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Draw Manga: How to Draw Manga In Your Own Unique Style (Paperback)

~ Bruce Lewis (Author)
Key Phrases: creating manga, draw manga, manga circle, Drawing Basics, Real World, Bishop Toba (more...)
4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Bruce Lewis, one of the first professional cartoonists to bring the manga-style to the United States, takes an entirely fresh approach to the subject that's perfect for beginners.

Manga is all the rage, the hippest and most popular form of comic book drawing today. That's why so many aspiring illustrators long to master the style. But too many of the available how-to manuals don't offer the appropriate help for the westerner-or understand which products are available to artists here. Bruce Lewis, an American who's stepped in manga culture, offers something different: an excitingly visual from-the-ground-up explanation of manga and its roots, the conventions of manga illustrations, and advice on developing an individual style. His handbook builds skills, from drawing the basic figure to creating believable characters, from setting the scene to developing the story. There's even information on creating dramatic lettering. By the time artists have worked their way through this essential guide, they'll feel confident drawing their own manga works and know how to get them published too.

About the Author

Bruce Lewis is a professional cartoonist, illustrator, writer, teacher and pop culture enthusiast and was one of the first professional comic artists to bring the manga-style to American comics. His latest work appears in Juku: A Comics Album (2002, Cheap Disposable Entertainment). Bruce lectures in manga illustration throughout the US and holds extremely popular manga drawing workshops. He lives in Texas, USA.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 128 pages
  • Publisher: Collins & Brown (June 28, 2005)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1843401886
  • ISBN-13: 978-1843401889
  • Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.4 x 0.4 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #402,883 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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    #32 in  Books > Comics & Graphic Novels > Manga > By Series > How to Draw Manga

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Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Search Inside This Book:
Inside This Book (learn more)
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
creating manga, draw manga, manga circle, line art layer, tech pen, manga page, own manga, manga style, manga artists, panel borders, rough book, gang shot, pencil art
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Drawing Basics, Real World, Bishop Toba, Astro Boy, Real Life, Osama Tezuka, Shin Takarajima, Page Page, The Saturday Afternoon Manga Circle, Green Room Door, Overlay Sheet
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Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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Customer Reviews

19 Reviews
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 (11)
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 (3)
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Average Customer Review
4.1 out of 5 stars (19 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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41 of 44 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars More than just a "how to draw" book, October 11, 2006
Far too many aspiring artists who want to be the next big thing in comics or manga concentrate on the art; on how to draw their characters. What they often negelct is everything else that surrounds their characters: the backgrounds and environments, the plot and diologue, the underlying reason for their project in the first place.

Bruce Lewis' "Draw Manga" covers all of these things and more. People looking for one of those paint-by-numbers-hey-look-I-can-draw-a-hot-chick books will be sorely disappointed with this one, solely because it challenges the reader to think about everything concerned with what they're trying to accompish.

What the author is trying to convey here is that a successful (both to oneself as well as one's potential audience) manga is so much more than just nice pictures, and puts those critical elements first and foremost before the first character is ever drawn.

This is a book that should be on every new and experienced manga artist's reference bookshelf, right next to Scott McCloud's "Understanding Comics".
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19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars For Thoughtful Manga-ka in Training, June 21, 2007
What this book is not: a trace-this how-2 for drawing Princess VaVoom of Planet Whoopee.

Lewis' "Draw Manga" promises to show the reader "how to draw figures, create believable characters and develop stories." And the book delivers.

Back to Princess VaVoom for a moment: addressing the interests of hormone-addled male teenagers, the author does devote four paragraphs on page 57 to cheesecake.

Not everyone will find the brief history of ukiyo-e and Hokusai-san's best seller, "Hokusai Manga" as interesting as I did: but I found it useful in setting up a sort of mental cargo pallet to hold the book's other thoughts.

That pallet got pretty full after reading this book. Lewis covers obvious topics, like drawing eyes and hands, discusses workspace design, the importance of research (and how to avoid it), props real and imaginary, how to shamelessly swipe plots and characters, and how to create your own unique style of art, characters, and plots.

The edition of the book I bought had a howler in it. On page 101, four balloons march across the top of the page, illustrating two good, and two not-so-good choices for digital lettering. Problem is, all four balloons contain the same sans-serif font.

However, in the same section Lewis gives a pretty good introduction to leading, size, kerning, and other aspects of making lettering legible.

That's the only glitch I can recall finding in this book's 120-odd pages, which is pretty good for something as content-rich as this.

Someone could learn to create a manga with engaging characters and good plots without reading this book, but that person would be missing a fine resource.
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22 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars False advertisement, and doesn't even cover the very basics, November 10, 2008
I've been drawing manga-style comics for about six years (which is admittedly probably less than Mr. Lewis) and have been published in Rising Stars of Manga, and after reading all of the positive reviews for this item, I bought this book for potential text material for a mini-class I'm teaching this month. Now that I've read through it, I think I'll just give it away to any student who wants it. The art in this book is amateurish at best, and while I can forgive bad art if the instructional material is worthwhile, it simply isn't the case here. Shaky lineart and an unoriginal, derivative "manga" style do more to promote sloppiness and inaccuracies in budding young artists. The book claims to encourage "drawing in a unique style" as opposed to other works that might encourage carbon-copying, and it lives up to the claim solely because it is so vague that it gives no instructions at all. An example I might give is the talk of inking and toning-- Lewis explains how to use these implements technically but gives no advice on how to do so artistically or with any degree of thought or skill, and frankly, a lack of actual technique is one of the major problems with Western manga talent. The most standard instructional will at least talk about line weight or tone textural effects.

It could be because I've read countless other similar books to compare to, but I feel that not only does this volume fail to present anything original in the field of manga instruction, it does a much more cursory and unprofessional job. The inside cover rags on the Graphic-sha How to Draw Manga book series for being a little too culturally impermeable, but at least even that series, rife with its own flaws, teaches something. I think the only saving grace of this book is the talk about self-publishing and convention promotion, not because these are particularly worthwhile topics, but because most other texts don't touch on them.

I only wish I could return this without having to pay for shipping. At least it's better than Chris Hart's books.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars Terrible.
Doggeral trash at best. A horrible 'guide' that will influence future hacks to create their own trashy lazy work at worst. Read more
Published 3 months ago by D. Clair

1.0 out of 5 stars Disgusting!
This book is horrible! It doesn't teach you anything about drawing at all! I bought it hoping that it would be different from other "how to draw mangas" out there since it was by... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Kwin A. Redman

3.0 out of 5 stars Not what I expected
While the book might be great for some people, it wasn't at all what I expected. This doesn't really have much to do with drawing, but producing anime. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Winnett

3.0 out of 5 stars Complementarity book to people that have some drawing skill
This is a ok book but since I am starting from scratch its not that helpful to me it dose not have enough examples to get me off my feet. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Willaim Jarvis

4.0 out of 5 stars You wan't the truth!?.
YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!!! (commence rolling eyes)

But seriously, this is a great book. Read more
Published 9 months ago by A. Amat

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent!
This book was well worth the money paid,the book covers many things from beginning to end,topics such as how to increase your drawing capabilities,steps to move from to get... Read more
Published 20 months ago by Matthew Vison

5.0 out of 5 stars Useful for all ages and all levels of experience
This is a useful guide for all ages and skill levels of drawing. Especially those that are not familiar with or from the culture of manga animation artistry. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Xavier Cordero

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the BETTER Manga books...!!
I got this book out of the library out of curiosity
and was very suprised by its content.

Most Manga books show you how to
copy the CONTENT/STYLE of... Read more
Published 21 months ago by L. Adonis

4.0 out of 5 stars You, the new Manga cartoonist!
After you finish practicing Bruce Lewis' tips and techniques, you cannot help but emerge with your own particular style. Instructions are clear, informative and inspiring.
Published 23 months ago by Margaret Kieckhefer

5.0 out of 5 stars Worth Every penny
Its actualy the most helpfull book I have purchased so far when it comes to drawing in that style. It stresses the importance of practicing your own style and mastering it before... Read more
Published 23 months ago by Stalashnikov

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