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lastblossom 's review for:
informative
fast-paced
Thanks to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group for an advance copy!
tl;dr
A useful reference book for artists moving past beginner level artwork.
Thoughts
I was initially drawn (ha!) to this book because I liked the art style on the cover. I am happy to say that the art inside is also excellent. There are several artists featured in this book, and I found all the art and hair styles extremely pleasing to look at. If you want to learn, you could do a lot worse than the skill presented here.
This is more a reference book than a how-to book. When I see a book is "how-to" I usually expect a lot of numbered step-by-step instructions, and complex images broken down into simple shapes. Reference books include a lot more finished drawings (or photos), often with notes. How-to books are a great benefit for beginners who haven't yet exercised breaking down bigger ideas into smaller shapes. The downside is that they don't leave a lot of room for creativity - you either follow the steps or you don't. Reference books assume that you've been doing this long enough that you can simply take what you need and leave the rest. There comes a point in time when an artist moves from how-to books to reference books, and this book seems to sit exactly on that line. The front part covers the basic breakdown of sectioning off hair, setting a hairline, and finding the crown and the part. But more complex ideas like braids and curls aren't given a similar breakdown - only finished drawings with notes. There's a large portion dedicated to hair physics that I liked, including working with gravity, wind, water, and human interactions. I feel like I learned the most in this section. Would recommend this book for artists who have moved past beginner level, are developing their own style, and are looking to expand. Of note: This book does not include much by way of textured hair or extremely short styles.
tl;dr
A useful reference book for artists moving past beginner level artwork.
Thoughts
I was initially drawn (ha!) to this book because I liked the art style on the cover. I am happy to say that the art inside is also excellent. There are several artists featured in this book, and I found all the art and hair styles extremely pleasing to look at. If you want to learn, you could do a lot worse than the skill presented here.
This is more a reference book than a how-to book. When I see a book is "how-to" I usually expect a lot of numbered step-by-step instructions, and complex images broken down into simple shapes. Reference books include a lot more finished drawings (or photos), often with notes. How-to books are a great benefit for beginners who haven't yet exercised breaking down bigger ideas into smaller shapes. The downside is that they don't leave a lot of room for creativity - you either follow the steps or you don't. Reference books assume that you've been doing this long enough that you can simply take what you need and leave the rest. There comes a point in time when an artist moves from how-to books to reference books, and this book seems to sit exactly on that line. The front part covers the basic breakdown of sectioning off hair, setting a hairline, and finding the crown and the part. But more complex ideas like braids and curls aren't given a similar breakdown - only finished drawings with notes. There's a large portion dedicated to hair physics that I liked, including working with gravity, wind, water, and human interactions. I feel like I learned the most in this section. Would recommend this book for artists who have moved past beginner level, are developing their own style, and are looking to expand. Of note: This book does not include much by way of textured hair or extremely short styles.