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Summary: Jack Hamm Is An Artist's Artist
Review: Jack Hamm's books fall into that category of being equally useful to the novice or the professional. He was an artist's artist, still instantly admired by anyone who picks up the pencil, and his simple approaches to the problems of draftsmanship, while infinitely helpful to us mortals, do nothing to hide the fact that he was a master of several forms. I'm particularly grateful that he covered this subject- landscapes, perspective, etc.- the bane of so many cartoonists and animators. As a basic reference this book offers something every time you open it, and deserves to remain in print and in use forever.
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Summary: The only book on drawing scenery you will ever need.
Review: This book is hands-down my favorite step-by-step tool on drawing scenery. It's clearly written, which makes its instructions very easy to follow and understand, and it's masterfully organized in six sections that clearly relate to one another, making it easy to go back to specific topics at any time. In its first section alone (Introduction to the Basics of Scenery Drawing) it includes very well explained drawing basics like composition, space division, picture elements, comprehension factors, materials and more. It also goes beyond most scenery drawing books in the market to include, beside the usual landscape and terrain composition techniques, other important concepts: Drawing Trees and Foliage, Drawing Rocks and Mountains, Drawing Clouds and Skies, Drawing Water (Oceans, Lakes, Rivers and Falls), and Drawing Buildings (in various shapes and sizes). Additional bonuses are the authors' constant tips on a wide variety of topics that go from shading and highlighting to artistic treatment and texturing of surfaces.
This book is also fully illustrated with over 900 beautiful diagrams and pictures that work as invaluable examples, which accurately illustrate the instructions given by the author. Some people might be discouraged from purchasing this title due to it being completely illustrated in black & white, but trust me when I say that it doesn't need color images. It's so well written that you'll soon start seeing the illustrations in the colors your imagination and creativeness will give them.
I used this book as one would use a textbook on a course, doing all the exercises and going back to all the lessons in each section after I had finished with it. In only two months my work has improved 100% and my drawings have won praise from friends and family.
Buy this book if you are a professional trying to fine tune your craft and buy it if you are a beginner serious about drawing, both will discover the benefits of applying to your work all the essential scenery drawing techniques that it contains.
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Summary: Jack will open the doors of landscape rendering
Review: This little miracle worker of a book should NOT be disregarded in anyone's expanding list of books related to drawing scenery. "Drawing Landscapes and Seascapes" can teach you what other books cannot, how to capture the breath-taking world we see around us without the aide of photographs, or actually being there (although outdoor sketching is highly advisable, as pointed out by Jack). The scenery in this book is very life-like, and you can learn how to do it all too. Jack, as with his other books, doesn't "showcase" or brag of his work, he teaches in every picture how he did what he did, and what you can do to do the same. I couldn't imagine anyone getting ever getting lost or being stranded, Jack is one the best of the best, read his reviews of his other books!Topics covered... Drawing trees, water, clouds, rocks, and buildings. There are topics within topics, example: You'll learn to draw Puddles under "water", or Mountain Ranges under "rocks", Moonlit Skies under "clouds", etc etc... You just can't go wrong. He'll show you how to capture the incredible dynamics of the earth and how to portray it into your own work. Learn to draw trees realistically without drawing them leaf-by-leaf! Of any book released to the market for drawing landscape or seascape, this book is the only one I feel empowered to read word for word. His teaching is so amazing, I couldn't recommened a newer, even more expensive book than Jacks'. Don't cheat yourself of what you can learn in drawing landscapes or seascapes, this book is so easy to read and the projects in this book so enlighting, if you only had one book to choose on drawing landscapes, I'd choose Jack hands down. With a price like this,... you can't go wrong by giving this outstanding book a chance.
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Summary: You Won't Be Disappointed
Review: You will not find a more complete book on landscape drawing. My advice is to grab it from Amazon while it is still in print. Mr. Hamm is the best.
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