Arts & Photography Books

Just as film, art, music, and literature have the power to move people, Stefan Sagmeister's innovative work shows that graphic design, too, can cut to the emotional quick. His desire is to transform stale thinking, and Sagmeister: Made You Look does just that. Compelling, honest, and intensely pe...

There has never been a Star Trek book like this one. Imagined scenarios, new worlds and historic battles are all brought to life between its pages, as settings for the spectacular starships which have graced the Star Trek universe throughout all five television series. This is what happens when you ...

"The Rough Guide to Anime" provides a comprehensive overview of the diverse and amazing world of animation from Japan. Combining a critical approach with all the essential background information - from history and short biographies of the key people in the industry to the different genres,...

A one-of-a-kind manual that covers everything piercers and piercees need to know about the process, from the woman who brought tongue-piercing into the mainstream. Piercing pioneer Elayne Angel shares her exhaustive knowledge of piercing history, terminology, tools, techniques, jewelry, and plac...

'Great art has dreadful manners...' Simon Schama observes at the start of his epic exploration of the power, and whole point, of art. 'The hushed reverence of the gallery can fool you into believing masterpieces are polite things, visions that soothe, charm and beguile, but actually they are thugs. ...

This exciting collection features 12 stunning posters celebrating the art of Eric Carle. The perfect gift for new parents decorating a nursery, or a delightful addition to any classroom these posters feature colourful and kid-friendly images, including character favourites such as the Hungry Caterpi...

Lost in New Zealand is a new release from pre-eminent New Zealand photographer Craig Potton. In a deliberate move away from the highly commercial photography of the likes of New Zealand Aotearoa, Craig is presenting images from his photo library with a more subtle and sophisticated take on the lands...

The liberating underground comix of the 60s heralded an explosion in the genres of erotic comic art, and this volume picks up the story to show how European, American and Asian artists have explored the possibility of the form in the years since. Erotic Comics: A Graphic History Volume 2 examines ho...

There is only one Final Fantasy. Through more than a dozen wildly diverse adventures, from the release of the first game in 1987 to the most recent expansion on the story, the international influence of the game is legendary both inside the video-game industry and throughout popular culture. It is a...

This beautiful book reveals and illuminates New Zealand's vast national art collection. 400 artworks in full colour, many never reproduced before. The book spans the entire collection, from early European prints to contemporary acquisitions. International artworks by Rembrandt van Rijn, Albrecht...

Techniques for creating flawless lighting show photographers of all levels how to take full control of their photographic atmosphere in this indispensable guide. Illustrating the physics that govern light; the visual difference between the eye and camera; the qualities of incident and reflected ligh...

From the author of "Wreck This Journal," an interactive guide for exploring and documenting the art and science of everyday life. Artists and scientists analyze the world around them in surprisingly similar ways, by observing, collecting, documenting, analyzing, and comparing. In this cap...

Comickers Art 3: Write Amazing Manga Stories delves deep into the creative process of manga storytelling, with detailed advice on how to take your own ideas and turn them into fluid and original stories. With beautiful full-color art and tons of helpful tips and tricks, this third volume in the Comi...

"This is top-notch advice that is certain to have a positive impact on your business."  —Shutterbug Designed to give professional photographers of all skill levels a complete look at the working digital studio, this reference goes from start to finish—from setting up the...

If you're ready to jump into digital photography or would like to increase the skills you already have, David Pogue's Digital Photography: The Missing Manual is just what you need. Bestselling author David Pogue provides a no-nonsense guide to the entire process, including how to: buy and use a digi...

* Get outstanding results with just a few clicks. * No technical jargon, no theory, and no wasted time... stunningly simple explanations and full-color pictures walk you through every task, one step at a time. * Perfect for anyone who's new to digital photography or Photoshop Elements See it do...

 Previous version of Photoshop Elements is the best selling consumer photo-editing software on the market.  New features include applying incredible effects using the Smart Brush, removing unwanted elements from photos with Photomerge Scene Cleaner, sharing photos in new animated onli...

'… a wealth of tips and tricks' Digital Photographer Whatever you want to photograph, discover how to get it right every time with the expert photographer and bestselling author Tom Ang. From still life to children's parties, make sure you're picture perfect with Tom Ang's guide to taking...

This bestseller shows photographers how to make their images pop with Photoshop Elements 7  Best-selling guide is fully updated to include all the new features in Photoshop Elements 7.  Loaded with tips and techniques and illustrated with hundreds of full color screen shots and...

ags, tags, and labels are critical in the world of design and when you are seeking inspiration on the fly, you don’t want to be reading through pages of dense text for ideas. Now you don't have to. From bubble bath to gourmet food shops, and from clothing stores to vodka, this book is a collec...

"Girls, Gags & Giggles" - this was publisher Robert Harrison's recipe for dishing up the American pin-up to the U.S. male. In the 1950s, his girlie magazines sold by the millions, before becoming icons of pulp and trash culture.These skilfully illustrated girls with their curvaceous fo...

The art of the video game has come a long way in the past 25 years. Once upon a time, the person responsible for a game's aesthetics was a solitary programmer - often presenting characters and landscapes as little more than bits of code and coloured pixels. Nowadays, entire teams of artists work tog...

Renowned historian Michael King (1945- 2004) presents a comprehensive and searching documentary of Maori culture and society, and Maori-Pakeha contact, conflict and co-operation. From the earliest daguerreotype around 1852 to the strong protest images of the 1990s, King records and analyses changes ...

This is an indispensable guide to beads and beading techniques, presenting essential beading know-how together with a wide range of inspirational projects, tips and ideas. Each chapter focuses on a different beading technique, guiding you through the basic skills, tools and materials, before tacklin...

While Adobe Photoshop has long been their choice for editing digital photographs, many photographers want a more focused tool. That’s where Adobe Photoshop Lightroom comes in. Designed from the ground up with digital photographers in mind, Photoshop Lightroom offers powerful editing features i...

Anyone can learn to make a plaited kete, one of the oldest and most popular of Maori art forms, from the leaves of New Zealand flax (phormium tenax). Te Mahi Kete gives detailed, step-by-step instructions, illustrated with numerous line drawings and black-and-white photographs, for preparing the fla...

A lush sourcebook of nearly two thousand tattoo designs from artists around the world. From the editors of TattooFinder.com, it's a fantastic compendium for people who want to think before they ink! Whether you're tattoo-curious or tattoo-crazy, The Tattoo Sourcebook has everything you need to pick ...

Mary Kate & Ashley Olsen share the various people in the worlds of fashion, art, and design who matter to them and have influenced them up to this point in their lives. They interview 20 people, including Karl Lagerfeld, Diane Von Furstenburg, Lauren Hutton, John Galliano, Christian Louboutin...

From James Busby on, European settlers made gardens from the moment they set foot on New Zealand soil, and of course Maori had extensive cultivations of kumara around their kainga. Many settler gardens were matters of survival - kitchen gardens on which families were reliant - but as individual circ...

Over 50 step-by-step lessons in pencil, coloured pencil and markers introduce readers to the genre of manga fighting.Hundreds of dynamic illustrations help readers learn the skills they need to create action-packed characters and scenes.The drawing basics include anatomy, shading and perspective. Th...

The celebrated photographer Annie Leibovitz, author of the New York Times bestselling book A Photographer's Life, provides the stories, and technical description, of how some of her most famous images came to be. “The first thing I did with my very first camera was climb Mt. Fuji. Climbin...

Each one of us can be an oasis of peace.—Desmond Tutu Inspired by the idea that one of the greatest gifts one generation can give to another is the wisdom it has gained from experience, multi-award-winning photographer and filmmaker Andrew Zuckerman has recorded the thoughts and ideas of fi...

1642? Yes, we have an art history that dates back that far, to the engravings made during Tasman's voyage that depict the first contact between European and Maori. In this tautly, provocatively and passionately argued history, leading art commentator Hamish Keith takes readers on a fascinating and i...

Critically acclaimed director Christopher Nolan follows up his blockbuster film Batman Begins with the highly anticipated The Dark Knight. Batman Begins was a successful re-boot of the popular Batman franchise, and The Dark Knight sequel takes the fresh perspective further, developing the highly ant...

As an introductory level digital SLR, the Nikon D60 offers one-button simplicity using the Auto function or countless options using the more complex manual controls. "Nikon D60 Digital Field Guide" is filled with everything you need to know to capture amazing photographs using your Nikon 6...

This gorgeous book presents the broad spectrum of ballet and dance historically in this country - where it has come from, what has influenced the art-form, who has been involved, and who are the present movers and shakers. It's beautiful to look at, with striking photos and ephemera, attractive p...

Discover the genius behind the world of Narnia and how it was brought to the big screen in this lavish art book produced by the films' own special effects studio. Written and designed by the artists of Academy Award winning special effects house the Weta Workshop, this indispensable book chronicles ...

Clear, challenging and inspiring, this book contains instructions for 65 abstract paintings that you can get to work on straightaway, with no previous experience.All the basic information relating to picture elements, composition, theme and design is provided at the start of the book, together with ...

Even the smartest among us can feel inept as we fail to figure out which light switch or oven burner to turn on, or whether to push, pull, or slide a door. The fault lies in product design that ignore the needs of users and the principles of cognitive psychology. A bestseller in the United States, t...

The most comprehensive and detailed history available of women's fashion in the modern era. From the styles of the early 1900s to those of the twenty-first century, John Peacock charts the development of women's fashion in all its aspects: couture wear, leisure wear, day wear, evening wear, bridal w...