketchbooks you can tell he impacted others.

I avoided this book for months figuring it was another spin off of the previous Gregory books but I was wrong, this one contains great visual eye candy as well as interesting artists write ups.

Here are a few of the artists inside the book (with good sites).

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Paul Soupiset, Illustrator

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James Kochalka (his hilarious daily online comic strip)

Mark S Fisher (awesome site)

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Everett Peck

How Books, 2008
]]> What is Illustration? tag:ns-3.com,2009:/gdbooks//14.770 2009-09-02T20:13:00Z 2009-09-02T20:24:44Z What is it anyway?It's a good question but maybe not the best book title (or cover for that matter). With that small rant aside, this is a rare book to find, one on illustration that does not simply cover the... Hiller Higman It's a good question but maybe not the best book title (or cover for that matter). With that small rant aside, this is a rare book to find, one on illustration that does not simply cover the top 10 most commissioned illustrators in the world. That's whats nice about RotoVision, they manage to produce off key content for their design books while most other publishers continue to reshuffle the same award winning works over and over, year in and year out.

The gallery portion in the back includes a nice brief on: Serge Seidlitz, Christoph Niewmann, TADO, and of course Jeremyville.

What is Illustration, RotoVision 2009
]]> atlas of GRAPHIC designers tag:ns-3.com,2009:/gdbooks//14.761 2009-08-04T15:25:16Z 2009-08-04T16:04:25Z Great big design books packed with solid content are very hard to come by, especially affordable ones with "modern" content that is not all the same riff raff we have seen repeated for the last two or three years.The atlas... Hiller Higman atlas.jpgGreat big design books packed with solid content are very hard to come by, especially affordable ones with "modern" content that is not all the same riff raff we have seen repeated for the last two or three years.

The atlas provides a look around the world of great design (600 pages worth on a nice thin glossy paper), although most of it is not the type of design you would see published in the real world. The design  borders on student looking with touches of genius that most of us would never attempt in our design careers. It also displays work from famous designers that you would not normally see. I have a hard time putting this one down.

Rockport Publishers, 2009

]]> Ames Bros V. Pearl Jam tag:ns-3.com,2009:/gdbooks//14.764 2009-08-02T16:08:45Z 2009-08-04T16:21:28Z Im very happy to get to the point where I can write a post about this book. Coby and Barry are exceptional designers and this book is a testament to years of hard work in an amazing circumstance. For years... Hiller Higman amesbook.jpgIm very happy to get to the point where I can write a post about this book. Coby and Barry are exceptional designers and this book is a testament to years of hard work in an amazing circumstance. For years I collected and was inspired by poster books. This one is totally unique in the sense that it is a handful of designers producing work for one subject manner.

Every few months i pull it off the shelf and thumb through it, finding a new treaure, even reading the designers explanations on each poster. Coby was kind enough to send me the extended collectors edition (which I would highly recomend to anyone) that contains color sperations on clear sheets in the back, as well as black and white hand drawings by the artists.

Ames Bros also sells great t-shirts and posters online.
]]> new vintage type tag:ns-3.com,2009:/gdbooks//14.763 2009-08-01T15:49:34Z 2009-08-04T16:07:09Z I recently gave away about 40 graphic design books (2 years worth) to the local School of Visual Arts library at MSU. Among all of the books the one that was hardest to give up was New Vintage Type because... Hiller Higman newvtype.jpgI recently gave away about 40 graphic design books (2 years worth) to the local School of Visual Arts library at MSU. Among all of the books the one that was hardest to give up was New Vintage Type because it had a classic element to it that most graphic design books don't have.

You can pick this book up 2 years after its been published and still enjoy it page by page. It has a unique element of old and new blending together in what was a fad of letterpress designs (one that will never go out of style).

Watson-Guptill, 2007
 ]]> Green Graphic Design tag:ns-3.com,2009:/gdbooks//14.762 2009-08-01T15:35:56Z 2010-06-07T20:49:36Z Dare to say "a must read". Almost.Green Graphic Design should be a student primer for anyone entering the field of print. It gives a good overall snapshot of a burgeoning (and necessary) movement, including FSC certification by printers, the truth... Hiller Higman ggdesign.jpgDare to say "a must read". Almost.

Green Graphic Design should be a student primer for anyone entering the field of print. It gives a good overall snapshot of a burgeoning (and necessary) movement, including FSC certification by printers, the truth about ink usage and how the true environmental impact happens at the press.

The book is a quick read but just enough to show that just choosing post consumer waste is not enough if you are going to be an environmentally aware designer. For experienced designers it can reiterate what you already know and help explain other important processes, such as the making of the paper itself, that can be as important. This book will likely be one of a few current primers that will lead to many more like it.

Allworth Press, 2008
]]> DC Guide to Coloring tag:ns-3.com,2009:/gdbooks//14.769 2009-07-31T01:02:57Z 2009-08-25T03:29:25Z I recently pulled The DC Comics Guide to Coloring from a box of graphic design books I was giving away to reference how to make color flats. Flipping through it I realized what a valuable primer it is for photoshop... Hiller Higman dccomics.jpgI recently pulled The DC Comics Guide to Coloring from a box of graphic design books I was giving away to reference how to make color flats. Flipping through it I realized what a valuable primer it is for photoshop and creating basic comics. It covers everything from file formats to color calibration and preferences. It's a little dated but a classic. 

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