"Instructive and inspirational, this book brings together the diverse styles of seven top acrylic painters. These artists illustrate the versatility and creative excitement of acrylics, revealing their own unique tips and tricks. You'll learn their techniques in 28 step-by-step demonstrations. Each artist's section ends with a brilliant gallery of finished work."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

The Art of Theatrical Design: Elements of Visual Composition, Methods, and Practice, Second Edition, contains an in-depth discussion of design elements and principles for costume, set, lighting, sound, projection, properties, and makeup designs. This textbook details the skills necessary to create effective, evocative, and engaging theatrical designs that support a play contextually, thematically, and visually. It covers key concepts such as content, context, genre, style, play structure, and format and the demands and limitations of various theatrical spaces. The book also discusses essential principles, including collaboration, inspiration, conceptualization, script analysis, conducting effective research, building a visual library, developing an individual design process, and the role of the critique in collaboration. This second edition includes A new chapter on properties management and design. A new chapter on makeup design. A new chapter on digital rendering, with evaluations of multiple programs, overviews of file types and uses, and basic tutorials in Adobe® Photoshop® and Procreate. An expanded and revised chapter on traditional rendering, with the inclusion of new media, including watercolor, gouache, and mixed media, and updated exercises and tutorials. Revised and expanded chapters on individual design areas, including additional practices for conceptualization and collaboration, with new exercises for skill development. Additional exercises in all elements and principles of design chapters for investigation of each design principle and skill development. Revised and updated content throughout the text, reflecting current pedagogy and practices. This book gives students in theatrical design, introduction to design, and stagecraft courses the grounding in core design principles they need to approach design challenges and make design decisions in both assigned class projects and realized productions. The Art of Theatrical Design provides access to additional online resources, including step-by-step video tutorials of the exercises featured in the book.

Instruction for Beginners - Results Like a Pro! You can learn to paint with skill and confidence. Lee Hammond makes painting with acrylics accessible and fun with sound guidance, practical tips and encouraging advice. As Lee explains, the magic of acrylic painting is in the layers. Painting in layers makes it easy to block out shapes, add details and cover mistakes. Just follow along step by step, and in no time you'll be painting a variety of beautiful subjects so realistic and detailed no one will believe you're just a beginner. Starting with the basics, Lee's masterful instruction includes: • Help with choosing brushes, paints and other materials • Easy methods for thinning paint, mixing colors and preparing surfaces • Visual explanations of color and composition • Close-up instruction for getting the details just right, including textures, shading, reflections, highlights and skin tones • 40 step-by-step painting demonstrations for painting still-lifes, landscapes, portraits, flowers, animals and more Try Lee's proven techniques and start achieving the paintings of your dreams!

50 dazzling techniques...for work that shines above the rest! From the author of the best-selling books Acrylic Revolution and Acrylic Innovation, this book blazes new creative territory with 50 techniques that harness the artistic power of light. Ranging from subtle glazing on metal leaf, to pearly sheens, to boldly colored optical effects and glossy surfboard finishes, these approaches represent the most requested aspects of Nancy Reyner's popular workshops. • 50 eye-catching techniques feature metal leaf, reflective paints, pouring, fluorescent and phosphorescent paints, refractive layering and optical color effects. • Possibilities are vividly illustrated with diverse work from 44 artists. • A "Crash Course on Acrylic" chapter offers an overview of how to use these versatile paints and products to their fullest potential. This hands-on guide provides clear step-by-step directions to successfully execute these new and exciting techniques. Explore matte skin construction, sheen shifting, embedding objects, patinas and polished stone effects. Use these approaches for organic, abstract or realistic styles...as backgrounds, top layers, or accents layered in between...combine, experiment, and let your paintings shine.

A comprehensive, accessible course in landscape painting with acrylics from a seasoned artist and teacher. Author Charles Evans’s no-nonsense techniques and engaging writing style bring acrylic painting within the grasp of anyone keen to dive into this versatile and popular medium. The book begins with excellent advice for the beginner, including easy drawing for painting, composition, easy perspective, light and shade, color, and how to use acrylics with different painting styles. There are six full step-by-step painting projects ranging from simple skies to snowy landscapes with horses, each of which is supported by additional exercises and techniques. The step-by-step projects allow aspiring artists to put into practice their new-found skills, and produce six stunning paintings of their own, in a range of styles. A pull-out outline drawing is provided for every project, and Charles shows how to transfer these onto the painting surface. Charles’s irreverent style makes learning to paint with acrylics easy and fun.

The Art of Theatrical Design: Elements of Visual Composition, Methods, and Practice addresses the core principles that develop the student designer into a true artist, providing a foundation that ensures success with each production design. This text concentrates on the skills necessary to create effective, evocative, and engaging theatrical designs that support the play contextually, thematically, and visually. It gives students the grounding in core design principles they need to approach design challenges and make design decisions in both assigned class projects and realized productions. This book features: In-depth discussions of design elements and principles for costume, set, lighting, sound, and projection designs Coverage of key concepts such as content, context, genre, style, play structure and format, and the demands and limitations of various theatrical spaces Essential principles, including collaboration, inspiration, conceptualization, script analysis, conducting effective research, building a visual library, developing an individual design process, and the role of the critique in collaboration Information on recent digital drawing tool technology, such as the Wacom® Inkling pen, Wacom® Intuos digitizing tablets and digital sketching, and rendering programs such as Autodesk® Sketchbook Pro and Adobe® Photoshop® Chapter exercises and key terms designed to provide an engaging experience with the material and to facilitate student understanding

A complete course on acrylic painting for beginners and experienced artists that covers classic approaches and new innovations Embraced for versatility, quick-drying properties, and non-toxicity, no medium offers a wider range of effects forcreating highly expressive art than acrylics. With its flexibility and ease of use, acrylic paint is a must-try for painters—no matter your skill level. Here noted artist and School of Visual Arts instructor James Van Patten draws from years of experience to show you how to use acrylics to achieve a variety of results—from watercolor-like transparency and the flatness of tempera and gouache to the buttery quality of oils. He presents an insider’s look at the most up-to-date tools, materials, and techniques used by top painters in the medium to produce highly expressive art. Van Patten offers guidance on materials, processes, balance, and composition, and focuses on effectively using color in painting. Replete with detailed step-by-step technical demonstrations and a catalog of inspiring works by notable past and contemporary artists, as well as the author himself and his students, The Acrylic Painter provides a complete, classic art instruction manual for painters of all abilities in one of today’s most popular types of paint.

Celebrate the beauty, diversity and expression of drawing with this second collection in the Strokes of Genius series - 140 examples of the finest drawing being done today. Fresh from the studios and sketchpads of 100 artists, these striking creations run the gamut from highly detailed, remarkably realistic images that were months in the making, to contour drawings, journal sketches and gestures captured in mere minutes. Selections feature original approaches to landscapes, portraits and other classic subjects, along with offbeat inspirations like vintage photos and washed-off watercolor paintings. In these pages you'll find: • A vast range of mediums and combinations, including charcoal, pencil, pastel, ink and more • An exciting mix of styles and techniques presented in subject-specific chapters: Portraits, Cityscapes, Animals, the Human Figure, Landscapes and Still Life • Firsthand perspective on the processes behind the work, offering expert insights on capturing atmosphere, telling a story, finding the right pose, achieving vitality of line, and much more With a special focus on the power of light and shadow, this work has an immediacy that is honest and engaging. Filled with strokes of poetry, precision and passion, this is a memorable collection of art as well as an inspiring survey of techniques that artists use to translate impressions to paper.

Hands-on, full-color instruction in this versatile painting medium Acrylic paint is easy to use, quick to dry, a cinch to clean up, and relatively inexpensive–which makes it a great medium for amateur artists. Following a simple step-by-step approach, Acrylic Painting For Dummies provides hands-on instruction and easy-to-follow exercises in acrylic painting techniques and styles, making the medium accessible to would-be artists at all levels. Featuring large-scale projects at the end of most chapters and ample additional opportunities for readers to paint along, this friendly guide will help anyone discover the artist within.

This book makes it easy to create and admire wonderful Japanese-style paintings and portraits! Modern Japanese-style paintings are recognizable by their restrained use of three-dimensionality and perspective, reliance upon expressive lines, and the bold use of color to direct the viewer's eye. There are other ways that artists imbue their work with Japanese- inspired attributes, including through the skillful use of shape, texture, and facial expression. Author Shinichi Fukui introduces readers to 7 notable modern Japanese artists (Kazuo Kawakami, Chiaki Takasugi, Miho Tanaka, Ryohei Nishiyama, Jose Franky, Ryohei Murata, and Keiji Yano) who specialize in shin hanga-style portraiture of Japanese women. He then presents instructions to create 21 different original paintings--from sketching models, preparing and mixing paints, blocking in color, and rendering fine details. Using these techniques, and a bit of acrylic paint, readers will be able to create eye-catching works of art that express a timeless Japanese aesthetic.