5 comments about Making Comics: Storytelling Secrets of Comics, Manga and Graphic Novels.

1. Great book for beginning comic artists. You will not be taught technical details for how to draw or lay out panels, but you will be shown how to pace comics, shown some basic face anatomy in the context of emotion, given a few inspirational tips on choosing characters, and so on. Probably an interesting read even for people who aren't sure that they want to get into comics.



2. What I like about this book is the fact that it is not only instructional for comic book artists but also for all artists. He writes and draws to enhance what he is teaching so that it is not even noticed by the reader that he is being taught. I have met Scott and he is as entertaining and funny in person as he is in his book.



3. This is the best cartooning and illustration
   book that has EVER been created. It accomplishes cartoons and
   illustrating and explains everything. THIS is
   the only book you will ever need. Don't let this
   book escape you, you will NEVER forgive yourself if
   you let this treasure get away. It is total visual
   instruction. Easy to understand. Easy to attempt.
   It is the book I keep on the drawing desk next to me
   because it is so complete. Wow!!!!!!---- Luisa Felix



4. Well thought out, well written, quality throughout. I like this book the best so far; the previous weren't as appealing as this but were still very well done. The author really practices what he preaches as far as his message and the book speaks for itself. You won't be disappointed. Looking forward to the new books!



5. When my grandparents got me this book, I didn't think it could help me. I was looking for a "How to Draw" not a "How to Write". This book proved me so wrong. I couldn't believe how much fun it was to read, and it helped me a lot too. Almost everything I thought I knew was proved wrong and after reading it I felt like I understood comics so much better. As well as making me better at writing comic books, it made me a better writer altogether. I strongly recommend this book for anyone who is interested in comics or in just plain writing or art.

5 comments about Keys to Drawing.

1. This is a freeform drawing book that teaches draw what you see and not what you know, using the language of lines and shapes and not the language of things (very much like Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain).
   
   Chapter 1 covers the drawing process and reviews the main points in a bulleted list at the end. Chapter 2 discusses the "handwriting" of famous artists - most interesting and enlightening. Chapter 3 covers how to draw figures and faces - here it does teach about foreshortening, finding midpoints, and taking measurements. Chapter 4 covers how to use light and shadow to model shapes. Chapter 5 covers precision drawing principles: how to create depth, eye level and vanishing points (one and two point perspective), unusual perspectives, ellipses. However, it's more of an overview rather than a "how to." Don't rely on this to learn precision drawing. Chapter 6 covers textures. Chapter 7 discusses composition (pattern and design). Chapter 8 covers imaginative drawing.
   
   This is an excellent book to learn freeform drawing - I'm not sure what's better, this book or the "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain", but I think I would still like to have this in my art book library.



2. I am an artist who allowed herself to put the responsibilities of life before her passion. I have been trying to rekindle my passion for drawing and painting after twenty years of " I'll make time tomorrow" excuses. I originally began drawing as a small child and fine tuned my skills in school with an instructor who used the Betty Edwards approach, so i tried using her books to "get back into art". Well, i love her approach, but the scientific instruction of how and why to draw are interesting, but reading about all that takes time away from what makes great art- simply just doing it. Keys to drawing was exactly the kick in the pants I needed to stop reading about art and start creating again. This book gets you drawing right away and gives you so many exercises and so much encouragement to just draw. I love the illustrations in the book because they are not perfect, they are real and show you the process of creating a drawing instead of making you feel intimidated by professionally drawn finished products, although there are a few of those. The author gives you permission to make mistakes, actually encouraging you to do so in order to find your own style and get over yourself and just have fun.I highly recommend this book to All age groups and level of artist.



3. Although the artwork in the book varies in beauty, the teaching is superb. And that, after all, is the most important thing. I've been drawing for nearly half a century, but these keys have pushed my drawing to an entirely new level. How these little secrets evaded me for so long is mysterious! Pity I didn't have this book when I was a kid. My life might have been very different.



4. i like the philosophy of this book..not only concentrating on technical details, which is boring for someone like me who only takes drawing as a hobby. also, this book is not too general. there is some essential points stated in each chapter, with fun 'project' accompanied, to provide concrete example and opportunity to practice. quite good!



5. Over the last six month I have been buying a number of instructional book on drawing/sketching for reference. I have found this one to be one that I continue to go back to to review approaches to getting started. I would recommend it as a good guide for a beginner -- either to drawing or to starting with charcoal and graphite.
   
   Leon

5 comments about Google SketchUp For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech)).

1. I have no background in CAD programs at all and my attempts to master SketchUp were futile until I purchased this book. Within a couple of hours I was able to draw a simple building. It's a great book! I thought so much of it, I bought a second copy for my son!



2. I was new to SketchUp. And this book helped a lot. I learned things that weren't mentioned in video and other tutorials.
   Also, it was easy to read.



3. Chopra has written an excellent book. Good sense of humor, easy to understand, practical and well organized. Some of the "For Dummies" books are a little too cute. The writing style gets in the way of the information. That is not the case with Chopra's book. His humor and personality make the subject interesting. I am a beginner with Sketchup, but I think more advanced users will benefit from this book too because of the way the book is organized and the depth of the information. The book works as a reference as well as a collection of tutorials.



4. Like all "Dummies" books this is an invaluable reference work for a complex subject. This book is helpful for a beginner, just discovering "Sketchup" and also for a frequent user, needing a helping hand.



5. The author tells you which tools to use, but not how to apply them. The book is more of an outline than a set of educational exercises or instructions. I'm finding Sketchup's help system significantly more useful.

5 comments about Drawing with Children.

1. This book was very informative and useful in teaching a basic drawing class. I really liked the layout of the book, it was pretty cohesive.



2. My stepmother taught me to draw with this book when I was 7 and now I'm using it with my homeschooling cirriculum for my kids. It's a terrific tool to de-mystify the artistic process and help find your own artistic voice. As an adult, I found the refresher course extremely useful. My 9 year old son, who is notoriously technical-minded, immediately understood the five families of shape and started breaking down the objects he saw into manageable mediums to put onto paper. He had been frustrated with his drawing until I found the copy I had used as a child and began using it in our curriculum.
   
   The best thing about the book is that it teaches you to accept your creative voice. Children's pictures are often primitive and they get frustrated that it isn't an exact copy, but (as the book states) if they really want it that perfect they could just take a picture. Their creative voice is what makes a drawing special, after all.
   
   I would definitely recommend this product and the use of resources like the addendum lesson plans here: http://www.redshift.com/~bonajo/dwclp.htm



3. This book captures wonderfully the spirit of art instruction: a simple method + supportive non-judgmental attitude + respect and encouragement of individual creative expression.
   
   I must note that this is a guide for self-exploration, learning and growth rather than a step-by-step instruction manual for mastering a skill. If you are interested in the latter, you should rather get the "Draw Write Now" or related books.



4. I am a new Porcelain painter and wanted to develop the skill of drawing my own subjects instead of tracing them on my china.
   I have enjoyed learning the history of this program, the drawing tips and lessons.
   The book is well written and easy to understand and is just as helpful for an adult as a child.
   
   I am looking forward to purchasing the next book,"Drawing With Teenagers."
   
   Kelda



5. Hi, when I went through this book I was excited with it. It really teaches theory and gives great lessons to develop your skills. If I was using it to teach my own children or just one or two kids at a time I think it would be great. But it seems to need a lot of one on one time with the child, or at least several more sessions than I had available for my class.
   Be aware that this book requires a lot of preparation (in my opinion)to be able to sit down and teach a child even if you only have one or two children. This is a great book if you have the time to first teach yourself, then you will be prepared to teach children.

5 comments about How to Draw What You See (Practical Art Books).

1. I found this book good for someone just starting out. I have been working with my 6 year old daughter with this book and she likes it and is doing remarkably well. Great for adults and with a little help kids as well.



2. This book is not for novice artists. I'm a Middle School art teacher and was looking for some new ways to TEACH drawing. I have "Drawing on the right side of the brain" and use many of the exercises in it with my students. This book doesn't even come close in my opinion. I didn't take anything from it that I could remotely use in the classroom. Reminded me of my college level drawing classes with professors that just threw a bunch of concepts out without *teaching* how to actually DO.



3. I am an artist and I also teach drawing. I find this book very informative. I teach the basics in pencil drawing and this book shows wonderful demonestrations. Since the authur was an art teacher it's written for class room or individual use. The book's first printing was 1970 and is still well used from what I've read. I highly recommend this book for all art students. My students enjoy what I bring to the classroom from this book.



4. I have owned this book for 10 years. My children and I all learned the basics of drawing from this book. I was so excited when I followed the steps and was able to draw a realistic face! I would recommend this book for anyone wanting to learn drawing.
   Cyndi Martinez



5. This is another excellet guide that I added to my reference bookshelf when taking up drawing at a late age. It is good to read through once, then return to review specific chapters when you are working on projects. At least, this is the way I use it. I would rather not follow an approach step-by-step .. but rather get a good notion on how to get started and go from there.
   
   But, this book helps and supports this approach greatly.
   
   Leon

5 comments about A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction (Center for Environmental Structure Series).

1. This was an extremely helpful book in using to decide what house or town home to buy, why spaces might work, what needs to be added to them, etc. I am very glad I bought this book.



2. This book talks specifically about what works and doesn't work when building cities and towns and how to take the human element into consideration when doing so. However, I found its conclusions and most of its patterns applicable to software engineering. There are good books on software design patterns such as "Head First Design Patterns", and there are some good books on user interface design such as "Designing Interfaces: Patterns for Effective Interaction Design", but this book really helped me merge the idea of software design patterns with the user perspective in a way that other books I have read have not.
   
   If you are a software designer, read the book all the way through, make notes as you go, and see if it doesn't help you write better organized code that is more responsive and coherent to a user who walks up to your user interface completely uninitiated in your method of design. I know it helped me.



3. This book is the quintessential book on the subject of creating authentic living spaces.
   This book provides a near mystical approach to architecture in a very simplistic form that anyone can understand.



4. Time has not eroded the significance of this book's contribution to the world of architecture. Though it reaches back to timeless solutions to architectural problems, it is also a way forward. As we devour our social capital in a half century of indiscriminate urban sprawl, this book offers alternatives that will help us revitalize our urban centers.



5. I bought this book after reading the glowing reviews on amazon. It was also an inspiration for Will Wright to make SimCity and the SIMS..... so I had high expectations.
   
   I was shocked to find how opinionated and philosophical the book is. I expected the book to look at the history of cities, towns, etc. and describe patterns that already exist (much like the GoF's software design patterns book talks about patterns that people actually use). Instead the book presents a series of ideals about how the world should be structured.
   
   If these ideals came from concerns I could identify with, I would take it more seriously. But instead they attack "problems" which I do not perceive to exist. For example, on p. 43 "The homogeneous and undifferentiated character of modern cities kills all variety of life styles and arrest the growth of individual character." This statement is contrary to my experience. I have met many great characters from cities, and seen profound cultural differentiation emerge from cities (e.g. jazz, abstract painting, hippie culture, punk, you name it). But the authors proceed as if cities killing character is axiomatic. I agree that there is a rural character that is not present in cities. But citydwellers have another type of character which is equally valid.
   
   I have only made it through the first 100 pages. In these pages are so many naive ideas about mixing cityspace and vacant space. I live in Los Angeles so I know about sprawl & I also know a lot about cars -- while they are aiming for less sprawl then LA, they also neglect traffic congestion. They claim that making small roads in places make people reluctant to drive there.... the experience worldwide (worst in Malaysia, I hear) is that people use whatever roads are present, and if the roads are small, they then just end up sitting in traffic. The author's are naive in their structuring of space, nowhere do they cite any hard evidence of how these structures function.
   
   I might make it the rest of the way through.... at least it's an easy read, with so many repetitions in how the models work you can kinda skim through it. I like the spirit of the book, it is reminiscent of P.M.'s bolo'bolo.... but where bolo'bolo comes from a purely emotional position, these authors take themselves seriously and believe what they are saying is objectively true. I give the book 3 stars because it is nice to see someone work through the ideas of bolo'bolo (which was actually written ~6yrs after alexander's book). I would give 5 stars to a book that did so by looking more at actual data of how spaces are utilized, and presented designs that didn't have obvious flaws in them.

No comments about Character Animation Crash Course!.

2 comments about Drawing Words and Writing Pictures: Making Comics: Manga, Graphic Novels, and Beyond.

1. I brought an advance copy of this book into a college illustration class I teach. The class was quite impressed. In fact, two students went onto Amazon online and bought it instantly. Usually I discourage shopping during class, but Drawing Words and Writing Pictures is an answered prayer for the aspiring comics artist.
   
   This is an ideal text for a 15-week class in comics. It also has guidance for starting an informal collective class. It includes suggestions for the stereotypical solitary artist, who the authors are gracious enough to refer to as ronin. There is a wealth of info on the narrative process, page design, lettering, pens, and even Photoshop scanning advice.
   
   The authors' individual web pages present a lot this DIY info, so search out their sites, see if their philosophies appeal to you. The book contains multiple perspectives from two remarkable artists. Matt Madden is into "formalist" styles, working within Houdini-like constraints. Jessica Abel's La Perdida is one of the great masterpieces of the long-form graphic novel.
   
   From George Herriman to Robert Crumb, Charles Burns, to Kaz and John Porcillino, the book is crammed with a diversity of styles. Wide-ranging and inclusive, no matter what one's preferred comics style, from manga to superhero to alternative, you will find something to like here.
   
   Instructors will find the bibliography alone is worth the price of admission, I teach a seven-week college comics course each fall. My plan is to email the students over the summer, tell them to get this book and get started on the exercises. The ronins will get a head start and their classmates will lose face.
   
   Scott McCloud's Making Comics is also a valuable college course text for serious students, who have some background in reading comics and thinking critically about the artform. Drawing Words and Writing Pictures, however, has practical exercises for students at any level. Highly recommended.



2. I am a BIG fan of both Abel and Madden's work. I go to BOTH of their websites several times a month and "La Perdida" and "99 Ways To Tell A Story" are part of my collection of graphic novels.
   
   This book is great for high school & college art teachers who want to teach sequential art to their classes. I believe the content is particularly suited for art majors that are interested in the finer points of visual narrative. And you can tailor your curriculum around the chapters if you so choose. If you want to use these for middle school kids I think simpler steps need to be added. I like the fact that people can form groups: "Nomads" OR go do it alone: "Ronins" and follow the lessons independently.
   
   This book is NOT bad.
   
   All the chapters and lessons are made to be studied in sequence and if you are an old timer to comic art you can easily skip to other chapters; which I did alot. A seasoned pro will probably go to the chapters that interest him/ her the most. One chapter that I REALLY like was called "Black Gold" the chapter on using and inking with a brush.
   
   The other chapters on page layout, panel construction, character design,
   facial features/ figure anatomy were VERY good.
   
   My ONLY complaint was the layout of the book. My [web]comic artist collegues & I felt there was TOO much white space waisted on each page, the typeface was too small and that neon orange color used throughout the book distracting. It was hard to read and strained the eyes.
   
   Plus being a webcomic artist myself I wanted to see MORE about using the computer for making comics. It covered scanning, re-sizing, adjusting your line art in PhotoShop, etc. The chapter on lettering was good; but they tended to downplay the use of COMPUTER LETTERING. They make a STRONG point in favor of HAND LETTERED comics; but it would have been nice if they address lettering on the computer as well.
   
   My Suggestions:
   A. Read the book cover to cover.
   B. Do the Exercises. I am in a NOMAD group; plus I'm doing the RONIN thing as well.
   C. Do the Homework.
   D. Go back to your favorite chapters again and again.
   E. Cross reference this with OTHER books on how to make comics.
   
   This book is a welcome addition to any comic artist's arsenal of graphic narrative/ sequential art references. Use it along with books by Will Eisner & Scott McCloud and you'll be fully versed in the Language of Comic Art.

5 comments about New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain Workbook: Guided Practice in the Five Basic Skills of Drawing.

1. I have a family that is full of artists, and always felt really sad that I couldn't draw even a stick figure! A little while ago I realised something important - that drawing is a form of literacy, like writing, and so many of us don't make it past kindergarten.
   
   Visual communication is really under-rated in our school systems, which pretty much relegates most of us to the category of 'non-drawers'. Betty Edwards' book changes that!
   
   
   The work book is really all you need, although if you would like to go into the reasons behind her book, then the text is great. I bought both and am very glad I did.
   
   I am only part-way through the workbook, but it's amazing to see what can be produced in such a short time. If you want to climb that wall that has been bordering in your creativity, then I can't recommend this book highly enough!



2. This is a good guide for students and a great-abbreviated version of the full-length instruction book. It makes it easy to keep a record of your progress especially if you are not interested in keeping a journal while you are learning to draw.



3. i have read the book drawing on the right side of the brain. what this book is can be also taken right out of the original book. it is just more of what it says a work book. or you could just use some drawing pad to do the exercises in it. It takes out of the book the lessons, so save your money and just by the book. which by the way actually is also a very useful book to learn and understand drawing . It is not that it is a bad book, it is just wiser to save your money and buy the actual book to read itself. everything in the workbook is taken from the reading book.



4. Great book for those of us with a creative bent but not sure how to proceed. Recommended by Daniel Pink.



5. This is a very fine guide for learning to draw, understanding the principles of drawing, and practicing drawing in a practical way/

5 comments about The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain.

1. i used this book and it help me improve my drawing skill. i also recommend another book called "How to Think like Leonardo Da Vinci."



2. This is an excellent book to use when learning to draw, or as a means of "seeing" what you want to draw.



3. I've heard that my whole life and never understood that artist draw with their eyes - - until this book. Betty Edwards is like an evangelist for proclaiming this message, and I found out that she's right!
   
   The problem is that we usually think of art as something magical, given at birth to a select few; but the reality is that anyone can draw. I found this out a couple of years ago at a course based on the book at the local senior center. I took the course because I have always loved art, and even if I could only do stick men, I would at least learn to appreciate the great artists more. Well, I found out I could actually draw! I could even do faces that looked recognizable as to who they represented. I was amazed and happy!
   
   Betty Edwards says the key is using your right brain instead of your left brain to draw. Your right brain sees things as they actually are and the left brain sees symbols that represent things instead. The trick is getting into `R-mode' and she has several strategies for doing so: such as painting something upside down, and something called contour drawing. I'll let you read the book for details, but it actually works! She says her book is probably the first practical application of Nobel-prize winning Dr. Roger Speer's studies on the functions of the right and left hemispheres of the brain.
   
   I can't recommend this book too strongly!



4. I decided that I wanted to try to learn how to draw again. Years ago I picked up a couple of "learn to draw books" and was then convinced that you had to be "born with it" to draw. I recieved this book and the exercises convinced me that I could learn to draw. No one had talked about a "picture plane" before and I never experienced it before. I learn better with instruction, and this book gave me the confidence to enroll in an introductory class at SCAD. The instructor, Thomas Key, was absolutely great, and I have been drawing a picture a day ever since, even if it is just, "an apple a day". If it were not for this book I would have never enrolled in a drawing class. It opened my eyes to a new way of looking at things.



5. I agree with the author on most points, but she wastes too much time indoctrinating converts with her nifty science of brain processing.
   
   I'm impatient with authors who inflate and bloat their books to reach a specific page count publishers prefer. The essential information gets buried in the unnecessary noise. Make it lean and mean and use the extra pages for a coloring book of the book's salient points.