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24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
It's NOT Tracing!!!, March 29, 2004
This review is from: The DC Comics Guide to Inking Comics (Paperback)
Simply put, this is the best book on inking I've read. Don't waste your money on other books, buy Jansen's and Miller's and learn everything you need to know. The book doesn't stop with instruction on techniques, tools, and materials, but gives you some great tips such as why you should keep your ink bottle in an ashtray! Anyone who has ever laboured under the misapprehension that comic book inking is just 'going over a proper artists drawing with a pen' is finally shown the error of their ways as Jansen and Miller demonstrate what a fine art inking is when practiced correctly. Moreover, this is a DC guide to inking, not a guide to inking DC characters. Once you've read this and got some practice in, you'll be able to ink everything from cartoons to the most cutting-edge comic book characters. Great text, great illustrations, what's stopping you? Buy it now!
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The BEST book on INKING, yet...., December 30, 2006
This review is from: The DC Comics Guide to Inking Comics (Paperback)
I've read a lot of books on how-to-do comic art, some on writing and publishing, and this book stood out as soon as I began reading it. Last night I finished, and have to recommend this as the best book I ever read on the subject of comic book inking, and there is little need to improve over it as a feast of information. What Janson leaves out can be found in other books, but he carved the meat off the bone where others before were clawing off unappetizing chunks.
Absolutely brilliant tips, tricks and approaches are found in these pages. The reviewer that calls this book 'preachy' merely is set to stumble into the holes awaiting most comic book artists on their way to mediocrity. Janson's primary lesson through every chapter is TO CONVEY INFORMATION TO THE COMIC READER. An inker clarifies and improves on the pencils, tightens them, and makes sure the storytelling in improved from pencils if not maintaining. Inside he covers light and dark, feathering, line weight, textures, and other basics that just aren't touched on in other books with the insight Klaus provides. And to help, he provides lots of lush B&W inked art from a period that probably influenced him - the Adams/Giordano/Wrightson/Kane period of DC comics. He also compared pencils to inks with more current art he inked over from Kane and Miller.
While Janson's own ink style is rough and appears heavy handed, it does everything it has to with grit. Sometimes the art cries out, "USE THE CIRCLE TEMPLATE!!" but over all it demonstrates how he thinks in planning textures, placement of black and white or tone, and use of feathering to describe form. What the neo-Amero-Japo-manga artists need to learn, as does any art student going anywhere, is that art books give you information, and the more information they give you then the more their worth. Super enticing, glossy, sex bent art work should be reserved for the books people buy to enjoy the art and story, not the training manuals telling you info you use to plug into your own work. Janson hit it right on with this book, the rest is left up to you to DO and IMPROVE.
Other books with good inking information - "Marvel Way" by Lee/Buscema has nice beginning info, and quick but pertinent info on weak and strong inking examples. "Rendering in Pen and Ink" by Guptill is a genius book on how to render and draw in ink for illustrators (or comic artists). "How To Draw Manga: Pen & Tone Techniques" by Ryo Touda handles a brilliant look at manga pens and tones. Everything else I fail to mention by name because it really isn't worth buying. You can put together a foundation of inking information with these 4 books that can't be beat at any art school in the nation.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not what I expected, but still good., February 20, 2006
This review is from: The DC Comics Guide to Inking Comics (Paperback)
This book isn't so much a guide to inking as the title would have you think, rather, it's more of a reference.
Normally, this would cause me to give a book like this a 3 rating, but the redeeming qualities caused a change of heart.
The guidance it does give works so well with the pictures in the book, that I would dare say that a person who is interested in inking should definately pick this one up. And when you do, read it, and draw as much in it as possible. Learning comes by doing. The more you ink, the better you'll get. And I feel this book gives the neccessary lessons, to take your inking to the next level.
-Matt
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