Animation Unleashed: 100 principles every animator, comic book writer, filmmaker, video artist, and game developer should know
by Ellen Besen, Illustrated by Bryce Hallett

Animation Unleashed moves you through a logical progression: from the principles of cartooning, through story boards and framing, sound and animation styles, special effects and abstract animation.  Honestly, I never knew there was so much to it!  I’m not an animator, but my daughter has played around with it, and I think it’s an exciting potential field for mixed media artists to consider.

Make your animation say what you want it to say. Animation’s potential as a powerful tool for communication is just beginning to be understood. This book reveals key principles, useful for both professionals and beginners, which will help you harness the full power of this exciting and ever expanding medium.

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Book review: Animation Unleashed

Beth’s work is glorious! Using mostly floral imagery, she has created captivating quilted artworks. The subtitle of the book is “Turn everyday images into works of art on fabric.” That’s just the information that this book delivers: it covers the special materials that you’ll need, shows you how to prepare and alter the images you wish to use, and tutors you on printing out on fabric.

And then begins the stitching! Beth also covers how to add outlining and thread details to really make your images sing. There are a handful of projects to round out the book, but for me, the most instructive part centered on chosing and altering those images.

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Book review: Altered Photo Artistry

This is a great book for eye-candy, but not one that I would recommend to someone who is looking for the basics of making art quilts. If you’ve got experience, you’ll find it a treasure trove of ideas. If you haven’t, you’ll find it beautiful and lush, but frustrating in the details it leaves out.

Actually, the book briefly profiles some amazing quilt artists and then moves directly into specific quilts that they’ve made, outlining the process. Due to this, the directions are of variable detail, as to be expected with multiple “authors”.

I really don’t intend this warning as a criticism of the book: no book can be all things to all people. Still, if you’re unsure about your own proficiency, you might want to take a look at a copy first before you splurge on it. Some of my favorite artists are in here (Frances Holliday Alford, Larkin Jean Van Horn), so to me it’s quite worth it!

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Book review: Embellished Mini-Quilts