Drawing Cartoons (First Steps) [Paperback]

Mark Heath (Author)

Book Description

Series: First Steps | Publication Date: February 1998

Mark Heath teaches aspiring cartoonists how to tickle anyone's funnybone. All the basics are presented using his proven methods.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: North Light Books; 1st edition (February 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0891348263
• ISBN-13: 978-0891348269
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,142,926 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I grew up in a small town, and then I moved to another small town, tried a few more, and finally moved to the biggest city in the smallest state.

I've been writing and drawing since dexterity set in. Spot the Frog is a chance to mix my two interests.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Something for everyone from beginner to pro, January 15, 2000

By 

John MacLeod "observer" (Guelph, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Drawing Cartoons (First Steps) (Paperback)

This book is the first one I read this year (back on Jan 1!). I've since re-read it a few times and continue to find it enjoyable and impressive.

For me, Chapter Four alone is worth the price of admission. Page 79 is priceless, truly inspiring -- and I have to agree with it: after about 35 years of serious drawing, I still learn new things about cartooning all the time, it never stops. [And more than a couple of those new things are ones I learned out of this book.]

What Mark Heath has achieved here is not easy: a fresh approach to the basics that can help raw newbies and wizened amateurs alike. I never felt like "this is stuff I've already read a million times" -- Mark sidesteps the usual intro material and approaches it from a new slant or adds new insights to it.

If you're new, this is a great intro to cartooning that allows you lots of room to find your own style while homing in on solid quality work. If you're an old hand, this book will still show you a few new wrinkles, and re-awaken your love for the artform all over again. What more can you ask?

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not a great book for the money, February 19, 2002

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Drawing Cartoons (First Steps) (Paperback)

The book is only worth about $5. It has only a hundred or so pages that are more of the author's cartoons than any practical advice. On the last page of the book, the author points out all the mistakes he made in the book but decided to leave in so that he could point them out to us. I'm interested in cartooning/comic strips and I feel that I am no closer to being able to do that than I was before I read the book. I don't understand how this book got all great reviews. Don't be fooled like I was!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Think Like a Cartoonist, November 8, 2002

By 

Kenny (Oroville, Ca.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Drawing Cartoons (First Steps) (Paperback)

This is a great book for beginning cartoonists. Mark Heath's "Drawing Cartoons" is the first "how to draw" book to help me learn how to "think like a cartoonist." Most drawing books I've seen in the past give the reader step-by-step line drawings to copy. While this approach often results in a flashy finished-product for the reader, the beginning cartoonist is left without the "tools" for creating drawings from scratch, on his or her own. Mark's emphasis, in contrast, is on arming the beginning artist with the means to create his or her own cartoons from the ground up. For example, he advises, "cartoons don't perfect detail, but rather, suggest detail." Advice like this helps the budding cartoonist think like a professional. In addition, Mark's warm and witty sense of humor make for a enjoyable first, second, and third-time "reads." I really like it!