[ebooks] Art Of Atari by Tim Lapetino at Arts-Photography

Review

35 of 35 people found the following review helpful. Probably the best coffee table book I have ever seen.By prints-to-goThis book deserves 10 stars!!! Just got it today after I pre-ordered it and I really wasnt expecting too much...boy was I wrong. Its not just Atari cover art but some pretty detailed information from the artist on some of the covers. Images of unused covers along with pencil and color studies done by the artists on some of the covers. Fantastic...I mean fantastic scans of the art. I mean I could go on but if you love art its a must...if you love Atari its a must. The perfect coffee table book and one I wont be putting down for a while.Oh. Also there is also small bios on the artist and a quick history of the Atari consoles with some industrial design art of the models.This is how you do a Art of book! Major props to Tim Lapetino on putting this together.15 of 16 people found the following review helpful. An excellent book stuffed with many photos. pictures. and descriptions.By ASPExcellent book. This book is stuffed with many photos. pictures. and descriptions. There is a History section with photos of the people that worked at Atari. There is a section containing many games. the artwork used for the covers and also a screenshot of the gameplay. The screenshot is small and it would have been nicer to have the screenshot be double the size. There are photos of the consoles. and descriptions about them.The book measures 11.25" H x 10" W x 1.125" D. Its a hardcover book. The binding seems to be strong and sturdy and seems like it will last over the years. Ive attached several photos with samples pages from the book. The book contains 351 pages.6 of 6 people found the following review helpful. This is truly a fantastic book. and an amazing value for the treasures ...By Eric EtkinThis is truly a fantastic book. and an amazing value for the treasures it contains.After making a recent pilgrimage to the American Classic Arcade Museum. Irsquo;ve had a renewed interest in arcade and vintage console machines. People forget just how ground-breaking and influential Atarirsquo;s game and industrial design was over a generation of kids. This was a company unrestrained by finance. precedent. or expectations. At Atari. everything was on the table. and the misfires are as intriguing as the successes.In an era where most homes didnrsquo;t have or hadnrsquo;t even heard of a ldquo;personal computer.rdquo; where Neuromancer and The Matrix were years or decades away. computers and video games had a magical lure about them. These were The Mysteries of the 21st century. This was the time of Tron. pre-internet. pre-Pixar. pre-cell phone. pre-Warcraft. when new digital technology was materializing almost faster than we could figure out what it meant or how to use it.Atari games (and their contemporaries) were a social and imagination-firing activity ndash; the world of the game was only partly on the screen. The genius of the appeal was how these games kept firing your imagination long after you unplugged and were engaged in a completely different activity. The skill of Atarirsquo;s art and design personnel made this magic happen.Art of Atari captures these memories perfectly. treating them respect. framing them. curating them. This book is a trove of information from the era. containing not just well-known stuff like the E.T. debacle (debunked. by the way in these pages). but going into interesting trivia even 80rsquo;s junkies like me only have a passing knowledge of.Graphic art? Fine Art? Industrial design? Even fonts (yes ndash; the freakinrsquo; box fonts!) are all represented here. in spades. This book is a boon of pre-Illustrator. pre-Photoshop. old-school analog art and methods. Itrsquo;s invaluable as a time capsule. educational resource. and nostalgia device.My only quibble ndash; if it can be called one ndash; is the underrepresentation of Atarirsquo;s vast number of arcade machines. By covering all things Atari. this book admirably covers a breadth of detail. but it does so by sacrificing scrutiny of Atarirsquo;s design and social influence outside the home. Perhaps for another book..? A similar treatment of the ldquo;arcade erardquo; is long overdue.But all in all ndash; Well worth the wait. The reign of Atari is long past. but I hope this renews an interest in the art itself ndash; many of these iconic cover pieces (Asteroids. Vanguard. Star Raiders. Missile Command. I could go on and on) deserve reproduction release.