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38 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another top title from Ozawa, June 17, 2001
For anyone interested in drawing characters (not just Manga style), the Tadashi Ozawa books are a real find. Volume one of the Anime and Game Characters (Basics for Beginners and Beyond) series was an amazingly useful book on drawing the human figure in many styles. Now he follows it up with Expressing Emotions.As with the first book, he walks you through the techniques he's featuring for a range of different character types, from the very simple to the very realistic. He also includes extensive annotations with most of the drawings explaining why things work and pointing out the small but important details he's used. He focusses both on facial expressions and using the whole body to effectively convey feeling. And again, he's included a section of drawings that don't quite work, with full annotations alongside revised drawings that fix the problems. While not as extensive as in volume one, it's still a great resource for the learning illustrator. Once you study these "before and afters", you wonder why more books on drawing don't use this technique. It allows you to spot your own flaws more easily, while encouraging you by showing you how to repair the problems through practice. This book is definitely a 5 star read if you already have Volume 1 of this series (currently a bit hard to get, but keep checking for the reprint that's scheduled for release sometime). If you're already quite competent at drawing figures, this book will be of great use. If not, you'll still find it useful, but it doesn't cover how to draw figures, only how to give them more life and emotion. If you're interested in drawing, especially Anime and Manga, grab this book while you can. And watch for the release of volume 3 (Bringing Daily Actions to Life), tentatively scheduled for this Summer 2001.
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by Hikaru Hayashi
