Manga Mania: How to Draw Japanese Comics [Paperback]

Christopher Hart (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2001 | Series: Manga Mania

The only step-by-step guide ever published on drawing this wildly popular style of comic book art—perfect for every age!

Take a look at the wild popularity of such shows as Pokémon, Digimon, and Dragonball Z, and you'll see the Manga style of comic-book art in action. There's no doubt about it: Manga is hot. And Manga Mania is the only guide that details, step by step, how young and veteran artists alike can draw fantasy robots, diabolical monsters, mythical animals, and the other exciting characters that are part of this exciting genre.

Manga art has many styles: the young Manga style, à la Pokémon; and the more mature style popular with teens and adults. Manga Mania covers them both. Big, splashy chapters demonstrate how to draw martial arts, special effects, and much, much more. Since the Manga style stresses character rather than anatomy, Manga comics are easier to draw. So a beginning comic-book artist can easily learn the tricks of the trade.

Chris Hart, known for his very clear step-by-step illustrations and accompanying text, details how anyone can become a real Manga artist without having to reinvent the art of drawing.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5 Up-Hart takes a small but measurable step beyond the basics in this guide to the distinctive Japanese art form. Sandwiched between an introduction to the several genres of manga and a searching interview with Bill Flanagan, editor in chief for one of the largest U.S. manga publishers, is a discussion of techniques for drawing, dressing, and posing all of the standard character types effectively ("-you want a short upper lip, which is a trademark of a youthful character. Long upper lips are reserved for older and sinister characters"). Hart covers creating animals, from dragons to sidekicks, and composing panels that are properly cinematic. For the art, which mixes dozens of step drawings with flurries of finished, usually colored, sample figures, he supplements his own work with generic examples from nine domestic artists, then uses examples of popular published manga to illustrate the interview. Though writing, storyboarding, and computer-assisted design are not covered here, and chapters that introduce a few phrases of tourist Japanese and provide brief, standard generalities about careers in the comics industry are off topic, this book dishes up such generous helpings of specific advice and general encouragement that it makes an appealing alternative to Mikio Kawanishi's How to Draw Manga: Expert Edition (Graphic-Sha, 1998; o.p.) and the many narrowly focused instructional manuals.
John Peters, New York Public Library
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Hart, a successful contributor to MAD magazine, the Blondie cartoon strip, and film and TV, adds another volume to his prolific output of books, which includes his recent Cartooning for the Beginner (LJ 11/15/00). Here he presents the only book on how to draw the wildly popular manga style of comic book art. In Japan, manga comics are devoured by children and adults. The style has been imported in the form of Digimon, Dragon Ball Z, Sailor Moon, and Pok mon. Hart is a master at teaching cartooning methods, and this book, with chapters like "The Bad Boys of Manga" and "Manga's Fantasy Realm," doesn't disappoint. Recommended for public libraries.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Watson-Guptill (April 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0823030350
• ISBN-13: 978-0823030354
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 0.5 x 11 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (91 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #122,167 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Thanks for taking a look at my books, and this "Author Bio." I'm a competent tennis player, who also enjoys playing computer chess while I'm watching TV at night (Hey, it prevents me from channel-surfing). I'm keenly interested in M-theory, although i have become skeptical of it of late, despite Brian's Green's full-body gushing... I love being with my family, and even my extremely evil dog, a Welsh Springer Spaniel named "Rusty." Oh, yes, he truly is that evil.

As for my work, I'm the author of many How-To-Draw books, published by Watson-Guptill,the art imprint of Random House. Thanks to a lot of the wonderful readers (and you know who you are!), I have sold over 3 million copies domestically, which have been translated into 20 languages worldwide.

I'm fortunate to also have had 26 of the Best-Selling art books in the country, according to Bookscan.(Bookscan is the publishing industry's rating system for books, which is owned by same company that does the Neislen TV ratings.)

I also have my own drawing show on the Comcast Network, called, "How To Draw Action Heroes With Chris Hart." It's on Comcast's "Activity TV." I hope you like my books, and find them a valuable adjunct to your own imagination.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars It's good but it's not manga., October 17, 2001

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Manga Mania: How to Draw Japanese Comics (Paperback)

Well, actually I got it as a present during the summer vacations from my aunt so I feel pretty bad critizing it though it wasn't anime.

Before I begin on the good side I think I should start on the flaws. The noses were pathetic! They were totally not Japanesse (though if it had been for western comics I guess it wouldn't fit there either). The eyes were excellent though they were the hardest bit and were hardly explained at all. The colored pictures looked too Western (though they were very pretty to go through if you aren't learning how to draw Anime/Manga)and the shading and hands and feet were hardly explained when the bits that need to be explained to most as they are usually the weakness for most artisits.

Apart from these flaws it was quite allright. The panneling and elven bits were exceptionally good and the interview at the end was more than helpful. But then again you can get all these from the net tutorials.... which, if you were seriously going pro, you would've probably gone through.

The book lacked Japanesse Drawing though it was pretty good (if you just wanted to draw).

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A interesting Western point of view, June 10, 2001

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Manga Mania: How to Draw Japanese Comics (Paperback)

As many people know, both anime and manga are gaining an increasingly stronger and broader fan base in America. With this increase have come How-To-Draw books and the like. Chris Hart brings a Western to manga. Yes, there are books by Japanese artists out there, but I think that Western take should be given just as much respect. Hart did an excellent job in the chapter on fantasy which included tips on shadowing and drawing folds in clothing. Also, he gave some extra attention to drawing males. I know there are books on drawing bishoujo (pretty girls), but where are the books on bishonen (attractive guys) then? I found this book to be helpful and would reconmend it to beginning and intermediate manga artists.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pretty good, concise book..., July 27, 2001

By 

G. Cepeda (Columbus, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Manga Mania: How to Draw Japanese Comics (Paperback)

Honestly, this is probably the best book on manga drawing technique published in the West for a variety of reasons: a) it's concise and to the point; b) it showcases DIFFERENT styles of manga art by some VERY good Western artists; and c) it manages to do all this in one book... If you listen to the Hart-bashers, you'll be spending well over $200 in books (I think there was something like 7, 8, or 9 "How to Draw Manga" books translated into English at last count when I checked) and probably won't be getting full coverage of the basics.

Is the book perfect? Of course not -- no book is! There are admittedly some low-res pics in it at the front of the book (NOT because of the lack of Adobe Streamline, but because someone at the book publisher DIDN'T scan in some artwork at a high enough res) and some of the artists aren't as good as others. Most of the pencil art (which tells you more than the finished art at any art) is reproduced well and shows off the caring attention put into the art.

For a relatively low price, you ARE getting coverage of a lot of the basics and good explanations on WHY things are drawn in certain ways. The same cannot be said for many other artbooks published today -- including the "How to Draw Manga" books. This book is a fairly good place to start for cartooning in a Japanese style.