Customer Reviews

The Cartoonist's Workbook Drawing, Writing Gags, Selling

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book took me from stick figures to cartoon characters in a matter of minutes. (My students will be thrilled with the difference!) I have no artistic talent, but now feel comfortable drawing cartoon characters in all moods and types of clothing. I highly recommend this book!

Most books on cartooning show you how to copy the AUTHOR'S cartoon style, which in my opinion is a pretty pointless exercise. The Cartoonist' s Workbook is very different. It gives you the means to develop your OWN
unique style and there are even thousands of drawings of useful poses and gag situations that you can easily adapt after you have found that style. But the BEST part is the chapter on writing gags. Hall gives the reader a
'complete method' for writing gags for spot cartoons AND cartoon strips, and it REALLY works. I thought twice about recommending this book because I wondered should I keep it all for myself. I also recently purchased Hall's new book Cartoonists' And Illustrators' Trade Secrets and was equally impressed - it is absolutely PACKED with invaluable advice. I reckon these two books are all you really need to make it as a cartoonist. Thank you Mr Hall!

The Cartoonist's Workbook is a very helpful reference for people who are good or bad at cartooning. It teaches you fun and easy ways to draw, helps you write the cartoon, and helps you sell it.

I found this book comprehensive and inspirational, covering need-to-know ground. It helped me (and I can draw more advanced things than cartoons) to get to know cartoon bodies. I'm used to more realistic bodies.... Anywho, about the book. The book started with basic body formation-how to draw "Ken"-, and most importantly in that section told you to practice it over and over. Than it goes on to show you some basic what-to-does and what not-to-does. It shows you how shadows work, how to balance your character, how to show motion and tons and tons of useful poses for cartoons. It show you how to draw more advanced characters, but that isn't as in depth as the information on Ken. It show you different types of lips, hair, noses, eyes, accessories, etc... This book was written for people who don't have natural talent in drawing. So, wether or not you think you can draw, this part of the book is very useful. Then there is the gag writing section, snicker snicker. This section, to, was very helpful. It showes you the building blocks of writing jokes, like potentially funny situations, developing your characters and branching out your ideas. And finally,the last section gives you information on how to hire yourself out in the industry.

1 last note: I like this guy's drawing style. It is loose, not to scribbly, and still looks nice. It is not perfectionist, you can tell he didn't meditate over every line. In short, he makes drawing cartoons seem easy without intimidating the reader.

This book starts off with the absolute basics, which is just what I needed(my stick figures even looked bad). In just the first pages you get what I think is the most valuable lesson in drawing - practice. Practice until you can do it easily, one step at a time.
I highly recommend that you don't underestimate what this book can do for a novice artist. I find myself refering back to this book especially when I get stuck on some of the more advanced manga books.
Remember this is a workbook, not a reading book.
Good luck.

Cartooning is an art of economy. The cartoonist has to be able to express motion, emotion, depth, and action with a minimum of lines. Robin Hall's book shows you how to do just that. The non-artist will quickly learn how to draw expressive faces and figures. The experienced artist will learn how to pare away distracting detail and create a pure minimalist drawing that tells a story. All readers will learn what makes a drawing and a caption funny, and will be creating their own cartoons in no time.

Hall's "Keyhole Ken" character is a simple figure that anyone can draw, but with repeated practice, the cartoonist's own style will take hold and transform this figure into something unique. I recommend this book for everyone interested in becoming either a professional cartoonist or an admired amateur doodler.

An excellent all round instruction manuel on the craft of cartooning and one that should be in every serious cartoonist's or would-be cartoonist's book shelf. The thing that stands this book head and shoulders above others I've read is that it teaches gag writing as well as cartooning technique, answering questions like - Where does a gag come from? What makes it funny? How can I refine it and make it better? This is the only book I've bought that answers all these questions. The book also has great drawing technique instruction and is a good reference book to have to hand as there are pages of gag situations that just reading can get your mind into gear, particularly if your having a day when your running short of ideas. Packed with info, techniques, reference, addresses, and stuff on how to sell your finished product, The Cartoonist's Workbook is a must have for anyone serious about cartooning.

Before I finished my third book I decided it needed cartoons to visually explain some ideas (a picture is worth 1000 words) and provide humor to a tough subject. I started checking with hiring a professional artist (or student artist) to do the work. It quickly became clear the task would be time consuming, expensive and I may not get what I wanted in the end.

First, it would be difficult to find someone who would be able to take what was in my mind and transfer it to a cartoon

Second, it became painfully clear it would be expensive (even with a student artist). I wanted around twenty five cartoons drawn.

Third, some individuals wanted to discuss contracts and usage.

My best option was to learn how to draw cartoons myself. I figured it would be less expensive (only the cost of books and art supplies), and frustrating and I would get exactly what was in my brain. It would take some time to become proficient, but it sounded like a fun project. I was fortunately right.

The Cartoonist's Workbook by and a couple other books helped me learn how to draw cartoons good enough to put in my latest book.

Robin Hall's common sense approach to teaching drawing made the challenge fun. There were also a tremendous number of different sketches in the book that helped jump start ideas for potential cartoons.

Robin Hall provides many excellent sections that helps teach drawing techniques. Some the sections that I found especially helpful were: The Expressions section, The Useful Outdoor References and The Gag Situations.

After finishing my sketches, I used Adobe Elements software to polish up the work. I was very pleased with the final cartoons that went into my book...and there have been many positive comments about the cartoons from people who have the book.

Overall, this is a great resource for learning to draw cartoons!

The Re-Discovery of Common Sense: A Guide to: The Lost Art of Critical Thinking

Drawing on the Funny Side of the Brain : How to Come Up With Jokes for Cartoons and Comic Strips

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Cartooning but Were Afraid to Draw (Christopher Hart Titles)

the cartoonist's workbook is a great book that just about goes over every thing needed to make a cartoon. of course since the book is only around a 100 pages it doesnt go into great detail on every issue. its a great recourse as it has around 20 pages of just gag ideas, useful poses etc...

Anyways the book teaches you a very 90's looking type of cartoon which i happen to like. I would recommend this book for anyone trying to draw some cartoons. This book assumes you know almost nothing and cant draw so its for absolute begginers. i highly recommend this book.

If you're a beginning cartoonist, an expert, or just someone who loves Art (in cartoon form), you'll get a lot from The Cartoonist's Workbook.

The drawing instructions are straight forward and easy to follow. The "keyhole" method is especially useful for creating figures. The budding cartoonist, or grizzled Art veteran, will quickly find themselves drawing figures that express emotion and movement. There are also useful sections on the methods behind "gag" writing and the selling of your own cartoons.

If you like to draw, you'll love the Cartoonist's Workbook, and your cartooning will definitely improve!