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lastblossom 's review for:
informative
fast-paced
Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
tl;dr
A great resource for beginner or hobby artists with very nice artwork, and some incredibly useful tips. Covers a lot of ground, so doesn't manage to be terribly in depth.
About
A how-to-draw book covering manga-styled artwork with succinct notes on character design, anatomy, and page layouts. Contains several step-by-step instructions of a variety of characters to draw.
What I Liked
I've been drawing for a long time, so these days most of my art books are references, and not how-tos. However, people often ask me for suggestions for beginners, so I'm always on the lookout for a new how-to-draw book. It's always been a struggle; there are a lot of how to draw manga books on the market that just sort of... look bad. This is not one of them. The art is very cute and competently done. Poses, perspective, and other complex ideas are well-executed. The coloring is particularly good, and I am more than happy to learn from this artist. The tips that we get are very helpful. (e.g. Breaking down hair, hands, or feet, into "zones.") Anatomy is consistent, and I appreciated that there were multiple examples of most things. The step-by-step content breaks down shapes really well, and is easy to follow. Chapters cover the basics in a quick and easy to understand manner. My favorite section was how to draw hair. I love how the artist draws hair, and I'm glad I got to learn from it. Overall, I think this is a very accessible book, especially for newcomers to art.
What Wasn't for Me
Being good at something doesn't necessarily mean being good at teaching it, and I think the text of the book falls short of the quality of the art in a few places. For example, a couple step-by-step illustrations outline the shape of the body first before adding clothing, but I can't find anywhere in the text (specifically the section about clothing) that discusses why this is important. Very little time is spent on how to color, which is a shame because I adore the artist's coloring style and would like to have learned more about it. Not a lot of body types explored in the anatomy section.
tl;dr
A great resource for beginner or hobby artists with very nice artwork, and some incredibly useful tips. Covers a lot of ground, so doesn't manage to be terribly in depth.
About
A how-to-draw book covering manga-styled artwork with succinct notes on character design, anatomy, and page layouts. Contains several step-by-step instructions of a variety of characters to draw.
What I Liked
I've been drawing for a long time, so these days most of my art books are references, and not how-tos. However, people often ask me for suggestions for beginners, so I'm always on the lookout for a new how-to-draw book. It's always been a struggle; there are a lot of how to draw manga books on the market that just sort of... look bad. This is not one of them. The art is very cute and competently done. Poses, perspective, and other complex ideas are well-executed. The coloring is particularly good, and I am more than happy to learn from this artist. The tips that we get are very helpful. (e.g. Breaking down hair, hands, or feet, into "zones.") Anatomy is consistent, and I appreciated that there were multiple examples of most things. The step-by-step content breaks down shapes really well, and is easy to follow. Chapters cover the basics in a quick and easy to understand manner. My favorite section was how to draw hair. I love how the artist draws hair, and I'm glad I got to learn from it. Overall, I think this is a very accessible book, especially for newcomers to art.
What Wasn't for Me
Being good at something doesn't necessarily mean being good at teaching it, and I think the text of the book falls short of the quality of the art in a few places. For example, a couple step-by-step illustrations outline the shape of the body first before adding clothing, but I can't find anywhere in the text (specifically the section about clothing) that discusses why this is important. Very little time is spent on how to color, which is a shame because I adore the artist's coloring style and would like to have learned more about it. Not a lot of body types explored in the anatomy section.