Art Books - Introduction

Please note that all the sample illustrations I include in my art book section are fairly safe.  Even if the art book has adult content, I try to not include any nude/sexually explicit images in this gallery.  If I do include any such content it will be listed.  I have nothing against such material, but since I provide no thumbnails I just want everything to be "work safe," even if some images might push it.

I started collecting art books in 2000, my first being a Cardcaptor Sakura anime art book.  I was dismayed at the lack of high quality scans found on the internet, and since I made desktop wallpapers at the time that was not good.  I couldn't count on others to provide large high quality scans that I wanted, so I took the situation into my own hands... spending thousands of dollars on art books since then.  Now I mainly collect them for fandom since there are many places where you can find large high quality anime scans across the net. 

Now art books can either be wonderful additions to a collection or just a big waste of money if you don't have a chance to look at what you're getting first (either because there's no sample pictures, a vendor won't let you open them, or you can't find a review).  I've made many purchases on the whim myself not really know what I'm getting, and I'll either be very pleased with my buy or sorely disappointed.  Unlike any other section you will see ratings here.  I'm basically rating on how good of an art book it is (I'll be basing this on the amount and quality of illustrations found in the book).  I know some of these books are supposed to be more informational, but I'm not rating that.  Here's the break down on how I'll be rating the books.

Ratings will be out of 5
Green is good ^_^

	Crap - Don't waste your money
	Poor - Maybe if you're a hardcore fan (and need any/everything)
	Below Average - If it's cheap and you're a fan, take a look
	Average - Pretty good, could be better
	Good - Great art book
	Excellent - Worth every bit paid!

Please remember that my rating system is skewed to my own tastes.  I may think an art book is fantastic and you may think it's horrible.  I add my own comments to give more information on the book, such as the type of material you can expect to see in it, how much of the book is illustrations, etc.

If the information I provide here is useful to anyone that's great!  I'd love to know if I helped you out ^_^.

I wish everyone luck in their art book hunting.