ART

From choosing the right equipment and aperture exposure to adjusting focus and flash, The Beginner's Photography Guide explains key concepts in clear and simple terms to help you maximise the features of your camera.

This all-in-one guide reveals the secret to creating stunning letter art, with essential tips, expert advice, and inspiring projects from Lindsey Bugbee, the creator of The Postman’s Knock, the world’s number one calligraphy website.

Discover the tools you need to achieve the best results: not only pens, nibs, inks, and paper, but also patience and creativity as you build up your confidence and skills.

Immerse yourself in more than 400 years of the world's most celebrated operas and discover the fascinating stories behind them. Explore the lives of singers such as Maria Callas, Luciano Pavarotti, and Jonas Kaufmann. Meet composers like Mozart, Wagner, and Britten, and the librettists with whom they collaborated to create the magical blend of words and music that make up opera.

Discover more than 70 celebrated dances, from The Nutcracker and Swan Lake to The Rite of Spring. Learn about renowned companies such as The Royal Ballet and the Bolshoi Ballet. Explore the lives of ballet dancers across the centuries, such as Margot Fonteyn, Carlos Acosta, and Darcey Bussell, and meet composers and choreographers, including the likes of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Matthew Bourne.

The Design Book analyses the ideas and principles behind the design of pioneering products,
information systems and environments, exploring how creativity and innovation shape our lives,from the aesthetic movement to mid-century modern and contemporary parametricism.

In this book, you will find:

The evolution of design from ancient times, through early manufacturing to the cutting-edge concepts of the 21st-century.
Profiles of the individuals and manufacturers behind each ground-breaking development.
Fascinating insight into design movements, showing how each one began and describing its philosophy and visual style.

This illustrated guide is ideal for those interested in art, sculptures and the history of art or who would like to broaden their general understanding of art and the lives of artists.

Composers Who Changed History places well-known composers in their historical and cultural context, allowing you to see how they came to influence music.
Each composer is Introduced with a realistic portrait and biographical entries which trace the friendships, loves, and rivalries that inspired and influenced them. Composers Who Changed History provides revealing insights into what drove each individual to create the musical masterpieces - symphonies, concertos and operatic scores - that changed the direction of classical music.

Explore the roots of all genres from chants of the middle ages through the grandeur of the classical period to the modern rhythm of blues, jazz, hip-hop, and pop. Music includes illustrated histories of instruments and listening suggestions for each musical genre. Spectacular galleries display families of instruments from around the world, while special features showcase the evolution of key instruments, such as the piano and the guitar, and profile iconic innovators such as Mozart, Billie Holiday, and David Bowie. Charting every musical revolution, from bone flutes to electronica and from jazz to hip-hop, this visually stunning history of music will hit the right note, whether you are into pop or rock, or disco or rap, classical or opera.

A comprehensive all-in-one guide, Photography introduces you to the art, history, and culture of photography, and shows you how to take your own fantastic professional-standard photographs.
An in-depth guide to all things photographic, Photography opens with a gallery of more than 30 key figures in photography, from 19th-century pioneers to the top photographers working today.
The second half of the book introduces cameras, accessories, and software, explaining what they can do and how to use them. It shows how to take better photographs by mastering the technical aspects of your camera, how to experiment with composition, colour and light, and how to digitally enhance your photos. Inspirational masterclasses covering all genres of photography - landscape, portraits, wildlife, architecture, art - also provide you with an opportunity to apply your newfound skills in a clear and practical way and give advice on becoming a professional photographer yourself.

The Architecture Book is a captivating introduction to buildings and the ideas, and principles that make them key to the history and evolution of our built environment - aimed at adults with an interest in the subject and students wanting to gain more of an overview. Here you'll discover the most important ideas, technologies, and movements in the history of architecture and structural engineering, through exciting text and bold graphics.
Learn about the evolution of construction, from ancient and classical architecture through Medieval, Gothic, and Renaissance buildings, Baroque and Rococo, to 19th-century emerging modernism and postmodernism and glittering skyscrapers.

This ultimate movie guide profiles more than 100 of the most significant films ever made and brings cinema to life in true blockbuster fashion. Discover the behind-the-scenes stories about timeless classics like Citizen Kane and The Godfather, and take a front-row seat at lavish blockbusters like Star Wars or Titanic.

Part of the fascinating Big Ideas series, this book tackles tricky topics and themes in a simple and easy to follow format. Learn about Movies in this overview guide to the subject, brilliant for beginners looking to learn and experts wishing to refresh their knowledge alike! The Movie Book brings a fresh and vibrant take on the topic through eye-catching graphics and diagrams to immerse yourself in.

Relive childhood excitement and celebrate more than 30 years of He-Man, She-Ra, Skeletor and all the Masters of the Universe!

By the Power of Grayskull! The war for Eternia begins again in 2021! Officially licensed by Mattel, this stunning guide is a visual celebration of Masters of the Universe's enduring legacy, including artworks, sketches, posters and merchandise from the official archives.

With the continuation of He-Man's epic story, and a new CGI animated series both scheduled to release on Netflix in 2021, it's the perfect time to familiarise yourself with all the heroes, villains, amazing battles and incredible locations from your childhood. Explore the full history of the toys, minicomics, TV series and movies. Meet characters including Skeletor, Man-At-Arms, Teela, Battle Cat, Beast Man and She-Ra and track how they change through the decades, from 1982 to today. Go behind-the-scenes to discover what it took to create a franchise with phenomenal worldwide impact. There's also a sneak peak at the reboots, to find out how He-Man, one of the biggest icons of the 80s, is being restored to his former glory.

A world of beauty and genius is unveiled in this comprehensive architecture book. Discover the world's most incredible buildings, from the ancient world to the present day.

From the Louvre and the Colosseum to the Sydney Opera House and the Gherkin, this book offers a truly visual worldwide survey of global architecture. Bursting with breathtaking photography and informative entries on more than 350 of the world's most famous buildings, Architecture: A Visual History gives you an unspoilt view of their fascinating features.

If you want to comprehend the epic and intricate Star Wars saga, this is the book for you. It is a unique and insightful examination of this beloved franchise, including Star Wars: The Mandalorian, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

Written by Star Wars experts, including fan-favourite Pablo Hidalgo, this book is packed with stunning film and TV stills, illuminating infographics and curated essays that reveal the mysteries of the Star Wars galaxy. From legendary heroes like Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa to fascinating species like the Wookiees and Tusken Raiders, this book explores the central characters, technology, governments, and events that have shaped the epic saga.

The Story of Painting will completely transform your understanding and enjoyment of art. Covering a comprehensive array of topics, from the first pigments and frescos to linear perspective in Renaissance paintings, the influence of photography, Impressionism, and the birth of modern art, it follows each step in the evolution of painting over the last 25,000 years, from the first cave paintings to the abstract works of the last 100 years. Packed with lavish colour reproductions of paintings and photographs of artists at work and the materials they used, it delves into the key paintings from each period to analyse the techniques and secrets of the great masters in detail.

From Mozart to Mendelssohn, this comprehensive guide to classical music history and classical music biography is the perfect latest addition to the bestselling Big Ideas series.

Easy to understand and clear to follow, this history of classical music explores and explains music theory and the impact of seminal pieces, while also providing fascinating stories about the lives of crucial composers and performers.

Including an insightful foreword by Katie Derham, The Classical Music Book analyses over 90 works by famous composers. From Thomas Tallis in the early period to baroque masters like Bach and Handel, to the classical genius of Beethoven and Wagner and beyond to the modern day, The Classical Music Book explores the key ideas underpinning the world's greatest classical compositions and musical traditions, and defines their importance to the musical canon, placing them into their wider social, cultural, and historical context.

The unique approach to the subject makes this book the perfect classical music guide for everyone. Regardless of whether you are relatively new to the subject and want to learn or if you are a classical music aficionado, there is plenty to discover in The Classical Music Book.

From works by Botticelli and Raphael to Salvador Dali and Frida Kahlo, discover the paintings that have shaken the art world through the centuries and across continents.

Great Paintings takes you on your own personal gallery tour of over 60 of the world's best-loved paintings. Unlock the hidden meanings and symbols behind each painting, with over 700 photographs to bring the pictures to life and help you understand the key features, composition and techniques that have made these paintings stand out. Plus, biographies of the artists provide the background to each art work, inspiring you to paint your own picture of the historical and social context behind each masterpiece.

Updated for 2018, Great Paintings is a beautiful guide to the paintings, both familiar and new, that have changed the world- it really is like having a gallery of all the great paintings at your fingertips.

The Art Book explores the most celebrated artworks by history's most influential painters, sculptors, and artists with stunning visuals and insightful quotes. Discover profiles of the most important artists from across the globe, stretching from the prehistoric Altamira cave paintings and Chinese jade carvings to movements including impressionism, symbolism, and cubism.