Book Description
The New Authoritative Guide on Drawing Cool Comic Portraits *Features 30 step-by-step demonstrations for easy reference *Presented with a sense of humor and a cool design to set it apart from dated competitors *Appealsl to the wide trade market of 13-year-old-plus beginners Anyone can learn to draw sharp and cool caricatures with Face Off. Presented in an entertaining style, the easy-to-learn techniques and basic processes will make the art of comic portrait drawing simple, even for young beginners. Readers will learn how to draw specific features for the front, ¾, and profile views, as well as how to color their art and find inspiration from a gallery of collected works.
Customer Reviews:
An Excellent Guide!.......2007-09-28
Face Off is an excellent step by step guide to analyzing a face and creating great caricatures. I've been an artist for more than 20 years and was always amused by caricatures, but never developed a knack for creating them . . . until I got this book. After only 6 weeks of following the step by step guidelines I've developed my own style and I'm creating hilarious pictures of my friends and family. I highly recommend this book to both beginning artists and more experienced professionals looking to branch into caricatures.
Great Modern Caricature How-To.......2007-08-04
"Face Off" is one of the better books on basic caricaturing, in part because of its modern, graphic-heavy approach. Also, in my opinion, this work is more up to date than most other books on the subject, even explaining how to color your drawings in PhotoShop without screwing up the original artwork.
This book covers a lot of ground, although out of necessity it isn't always what you would call "in-depth" in its information. For a broader understanding of caricaturing, I would suggest that you get this book along with another more detailed work such as Len Redmann's How To Draw Caricatures and/or Let's Toon Caricatures by Keelan Parham. I have found all of these books to be extremely helpful, especially when taken together.
Overall, this is a fun and informative book.
Good Stuff.......2007-06-19
Well when I got this book in the mail, I was very excited. Only to have my bubble bust when while flipping through the pages i realized that these are more cartoons than caricatures. None the less the information presented here is invaluable to any aspiring cartoonist or caricaturist. (I strongly believe theres a difference). However i'm not really complaining I would still recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn to draw caricatures. I belive by mastering this book one would have obtained the skills to produce both caricature and cartoon portraits. So in my final analysis I would have to give it a 4/5 stars (due to my initial disapointment).
The Book I've been looking for........2007-05-22
This book combines both great artistic skills with instructional skills to create an excellent book for the less experienced caricature artist. I found much that I could use in improving my own caricaturing within this book's pages. The author shows step by step partial drawings along with the completed black and white caricature, as well as the colored in version. I like the author's caricaturing style, not over exagerated, but very recognizable as the person pictured. This is the book, that I think I will get the most use out of, of the 4 books that I purchased together. I really love it.
You gotta get this BOOK!.......2007-02-24
I cannot tell you how long I have waited for a book with this much insight. If you are an aspiring caricature artist this book is a M-U-S-T. I have been doing caricature art for over ten years and this book filled in all the gaps. Harry Hamernik tells it all and does it step by step.
Buy this book and close your account because this is all you need to grow in your craft. Well done Harry, well done.
Customer Reviews:
A Definite Must For Any Artist's Library!.......2004-02-27
Christopher Hart has truly done an excellent job with this book. Filled to the rim with illustrations, techniques, explanations and inside information, if you've ever wanted to learn about humorous illustration or cartooning, put this on your list. You'll be glad you did. :o)
For any type of artist.......2003-08-19
Great book. He displays how to cartoon men, women, children, elderly and many types of animals. He does it in an extremely visual way that even a child could follow along. This book is packed with 95% illustrations and 5% text. To me, that's a winner. The 5% text that is in there is invaluable. The print is nice and large and easy to read. I am very happy I bought this book. It is a keeper.
From the Beginning.......2001-09-13
From the beginning of this book to the end, it is filled with (finally) basic, step-by-step instructions on drawing cartoon people, body parts, the "action line", body language and style. And then it starts all over again with animals! Mostly dogs, cats, and different fowl, it also includes less common animals, like beaver, porcupine, raccoon and many sea animals. Can't forget the great alligators and dragon. Finally, the book spends time on placing the characters, reference lines and specialty shots and the all-important "balloon". Another great one by C. Hart. I think I own most of his books and they are all worth great merit, better than the other books I've seen out there by far.
My Drawing Bible.......2000-11-01
A few years ago, on a whim, I decided to start drawing. I didn't know where to begin so I bought this book. I really believed I couldn't draw. The techniques in this book were so easy to learn that soon I went from drawing stick figures to expressive cartoon characters. My confidence went up and I took on more complicated projects. Now, I work part-time doing illustrations and it all started here!
First-rate!.......2000-03-15
This is an excellent book for any beginning artist or anyone else wanting to learn cartooning. Chris Hart publishes some of the best books on art that I've ever seen. This book gives good details on drawing that is easy to follow and understand. All in all, this is one book that should be in every artist's library.
Book Description
Includes hundreds of step-by-step instructions and examples of caricatured subjects that show the art in action.
Customer Reviews:
Very nice lessons in this book.......2003-12-20
I really like this book very much. I do think that there is an expectation of a certain amount of artistic ability from the get go but there is a certain amount of rudimentary skill building included as well.
It is a nice large size that I think is necessary for art instruction books and it is also a fairly big book as far as total pages go. One issue I have with many *how to draw* books is that they tend to be pretty thin. This is quite a nice size.
In the beginning there are a lot of examples of types and styles of features that people have...not in caracature form but just in general. I like this. I find this very helpful in general drawing as well as helping you focus on what features you can play up for the art of caricature. Proportion is also discussed with an eye on how to manipulate it. It is also a great lesson in general drawing.
The examples that are used to show what to do are quite good. there is a photo (or photos) on the page and the drawing that accentuates certain of the features. It's very helpful, I think, to start with an actual photo and see how the artist picked up on certain features in his finished drawing. I do notice that the people selected for photos *do* tend to have obvious traits that are easy to pick up on (a VERY square jaw... A *very* pointed chin... Large bags under the eyes, etc) I think this does get you used to looking for these things but perhaps a few more examples of less obvious features would be a big help.
Over all I like this book very much. It shows different styles and while the focus is on the caricature it isnt on making the subject look bizarre. Quite a good first book.
I think a lot of people will be dissapointed.......2003-07-27
This book is a dissapointment. All it tells you to do is picture a perfect face in your mind with all of the facial features the perfect size. Look at the face that you're drawing and if he/she has any facial features that are too big, you make them even bigger and if he/she has any facial features too small, then you make them even smaller. Only true beginners will benefit at all from the information stated in this book. It never tought me how to draw caricatures like the ones I see people draw at amuesment parks or the ones I see in MAD magazine. The author doesn't have the same drawing style as them. It only told me the very very basics of caricaturing, which I already knew. If I were you I wouldn't buy this book, you can learn just as much by looking at how Tom Richmond and Chris Rommel draw their caricatures at tomrichmond.com and chrisrommel.com.
not bad,quite good.......2003-01-18
i really taught this book was going to be another step-by-step book,i mean it`s entitled `HOW TO DRAW` rayt?but it doesn`t mean i didn`t like this book,i found some of his theories quite heplful,like the use of the in-betweener.i`m still hoping guys ...would really put out a really,really,really helpful `how to draw caricatures` book.
An easy start for a wannabe cartunist.......2002-10-27
Len Redman could be an ok cartunist but he's definetely a great professor. His book shows how to catch the comic detail, a corner stone for a good cartoon, in a simple and direct way.
If the wannabe cartunist have some talent, this book will be a great help for a good start. I recomend.
One of best books for learning cartoon caricature!.......2001-06-03
June, 2001- I own more than twenty books on the subject of how to draw caricatures and cartoons. Following only five weeks of practice, I recently started working part time as a caricature artist at a major theme park (mostly for the fun of it). I have no previous experience in art or drawing. Studying Redman's book did more for me than any other. The key to success in caricature is being able to produce a clean, simple sketch that has adequate likeness to the subject's face yet, in a kind way, also employs some fun with "exaggeration" -- not distortion. Redman's book does the best job, for the complete beginner, of any text out there. This is one of the only instructional references that makes a special point to include at least one and often several photographic views of each subject before showing you how to construct the basic caricature drawing. There are many such examples of photo studies and caricature results. He also covers children and and a wide variety of ethnic groups. Redman includes examples of how to draw the same subject using several different caricature styles. There are also examples of famous people done in caricature. Too many of these to even count. If you combine this book with Jack Hamm's Cartooning: The Head & Figure to learn cartoon bodies to go along with the faces, you have a great pair of reference books. As a cautionary note, Redman's book does contain some cartoon nudity which I feel was not needed at all to make the text a valuable learning reference. Parents might want to remove these few pages before the book is used by children. This is a great learning tool. Good luck!
July 2, 2002- As a follow up to the above review, for those seeking the very best caricature training references, I must add a third book from the many that I have reviewed. I recently purchased, for a reference on cartooning, The BIG Book of Cartooning by Bruce Blitz. To my surprise and delight this turned out to be perhaps the best text yet on CARICATURE as the art form is applied in theme parks and private parties. Like Redman's book, Blitz offers many training exercises starting with actual photos of the person to be sketched and showing step by step how to "construct" the caricature. More than this, Blitz ties together at a beginner to intermediate level the techniques of "catching" a caricature likeness and adds a huge resource of comic techniques and gag ideas.
Redman's and Jack Hamm's books are still the best for starting to draw caricature. However, a theme park or private party caricaturist in their early years of development will see a BIG jump in skill, income, and tips after a thorough study of Blitz's BIG Book of Cartooning. Blitz's book, having been published in 1998 is more current in its examples and styles, and, due to its emphasis on gags and cartooning, more likely to hold the interest of young artists of say junior high or high school age. Warm regards, Brock
Book Description
Curvaceous women, a top subject sought by comic book publishers, are the focus of this eye-popping instructional that shows aspiring cartoonists exactly how to master drawing a bevy of fabulous females.
From basic anatomy, musculature, body positions, and action poses to facial expressions, hairstyles, and costumes, this truly invaluable and unique resource covers in great detail every aspect of depicting great-looking women for comic books.
The book also shows how to handle perspective and compose art specifically for comic book panels. In addition to chapters offering effective drawing lessons are sections on tricks of the trade, lists of comic book publishers and their submissions addresses, and interviews with industry professionals Bobby Chase of Marvel Comics and Renae Geerlings of Top Cow, who provide insiders' views of the business and give tips on how newcomers can land their first jobs in the field. Contributing illustrators have penciled and inked such famous characters as the X-Men, Superman, Batman, Spiderman, Catwoman, Supergirl, Green Lantern, Captain America, and many others.
Customer Reviews:
Save your money.......2006-06-14
Think of all of the good books out on the market that you could buy! Flip through this book once or twice and you'll learn all there is to learn...from this book. There's so much out there about drawing women that this book just doesn't cover anything. Well it covers a lot of the same things his previous books cover, but that's about it. By the way, if you're going to learn to draw comics professionally, learn to draw comics from professionals, not from people that would do well to take a class on "The Basics of Comic Book Artistry 101" I will say, though, it's not all Christopher Hart's fault. Most of the schools across America are lacking in comic book art instruction. Still, If you don't know what you're doing, don't tell anyone else how to do it!
not for beginners.......2006-05-16
this book is an OK book, but it's not for beginners. the only thing this book does is give you ideas for what to draw not how to draw them. Christopher Hart shows some basics in the beginning but not enough for the first time artist. so if you are an experienced artist then this may be a good book for you but if you need a book on learning the basics, don't bother getting this one. and either way, you shouldn't buy this book brand new, buy it used instead, because it's not worth alot of money.
Poor anatomy.......2005-08-29
There's no way this is good anatomy, just get any Marvel or DC comic from your bookshelf and you will notice the huge difference. the bodies are just weird looking. Sorry.
Oh my! The anatomy is HORRIBLE!.......2003-12-03
This book "takes art to a whole new level?" What?! The artist's understanding of human anatomy and correct proportion is ghastly. Torsos are weirdly lengthened or turned out-of-porportion to the rest of the body, chests are almost humorous, arms spout from upper bodies like mismatched attachments, and buttocks hang like onions in underpants. Faces are so generic they're interchangeable, except with variations on hairstyle. Apparently "great looking comic book women" are stereotypes that vary only in their decorative objectification: change the costume and the hair, and everything else is assembly-line rendered. Even the bare basics of human life drawing are absent in the book. The step-by-step processes aren't innovative, and are shown with MUCH better results in "real" art books. This is for guys who want to scratch out semi-bizarre "babes" and not realize how goofy the creations actually look. Sorry to be harsh, but MAN, this anatomy is poor.
Takes drawing to a whole new level..........2002-03-16
I love the Hart books because they seem to be an extention of the book "How to draw Comics the Marvel Way"..I think this guy must have read Marvel Comics and is showing us how he draws those Super Hero Women..It's covers everything from how to pose to how to place the figue on the page and making scenes look dramatic. As a cartoonist I have to say I will borrow heavily on his illustrations for reference and guidance.
Average customer rating:
- My 5-year old grand daughter loved it!
- Mediocre at best
- grandsons loved it!
- Kid's Play
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How to Draw Funny Faces (How to Draw (Dover))
Barbara Soloff Levy
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
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ASIN: 0486423972 |
Book Description
Aspiring artists will find it a snap to create humorous portraits with this easy-to-follow guide. Step-by-step diagrams show how to draw little girls with unusual ponytails, a bearded leprechaun, a balding man, a lady with a funny hat, and other odd faces by combining ovals and circles and adding curvy lines and squiggles. 116 black-and-white illustrations.
Customer Reviews:
My 5-year old grand daughter loved it!.......2006-07-20
When my grand daughter comes to visit, I like to create a fun environment for her. I bought "How To Draw Funny Faces" for her, and she loved it. Usually she spends no more than 10 minutes on a project or game, but she spent close to an hour drawing the various faces in the book and then hung them on my refrigerator. Great for kids to learn to draw and fun.
Mediocre at best.......2006-06-04
I was expecting much more from this book. It rehashes the same expressions over and over again. No directions on how to actually make a funny face, such as changing the expressions of features i.e. raised eyebrows, crossed eyes, dimples at mouth, funny ears. I was disappointed and wouldn't buy this book again.
grandsons loved it!.......2006-02-28
Even the little one is sitting down to try and draw the funny faces . The parents are having fun too.
Kid's Play.......2005-08-18
This does not have the most interesting cartoon characters but it is a book that kids can pick up on their own & do very basic cartoon faces without any help.
Book Description
• In-depth visual reference for every artist of war comics
• Top-gun artists from DC/Wildstorm
War offers compelling subject matter for artists: life-or-death battles, conflict, bravery. For sixty years, war comics have attracted the biggest names in the industry, including Jack Kirby, Will Eisner, Harvey Kurtzman, and Wally Wood. Gung Ho! How to Draw Fantastic Military Comics offers an introduction to war comics, then goes on to page after page of essentials for drawing accurate military personnel (including infantry, Navy SEALs, Green Berets, and more); military vehicles (jeeps to MI-A1 tanks and beyond), military planes (F-14s to stealth planes), military boats (rafts, submarines, aircraft carriers, more), and military armory (knives, pistols, antiaircraft guns, and many others). Featuring the work of a team of DC/Wildstorm comic-book top guns, Gung Ho! Is essential for any artist who wants to be fully prepared for battle.
Customer Reviews:
GungHo.......2007-07-04
Kinda of old stuff easily seen online..really didnt do anything to inspire me into drawing something new..pretty old weapons systems and up to date..waste of money if your looking for new ideas..best part of the book was the cover
Gung Ho Go!.......2006-02-18
This is a fun and inspiring how to draw book. There is a good mix of real and fantasy type characters and weapons. If you like drawing military characters like in video games like Rainbow Six and Metal Gear Solid or in comics like GI Joe or Sigma 6 this is the book for you. There is a real nice section on guns and lots of helpful tips for drawing vehicles. The characters are slightly idealized, but not so far to be unrecognizable as real soldiers.
Gung Not... So So artist reference.......2006-02-09
If you wish to learn to draw G.I. Joe and other comic-book style characters Gung Ho! Is a book you might want to check out. The author gives a brief explanation of various military concepts (Navy, Marines, Diver), and then draws a single character in an action style pose.
Unfortunately, there isn't anything particularly outstanding or useful in this guide. I was quite frankly hoping for a bit more detail in the various uniforms, and a few more tips on things such as military haircuts, and a tad more realism in the artwork. Some turnarounds would've been nice. (The basic anatomical guides on page 24 were too exaggerated to be useful as the male soldier is drawn so overdeveloped he looks like he-man). Many of the poses are extremely exaggerated, the heads disproportionate (the Navy sailor with the HUGE head comes to mind), and the Lara Croft style Intelligence agent and the ninja looking characters. Sigh.
Highlights: Loved the dogs, what a pleasant surprise! and the marine illo was good.
3 stars. I don't think I'll see myself referring to this book for artist tips, but it's not bad enough to get rid of either as the hardware in the back might be useful at some later date.
Book Description
Mecha, a generic term well known in the manga and anime community, is short for mechanically-based humanoids-as well as anything else mechanical, high-tech, and really cool. If it can fly, swim, fire a weapon, explode, or destroy stuff, it's mecha. Comic book and animation fans hunger for mecha. From the Gigantor animated TV series in the early '60s to today's Neon Genesis Evangelion, mecha is the king of anime. Most Japanese mecha animation features giant robots in epic battles. These giant robots are as tall as buildings-and teenage heroes enter the robot's cockpit and navigate it like a fighter jet. Mecha is also popular in such Nintendo, Playstation, and Sega Dreamcast computer games as Mech Warriors, Battletech, and Combat Assault Vehicle. While some budding artists may not have a feel for human anatomy or drawing the expressive faces of cartoon characters, anyone who can draw blocks and circles can draw mecha. Mecha Mania demonstrates how easy it is to draw fantastic mecha vehicles, robots, space stations, and more. The 300 step-by-step illustrations make it simple for anyone to master this wildly popular comic book genre and achieve dramatic results. Mecha Mania features all of the coolest mecha designs and variations, along with outrageous battle scenes. Also included are informative interviews with a company that creates mecha-based games and a Japanese publisher of mecha. Whether one's a beginning or professional artist, Mecha Mania is the best how-to reference ever published for mastering this hot, hot comic book art.
Customer Reviews:
SKETCH BOOK.......2007-01-09
I BOUGHT SEVERAL OF THESE TYPES OF SKETCH BOOKS FOR MY SON. HE IS TAKING ART IN SCHOOL AND HE LOVES THE HELP THE BOOKS GIVE HIM IN HIS DRAWINGS. HE HAS LEARNED ALOT FROM THE BOOKS ALONE. WE ARE VERY PLEASED!!
Ho-hum..........2005-01-24
There are lots of "how-to-draw" robots/mecha books. IMHO this book simply follows the formula of breaking down the title subject into component simple shapes and embellishing with more detail. This is the formula of most how-to-draw books. It's fine to include this if your "mecha how-to" book has more about drawing aspects unique to mecha.
An astute earlier reviewer pointed out that Hart drew none of the examples in the book. How can he discuss a thought and design process that he didn't even contribute to in his own book?!? The art in the book is rarely inspired and in many cases rendered by artists who don't appear particularly interested in mecha.
To its credit, it's fun to read some of the text. Younger readers may enjoy the book as it may be helpful to beginning artists. The best pictures are from the Fasa interview in the back.
For those who want something more advanced, I'd recommend the excellent books by Sherard Jackson of Antarctic Press. He briefly covers the beginning steps of drawing mecha, but gives a meatier discussion on the unique aspects of drawing anime machines. The art definitely has a higher "coolness" quotient and he drew his own pictures!
S'okay.......2004-02-26
I liked it pretty well. But I think it falls into the category "this is how you draw something. period." books. I think it should show you different kinds of guns for mecha, different joint types, head types, torso types, armor types, leg types, weapons in general types, shield types, jet pack/wing types and stuff. I don't think that there is enough things to inspire the mind for drawing original mecha. Instead, it tells you how to draw some limited robot examples.
So why did I give it a 4 if I'm being so negative?! Because as soon as I had merely READ it, without drawing any of the examples, was a ton better at drawing mecha. It also has some things to think about while drawing mecha that will help your drawings quit a bit. It has a little about special effects, which was nice. It tells you how to draw female cyborgs, which I thought most of which was garbage. It did have an interview with some guy from the creators of MechWarrior, which was pretty good. The book is worth the money, I think.
No help at all.......2004-02-21
What is the point of this book? Each of the drawings gives just three steps, and the beginning step is very complex--there is no help in figuring out what basic shapes go into it, and it seems like the only thing you can do is copy exactly what the author has done. I wanted something that would teach me to draw this type of character, and instead I just got a book showing off the author's drawings. If it is supposed to be just a showcase, it should be called that--don't try to fool people into thinking it is a way to learn anything.
Nice!.......2003-12-09
I won't give you a snobish re. Its a good book!
it tells you the basic steps, different kinds of mecha, begginers mecha robots and the really advanced type,robot women, combat cyborg women and tells you useful info. Easy, step by step instructions and some things you'll really want to know to draw succsesful mecha.
The only reason I didn't give it it's last star is because the auther( Christopher Hart) didn't draw at all in this book. He's teaching You How to draw robots he probably can't even draw himself!( he hires other artists) All in all , though, my mecha drawings have inproved greatly.
Book Description
How to Draw Those Bodacious Bad Babes of Comics shows you not only how to draw Bad Babes, but how to motivate them, how to reveal their hidden thoughts, how to show them in extreme action, and how to dress and arm them. The authors focus on drawing the female form, but they also offer an excellent introduction to figure drawing of all sorts.
Frank McLaughlin and Mike Gold-household names in the world of comics-teach tricks of the trade that anybody can learn and master, including secret inking techniques and helpful shortcuts in background drawing. With the inside knowledge of comic-book production contained in this book, those too-busy-to-take-your-call art directors should be phoning back any day.
Customer Reviews:
.........ugh!!!.......2006-06-20
you will most definitely, never ever EVER know how to draw those bodacious babes of comics after studying this book! the drawings are god-awful and the "lesson plan" has more holes in it than Robert Davi's face (haha!!) all of the advice is weird and really useless, like telling you draw beautiful women for like four hours a day and fill "sketchbooks full of drawings of hands". so does being a comic book artist mean you have to keep a bodybuilder's schedule? The worst feature is the chapter on computers. Why would somebody who is still trying to learn drawing skills need to even begin to worry about cheesy computer effects? seriously, wasted paper guys. It says on the back the artist has "been in the feild for years", but you would think that after looking at his illustrations for this book that this is his sole commision. The only pleasure I got from reading this book is from seeing that so many other people agree that this book is garbage. Don't buy it.
Horrible amateurish drawings.......2004-05-06
I can't believe how bad the drawings are in this book. Awkward bodies and faces that look like they came from a high school kids figure drawing class. These guys worked in comics? Incredible.
Don't expect much instruction and you DO NOT want to practice your skills by looking at the junk in this book. The bodies are oddly distorted and faces unattractive and unbalanced. Just bad bad stuff.
Avoid this book like the plague.
Some Parts are quite useful.......2002-03-18
I buy most every art book on how to draw comics, and leapt at the chance to purchase this book, sight unseen.
My biggest beef with this book, is the lack of diagrams and real drawing reference. Instead we get a lot of 'figure drawing' style sketches accompanied by an occasional full color illo. Not bad, but not what I'm looking for in a drawing instruction book.
This book needs more diagram style drawings with art measured in head lengths (muscles) we women have them you know...(Grin). And step-by-step instructions. Regretfully, this book is composed of nearly finished illustrations. The "turnarounds" that exist are small and amateurly done (page 12 & 13), and should reflect MORE body types and have better details in the arms and legs.
Also the artist seems to have trouble drawing arms. The arms seem disproportionate, and at times are drawn so long, they appear almost ape-like, other times they hang at awkward angles as thought the artist doesn't know quite what to do with them.
Additionally, many of the illustrations in this book, look like they were done in figure drawing class, and don't look like comic book women.
The sections on faces needed to be expanded and improved. Women are drawn with staring eyes and open snarling expressions, making them look like they are suffering from a bad hangover.
What I DID like was the fabulous use of color. Some art is quite good, such as the art used to head each chapter.
While this book is not likely to provide you with anything new in the way of art reference, it has some decent artwork overall and may be able to give the beginning artist some insiration.
A Good Book For The Aspiring Comic Book Artist.......2001-10-11
Although the title is incredibly cheesy, the book itself is pretty good. They cover solidly the foundations of comic-style character design and how to implement them into a scenario. The only thing I really disliked was that they didn't spend enough time on manga. But, there are many many other books that take care of it. The other thing is the cheesiness of the "good girl" in their book. I don't know of a single MODERN comic that had heroines that look like that... they ALL look like the "bad girl" these days!
very sadly lacking.......2001-01-02
the only reason I gave a one-star rating to this fluff is because amazon doesn't allow anything lower.
the review of this reader...
1st the dynamic duo of frank and mike attempt to tackle posing.... bad, inconsistent, awkward posing... here the writing out-merits the amateurishly illustrated bad sketches. foreshortening is not this artist's strong suit and shouldn't have been attempted. yes, there are good sketches here, but inconsistently strewn thoughout the third of material in this book. Take a look at Loomis' or Hogarth's books to see consistent GOOD posing... and better foreshortening.
2nd, we move on to features like hairstyles, hands and faces that seem to mimic current as well as golden age comic styles.... juxtaposed... I'm not kidding. it's like the Jack Kirby Good Girl meets the Marc Silvestri Demon Spawn. nothing here that wasn't in marvel's "How to Draw Comics The Marvel Way".
3rd, an interesting foray into Manga and 40's style pin-up art. just barely touched on. there's nothing here to even comment on except BUY EISNER'S BOOKS FIRST, if you want to see real pin-up art.
4th, we get into some material that this reader believes shows the meddle of both the writer and artist. do they pursue it to any substantial point that it's worth you plunking down a $20 bill? No way, fan-boy. 2 pages dedicated to the nightmare of perspective... you're kidding right? Try David Chelsea's book. 2 pages dedicated to inking...try 88 pages with over a dozen contributing artists in Gary Martin's book.
next, frank and mike plunge us into more fluff material... weapons and powers. I hate to say it.... but even Christopher Hart's books are marginally better here with slightly MORE material.
finally, they finish up with computer commentary. a whole book in it's own right could have been written on comic book coloring and pre-press software and Mike only mentions the barest essentials.
I don't know who 1st approached who in this travesty, but this book is fluff. the only professional thing in this book is Mark Wheatly's coloring. hopefully this hasn't dragged his career down.
Here's a suggestion to the publishers... pick one thing that you can professionally illustrate and pursue it consistently. Take a look at the books I mentioned above to get an idea of the longevity of good material.
Customer Reviews:
waste of money.......2006-06-03
wellll...first of all this book only has the step by step directions for a couple of digimon (just the 7 kids' digimon in their various forms up to champion) and the from step one to step two there are too many differences that the drawingn becomes confusing. so unless you are into tracing digimon, this is not the book for you.
ANOTHER GREAT DRAWING BOOK.......2003-05-15
MY SON HAS THIS ONE AS WELL AS DRAGONBALL Z & POKEMON , AND HE LIKES THEM ALOT......HE LIKES DRAWING HIS FAVORITE CHARACTERS.....AND THEY'RE EASY TO DO!!!
Nice book for the kids.......2002-03-23
Pokemon and Digimon aren't as big anymore, but even my 4 year old likes to trace these with tracing paper. Older kids can learn a lot about drawing basics by practicing something they like. Wish they had more examples and different angles on the different critters though.
Mine and Kari's digimon's........2001-09-08
I could be one of the digi destined. My digimon could be blackwargreymon for my courage or angewoman for the light part of me and /or angelmon for my hopes and/or wormmon for my kindness part of me. Me and Kari could dna digivolve into the ultimate digimon that has Lots of light.
Good, but..........2001-08-18
I got this book, just because I thought it would be fun. Now, don't get me wrong... it's *great* if you are learning to draw Digimon, really helpful... but I only have one problem with it: The language! Gosh, in this book, they talk like every single Digimon fan is 7 years old. If you ask me, they need some more mature Digimon stuff, for the older viewers.
Customer Reviews:
A very good comic figure reference.......2003-12-18
I got this book for my son who loves to draw and will practice endlessly when he enjoys the subject. Currently he enjoys tracing drawings to *isolate* lines and get a sense of what is actually necessary to make the entire picture. Sometimes this is difficult to picture in his head but with tracing it becomes simple... It gives him the ability to learn proportion in a *real* way...
This book is quite good for what he likes to do as the drawings are of good size and highly colored. Finished drawings are interspersed with step by steps so when he wants to go from tracing to drawing he will know what steps to take to produce the results on his own.
This book focus' on bad guys so there is text on what makes a bad guy bad...and what to add visually to put that point across (yellow teeth, baggy clothes...a scowl..etc) There are female as well as male villians and the females have the *typical*...errrr.... buxom comic book body type so perhaps for young children this would be a bit much. It is the typical style tho seen in the graphic novels so if your child is truly into the art form this is a good reference.
The text is helpful but not intrusive and the style of it is informal and conversational. I think it would appeal to a young non-serious set. There is discussion of art /drawing issues in the text (proportion issues in comics... what makes male faces male and female female...shading...etc) but I wouldn't consider this a beginner book. I think there is an expectation of some drawing ability to start with.
Overall, this is a very appealing book on alot of levels. I wish it was longer and that some of the pictures were a bit bigger but these are really minor issues for me and have mostly to do with how my son uses the pictures. The quality of the paper is very nice and heavy and the color is sharp and dramatic..excellent for the subject matter. This is quite a nice book.
this is how to draw a great looking bad guy.......2001-07-22
if you have a hard time drawing out agreat looking bad guy or gal this is a book for you i have had a great deal of drawing out some really crappy bad guys but this book has helped me draw some cool bad guys so buy it
Good book, lot's of helpfull tips........2000-12-09
I own this book, and even though i'm not planning on being a comic book artist, it helps me alot with my proportions, perspective, action posese and just plain getting things right. It's also a great book for simple shading and stuff like that. only draw back is that his art isn't always ok. He's best at his comic book characters though, and it's obvious if you look at any of his other how to draw books.
Good book, lot's of helpfull tips........2000-12-09
I own this book, and even though i'm not planning on being a comic book artist, it helps me alot with my proportions, perspective, action posese and just plain getting things right. It's also a great book for simple shading and stuff like that. only draw back is that his art isn't always ok. He's best at his comic book characters though, and it's obvious if you look at any of his other how to draw books.
An excellent compendium for intermediate artists.......2000-03-22
This book is a good follow up to How to Draw Comic Book Heroes and Villains. It touches on more subjects of making up villains, muscle structure, and other such things. This book though is not for beginners who haven't drawn before. All in all, this is a good book to have if you have already read the How to Draw Comic Book Heroes and Villains.
Books:
- Faeries (25th Anniversary Edition)
- Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream
- Flash Journalism: How to Create Multimedia News Packages
- Foundations of IT Service Management: based on ITIL (English version)
- Fundamentals of WiMAX: Understanding Broadband Wireless Networking (Prentice Hall Communications Engineering and Emerging Technologies Series)
- Gelede: Art and Female Power Among the Yoruba (Traditional Arts of Africa)
- Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity
- Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity
- Glitter and Doom: German Portraits from the 1920s (Metropolitan Museum of Art Publications)
- Graffiti World: Street Art from Five Continents
Books Index
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Let's Toon Caricatures
Draw Caricature: Techniques*Facial Basics*Projects (Draw)
How To Draw Caricatures
Drawing and Cartooning 1,001 Caricatures
Cartooning the Head and Figure
