A new, small-format edition of one of Gorey’s “dark masterpieces of surreal morality” (Vanity Fair) - a witty, disquieting journey through the alphabet.

Vital Point Strikes is a guide to pressure point striking for the average martial artist. Sang H. Kim demystifies the lore of vital point striking and shows you realistic applications of vital point strikes for self-defense and combat sports. For those new to the concept of vital points, he begins by examining the Eastern theory of acupoints, meridians and ki (qi) and the Western scientific concepts of the nervous and circulatory systems, pain threshold and pain tolerance, and the relationship between pain and fear. This synthesis of accepted Eastern and Western theories helps the reader understand what makes vital point striking work and why it can be not only useful in fighting, but deadly. Based on this introduction, you ll learn about 202 vital points for use in fighting including the name, point number, location, involved nerves and blood vessels, applicable techniques, sample applications, and potential results for each point. The points are illustrated in detail on an anatomically correct human model, with English, Chinese, and Korean names as well as point numbers for easy reference. In addition to identifying the vital points, Sang H. Kim gives you detailed information about the type of techniques that work for vital point striking including a discussion of fighting zones and ranges, plexus strikes, stance and footwork, bodily weapons, striking directions and angles and dozens of applications for common empty hand, grappling, groundfighting, knife and gun attacks. Based on over thirty years experience in the martial arts and in-depth research, Sang H. Kim has created one of the most complete books available on the art and science of vital point striking.

Many of us want to learn “how to draw.” But as artist Anthony Ryder explains, it’s much more important to learn what to draw. In other words, to observe and draw what we actually see, rather than what we think we see. When it comes to drawing the human figure, this means letting go of learned ideas and expectation of what the figure should look like. It means carefully observing the interplay of form and light, shape and line, that combine to create the actual appearance of human form. In The Artist’s Complete Guide to Figure Drawing, amateur and experienced artists alike are guided toward this new way of seeing and drawing the figure with a three-step drawing method.

The book’s progressive course starts with the block-in, an exercise in seeing and establishing the figure’s shape. It then build to the contour, a refined line drawing that represents the figure’s silhouette. The last step is tonal work on the inside of the contour, when light and shadow are shaped to create the illusion of form. Separate chapters explore topics critical to the method: gesture, which expresses a sense of living energy to the figure; light, which largely determines how we see the model; and form, which conveys the figure’s volume and mass. Examples, step-by-steps, and special “tips” offer helpful hints and practical guidance throughout.

Lavishly illustrated with the author’s stunning artwork, The Artist’s Complete Guide to Figure Drawing combines solid instruction with thoughtful meditations on the art of drawing, to both instruct and inspire artists of all levels.

In Anatomy for the Artist, acclaimed artist and teacher Sarah Simblet unveils the extraordinary construction of the human body, and celebrates its continual prominence in Western Art.

The transparent body. Using superb, specially commissioned photographs of male and female models, together with historical and contemporary works of art, and her own illustrations, Sarah shows us how to see inside the human frame, to map its muscle groups, skeletal strength, balance, poise, and grace. Selected drawing superimposed over photographs reveal fascinating relationships between external appearance and internal structure.

Drawing from life. Six drawing classes guide the reader to see the human body afresh, offering techniques and attitudes that imaginatively show how to view and draw the skeleton, head, ribcage, pelvis, hands, and feet.

Dissecting the Masters. By investigating ten Masterworks, the author demonstrates different artist's ideas and knowledge across time, ranging from Holbein's Christ Entombed, to Edward Hopper's Hotel Room. Each Masterclass presents a photographed model set in the same pose, so that anatomical comparisons can be made. Understanding anatomy is often the key to an artist's understanding and interpretation of the body. This imaginative modern reference book will enhance the drawing and painting techniques of artists at every level.

Are your students as passionate about art as you are? If you're like most instructors who answered a resounding "no," this Ninth Edition of Understanding Art is the perfect means to help you jump start students' awareness and appreciation. With exceptionally balanced coverage of masterworks from the past and today's edgy new works, Understanding Art connects with students?capturing their attention with exciting images of fashion design from the runways of Paris, logos created by today's top advertising designers, and many of the cultural icons students are familiar with in their daily lives. And with the book's innovative, new "scale" feature, which is not available in any other art appreciation textbook, Lois Fichner-Rathus helps students easily visualize the true size of each work shown. THIS REPRINT ON HIGHER QUALITY PAPER HAS THE SAME CONTENT AS ISBN 0495569097 AT THE SAME PRICE.

Perceptual drawing, in which one renders the physical world as it appears to an observer, is the focus of this new text for the introductory drawing course. With an emphasis on progressive skill development, Drawing from Observation offers a balanced mix of hands-on technique and perceptual theory while making a compelling argument for the long-term value of studying perception-based drawing.

In 300 extraordinary drawings, Hogarth shows how to draw the head from every angle, age the face from infancy to old age, and delineate every feature and wrinkle.

This highly-anticipated publication presents the final comprehensive design for Sections 1 and 2 of the High Line, by Field Operations and Diller Scofidio + Renfro. This full-color book includes design renderings, maps, and photographs depicting the High Line from its construction in the 1930s through its current re-construction into New York City's most-anticipated new public space.

About Friends of the High Line
Friends of the High Line is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and reuse of the High Line, a 1.5-mile-long historic elevated rail structure on the West Side of Manhattan. Visit www.thehighline.org for more information.

GARDNER'S ART THROUGH THE AGES, VOLUME II, 14TH EDITION provides you with a comprehensive, beautifully-illustrated tour of the world's great artistic traditions! Easy to read and understand, the fourteenth edition of the most widely-read art history book in the English language continues to evolve, providing a rich cultural backdrop for each of the covered periods and geographical locations, and incorporating new artists and art forms -- all reproduced according to the highest standards of clarity and color fidelity. A complete online environment, including all images and an eBook, is also available. The unique Scale feature will help you better visualize the actual size of the artworks shown in the book. A new timeline within each chapter, along with "The Big Picture" overviews at the end of every chapter, will help you review for exams.

Illustrating Nature ~ Right-brain Art in a Left-brain World is the secret doorway to realistic drawing – open this book and find the kind of instruction that you’ve always wanted.

Even if nature isn’t your all-time hot interest, the bountiful illustrations, generous tips, and step-by-step tutorials focusing on natural objects you can find anywhere, anytime, will give you a jump-start on any other type of subject you choose, from still-life compositions to action figures to landscapes. This book sets you off on a trail of adventure ~ and who knows where it will lead! Dive into this book to discover how you can make your pencil do what you tell it to do. Use your new-found skills to improve your paintings, sketch in your field journal, design and illustrate your own business or greeting cards, or create a home school curriculum for your kids – whatever you desire.

This book is for ages 13 and up;– from college students and art-loving teens, to adults looking for a new career or simply wanting to develop their creative skills.

Written by an award-winning nature book author and college-level instructor in scientific illustration, the text is superbly crafted to make sense to the creative person of any age.

Here are some of the amazing things you can do with this book:

Improve the connections between your creative right brain and your organized left brain to create a stunning working partnership. YouÂ’ll be astonished at the things you can do.

Discover techniques of observing a subject, so that you can transmit instructions through your hand and pencil to the paper with accuracy, speed and style.

Learn how to sketch living, moving animals using multiple working sketches and additive techniques to achieve vibrant finished drawings.

Explore tricks that will enable you to draw fur, scales, wood, feathers, wrinkles, hair fuzz, and other textures found in nature and elsewhere.

See shadows and shading the way the professional artist does, and learn how to give your drawi...

The updated edition of a contemporary approach to merging traditional hand drawing methods with 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional digital visualization tools.

Jim Leggitt?s Drawing Shortcuts shows how communicating with hand drawings combined with digital technology can be ingeniously simple, and this new edition makes an already popular technique even better. Completely expanded with new chapters and a wealth of supporting images, this Second Edition presents practical techniques for improving drawing efficiency and effectiveness by combining traditional hand drawing methods with the latest digital technology, including 3-D modeling with SketchUp. This book?s step-by-step approach will sharpen and streamline your techniques whether you draw for pleasure, school or your design profession.

• Easy-to-follow instructions cover every aspect from the basics of drawing?such as composition, color, shading, hatching, and perspective?up to the most current technologies
• Incorporates Google SketchUp, Google Earth, computer generated renderings, digital scanners and printers
• Features new visuals from accomplished drawing experts
• Special new ?Gallery? section highlights the creative process with step-by-step examples of drawings
• Complete coverage of the ?Overlay and Trace Method,? ?Simple Composite Method,? ?Advanced Composite Method,? and ?Digital Hybrid Drawings?
• New matrices show alternative drawing techniques for specific visual effects such as Linework and Shading, Selecting the Right Views, Perspectives and Paraline Drawings, Drawing Detail, Camera Lenses, and Drawing Tools

Generously enriched with detailed process drawings, examples, and more than 500 full-color images, Drawing Shortcuts, Second Edition will have you creating top-quality drawings faster and more effectively.

Using simple methods and yogic theory, this unique guide focuses on the art of drawing as a way to unblock creativity and create artistic confidence. Both practicing and beginning artists will learn to develop drawing skills, overcome creative blocks, and enter the meditative state in order to find creative connections and confidence. Featuring full-color examples from professional artists, three different drawing methods, and exercises tested and developed in the author's own drawing class, this is an invaluable tool for artists, writers, musicians, and all who wish to access their creative strengths and live inspired, authentic lives.

A Theory of Feline Aesthetics

An unprecedented photographic record of cat creativity that will intrigue cat-lovers and art-lovers alike. As far as we know, no theory of feline aesthetics has yet been presented, at least not with such remarkable clarity and thorough documentation.