Cartooning With the Simpsons [Paperback]

Matt Groening (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: SCHOLASTIC INC. @ (1993)
• ASIN: B001VMPOYI
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Matt Groening, creator and executive producer of Fox's Emmy Award®-winning series The Simpsons, made television history by bringing animation back to primetime and creating an immortal nuclear family. The Simpsons is the longest running primetime animated series in television history and is currently the longest-running comedy on television, having aired more than 400 episodes. In July 2007, the highly anticipated feature film The Simpsons Movie opened in theaters with worldwide grosses of more than $525 million to date.

Originally brought to life in 1987 for The Tracey Ullman Show, The Simpsons was Groening's amazing entry into the television animation world. Previously, he was best-known for his "Life in Hell" cartoon strip, an irreverent portrayal of love, work, school, life and relationships that currently appears in more than 250 newspapers worldwide and in a multitude of books.

Groening's other Emmy-Award®-winning creation, Futurama, launched on Fox in March 1999 and ran for five seasons. Last year Fox released the direct-to-DVD full-length original feature Futurama: Bender's Big Score. Three additional films will be released and the entire series with new episodes will air on Comedy Central this year.

In 1993, Groening formed Bongo Comics Group, where he serves as publisher of The Simpsons Library of Wisdom, Simpsons Episode Guides, Simpsons Comics, Bart Simpson Comics, Radioactive Man Comics, Simpsons Comics Treasure Trove, the annual Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror, Futurama Comics, more than 36 comic compilations, as well as instant classics including Bart Simpsons Guide to Life, The Simpsons Handbook, and The Simpsons Uncensored Family Album among others!

In addition to the many awards bestowed on his creations (including Emmys, Annies, and the prestigious Peabody Award), Groening was personally honored with the Rueben Award for Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year, the highest honor presented by the National Cartoonist Society. To date there are more than 14 million copies of books from HarperCollins in print throughout North America, the UK, and Australia based on The Simpsons, Futurama, and Life in Hell.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is one of the best cartooning books ever, May 18, 2001

By 

kresnels "kresnels" (Culver City, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cartooning with the Simpsons (Paperback)

I am an illustrator, animator, AND I work at Fox. My copy of this book has gotten so much use over the 7-odd years I've had this, it should be falling apart. This is why this is such a great book:

1) IT'EASY AND IT'S FUN. Many "how-to" aniimation and cartooning books purportedly cater to children, yet the drawing level is way beyond most entry-level artists; the Simpsons, by Groening's own admission started out as lame doodles. Everything is made up of circles and squiggles - perfect!

2) IT'S WELL ORGANIZED AND VERSATILE. There are many poses and expressions to try drawing, which set you into the whole "vocabulary" of the Simpsons.

3) IT'S FUNNY, AND REALLY EDUCATIONAL. Tips like "Bend those elbows!" and "Marge's hair hides two bowling balls," not only get a laugh, but really give you an insight on how to contruct a solid animated figure.

I refer to this book all the time, even for my own drawings. For the money, this has been one of the most useful pieces of reference I have. Get it for your favorite starving artist, or doodling kid.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally a Usful Cartooning Book, February 10, 2000

By 

Nancy (Bucks County, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cartooning with the Simpsons (Paperback)

I am a professional illustrator and am very impressed with Mr. Groening. Of course, it doesn't hurt I'm a huge fan of the show but this book is for everyone. The problem with most cartooning books is they create characters simply for the book so they always end up looking stupid. This book came after the characters were refined and it shows people of all ages how to approach cartooning. I'm adding it to my reference collection of illlstrating techniques.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Drawin' the Simpsons, June 26, 2001

By 

Leanne (Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cartooning with the Simpsons (Paperback)

This is just great! I'm sure every Simpsons fan has wondered if they could draw America's favorite family, and I'm sure plenty of you have got it down-packed. But if you just can't draw Bart's head, or Marge's body, I strongly suggest you buy this book (and afterwords, if you STILL can't draw them right, trace, hee hee). The book teaches you how to draw Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie's anatomy, and the best thing about the book is if you look at a picture of another character (for example, Apu), you can use Homer's anatomy (not making him so fat, mind you) and draw Apu from there. It's a great guide, so if you're a Simpsons fan and love to draw...buy it. Buy it now!