Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Lots of hidden treasures if you know how to search!, March 15, 2001
This book seems odd to Western Eyes - a huge amount of (good) pictures and examples, mixed with some advice. However when you understand that the art and the advice go together, and that the core of the book is "see this example? Now shut up and practice it," then you can get quite a lot out of it.There's a lot of good tips organized into sections - but don't expect a lot of handholding. Instead expect a few pictures, reading advice like ("raise the eyelids like this for this effect") and then picking up your pen and drawing. You'll get advice on faces, eyes, hair, different styles of clothes, and even exotic pretty girls like angels and the omnipresent catgirls. I myself, an amateur artist, got a great deal out of this book - it WON'T start you from scratch, but it will give a student good advice.
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Firefly Review (modified), January 28, 2005
This is an excellent book, I love it! The only setback is the nudity (you will see nipples), which is important for the section on how to draw the body, but otherwise not necessary. Anyway, the adorable and very diverse characters will captivate you and turn you into an instant manga fan if you aren't already. There are six chapters:
1. Bishoujo character drawing theory: This chapter will teach you to draw the face; eyes, hair and expressions concerning the eyes (shut eyes, crying eyes etc.)One of the best chapters, the part on the eyes is superb! The part on the jaw line, however, isn't very helpful and requires a lot of practice.
2. Bishoujo Bodies: This chapter is only useful if you already know how to draw bodies. It has useful hints and tips, such as how to make the perfect slim waist, drawing breasts, the back, girls with broad or narrow shoulders, etc. However, it does not start with basics, like how to break the body down into cylinders, which is a problem.
3. Situations and Techniques of Expression: I don't particularly like the style of drawing in this part as it is less cute and more realistic. It covers putting on/taking off clothes, taking bathes or showers, characters wrapped in sheets and sleeping poses (the best, cutest part), underwear, negligee and kimono's (yukata). Note that shower and bath scenes can be used for girls in a swimming pool or in the rain. This section is neat as it shows you how kimonos are worn!
4. Every Day Life Bishoujo: This chapter covers all sorts of popular Japanese characters; maids, nurses, schoolgirls, and accessories like hats, glasses and ribbons. It has one page on curly hair, but only shows different styles of curled hair, not how to draw curly hair.
5. Out of This World Bishoujo: The best part of the book! This part will show you how to draw nekos (cat girls), mermaids, fairies, winged girls (a detailed, 4-page section) bionic and cyborg girls. The cutest characters are in this part! Also, you learn how to draw chibi girls, and how to turn characters into chibi characters. Note: starting from the third chapter, every page has a small chibi girl in the corner.
6. Learn From the Masters: The other best part! This part has six complete works, all of which are very cute yet very different. The author shows you the original sketch, and what you can learn from these pictures. My favorites are Elf Moment and Ice Fairy.
This a must-have for any manga collection. BUY IT NOW!!!
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Book Worthy of 1 Hundred Stars!, August 17, 2003
By A Customer
This book is the best How To Draw Manga book I have, and considering how many I have, that's really something to say! I really liked this book because it explained to me how to draw all the basics, small details, clothing, and abnormal girls (like mermaids, animal girls, chibis, angels, mech, etc). It even shows different bishoujo themes in the book (like nurses, school girls, etc). Another thing that amazed me most was that it had all the basics of drawing bishoujo. You can call me weird, but the other book I was going to buy, Techniques for Drawing Female Manga Characters, lacked even the simple basics this book had, so it was either buy that book and a second one, or this book. I chose this book; besides that one had too much information on anatomy.I also recommend How to Draw Manga: Bishoujo Around the World.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
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by Hikaru Hayashi
by Society for the Study of Manga Techniques
