How Artbooks are Rated
How often have you purchased an artbook, and been totally dissapointed by it’s content? I know I have a number of times! There is nothing more frustrating than having paid out alot of money, for a bad artbook, which is why, when working out the rating system for my collection, I seriously thought about what a “good” artbook should contain.
Since these are my opinions, I’ll give you an idea of how I’ll be rating 
Since artbooks to me, are a way to appreciate an artist’s work, I generally expect the artbook to contain mostly just that. Images of that artist’s work with a variety of styles. Extras, promotional work etc. are an added bonus. How a book is layed out & presented is important too. Is it too thick & too big, thereby making it difficult for me to manage? Are the images well laid out useing the space to proper effect? Whats the packaging like, does it break easy or will it last? Whats the print quality like? How much text to image does the book contain? Less text, more art IMHO! These are all things I look out for initially when I pick up an artbook.
Then of course, there is the art itself.
Does the artist use a variety of drawing mediums, or do they just stick to one? How do they depict their characters, all in one mood or in a plethora of human emotions? I love variety, so an artist who can provide that gets a thumbs up from me!
Last but definitely not least, the cost of the artbook is very important. Does the cost of the artbook justify it’s content? Sometimes you’ll get an extremely expensive artbook that has poor content; other times you’ll get a bargain price on an artbook thats absolutely choc-full of gorgeous artwork. Artbooks are generally not cheap, so you want to know you’re spending that money well.
Thusly, the rating system will be as follows:
- Bad – the artbook sucks. Stay away.
- Poor – the artbook isn’t that great, but may appeal to some.
- Average – nothing extraordinary, but has features that are still appealling. Worth giving this a shot
- Good – a recommended buy that has only a few niggly annoying things about it.
- Excellent! – outstanding content & design with absolutely nothing wrong. BUY IT!!!
The most important factors that make or break a book will be:
- Text to image content – more images is better!
- Use of space – are those images well laid out?
- Cost vs. content – do they equal out?
- Image style – does the art style appeal to me?
Your mileage may vary 
