This is about e-Books, e-Booklets and Digital Guides
about Botanical Art and Illustration
i.e. publications which are delivered online via the internet direct to your digital device
about Botanical Art and Illustration
i.e. publications which are delivered online via the internet direct to your digital device
What this page aims to do is REVIEW and LIST the best of the following:
- e-booklets / downloadable guides relevant to botanical art and illustration i.e. anything shorter than a book which is:
- available as a PDF or an e-Book format
- can be read easily on a digital device
- e-Books of existing print publications for botanical artists - available as digital download e.g, via Kindle. These can
- EITHER use e-book technology to be properly responsive to different sized screens and aid reading and navigation
- OR just be a digital replica of a printed book - with no e-book technology used
IMPORTANT NOTE: This page is NEW and is currently being developed.
What are e-Books, e-Booklets and Digital Guides?
An eBook is a non-editable, reflowable book that is converted to a digital format to be read on any digital device such as computer screens or mobile devices.
What is an eBook? Understanding Why They Work and How to Make Your Own
Why are Digital Formats?
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Digital guides / e-books that can be downloaded come in different forms and formats e.g.
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e-Books and e-Booklets are:
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What do you need to read e-Books
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RECOMMENDATION: ALWAYS CHECK what you require to read the e-publication prior to download.
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WHAT IS DIGITAL RIGHTS PROTECTION?
Digital Rights Protection (DRM) usually involves the use of technology to control and manage access to copyrighted material e.g. access may be encrypted (i.e. use need a code) and/or the publication can only be read via a specific device. At a minimum, a copyright notice on a book / booklet / guide also provides the minimum of legal protection. |
NOTE: make sure you read the conditions of access to an e-Book. - particularly the copyright provisions. eBooks may be encrypted to prevent piracy / copying / loaning to people who have not paid for access
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I'll be including standalone e-books / digital guides by quality instructors
as they are published - and notified/sent to me for review.
See FORM BELOW
as they are published - and notified/sent to me for review.
See FORM BELOW
ACCESSIBILITY = e-Books must be readable on ALL screen sizes
E-Booklets - available to download online
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THIS SECTION comes in two parts.
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Available e-Booklets / Guides are ordered by topic
as follows:
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Guides for Beginners
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Title: A Place to Start
Instructor/Author: Margaret Best No. of Pages: 33 pages Format: Downloadable PDF Price: $14.50 (Canadian dollars) DRM: Copyright protection notice on every page Covers
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Although a PDF it reads well on
It can also be saved to Apple Files or Apple Books |
REFERENCE - on this website
Tips and Techniques for Botanical Art and Illustration - A compendium of tips shared by botanical artists online. Botanical Artists are renowned for sharing their experience and expertise with one another. Many now do so using their websites and blogs or by writing articles for other websites. REFERENCE - on this website Sketchbooks, Preparation and Set-up This page is about processes related to preparation:
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Drawing in Graphite
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Title: Graphite for Scientific Illustrations
Instructor/Author: Rogerio Lupo, (Brazilian winner of the Margaret Flockton Award in 2010 and 2013) Language: English (Also available in original Portuguese) No. of Pages Format: Downloadable PDF (Download it from Slideshare) Price: FREE DRM: ©Rogério Lupo 2018 – All rights reserved. Sale of this guidebook, either total or partial, is prohibited. Distribution is free. This workshop guidebook has been written by Rogerio Lupo, a professional scientific/botanical illustrator and teacher in Brazil. The text, when translated into English was reviewed by the American botanical illustrator Bobbi Angell. It provides a thorough explanation and illustrated guide to graphite technique, specifically focused on its possibilities for scientific illustrations. |
A PDF Guide which reads like a document when viewed in a PDF reader.
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REFERENCE - on this website Tips and Techniques for Botanical Art and Illustration - A compendium of tips shared by botanical artists online. Botanical Artists are renowned for sharing their experience and expertise with one another. DRAWING IN GRAPHITE TIPS include:
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Composition for Botanical Artists
A much neglected topic in most instruction books about botanical art - see my REFERENCE section below which includes a critical analysis of which books provide useful information - and which do not.
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Title: Composition Concepts — (watercolour, coloured pencil, graphite)
Instructor/Author: Margaret Best No. of Pages: 34 pages Format: Downloadable PDF Price: $14.50 (Canadian dollars) DRM: Copyright protection notice on every page This booklet covers some of the more important and universal concepts of design and composition. It highlights some of the questions that need to be asked and techniques suitable for developing both simple and complex compositions in botanical artwork. Heirloom vegetables are the subject matter used for this topic. Illustrated by various botanical artists - including those Margaret has mentored. |
Although a PDF it reads well on
It can also be saved to Apple Files or Apple Books |
REFERENCE - on this website Design and Composition - tips and techniques - Includes Composition and Design in Botanical Art Instruction Books - a critical analysis of which provide useful information - and which do not. |
Colour and The Botanical Palette
Title: Botanical Palette for Coloured Pencil — cool hues
Instructor/Author: Margaret Best No. of Pages: 37 pages Format: Downloadable PDF Price: $14.50 (Canadian dollars) DRM: Copyright protection notice on every page Includes:
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Title: Botanical Palette for watercolour — cool hues
Instructor/Author: Margaret Best No. of Pages: 38 pages Format: Downloadable PDF Price: $14.50 (Canadian dollars) DRM: Copyright protection notice on every page Includes:
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REFERENCE - on this website Colour | Tips and Techniques - covering what you need to know about colour, colour mixing and getting the glazes and mixes right Includes what you need to know
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How to Paint......
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to be notified - see preamble
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REFERENCE - on this website Links below are to specific pages on this website where links to more articles can be found Tips and Techniques for Botanical Art and Illustration - A compendium of tips shared by botanical artists Botanical Artists are renowned for sharing their experience and expertise with one another. Many now do so using their websites and blogs or by writing articles for other websites. How to draw and paint leaves and trees - Tips and techniques for how to draw and paint botanically correct trees and leaves. Drawing and watercolour painting instruction includes step by step demonstrations, videos and books. |
Framing and Presentation
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to be notified - see preamble
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REFERENCE - on this website Links below are to
Tips from RHS Gold Medal Winners | BAA tips to improve both the content and presentation of your exhibit and the logistics of an entry to the RHS Botanical Art Show How to Frame and Hang Art | Art Business Info. for Artists How you mat and frame your art has a major impact on how it looks - and whether it gets into exhibitions and sells. How you hang a picture determines whether it looks good - and stays on the wall! Image Management for Artists | Art Business Info. for Artists including: |
How to get your e-Booklet / Digital Guide Listed on this page
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If you want your booklet listed please contact me and then email me a copy as I check out educational instruction that I list.
Note that e-Booklets / Guides must be accessible on ALL screen sizes to be listed on this page What I need to know:
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DIGITAL eBOOK VERSIONS of
The Best Botanical Instruction Books about Botanical Art
One of the big bonuses of digital versions of books is you can download to anywhere in the world - without the extra delivery costs!
Below you can fin KINDLE versions of books are listed by the Main pages on which they feature on this website.
Below you can fin KINDLE versions of books are listed by the Main pages on which they feature on this website.
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PLEASE NOTE:
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WHAT "FEATURES" MEAN
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The Best Instruction Books by top Botanical Artists / Teachers
ALL of the books listed below were first listed on my other pages about the Best Botanical Art Instruction Books
- They are all worthy of your consideration.
- THIS PAGE addresses how well they can be viewed and read in the digital format chosen by their publishers.
- A poor format does not make the book poor - it just means you'd be much better off buying it in hardback or soft back format.
YOU CAN ALSO VISIT THIS LINK to the HARD BACK / PAPERBACK page / reviews
NOTE: All links below are Amazon Associate links which mean I earn a very small amount from each qualifying purchases
(e.g. books from Amazon) which helps offset costs associated with maintaining this very large website.
(e.g. books from Amazon) which helps offset costs associated with maintaining this very large website.
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The books below are all KINDLE books available from Amazon. I indicate:
They are organised BY PUBLISHER as I find how they can be viewed is generally consistent by the standards applied by individual publishers |
RECOMMENDATION
When purchasing an eBook you need to be sure that the format it is produced in can be read by your digital device. Wikipedia provides an analysis of the various formats which can be read by different digital devices. |
Processed / converted for digital devices
Books which have been converted for reading for digital devices frequently include the following e-book features
- Responsive - the viewable page is AUTOMATICALLY customises its rendering to the size of screen and the font size stays consistently readable (this does not happen with digital versions of printed books where the font size diminishes in size and can be unreadable unless manual adjustment is used)
- Page Flip - allows you to page through the book
- Hamburger menu - allows you to access the contents page and navigate to another part of the book
- Enhanced typesetting which makes viewing easier eg you can change font and font size
- Hyperlinks - may be included which take you to an external website
- Word wise (or similar) - explains what particular words mean
The Best Instruction Books about Botanical Illustration
The Crowood Press
Crowood Press appears to understand what readers require of an eBook and provides versions which are reformatted to be capable of being responsive to different size screens and incorporate software allowing for ease of navigation and reading.
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Botanical Illustration: The Complete Guide on Amazon UK
by Leigh Ann Gale
Scrolling in 'Look Inside' indicates a publication which has been appropriately reformatted for digital reading. 'Hamburger' menu allows you to jump between sections You can also resize the font to make it comfortable reading for you |
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Publisher : Crowood (2 July 2018)
Language : English File size : 100431 KB Text-to-Speech : Enabled Screen Reader : Supported Enhanced typesetting : Enabled Page Flip : Enabled X-Ray : Not Enabled Print length : 213 pages |
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Botanical Illustration from Amazon UK
by Valerie Oxley (+ review)
Impossible to assess Kindle version from Amazon website accessed via desktop The "Look Inside" relates to paperback only. A sample can be downloaded to a Kindle app - however this indicates This book does not support continuous scrolling There's no menu in the same version so difficult to see how the Kindle version work.
However it has been properly reformatted for digital reading on a smart phone and includes good quality illustrations and the font size is very readable. |
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Publisher : Crowood (1 Aug. 2013)
Language : English File size : 36986 KB Text-to-Speech : Enabled Enhanced typesetting : Enabled X-Ray : Not Enabled Print length : 517 pages |
Search Press
Search Press have opted for a digital version of the printed book with NO REFORMATTING.
This can mean that:
You need to look carefully to see
This can mean that:
- they're not all responsive to different size screens i.e. very difficult to view in anything other than a decent size tablet.
- software features used for ebooks are not enabled
- there has been no reformatting of the book. This has the potential to make the font size far too small on small screens and constant readjustment is required to read the words and move through the text
You need to look carefully to see
- WHEN the book was published - more recent publications have improved on earlier attempts at e-Books
- whether the sample is in single page or double page spread format - latter makes life very difficult
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by Işık Güner
This is a "Print Replica" version of this book as opposed to a proper digital version - which can cause problems with readability and navigation The print replica has been done one page at a time. |
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Publisher : Search Press (31 July 2019)
Language : English File size : 56434 KB Text-to-Speech : Not enabled Enhanced typesetting : Not Enabled Page Flip : Not Enabled X-Ray : Not Enabled Print length : 208 pages |
RECOMMENDED READ ON LARGE TABLETS ONLY
This is an excellent book which I highly recommend in its paperback version.
However when read as the sample version via Kindle:
This is an excellent book which I highly recommend in its paperback version.
However when read as the sample version via Kindle:
- it reads well on my iPad Pro and navigation is possible via page thumbnails at the bottom of the screen is permitted
- BUT on my my iPhone 12 Pro Max there are no navigation options and the font size is far too small unless read in landscape format with constant adjustment using finger
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The Kew Book of Botanical Illustration from Amazon UK
by Christabel King
NOT RECOMMENDED VIA KINDLE This has NOT been properly processed for online viewing. It's a digital version of the printed book - formatted as a double page spread. |
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Publisher : Search Press (1 Aug. 2015)
Language : English File size : 134333 KB Text-to-Speech : Not enabled Enhanced typesetting : Not Enabled X-Ray : Not Enabled Word Wise : Not Enabled Print length : 128 pages |
The major issue with this book is the format focuses on a double page spread of the printed book.
- In principle, the font size can be changed but you then can't look at the double page spread.
- A sample can be downloaded to the Kindle App - but I found the double page spread approach to be VERY unsatisfactory on both my iPad Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max.
The Best Instruction Books by Botanical Art Societies
Botanical Art Techniques - A Comprehensive Guide to Pen and Ink, Watercolor, Colored Pencils, Etching, Egg Tempera, Oils, Casein, and More
by the American Society of Botanical Artists.
Edited by Carol Woodin and Robin Jess
NOT AVAILABLE as an eBook
by the American Society of Botanical Artists.
Edited by Carol Woodin and Robin Jess
NOT AVAILABLE as an eBook
Batsford Press
Batsford understand how to format a book for digital consumption by readers. (see below)
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This book reads really well and very early on my iPad Pro because:
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Publisher : Batsford; Illustrated edition (5 Mar. 2015)
Language : English File size : 38007 KB Text-to-Speech : Enabled Screen Reader : Supported Enhanced typesetting : Enabled X-Ray : Not Enabled Word Wise : Not Enabled Print length : 266 pages |
A WORK IN PROGRESS
How to get your full size e-Book listed on this page
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If you want your booklet listed please contact me and then email me a copy as I check out educational instruction that I list.
Note that e-Books must be accessible on ALL screen sizes to be listed on this page What I need to know:
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The Best Botanical Art and Illustration Instruction Books
- The Best Instruction Books by top Botanical Artists / Teachers
- The Best Instruction Books by Botanical Art Societies
- The Best Instruction Books about Botanical Illustration
- The Best Botanical Drawing Instruction Books (graphite and coloured pencils)
- The Best Botany Books for Botanical Artists
- Botanical Art Instruction Books by year of publication