Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful
Review: A "must have" for the new colored pencil artist. Clear, creative, and thorough! I just enjoyed reading it when it arrived and have been using it as my "guide" ever since.
Rating:
Summary: Colored Pencil Solution Book
Review: Excellent descriptions of how to use various techniques to improve or correct student's projects.
Rating: 
Summary: It's good, but things are missing...
Review: First of all, the book is good in a way. It has a lot of useful explanations and even has drawings that you can copy to practice what they teach you. But the authors concentrate exclusively on still lifes, which makes the book rather limited for other subjects. For example, it doesn't cover animals or animal "textures" such as fur, scales or feathers. Landscapes are not even mentioned, or natural textures such as tree barks, leaves, rocks, wood, water, etc. Portraits or people are not included either. So no skin types, hair or clothing are present in the book. Flowers are very briefly covered. The book has gorgeous illustrations, and it was carefully done, but incomplete. It should have been called "Still Life Colored Pencil Solution Book", in order to be really true to its contents. To "fill the gaps" left by this book, I had to buy other colored pencil books: "Creating Textures in Colored Pencil" by Gary Greene which is very comprehensive,"Creating Radiant Flowers in Colored Pencils" also by Gary Greene, "Colored Pencil Portraits, step by step" by Ann Kullberg and "The big book of Drawing" by Lee Hammond.
Rating: 
Summary: The Best 'Second Book' You Can Buy for Colored Pencil
Review: For a second book this is probably the best thing out there. Actual exercises applying the techniques are provided as opposed to merely providing samples of work. Also, the sections on composition are excellent, a great primer on things most books skip. I'm still looking for a 'First Book' though. I've purchased all of Bet Borgenson's publications but they just don't fit the bill so I'm slowly building a basic technique as I work thru this one.
Rating:
Summary: Would Give it a 6 if I Could
Review: Get this book. Really. Even if you work in colored pencil only occasionally it is worth it. This book is as close to being a reference guide on anything to do with realistic colored pencil work I've ever seen. The only things missing are styles that are more experimental in approach and no focus on water-soluable colored pencils.Some of the things I particularly liked:
1. Focus on specific name-brands of colored pencils, their binders, the effects this has on different types of paper, etc.
2. Techniques - such as:
a. mixing colors, how to apply colors evenly on varying degrees of rough to smooth paper, tonal gradations.
b. linear, stroke overlap, circular/oval strokes, burnishing.
c. liquifying dry colored pencil layers with solvents.
3. Underpainting in grey tones to get values correct and more vibrant color applied on top.
4. The actual patterns of each of the demonstrations shown step-by-step in the book. So you can actually practice each technique used in each of the demonstrations. Each demo gives a recipe of the "ingredients" used.
5. A section on common mishaps or mistakes along with tricks to fix them. And this is only a portion of the things you can learn. I would like to mention one other thing. Most of the subjects chosen for the book all lean to the still-life or floral arrangement category. So you won't find in-depth discussions of skin tones for portraiture or fur for wildlife paintings. Even so, I believe the consistent high quality of the artwork displayed and wealth of techniques make it a worthwile addition to any colored pencil artists library.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Book on Colored Pencils
Review: I am new to colored pencils and I found this book to be refreshing and detailed and actually had step by step how to's for newbies as well as those experienced in colored pencil. the artwork demonstrated was awesome and this is a main source of learning for me. It not only told you how to, but with what colors of pencil as well as strokes to use. Great book, so glad I bought it.
thanks
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Book on Colored Pencils
Review: I am new to colored pencils and I found this book to be refreshing and detailed and actually had step by step how to's for newbies as well as those experienced in colored pencil. the artwork demonstrated was awesome and this is a main source of learning for me. It not only told you how to, but with what colors of pencil as well as strokes to use. Great book, so glad I bought it.
thanks
Rating:
Summary: Colored Pencil Solution Book is A+
Review: I just got this book in te mail today and I'm really excited about it. I have been working in colored pencil for about 2 years and have seen a number of books on the subject. This one is by far the best one I've come across. Lots of basics,useful information, beautiful pictures and many techniques I can hardly wait to try. Highly recommend this book!
Rating:
Summary: A Must Have for the Serious Colored Pencil Artist & Beginner
Review: If you are serious about learning colored pencil and want to have perfect realism in your work, you MUST own this book. I have drawn for years and got this book over a year ago, and I keep coming back to it again and again. I still learn something every time. I was and still am amazed by all the wonderful things in this book. It addresses very well those tough subjects that everyone has trouble with and are so hard to achieve, like glass and even peach fuzz! I loved it! It has a broad range of subjects that are very useful. It's also great for the beginner since in covers all the basic techniques; like blending, composition, color, and much more. I also love the colored pencil chart that compares all the major brands. Not to mention all the amazing drawings by the authors which provide so much inspiration. I could go on and on about all the wonderful stuff in this book, but these are just a few.
Rating:
Summary: A Winner from Beginning to End.
Review: On the front of the "Coloured Pencil Solution Book," it says 'Tips and Techniques for Winning Results.'The book is definitely a winner from beginning to end as far as I am concerned, and is an absolute must for artists of all ability. After the introduction, each of the seven sections is made up of questions, such as "How should I arrange my Workspace?" A very good place to start. This form of questions follows through right to the end, making it easier to look for the solution you want. It covers everything from Composition,Application, and Technique, to a very good section on Colour and Light, which ends with the question, "How Can I Create Impact in My Work?" Something I really wanted to read about! My favourite sections were those on Reflections and Transparency Solutions, and Texture Solutions. Absolutely great, including a wealth of knowledge. The final section ended with "Problem Subjects and Fixing Mistakes." In this wasthe part dealing with 'How do I make Lace?', which was well worth waiting for, a clear demonstration, and as in all of them, the names of all the pencils used, were included. All demonstrations are clearly defined, with step by step drawings, all of which are a decent size, so that you can really see the detail. The one of 'Objects distorted in Water,' firstly, highlighted each of the six pencils, individually, as they stood in the water, so that it was easy to refer to them as pencils 1 to 6, in the demonstration that followed, which made it much easier to keep tabs on what was happening. Another very good idea, I thought. But, the 'gem' of the whole book was due to the generosity of both of the artists, Janie Gildow and Barbara Benedetti Newton, in including 24 of their own line drawings at the back of the book for artists to use, both, for the demonstrations, or for their own use to practise on. This immediately eliminates the mental block of deciding what to draw first, before even colouring! A truly wonderful book, and one I shall treasure. Thank you.
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