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The Computer in the Visual Arts 1st Edition
"This is a seminal contribution-a must-read for anyone interested in how computers are used in art and design. Spalter masterfully presents the principles and practices of this vital and rapidly growing field. She blends just the right amount of technology with applications and implications to the visual arts, in an easy-to-read, informative style.." -- Andries van Dam, T. J. Watson, Jr. University Professor of Technology and Education and Professor of Computer Science, Brown University, and coauthor of the authoritative book, Computer Graphics: Principles and Practice.
"At last!" Those are the words that most often greet Anne Morgan Spalter's new book--an introduction to computer graphics uniquely focused on the computer as a medium for artistic expression and graphic communication--the first comprehensive work to combine technical and theoretical aspects of the emerging field of computer art and design.
Integrating theory, examples, and the concepts underlying all the major types of graphics software, Spalter explains the principles and practices that artist, designers, illustrators, and photographers simply must understand to take full advantage of this dynamic, visual medium.
Each program is presented as part of a larger picture, profusely illustrated with diagrams and art works, including many in color.
Coverage includes:
Digital painting and photoediting Digital design and layout The building and rendering of 3D worlds Animation Multimedia The World Wide Web
Chapters on input and output address the wide range of tools and techniques for working with art and design software, and for creating both screen-based and printed works. Excerpts from interviews with artists and computer scientists add perspective to both the origins and the future directions of the field. Although some of the book's exercises require common application software, the main body of this text is platform- and application-independent.
"For years I've been searching the shelves for a book like this, a book that gathers together the loose strands of the 'computer art' movement.... She gives the whole picture- pioneer artists, technical principles, artistic choices, creative uses and misuses, all with the freshness of the hands-on practitioner." -- James Faure Walker has spent the past 10 years integrating computer graphics into his painting, and is currently a lecturer in painting/computer graphics at UCE, Birmingham, England.
- ISBN-100201386003
- ISBN-13978-0201386004
- Edition1st
- PublisherAddison-Wesley Professional
- Publication dateJanuary 1, 1998
- LanguageEnglish
- Dimensions7.75 x 1.25 x 9.75 inches
- Print length500 pages
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
Although the author uses plenty of technical detail, historical facts, and art theory, the book also includes a good deal of practical information. For example, The Computer in the Visual Arts covers popular software programs; explains different types of printers, including their benefits and drawbacks; and defines terms (helpfully, in boldface) succinctly, so you can learn the basics. The chapters on 3D graphics are a perfect example, explaining simple terms such as primitives and lofting; defining more technical terms such as fractals and other algorithmic processes; and offering hands-on insight into how artists use 3D software, special effects, and rendering processes creatively.
Chapters end with suggestions for further reading and exercises you can work through on your own. The book provides loads of information on composition--that is, arranging the form and color of artwork and deciding on the use of space and scale. There are many images from contributing artists with explanations of their approach to digital art, and more of these images are included in a four-color section. The appendices to the book discuss contemporary art periods such as modernism and postmodernism, elements of computer theory such as symbolic logic, and lists of URLs and books you can turn to for more information. --Kathleen Caster
Review
From the Back Cover
Introducing a dynamic medium for artistic expression and graphic communication
"This is a seminal contributionoa must-read for anyone interested in how computers are used in art and design. Spalter masterfully presents the principles and practices of this vital and rapidly growing field. She blends just the right amount of technology with applications and implications to the visual arts, in an easy-to-read, informative style.."
-- Andries van Dam, T. J. Watson, Jr. University Professor of Technology and Education and Professor of Computer Science, Brown University, and coauthor of the authoritative book, Computer Graphics: Principles and Practice.
"At last!" Those are the words that most often greet Anne Morgan Spalteris new book--an introduction to computer graphics uniquely focused on the computer as a medium for artistic expression and graphic communication--the first comprehensive work to combine technical and theoretical aspects of the emerging field of computer art and design.
Integrating theory, examples, and the concepts underlying all the major types of graphics software, Spalter explains the principles and practices that artist, designers, illustrators, and photographers simply must understand to take full advantage of this dynamic, visual medium.
Each program is presented as part of a larger picture, profusely illustrated with diagrams and art works, including many in color. Coverage includes:
- Digital painting and photoediting
- Digital design and layout
- The building and rendering of 3D worlds
- Animation
- Multimedia
- The World Wide Web
Chapters on input and output address the wide range of tools and techniques for working with art and design software, and for creating both screen-based and printed works. Excerpts from interviews with artists and computer scientists add perspective to both the origins and the future directions of the field. Although some of the bookis exercises require common application software, the main body of this text is platform- and application-independent.
"For years Iive been searching the shelves for a book like this, a book that gathers together the loose strands of the ecomputer arti movement.... She gives the whole pictureo pioneer artists, technical principles, artistic choices, creative uses and misuses, all with the freshness of the hands-on practitioner."
-- James Faure Walker has spent the past 10 years integrating computer graphics into his painting, and is currently a lecturer in painting/computer graphics at UCE, Birmingham, England.
0201386003B04062001
About the Author
Anne Morgan Spalter is currently Artist in Residence, Brown Computer Graphics Group, Department of Computer Science, Brown University and Outreach Director, The NSF Science and Technology Center for Computer Graphics and Scientific Visualization. She designed the first computer art course at Brown and taught joint- ly there and at Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). She has degrees in mathematics (Brown) and in painting (RISD). Her own computer art has been exhibited both in the U.S. and abroad. She is the founder of the College Art Association SIG for Computers in the Visual Arts.
0201386003AB04062001
Product details
- Publisher : Addison-Wesley Professional; 1st edition (January 1, 1998)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 500 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0201386003
- ISBN-13 : 978-0201386004
- Item Weight : 2.31 pounds
- Dimensions : 7.75 x 1.25 x 9.75 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #4,053,865 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #689 in Desktop Publishing
- #2,498 in Graphics & Multimedia Programming
- #20,809 in Computer Science (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
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The images and artists represented throughtout the book are fascinating and stunning to view. The painstaking diagrams and illustrations are outstanding references that easily explain a number of complex concepts.
I hope many will refer this book to the uninitiated art enthusiast who hopes to learn more about the dramatic role the computer plays in the visual arts.
This book takes you through the history of graphic design and how the new technology comes to life with new concepts in all the computer graphic fields; like printing, 2D and 3D graphics, and how these concepts are related to develop the computer hardware and tools.
The title is accurate in delivering the idea included in the book. I find "The Computer in the Visual Arts" useful for beginner and advanced users of the computer graphics either for the visual arts or the commercial proposes.
The "The Computer in the Visual Art" book consists of 12 chapters. Anne started her book with a brief history of the computer art in the first chapter and concerned in chapters 2 and 4 with the 2D graphics, while the 3rd chapter was about the computer hardware used in the computer graphics. The color concepts are covered in 5th chapter and the concepts of the printing are described in the 6th chapter.
The 3D concepts are described in the 7th, 8th and 9th chapters, the video concepts are described in the 10th chapter and the multimedia and interactivity are covered in chapter 11. Anne did not miss to mention some of the general concepts of the web in chapter 12.
In the end of the book, Anne included a conclusion and two appendixes about the modern art periods and computer theory.
Also, Anne included a very useful illustration to describe computer concepts. Moreover, she comprised an interesting gallery of computer graphics samples.
Although it is hard to include all the concepts of the fields mentioned in this book, Anne described some important concepts in each field in a simple way, which pushes me to think of reading more of her books.
For me as a graphic designer, I did not find the chance to go that much deeper in the computer graphic concepts, while being more concern in learning tools and graphic software. And when I wanted to know more about the computer concepts, I did not find many books concern about this issue, till I got this book, which was a good opportunity to fill what I miss in the computer graphic concept with the interesting way Anne used.
So, if you are a beginner in computer graphic field and got this book, then it is a good chance for you to know a general knowledge about the different computer concepts in many fields.