Scenic Art for the Theatre: History, Tools and Techniques

Bought it to help our paint apprentice. Super useful as a guide—

This is an amazing resource that covers several different aspect of scene design. I really enjoyed the was the book broke down not only the construction of different set pieces, but their use for mood setting as well. This book not only proves to be a valuable resource for people with an extensive background in theatre and design, but for someone who is wanting to gather more information and instruction in the area.I used this book in a technical theatre course I teach and it was not just the students that learned several things. The kids loved how this book was very easy to understand and laid out in a way that made sense. They also like that several examples were provided for each stylistic aspect of the book.This really is a great resource that anyone in the technical theatre or directing field should have on their shelf.

Great book with huge source material and technique breakdowns. Photography is terrific. My ONLY complaint, which made the whole book a challenge was the ink value was too light and caused eye strain to read in certain lighting. It really wasn't much much darker than the glossy white pages of the full book which made it difficult to read.

With apologies to Ms Crabtree, who is a master of her craft, I am disappointed with this book as a textbook. The first 280 pages are interviews with painters and designers and pictures of gorgeous painted scenery. There is a quick 100 pages at the end that shows a handful of student projects with less than 5 pages that show step by step techniques. I had purchased this in hopes to show my students some step by step pictures of marble, brick, fieldstone, and drape. There are a few pictures of each scattered in the 400 pages and some wordy descriptions about the techniques but no process photos I will be able use as a teacher. I appreciate the stenciling section and there is more on wood graining than most techniques which may be useful . On the whole, this is a memoir or history book full of beautiful photos of scenery and talented painters mingled with artist and designer interviews. If you are teaching scenic painting and want lessons for class, this is not the book for you.

As a Scenic Artist, I found this book so well written, both for professionals and beginners alike - it's a must-have guide to scenery painting.

Ugh - I've never had a hard time reading before but the publishers should have reconsidered the font used. Too thin, too light, too tough to read. It's enough to have me consider returning this. And I was hoping to retain this as a reference....

A great resource and teaching tool. Also some great interviews that are worth the read. Great format

Great book introducing a fascinating subject. I'd recommend it for any painter, even those who (like me) have never painted a theatre set.

I thought this book would be more about techniques, tools and paints etc, these subjects are covered but half of this book is interviews and anecdotes. Very disappointing. Returned after 10 minutes flicking through it.I then purchased Theatrical Scenic Art by Emma Troubridge, which is exactly what I was after. Half the price and so much more informative.

Excellant information. Well presented and very thorough.