Toons!: How to Draw Wild & Lively Characters for All Kinds of Cartoons [Hardcover]

Randy Glasbergen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1997

This book will get you started drawing professional-quality cartoons faster than you ever dreamed possible! With more than 20 years of professional cartooning experience, Randy Glasbergen has had time to learn the secrets and shortcuts of his craft - and now he shares them here with you. You'll learn how to draw funny, expressive faces full of personality, turn simple stick figures into exciting characters that practically spring to life on your drawing pad, draw comic animals. Learn basic skills that will help you draw any pet, farm critter or zoo animal imaginable, set the stage for your characters with scenery and props, choose the right cartooning tools to achieve professional results, discover great cartoon ideas all around you, everyday, wherever you go, develop your very own, one-of-a-kind cartooning style that makes your work stand apart from the crowd.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: North Light Books (June 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0891347453
• ISBN-13: 978-0891347453
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 7.7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #302,425 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Starting Off or Time for A Cartoon Tune-Up?, January 19, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Toons!: How to Draw Wild & Lively Characters for All Kinds of Cartoons (Hardcover)

Randy Glasbergen's "'Toons" is a basic book for a young novice interested in learning how to draw cartoons, or for a more advanced person who wants to brush up on his skills. Randy teaches the reader, among other things, how to draw funny faces, how to draw bodies and show them in action, how to draw comic animals, and how to do cartoon lettering. What makes this book especially valuable is that much more than half of it consists of illustrations, including Randy's published cartoons, so the prospective cartoonist can study and practice whatever Randy is explaining.

There are six pages alone showing how to draw cartoon hands. As Randy says, "Hands deserve special attention. Hands are a very expressive body part, second only to the face. We use our hands to point, poke, pinch, pull, pick, and punch. Because hands say so much about us and our emotions, it's important to draw them effectively. Here's how:..." And he goes on to show 43 examples.

Moreover, Randy's heads, bodies, hands, animals, and cartoon props are boiled down to basic shapes, such as circles, ovals, squares, and triangles, making it easy for just about anyone to learn to draw them.

I highly recommend this fun-filled book for anyone who seriously wants a firm foundation in how to create cartoons, or even for the sort of soul who finds himself casually but persistently sketching on a restaurant place mat, or doodling while chatting on the phone. Who knows, there might be a latent cartoonist hiding inside you right now.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Get This Book!, February 26, 2004

By 

Tom "Tom" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Toons!: How to Draw Wild & Lively Characters for All Kinds of Cartoons (Hardcover)

Of the three Randy Glasbergen books on cartooning ('Toons, How to be a Successful Cartoonist, and Getting started Drawing and Selling Cartoons) this book seems to offer the most information on how to draw and how to start thinking creatively. It is filled with information and a difinite asset to any budding cartoonist's library. Highly recommended.

4.0 out of 5 stars Express yourself!, August 10, 2011

By 

B. Thornton (Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Toons!: How to Draw Wild & Lively Characters for All Kinds of Cartoons (Hardcover)

Toons is a great book, plain and simple. I love starting new project and new hobbies; and drawing silly characters with snarky thought bubbles has been my latest fixation.

Toons walks you through the basics of easy-peasy drawing techniques. Things like balance, line-of-sight, expressions and motion are all covered thoroughly and completely. If you want to get into the world of art, this is an excellent first stop.
However, in a world of uniqueness and creativity, this book sort-of paints you into a corner. All the guides, practice recommendations and suggestions closely mirror the style of the artist. This is a great help if you want to learn how to quickly draw silly characters, but lacks in personal style development.

That aside, the book is littered with relevant and useful information and is definitely worth its price.