Zap!: How to Draw Fantastic Sci-Fi Comics [Paperback]

Bryan Baugh (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2006

Star Wars, Star Trek, Alien, Predator, The Matrix - part of the appeal of great science fiction is its distinctive look. Now, with Zap! How to Draw Fantastic Sci-Fi Comics, artists everywhere can learn to create their own sci-fi realities and to draw space heroes and heroines, intergalactic villains, robots, spaceships, blasting rockets, slimy aliens, and much more. A history of science-fiction comics is followed by an overview of the genre illustrated by the masters, including Alex Raymond (creator of Flash Gordon), Wally Wood (who shaped the look of 1950s sci-fi), and Basil Wolverton (whose bizarre art launched a thousand mid-century sci-fi stories). Then readers turn to Bryan Baugh’s clear, detailed step-by-step instruction on how to draw dynamic cosmic action figures plus all the futuristic technology they can dream up. Perfect for artists, fans, even writers, Zap! How to Draw Fantastic Sci-Fi Comics lets the art of the future spring from the art of the past.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Bryan Baugh is the co-author of Scared! How to Draw Fantastic Horror Comic Characters and the author of Zap! How to Draw Fantastic Sci-Fi Comics. He is also the author of Swords and Sorcery. He has supplied storyboards for animated productions featuring Batman, Jackie Chan, and the Masters of the Universe. He lives in Thousand Oaks, CA.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Watson-Guptill (October 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0823059782
• ISBN-13: 978-0823059782
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 0.4 x 10.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #906,516 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #89 in Books > Arts & Photography > Drawing > Pen & Ink

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT FIGURES!, November 14, 2006

By 

Tim Janson (Michigan) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Zap!: How to Draw Fantastic Sci-Fi Comics (Paperback)

Watson Guptill Continues their fine series of comic art instruction books with their latest invaluable tome "Zap! How to Draw Fantastic Sci-Fi Comic" by Bryan Baugh. The book features hundreds of B & W and color illustrations geared to the beginning or intermediate comic book artist.

I applaud the book for beginning with a history of Sci-Fi comics and illustration as this form of art even dates back to the pre-comic book days if one considers newspaper comic strips and pulp magazine illustrations which to this day continue to be vastly underrated and undervalued. Baugh takes a look at pioneers like Alex Raymond and his Flash Gordon work, Basil Wolverton's Spacehawk, and EC Comics' legendary Al Williamson and Wally Wood. The book also features a short, but entertaining interview with Williamson.

The instructional portion starts with drawing all sorts of Sci-Fi characters from astronauts to space pirates and space queens to space zombies, all with great tips on getting the figure started and finished. Next up comes great robots, everything from Gundam type Mecha to 50's style Robbie the Robot-like bots, as well as cyborgs, androids, and transforming robots.

The final and longest chapter is on aliens and this is where Baugh really shines. He even comments that drawing weird life forms from other planets is the most enjoyable aspect of drawing sci-fi comics. Baugh truly shows off his imagination with a bizarre host of strange and monstrous alien beings, and not just clones of things you've seen a million times either. There are insectoid alients, octopoid aliens, reptillain aliens, and countless others. The theme in this chapter is to just let your creativity run wild and see what you come up with. There's really no way to do something wrong.

My only complaint about the book is that it strictly displays figures and, to a lesser extent, heads. There's nothing here that really covers comic story-telling or drawing in a panel format. That would have been nice. Still, with contributing artists like Bernie Wrightson, the book is very enjoyable and gorgeously produced.

Reviewed by Tim Janson

4.0 out of 5 stars Good but not same as other series, March 15, 2010

By 

T. Towers "TROLL357" (Maryland) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Zap!: How to Draw Fantastic Sci-Fi Comics (Paperback)

The book is good but it does not match up to other books in how to draw series by Steve Miller and Bryan Baugh. I have found Freaks!, Sacred!, Beasts!, and Thunder Lizards! to be much better in instruction and quality of content. Nevertheless, Bryan Baugh still deliver his best work. It'll be a good reference for classic sci-fi comic.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Will the Future Look Shiny or Tarnished?, June 30, 2009

By 

David H. Rosen "PR, Social Media, SEO specialist" (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Zap!: How to Draw Fantastic Sci-Fi Comics (Paperback)

For a species that can't know what the future holds, we seem to have reached a pretty good consensus on what tomorrow will look like.' In trying to nail down that aesthetic, I picked up "Zap! How to Draw Fantastic Sci-Fi Comics" by Bryan Baugh. It's meant to teach artists how to create robots, aliens, cyborgs, androids, and even something called a space gorilla. But the best part is its chapter on the history of sci-fi comics. Among its most interesting points:''

A great definition of sci-fi: "deals with fantastic circumstances that are scientifically plausible based on current scientific beliefs and theories." (If you substitute the word "outdated" for "current, you actually get a succinct definition of steampunk and other retro-futurist art movements.)

The difference between "space opera" and "hard science fiction" is that the former leans more on "feeling," and the latter on "thinking." So in a hard sci-fi work, detailed gears/wires/moving parts are shown to help create a sense of realism; "this could really happen," the audience thinks.'

The 1920s marked sci-fi comics' rise to prominence, a time when society was feeling optimistic. The art reflected these feelings, and Baugh states "the depiction of futuristic technology was always shiny and flawless. Spaceships were sleek rockets with elegantly curved fins. Astronauts wore flashy jumpsuits, and robots often had the decorative look of walking jukeboxes."''

The reason Star Wars appeared so realistic is that while all the ships and outfits were futuristic, they also looked worn, with scratches and dents. The result "was a completely make-believe sci-fi world that had a gritty, real feeling." The work has cast a long shadow on images of the future through today.