Picture This: How Pictures Work

by Molly Bang

Book Overview

Everyone knows that a picture tells a thousand words. But what about the elements that make up a picture? Using the tale of Little Red Riding Hood as an example, Molly Bang uses boldly graphic artwork to explain how images--and their individual components--work to tell a story that engages the emotions: Why are diagonals dramatic? Why are curves calming? Why does red feel hot and blue feel cold? First published in 1991, Picture This fans will welcome the new edition's striking redesign and introduce its insights to many other artists and art appreciators alike.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1587170302
• ISBN13: 9781587170300
• Release Date: July 2000
• Publisher: Chronicle Books
• Length: 96 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 8.0" x 10.0"

Customer Reviews

Very helpful in understanding how art works

I got this for one of my classes in animation to better understand exactly how pictures possess the ability to say those thousand words and what gets them to say so much more. Very helpful and highly recomend. Especially if you are trying to better understand cubism or abstract art.

Highly Recommended

Molly Bang is a wonderful artist and writer. This book is written in a way that makes you feel as though you are on a journey exploring art composition with Molly, learning from her experiments alongside her. The pictures perfectly complement the text; their simplicity demonstrates her points without being confusing or overpowering. This is a great book for adolescents and adults and I would recommend it for any artist who is interested in improving the thoughtfulness and effectiveness of their art composition.

Fantastic book!

This book is amazing...the illustrations are simple, clear and compelling and the narrative approach to understanding the art elements and principles makes this rather dry topic into a fascinating tale. I have purchased several copies of this book for friends and plan to use it in my middle school art classroom.

for grownups, too

Don't be misled by the simple pictures and storybook style into thinking this a just a book for children. I have given this book to several adult friends, including some who are professional artists. We all learned something from Molly Bang's clear and compelling explanations of the principles of visual composition.

Picture This: How Pictures Work

I love this book and using it for teaching basic design ideas...a fellow teacher uses it in Psychology! The simple story of Little Red Riding Hood serves as the basis for discussion how line, color, shape, etc. work in art. Such a great idea...wish there were others of this type. I will be using it to teach the elements of art in Art History this fall.

Photos tell more than thousand words-here is the answer why!

Using the story of Little Red Riding Hood this book is focusing on the basic principles of composing images.Reduced to the maximum and using simple colors and arrangements of basic elements like circles or triangles, the drawings as well as the short, precise text within this book are pointing out, how simple and complex arrangements within pictures work, transfer obvious (and hidden) messages, how philosophy and psychology witin pictures works. Therefor its a book telling the story why pictures may lie, may influence, may manipulate an observer even though obviously just showing "reality".Whether you are taking photographs, drawing or designing - this book is a absolute must! A photo/image tells more than thousand words - here you will find the answer how and why. Great to read and watch, easy and fast to understand - even though dealing with a most complex matter.Finally a personal statement and hint for an esthetes: if you like to possess a book with an outer shape and appearance that promises, what the contents keeps, than you have to buy the nice hard cover version instead of the cheaper soft cover version - it will pay off for sure.

Reading level for 9-12???

This book is for anyone interested in the visual arts. Using the story of Little Red Riding Hood, Molly Bang explores visual communication by playing with simple geometric shapes and discussing their effect. For example, Molly creates Red as a small triangle but experiments with Red as a square, circle, or amorphous shape. Later, Molly creates the wolf as as a longer, sleeker triangle with sharper angles that create a sense of danger. She turns the angles into curves to see the impact of angles. She changes the color of the wolf from black to muave. She adds different shapes and colors of eyes; and teeth.In other words, she constantly experiments - and shows you the experiments - of different composition values and the mood they create. At the end, she summarizes what she learned as rules for composition.Whether you draw, paint, or take pictures, this book will help you with composition.