Best of Draw! Volume 1 [Paperback]

Mike Manley (Author), Bret Blevins (Author), Dave Gibbons (Author), Jerry Ordway (Author), Genndy Tartakovsky (Author)

Book Description

Series: Best of Draw! | Publication Date: February 2, 2005

The Best of Draw! Volume One complies material from the first two sold-out issues of Draw!, the "How-To" magazine on comics and cartooning! Presented here are a wealth of tutorials by, and interviews with, the top professionals in the industry! Featured are demonstrations by: Dave Gibbons (layout and drawing on the computer), Bret Blevins (drawing lovely women, painting from life, and creating figures that "feel"), Jerry Ordway (detailing his working methods), Klaus Janson and Ricardo Villagran (inking techniques), Genndy Tartakovsky (on animation and Samurai Jack), Steve Conley (creating web comics and cartoons), Phil Hester and Ande Parks (penciling and inking), and more! Each artist presents their work step-by-step, so you can see it progress to finished form, learning valuable tips and tricks along the way.

Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: TwoMorrows Publishing (February 2, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1893905411
• ISBN-13: 978-1893905412
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #84,462 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #11 in Books > Comics & Graphic Novels > History & Price Guides
  • #75 in Books > Arts & Photography > Drawing > Cartooning

More About the Author

Dave Gibbons passionately roams in three different global playgrounds: The first park is THE AWAKEN GROUP (THEAWAKENGROUP.COM), a consulting firm specializing in creativity, culture and innovation; the second park is a movement of churches not bound by geography that he calls "home" (NEWSONG.NET), throughout Southeast Asia, China, India, Korea, Mexico City, London, and North America. And lastly there is a crazy bunch of people in an organization called XEALOT that focuses on transforming marginalized communities through strategic leadership development and ideation ventures. Dave has written a book on culture and leadership based on an eastern parable called The Monkey and the Fish.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars More than just a "Decent" art magazine, January 28, 2008

By 

Sarah (NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Best of Draw! Volume 1 (Paperback)

This book lingered in my wish list for more than six months because I was too afraid to buy a book with only one review. A month ago I decided to take the risk and bought the book expecting it to be a little less than average. But my opinion changed, as I read one "tutorial", or interview, after another. Among my favorites were Genndy Tartakovsky (Samurai Jack) and Phil Hester (The Wretch).

Dave Gibbon's interview on layout and drawing was interesting but old news for a photoshop junkie like myself. To be honest it would have been a bit more interesting if he went on to discuss story outlines for Batman: Black & White, which he briefly explains in the beginning of the tutorial.

Bret Blevins' drawings of women are nothing short of gorgeous; and they have a form and a rhythm that I absolutely love, but, that said, I believed he could have gone into further detail about the process behind his drawings. If you love Blevins' drawings and wish to learn more about the feel and rhythm behind that style of art, I recommend Mike Mattesi's book, "Force: Dynamic Life Drawing for Animators."

Wrapping up, I believe "The Best of Draw! Vol.1," is a good book and you shouldn't feel discouraged because of one somewhat confusing three star review.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Resource for Drawing, April 24, 2009

By 

Donald M. Husband - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Best of Draw! Volume 1 (Paperback)

I recently order the Best of Draw series and found them quite helpful with my art. I found that these magazines articles, which are hard to find and very collectable in the original magazines were very insightful to the point where the tips actually gave me a better direction to follow in what I like to do.

I would highly recomend this series to people who like to draw, paint, work in the industy or just plain want other artist view points on how to tackle issues, such as drawing, storyboard, inking,etc... To me it was worth the money.

11 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Mike Manley--the secret master, December 11, 2005

By 

Lincoln Yaco (NYC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Best of Draw! Volume 1 (Paperback)

Manley is the best kept secret in the comics world. He is capable of drawing anything--in any style--beautifully. But he is dependent on routine comics work to make a living and it is always rush job stuff. Never anything where one can put time and love into it.
SO he has has own magazine. Here you can see the secret master at work--uh, behind the scenes, as editor. Once again, we don't get to see Manley unleashed. A few glimpses, yes.
GET this zine collection just to see Manley's work! That's my advice!