We all know that it takes hard work, dedication, and the occasional dose of luck for someone to make it to the top of their chosen field. Yet we also suspect that it takes a little something more -- but what? The Art of Doing asks today's most successful celebrities, businessmen, and iconoclastic achievers, "How do you succeed at what you do?" You'll be surprised by what you can learn from these original and refreshing takes on success

The ultimate celebration of the second Hobbit movie reveals the full creative vision of the art and design teams with more than 1,000 exclusive images and photos, including designs and concepts that never made it to the big screen. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Chronicles - Art & Design explores and celebrates the creative vision of the second film in Academy Award-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson's trilogy adaptation of The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien. This lavish volume follows Bilbo, Gandalf and Thorin's Company of Dwarves eastward, through hitherto unseen regions of Middle-earth, on their quest to reclaim the lost realm of Erebor from the Dragon Smaug. Exploring the design and development of the environments, cultures, creatures and artefacts encountered by the characters, it is filled with more than 1,000 stunning images of conceptual art, supplementary photographs and detailed commentary provided by the film's cast and crew. As a bonus feature, unique to this book, there is a special fold-out replica of the portrait of the Master of Lake-town, played by Stephen Fry, exactly as it appears in the film. Compiled by Weta Workshop senior concept designer Daniel Falconer, this is the third book in The Hobbit: Chronicles series and it has been created in full collaboration with key members of the production's creative team to ensure the most comprehensive and authentic film companion possible.

"Whatever art you practice, chances are you're going to come across image transfer techniques. These valuable techniques allow you to reproduce a unique image from any source and apply it to a myriad of surfaces. The options are endless! Playing with Image Transfers is a beautiful and helpful resource that will teach you the four image transfer methods: Packing Tape, Solvent, Medium, and Acrylic transfers, while highlighting basic methods and offering projects across a range of interests and applications. You'll learn how to make beautiful items, including gift boxes, albums, sketchbook covers, wall art, accordion books, and much more. Once you've mastered the techniques, you'll also explore multiple surfaces as a base for transferring--wood, fabric, paper, canvas, and book forms. A beautiful gallery will show the use of image transfers in a wide variety of high-end artistic works to get your creative juices flowing. The 'Considerations' in each chapter offer suggestions on how a single project can be expanded or further adapted if you're looking to challenge yourself past the basics. By the time you finish this informative book, you'll be well-equipped to use your own images in your creative work"