Creative Computer Tools for Artists: Using Software to Develop Drawings and Paintings Book

Forty step-by-step color demonstrations are presented, showing how to use image-editing software (along with scanners, digital cameras, and printers) to develop and improve drawings and paintings. Demonstrations document the work of some 30 artists who work in watercolor, pastel, acrylics, and oils, showing how they combined photos, moved compositional elements, changed colors to create a computer study as the basis for a drawing or painting. Annotation (c)2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Library Journal

Someone once said, "To err is human, but to really foul things up requires a computer." Whether computers will dehumanize art or free up our creative impulses remains to be seen, but these two books are worthy additions to the discussion. Illustrator Ashford's career was completely changed by the computer. The result was six books on computer graphics, including Start with a Scan: A Guide to Transforming Scanned Photos and Objects into High-Quality Art, written with John Odam. In this follow-up, she enters the arts-and-crafts world. She begins with an excellent chapter on understanding digital tools (bitmaps, PostScript, software for graphics, resolution, etc.), then adds sections on working with photos and scans, using type and design, and gathering the art supplies needed for projects. The second half of the book takes computer-generated art and applies it to the making of cards, small books, and other decorative projects. The book as a whole is packed with historic facts (on typefaces, the development of color greeting cards, and the politics of paper) and usable information (on computer safety and the varieties of binding methods). While Ashford has created images solely within the machine, Pollard and Little seek to use computer-generated images only as reference tools for traditional art media. The authors present over 40 demonstrations that show how to use image-editing software to improve one's drawings and paintings. Each of the 30 artists included uses the computer to develop photographs or sketches into fully developed ideas. They combine photos, apply textures, crop, and edit, and they vary perspective, color, and scale as they create studies. After working out compositional problems, each study is used as the basis for artwork in watercolor, pastel, acrylics, or oils. Each of these books can be used with a variety of available graphic programs, with either a Mac or PC/Windows. Both are solid additions to this rapidly morphing field. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.