Customer Reviews

How to Draw Manga Volume 7 (How to Draw Manga (Graphic-Sha Numbered))

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

 

 

This is very informative book that goes into great detail regarding composition and creating dynamic and interesting panels for your manga! Easy to read with the topics covered mostly in manga story format. It offers lots of examples between non-interesting layout and interesting manga layouts throughout the book. More specifically: composition, character portrayal, voice portrayal, panel design, and manga portrayal.

The information in this book about composition of your drawing can translate to when you draw pin-up pictures. Otherwise, this book is for the person interested in perfecting their manga story-telling techniques. There's tons of info in this book. If you've paid attention to whats in this book, I have no doubt you'll be chucking out interestingly laid-out manga in no time.

All in all, this book focuses only on creating dynamic and interesting scenes and if you want to learn anything else like toning, this book won't help you. The artwork isn't exactly the prettiest but it's the info the matters. I wouldn't exactly call this edition a keeper book as once you know the info, you can't use the book for anything else even for reference. So I suggest you check it out in the bookstore first and determine if it's for keeps before buying. Otherwise, great info, and a recommended must-read for those who are already familiar with creating their own manga and want to add a little more "oomph".

Contents:
Ch1 The basics in composition
1. A well-planned composition brings the characters to life
make the composition move
2. A well-planned composition creates space
creating space in manga
3. A well- planned composition results in skillfully rendered artwork

Ch2 The basics in character portrayal
1. Exaggerating reatures: Rounded forms
2. The eyes speak more than the mouth
3. Contrasting the eyes and the mouth to reveal emotion
practicing facial expressions
4. Giving the readers a sizzling glance
5. Winning hands
Communicating through the hands
Using the hands to Portray the character
6. Charming idiosyncrasies
Assorted habits
The impact of habits
Using a habit to design a character
Using body types and props to design a character
7. Using close-ups to increase impact
The expressiveness of close-ups
8. Exaggerate and make it fly!

Ch3 The basics in voice portrayal
1. Portraying volume
2. Sound and voice
Sample speech balloons
Sample special effects
3. Balancing speech balloons with dialogue
Dialogue length
Forbidden speech balloons
4. Avoid having the charcter talk to him or herself as a narrative
The pros and cons of monologues
The pors and cons of narration

Ch4: The basics in panel design
1. Maintain a balance in spreads
2. The panel's shape affects movement
3. Use the bleed to add to the composition
4. Use panels to suggest the passage of time
Suggessting the passage of time
5. Use open doors to reveal a key panel
The psychology behind opening a door
6. Use the layout to create key scene
Layouts that create a key scene

Ch5: The basics of Manga portrayal
1. Step into the characters shoes
2. Have romantic encounters begin with impact
The appeal and purpose of romance manga
Portraying romantic encounters in manga

All of what you see above is what this book contains...

This book contains 5 awesome chapters in showing you some strong ways to draw your panels in your manga to give it that edge. It also has some sample dialogue ballooons as well as sound effects that you can use in your manga. This book teaches you the do's and dont's on how to correctly put your speech balloons and the results that you get in a successful portrayal in your panel designs. Not only does it tell you about panel desings, but how to use facial expressions without the characters having to say what they feel. It is also helpful in helping you understand some habits that we all do in life that can be portrayed to your characters to get them their own personality. This books is very informative and fun to read. It is funny and helpful at the same time, so you won't loose interest while reading through this captivating how to book. I would definately recommend this book for those starting out with their manga's and need help on how to correctly use their panel designs, speech balloons,sound effects, and character design. This is definately a must buy!!!

How to Draw Manga Volume 7.....

Wow. I've bought my fair share of this series--and although I am self-taught, after so many years of studying Manga it seemed like everyone kept shoving the same information in my face. 'Amazing Effects' however, blew me away. It is very informative, and explains in great detail about composition, dynamic & panels from creation to perspective and how to use it to create interesting manga.

It had examples of 'bad' and 'good' manga. Even if it's not the prettiest style I've ever seen, it gets the point across and is extremly helpful to beginners and intermediate-advanced artists alike, especially if you like me have trouble with perspective! This book has a lot to offer, and was the best find amongst the books I have bought recenlty. I know I will be using it time & time again.

Only problem I had with the book:
- The book reads left to right,
- The manga examples read right to left

And there are a few instances where the examples are characters/text who read right to left. So it took me a few reads on certain pages to gain my bearings. But this book is still a great opportunity!

I have to say this book is definitely one of my favorite HTDM's!

It goes over how to create dramatic, fantastic scenes and presentations of your characters, and using every single part of the manga page (the "bleed" of the page, speech balloons, sound effects, angles) and much more to your advantage.

It goes over designing the characters a little as well.

Definitely a great book, but definitely for people who are skilled artist to begin with.

Nice teaching Book for Telling Stories, this book teaches how to lay out panels so they don't look to uniform and boring, how to use perspective shots of characters to avoid boring flat scenes, teaches how to focus on character parts to help tell a story, a very entertaining book to read and help you plan on the best way to present a story with elements you usually find in manga.

Well this one has to be the most boring out of this collection I have purchased, but that depends on if you have gone to school for advanced arts or your just starting. To the advanced its boring, to those learning it may teach you something.

I can't say much for this book. It's not a tool I found myself using at all. The lessons and ideas aren't bad, but could have been planned out better. Ofton I had to read and re-read a section to understand what was going on, since the ideas presented are in story form, not lesson form.

I don't really use this book at all. I think How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way is a much better book that touches on similar concepts, granted not in a manga way.

Okay this book may have had a few OK pointers and the illustration on the front in awesome. A true example of the saying 'Dont judge a book by its cover."
I'm sorry to say this is one of the weaker volumes of the How To Draw series, particularly in this artist's artistic ability.
I'm sorry to insult their art, but it frankly, well, SUCKED. If something THAT bad is meant to teach you how to draw manga then I dont know what to think.
There's alot of other GOOD books in the How to Draw series, so spend your money there instead.

This book was ordered on the 2nd of December, and now it is February 1st, i still don't have this book. It was supposed to be a christmas present, and they keep changing the delivery dates.

However, I have most of the series, and they're VERY good drawing/reference books. So if you really like it, its worth the wait.