[Book Review] Line Color Form: The Language of Art and Design

So, I took a trip to one of my local libraries to see what they had in terms of Art and Design books. While most were based on Art from a certain period of time, I did run across the book Line Color Form by Jesse Day. While there are many times I feel I know about the basics, I never regret reading more about them. Usually each resource gives at least one more method or concept that others neglect to mention. This is one that took those fundamentals, and went a step further in explaining the purpose of each.

The first two chapters of this book cover the basics in lines, shapes, colors, hues, and color schemes. Usually when reading a reference that covers this area of art, it moves on to the rest of the book where lots of information is thrown at you. Instead, in Line Color Form, you are given this information, and then shown how each is used in various pieces of "well-known" art. There is no better way to see how each section is used, than by seeing famous art that provides a great example for each method. 

The next part of the book covers Composition, and Materials. Even if you are a 3D artist creating photo-realistic scenes, environment concept artist, or just a texture artist, this portion of the book will seem all too simple, but at the same time make you look at things differently. This section shows you how various famous paintings use the composition to grab the attention of the viewer, as well as teaching you how to set the layout for your own creations. 

With the Materials portion, you are given several photos in various "types" to view and familiarize yourself with, like stone, glass, plastic, wood, metal, etc. After the categorized photos, there are various examples of different materials used in art, and why the material made such an impact on the concept of the art itself.  

At the last part of the book, Formal Analysis, you are presented with methods of deciding if art is "good" or "bad" in your personal opinion. It then picks apart the process, making you aware of how you decide what you feel is great, and what points to watch for. For myself, this was very new to me, so if it's a concept that's foreign to you, it might be worth checking out. 

Overall, this is a great book if you want to strengthen your foundation of art knowledge, and possibly help your creations gain a greater life. Like I said earlier,  I find every basic art book helpful. Every time I read one I haven't before, new ideas and concepts are soon added to my repertoire of art awareness.