Customer Reviews

How To Draw Manga: Sketching Manga-Style Volume 1: Sketching As Composition Planning (How to Draw Manga (Graphic-Sha Numbered))

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I was really surprised when I was actually able to get this book in my hands!!! I waited so many months before I could order this book! Any way, this book is comprised from three different artists', Hikaru Hayashi, (my fav by the way) Takehiko Matsumoto, and Kazuaki Morita. These three artists' teamed up to compile a book with there own renditions of stetching manga. Basically this book is a giant rough sketch book showing you the basic shapes they used to get their art work to look the way it does. This is actually helpful in alot of ways. It is preparing you on how to do this so that you can have a idea on how to draw your own manga masterpieces. Toward the end of the book, they give examples of some of the artist's work and how to improve the color on the artwork.
The contents of this book includes:

Chapter one: Sketching while planning
Differences between standard
Sketching and Manga sketch frontline Part 1
Drawing a female character standing
Drawing a close-up of a female charcters face
A look at the Manga charcter standing
Drawing the figure in reverse
Manga sketching forms the foundation of planning

Chapter Two: The fundamental in sketching a face Manga style
The basics of sketching a face layout
(using circles and X's)
Reduction of the head rendered
Using a Circle and X layout
The steps in drawing a face
Drawing the same face
Darwing an assortment of faces
Ths basics in drawing the head
Conceiving of the head as a solid
The basics in drawing the head
The face's musculature, and expressions
Drawing facial expressions based on muscle movement

Chapter three: The fundamentals in drawing a figure manga style
The backbone forms the base of composition
The backbone travels the length of the torso
The backbone is the source of movement
Adding arms and legs after completing the torso
The steps in drawing a figure
Guideline defining the backbone from the front
Drawing a standing pose using
the bone and the axial line
Using the axial line to draw
A front view standing pose with presence
Standing poses and the center of gravity
Noting the spacing between the feet when drawing
The body's structure
Major body parts and their names
Muscles affecting the exterior contours
Distinguishing the genders
Figure drawing
Proportional differences
Makeup of the primary joints and movement
1. Basic neck structure and movement
2. Basic spine structure and torso movement
3. Basic shoulder and arm
connections and movement
4. Basic leg structure and movement
5. Basic hand and finger structure and maovement
6. Basic leg structure and movement

Chapter four: From sketching to design
The fundamentals of stylization
Character design techniques using stylization
Stylized face design
Stylized figure design
Techniques for designing distinctive characters
Thin and trim build
Powerful and muscular builds
Grotesquely muscular build
Slender female characters
Freindly super deformed (ultra stylized) characters
The reality behind key poses
Composition technique: Imagining a box
What constitutes a three deminsional figure
Placing A figure in a box
The steps in drawing a figure from a box
Techniques in dressing characters
The ABCs of drawing clothes
The reality behind dressing characters
Drawing dynamic poses
Cover character designing frontline
Coloring characters
Coloration improvement Techniques
The improved Palette
Improved finished artwork
Artists' discuss the true nature of manga sketching

All-in all this book rocks! It is the complete how to draw book I know. It is jam packed with hepful drafts to get you on the right track. This book is not for beginners though. I think this book would be suited for those more along the lines of intermediate to advance. This book is a must buy! Add it to your how to draw arsenal now!

This book covers a modern technique used by professional artists. If you have no drawing experience whatsoever, this might not be a good place to start. Those who have spent some time learning basic techniques and can produce basic figures could will definitely profit from this book.

The brilliant part is complete sets of images showing pros creating a new drawing from scratch, with detailed notes on each step. Given sufficient talent, you could eliminate some steps and duplicate what the artists are doing to finish drawings faster.

However, by skipping directly to what the pros apparently do now, the beginning artist misses the building blocks of learning that those same pros went through to get where they are today. Generally a beginning book starts with simple shapes, basic anatomy, perspective, etc. Mastery of fundamentals gives an artist the freedom and capability to create any character and pose.

The analogy to this is the first impressionist master painters. Every one of them was first trained as a classical painter. Picasso could paint in photographic realism if he wanted. His mastery of the fundamentals made his cubist work great.

If you have the basics already, this is a wonderful reference, and I would recommend it to beginners as well so long as they also get references that teach fundamentals.

Over the years I've slowly put together a sizable library of these How to Draw Manga books without even realizing it.

That being said, I'll be the first to admit that the usefulness of some of these books is kind of hit or miss. But the Manga Sketching books are fantastic drawing resources regardless of whether you want to draw in a Manga style or not.

This book is really more grounded in basic figure drawing techniques than other How to Draw Manga books that are largely caged in by the conventions of Japanese comic art. It's also a heftier book at being almost 60 pages longer than some of the other books in the series.

A major section of the book is dedicated to a broad survey of human anatomy, and I would say it does a better job on the subject than many books that focus strictly on anatomy for artists. There's 9 pages dedicated to the head & neck alone. And all of the examples feature the body in motion, which is far more helpful in seeing how the body fits together than a bunch of stiff poses.

Much of the rest of the text is about design tips to solidify the body type you're shooting for or "enhancing a sense of presence" as the manga books often put it, which boils down to creating more interesting, dynamic poses.

Good figure drawing has many basic principles, no matter what style is laid on top of it. "Sketching Manga Style" is a fantastic resource to have around.

This is a very different "how to draw" book since it really focuses on very fine detail that most books overlook. I fully recommend it as it thoroughly goes over many aspects you would not think about.

...however this book is impossible to get without paying a hefty price. A book so popular should continue to sell... I'm not sure why Graphic-Sha won't print more; the prices right now on this particular series is horrendous. The price shot up 1000% (yes, one-thousand percent) because of its "rarity".

However great this book is, no art book is worth $300. The publisher isn't even getting the $300... just the resellers.

The 5 stars remain true when it was still $30 so that is how I will rate it. My recommendation to those who want this book... is to use that money elsewhere. Consider the "Sketching Manga-style" series as a lost cause or write Graphic-Sha a letter or something.

[this is NOT helena! it is her daughter jackie! haii!!!]
when i first bought this book i luved it as soon as i first flipped through the pages!!!
this book helped me improve A LOT and also taught me things i never noticed before!!!
this book is great for beginners who are just starting out on the manga drawing experience!!! it gives some basic anatomy [not the boring useless stuff just the essentials :)] and also explans [with both pics and words] how the body moves!!! <---- nessecery for drawing [no matter wat style!!!]
it is also great for intermediate artist who already no the basics and have some experience with manga style art [like myself i guess]!!! it provides lots of references and also explains anatomy and muscle structure and the way it affects the bodys movement...
it helped me to greatly improve and u have no idea how important it is to be familiar with the muscle and bone structures and how they move [no im not saying that u need to be able to draw a skeleton and then all the layers of muscles on top! just now how the spin bends and wat happens when u raise ur arms...etc...]
i would recomend this book for any artist no matter wat level u r at!!! its a wonderful book and is great especially if ur poses look strange, unnatural or stiff [haha just like mine DID]
along with drawing the body, poses, balance, and face and all that wonderful stuff there is also a section on clothing [which i needed very badly] and one on colouring
overal this was just a fantastic book!!! it was extremely helpful to me and still is!!! i highly recomend getting this book as soon as u get the chance!!! u wont regret it!!! :]
[on one of the other reviews someone listed all the chapters included in the book, i suggest look through the list because i didnt list everthing that is covered!!! thank you (srry i dont remember who posted that review):)
sections i found extremely helpful:
haha well pretty much the whole book but especially the section on;
~balancing pose
~how the bones and muscles move and effect the body [shoulders, elbows, legs/hips...etc...]
~backbone [how it effects...well pretty much EVERYTHING]
~clothing [folds, thick/thin fabric, ...etc]
~shoulders [movement and blah]
~hands [movements and blah]
~feet [movemetns and blah]
~legs [movements and blah]
haha im like naming the whole book XD
well there is much more but thats all im saying for now :]
plz buys this book i promise it will be much help to u [well i hope it will be as much help to u as it was to me(if not more)!!!] :]

Sketching Manga-Style is the first installment in this series of How to Draw Manga books. This book covers many basic subjects, from drawing Manga-Styled head and figure to creating truly dynamic Manga characters. But what makes this book stand out from the crowd is the inclusion of step-by-step demonstrations with b/w photos of Manga Artist as they proceed sketching characters.

The book is divided into four chapters:

Chapter 1: Sketching While Planning
- Differences between Standard Sketching and Manga Sketching
- A Look at the Manga Sketch Frontline Part 1
- A Look at the Manga Sketch Frontline Part 2
- Manga Sketching Forms the Foundation of Planning

Chapter 2: The Fundamentals in Sketching a Face Manga-Style
- The Basics of Sketching a Face Layout (Using Circles and X's)
- Reduction of the Head Rendered using a Circle and X Layout
- The Steps in Drawing a Face
- The Basics in Drawing the Head
- The Face's Musculature, and Expressions

Chapter 3: The Fundamentals in Drawing a Figure Manga-Style
- The Backbone Forms the Base of Composition
- The Steps in Drawing a Figure
- Guideline Defining the Backbone from the Front
- Standing Poses and the Center of Gravity
- The Body's Structure
- Distinguishing the Genders
- Makeup of the Primary Joints and Movement

Chapter 4: From Sketch to Design
- The Fundamentals of Stylization
- Character Design Techniques Using Stylization
- Techniques for Designing Distinctive Characters
- Chibi Characters: The Reality behind Key Poses
- Composition Techniques: Imaging a Box
- Enhancing a Character's Appeal: Techniques in Designing Characters
- Drawing Dynamic Poses
- Cover Character Designing Frontline
- Coloration Improvement Techniques
- Artists Discuss the True Nature of Manga Sketching

Chapter one is an introductory chapter which intend to demonstrate what Manga sketching is all about, including two demonstrations, one by Kazuaki Morita and another by Takehiko Matsumoto. If after those, you don't want to draw your own characters, you can put this book away. Chapter two and three are mow traditional instructional guides with lot of step by step samples. Chapter four briefly includes tips about character design, covering body proportions, perspective, clothing, and action poses. This chapter concludes with a demonstration of how the artist colored the cover illustration

In all, this book is great resource for aspiring Manga artists. But be warned, you won't be able to put this book away.

Other books in the series:
How To Draw Manga: Sketching Manga-Style Volume 2
Volume 3: Unforgettable Characteristics
Volume 4: All About Perspective
Volume 5: Sketching Props

I've had this for about a year now and I have yet to put the thing down. It has been invaluable to me in my quest to improve my work. The artists selected for the project are very talented and what is more each has a very different approach to how they sketch. This is good as it gives the reader two different approaches to sketching.

The images are clear as are the descriptions. The anatomy section is good enough that i actually used it to assist me in studying for my A&P Nursing test. More then any other How To Draw book i've purchased to date this one makes it clear that this is an art form and not just a hobby. I've kept it with me everywhere i've gone and refer back to it constantly. I am better with drawing then i am with words so i doubt i could ever really explain how good this book really is and how valuable it is to someone who is interested in drawing in this style in a serious manner.

I would absolutely recommend this to anyone interested in learning to draw in this style 5/5 stars!

I am just beginning a drawing school at college and this book has been very helpful by showing right and wrong in drawing forms especially human figures. I would recommend whether you like to draw cartoons or life drawing.

It's no exageration. I own dozens of books on sketching, Manga, artistic anatomy, etc. But this one book is almost all inclusive. You can't go wrong with buying this product.

I must point out, however, that it's not for beginners. It expects you to have some basic knowledge of anatomy and proportions, so that you can be thought to stylize them, or even deform them.

A part I really enjoyed is the step by step drawings shown by the hand of the experts. Also, at the end, they provide guidelines on how to properly color your finished pieces.

Overall, this is a must-have for any artist, or sketching enthusiast, regardless of his/her taste for Manga.

Echoing the sentiment in the other reviews, this book would probably benefit most intermediate artists in further refining their sketching skills and in grasping the finer nuances of traditional Manga artistic conventions. Beginner students would also benefit from its thorough well-illustrated techniques after they cover the basics of figure construction. Like any well-rounded text on figure drawing, it naturally covers some lessons focused on the unclothed figure which would probably make it more suitable for mature older students seriously intent on improving their Manga technique. This text is packed with tips and lessons that will help any aspiring Manga-ka sketch and create more realistic and anatomically-convincing characters from different viewing angles built entirely from imagination. Highly recommended for the reference library of any Manga student.