Masterful Color: Vibrant Colored Pencil Paintings Layer by Layer Paperback – September 22, 2011

Absolutely the top color pencil book I've ever read. I love photorealism and this book is excellent. Author gives all kinds of tips and techniques I had not previously seen. I'm a totally self-taught amateur artist, trying out color pencils for the first time in last few months. I've read several very good color pencil books, but this one "takes the cake." BUY IT! I HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone, whether expert or beginner, who wants to try color pencils. I won't be without it now. Naturally, some things that this author covers are covered in other books, but she really gives you so much.Be aware that this author prefers Prismacolor pencils and Stonehenge paper, so if you want more information on other pencils or paper, try another book. I personally also love "The Colored Pencil Painting Bible" as another excellent work. Between the two books, I believe you can get any information you really need to do anything you want with your color pencils.This book runs the gamut from basics, what you need to start painting with color pencils, photography, working with reference photos, idea to paper, different techniques on applying color pencils, composition guidelines, color and values,how to use a grid, hues and color wheels, how to deterine values, training eyes to see color and value, how color influences color, how the Masters used chiaroscuro, how to use imprimatura, grisaille (which I'd never seen or heard of before), underpainting for color pencils, using grayed complements for darker values, underpainting for richer reds, yellows, blues, greens, pinks and peaches,(which nobody every showed me before) richer whites, grays and blacks, reflective whites and metals, textures and patterns, lights and shadowns, using complemetns for more color, seeing and painting objects through glass, reflections, cut crystal, backlit glass, prismacolor color chart, line drawings to copy and paint using author's guidelines.Other books give you an example: here is a pear, or an apple, or a flower, use these colors for it. This author gives you examples of how to use underpainting for varioud colors, so when you get into a new situation, or a new object, you will KNOW what to use to make that color really stand out! Nobody else has done that in any other book that i've seen so far. Maybe someone else does, but I'm not aware of it.Also, this is first author who ever said to sharpen pencil 'at least every one minute" and tells why and when you can use blunt tip pencil. Others asy to have a sharp pencil, but not how often to sharpen, nor why. She shows "pressure scale" and tells how to use that, lots of light layers, impress fine lines and dots before adding color, blending, color gradation. unlike many color pencil artists, she works from dark to light instead of vice versa. Tells why doing background first is important. Fabulous book.

Arlene Steinberg brings a clever old-school sensitivity or her colored pencil technique. By old school, I mean really old school, as in the old masters. She tackles a perennial problem in colored pencil work (and many other painting media): how do you make a shadow value for a yellow or other light colored tone? The grade school trick of simply pressing harder to produce a darker tone obviously won't work--there's no such thing as dark yellow. The trick of adding black over the shadowed part has obvious drawbacks, most notably changing the hue and making the picture drab.Steinberg's solution is to borrow from the old masters. They used the strategy of under painting the shadows, painting in the shadow color before applying the main color. But what shadow color to choose? The key is complementary colors, if you pair the main color with its complement, you get gray or brown, precisely what you want to create a shadow. Overweight the main color, say yellow, and you end up, remarkably, with "dark yellow", precisely what the goal was.Armed with this technique, Steinberg then demonstrates its application extensively, showing its use on some of the toughest surfaces: white, metals, cut glasss, and so forth. These are remarkable demonstrations.The book is marred, however, by boring and, at times, inscrutable text. This is especially problematic with the step by step instructions for completing each of the demonstrations. Each step tends to involve many tasks, which are described vaguely. This is especially problematic since the work is often highly detailed and the images small, meaning that the text is critical to figuring out what to do. There are also minor factual errors. For instance, her shortcut version of the golden section simply omits or distorts many of the key focal locations that make the golden section unique. In effect, her golden section is simply a center biased version of the rule of thirds, far from the intent of the classical Greeks.

I got used book and regret it.., but I wish I got new book.... Used book looks like dog was chewing it on corners.The book itself is helpful and ok.I like it - it has step by step of process work images to demonstrate the art work.

This is undoubtedly a very good book for the accomplished artist who has experience working with paints, pastels, and color pencils. It is not designed for the newcomer to colored pencil art. While the newcomer to colored pencils, a person like me, can benefit from referring to the color charts and the underpainting techniques, I doubt that any newcomer will be able to complete the exercises in this book with anything close to the results presented. Nevertheless, the book has value, in that it shows the newcomer what can be done by a professional artist who is also an expert with colored pencils.Several people have mentioned that it's a "reference book" and that's what it will be for me.I've had years of experience working with colors and values, in photography. I have some experience with drawing and composition. But it would be years, if ever, before could use colored pencils to approach the level of excellence demonstrated here.I'm not sorry I bought the book, but I really need to find some more basic instruction. And then some intermediate instruction.

I bought this book even though I am not new to coloured pencil. I still found things to learn from it, blending and overlaying cololurs and compositions etc. I would recommend this book for beginners or those with a certain amount of knowledge of coloured pencil.

I have lots of books on coloured pencil,this one is excellent and well worth adding to my collection.It was supplied quickly too.I've already followed some of the exercises and found them very helpful.

Very informative and helpful book, however for those of us using different pencils it would have been helpful to have had a small colour sample alongside the names of shades. I have found that a lot of coloured pencil books are the same.Wonderful examples though of what can be done using pencils. I'm inspired!

Informative with lots of projects.

Lovely book recommend to people that have some knowledge.