Cartoon Clinic: Essential Rescue Remedies for Drawing Great Cartoons [Paperback]

Ben Cormack (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2006

Art students who suspect that their work suffers from anemia, and who are looking to develop dynamic cartoon characters, can cure their graphic ills with regular visits to Cartoon Clinic. This heavily illustrated book tells them whether their drawings need major surgery or just a little first aid. It offers prescriptions for common cartoon ailments, from faces lacking liveliness to action figures that have run out of steam. The basics of lively cartoon drawing are explained with hundreds of illustrations. Brief but highly informative tutorials focus on virtually every aspect of cartoon drawing, including--Using graphic devices to help tell a story, such as motion lines and dust puffs behind moving figures and sweat drops flying from frightened heads . . . Adding dimension and personality to cartoon characters by giving them comic props and highly individual costumes . . . Making animals human-like by giving them hands and expressive faces, and by standing them on their hind legs . . . and much more. Examples of finished cartoons by professional artists show students successful renditions of effective cartoon art while pointing out ways in which budding cartoonists can fully develop their own talents. More than 300 color illustrations.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The funny thing about books on cartooning is that they're usually not very funny. Cormack's is not only witty, but it's surprisingly well written and comprehensive…You have to love an art instruction book that covers 'Hygiene Tips' and 'Making Good Your Screw-Ups.' Highly recommended."


—Library Journal

From the Back Cover

(back cover)
Visit Cartoon Clinic and find out whether your artwork needs major surgery or just a little first aid. Dr. Ben Cormack opens his office and hands out prescriptions for common cartoon ailments, from faces that are down in the mouth to action figures that have run out of steam.

Prevention is better than cure, so follow the doctor’s orders and learn the basics of character design, page layout, and script pacing, as well as techniques for inking and coloring your work, using a variety of media.

A selection of cartoons by professional artists allows you to see some perfect specimens, and provides the impetus for you to get better. Don’t worry, it won’t hurt a bit, and the prognosis is a full recovery!”

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Barron's Educational Series (March 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764132571
• ISBN-13: 978-0764132575
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 7.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,675,722 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Read, August 10, 2006

By 

Paul - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cartoon Clinic: Essential Rescue Remedies for Drawing Great Cartoons (Paperback)

I often get frustrated with 'how to' books because of the amount of knowledge they assume you have to begin with. However with Cartoon Clinic I found each topic was clear, informative, and built on the previous chapters. I surprised myself with how quickly I progressed and gained confidence, never once feeling the book was moving too fast. Cartoon Clinic is a really great read, and definitely one of the best instructional books I've used.

4.0 out of 5 stars Cartoon Clinic, October 26, 2011

By 

Paulwa - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Cartoon Clinic: Essential Rescue Remedies for Drawing Great Cartoons (Paperback)

I checked Cartoon Clinic out of our local public library and knew this was a book I wanted on my own shelf for periodic review. It is a very well written book with great cartoon examples and teachings. I ordered it immediately from Amazon at a very good price and can now use it to my best advantage. There are hundreds of books on drawing and cartooning and I have many of them but I will keep this book in close reach. It is excellent.

3.0 out of 5 stars it's okay, nothing special, January 31, 2010

By 

Caraculiambro (La Mancha and environs) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cartoon Clinic: Essential Rescue Remedies for Drawing Great Cartoons (Paperback)

The angle of this book is this: it assumes you've already got a cartoon or a comic strip going, and Ben Cormack is there to help you with common problems and blocks that cartoonists experience.

The lessons vary in their usefulness: "adding flesh to bones," "making speech bubbles work for you," and "exaggerating action" were examples of good ones. Others were obvious, such as "how to dress your characters" and "bringing it all together."

Still others didn't work at all, like "capturing expressions" and "figures in motion." The reason these and other lessons didn't work is, as in many books of this ilk, the author merely prints a bunch of expressions and essentially says, "Do this" without explaining HOW to really get good at it. Instead, you're merely told THAT you need to get good at it. Big difference.

As far as I'm concerned, the core merit of any how-to book on cartooning lies in getting you to do it from scratch, not simply present a bunch of groovy illustrations and ask you to come up with your own.