This is a good book and worth the $17 I paid for it. The advice, information, and exercises are good. But that said, I wouldn't necessarily recommend it to others in most cases, since there are better books which cover the same subject matter more thoroughly. (See the end of this review for titles I would recommend instead).
The case where I would recommend it is to a budding artist, and in conjunction with something such as
How To Draw Comics The Marvel Way
, which will fill in a couple of key blanks in Foundations is Comic Book Art.
All of the material in this book is good, and the few exercises are excellent, but it's fundamentally incomplete in any aspect to be considered a great book. I would have found it revolutionary if I had read it within the first few years after I started taking art more seriously (say early to mid teens) but now there isn't much to be gained from this book for me.
What surprised me the most is that there is very little that is specific to comic book art. About 80% of the book is information that would apply to any drawing style, which is fine, but I was expecting something more focused. And none of the information is given a very thorough treatment, except for inking (more on that below), which gets a fair treatment, although not exhaustive. And although there is a "Figure" chapter, there is almost nothing of value in terms of figure drawing or visual character development, which in my opinion leaves the book incomplete.
Also nothing really about translating story or action to the panel.
The exception to the shortcomings is the inking section, which consists of 2-1/2 chapters. It is the most complete segment of this book, and is very good. I have other books on drawing with ink that I prefer, but those aren't specifically geared to comic book inking.
So all in all, good material, just lacking in depth.
For the deeper dive I would recommend:
How to Draw: drawing and sketching objects and environments from your imagination
, which covers all of the same general drawing information covered in Foundations in Comic Art's second and third chapters, plus a lot more, and in exhaustive detail. The angle is more from a design perspective, but can be applied to a broad array of drawing disciplines.
Scott McClouds books,
Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
and
Making Comics: Storytelling Secrets of Comics, Manga and Graphic Novels
which are an incredibly in depth approach to comic theory.
Force: Dynamic Life Drawing for Animators (Force Drawing Series)
to supplement the missing translation of character and action into image.
Really any good text on figure drawing such as
Figure Drawing: Design and Invention
. Or Bridgman, Loomis, etc.
My favorite inking book
Rendering in Pen and Ink: New Edition of the Classic Book on Pen and Ink Techniques for Artists, Illustrators, Architects, and Designers
is a wealth of knowledge if you're going to be attaching the subject with traditional materials.
Getting each of those books will set one back a little bit, and will take a fair bit longer to study and practice. So maybe this smaller, less expensive book is a good starting point... but if you have the time and money, go with the better materials and give the subjects the careful study and practice that they deserve.
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