5 comments about How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way.

1. Some of you folks writing reviews are, like me, graphic designers. And, yes, I too have owned this wonderful book. I even laughed at the publication date at the top of the page because mine is from 1978!
   
   Lee and Buscema are two of the foundation blocks of Marvel Comics and I wouldn't expect anything less from this wonderful work. If you are a beginning or almost intermediate comic book artist, I can't think of a better place to start than this book. I still refer to it, sometimes, for reference tips.
   
   I won't bore you with a diatribe of what can be learned here... just buy the book. I think you'll be surprised that, in 30 years, you'll still own your dog-eared, yellowed, frayed-out copy. I've still got mine.
   
   Oh, and when you're done with it, do yourself a favor and take a look at some Burne Hogarth books.
   
   Enjoy!



2. How to draw comics the Marvel Way is a good book but it's very old information. I think that Marvel comics and the comic book industry has changed since this book was published in 1978 and 1984. Don't get me wrong! I like this How to draw comics the Marvel Way! book written by Stan Lee with artwork by John Buseama, but the books information is too old. I think comic book artists today use better materials besides paint brushes and india ink. You buy Markers with india ink in them at an artsupply store. there are other things in this book that do not appy to comic books in 2008 as well. If your a begining artist, I will recommend this book but It's not for advance artist. B+



3. I bought this for my 11 year old son for his birthday. He's been trying to draw superheroes lately. When I began flipping through it, I recognized many of the images. I then remembered I had this book when I was a boy. I checked the original publish date and found it to be 1978. Yep, this was it. It's a very good book for those who need some structure with regards to their pencil drawing. The concepts of human form, perspective, dimension etc. are easy to understand with many, many examples. Step by step instructions make it easy. Even those with limited artistic abilities will be able to draw well using this book. I recommend it highly!



4. This is sort of a classical text, focused on covering the various aspects of drawing comics.
   
   Though drawing comics involves a lot about learning to draw, I would think that an ability to draw whether inherent or acquired would be a necessary starting point to effectively use this book. On the contrary one might as well get started here and then hone the necessary drawing skills.
   
   As in any specific form of art, such as Illustration, Fine art, Animation art, Commercial art etc, Comics art has its own set of skills that need to be honed.
   
   This is a book written by Stan lee and John Buscema, one a great story teller and the other a fine artist. It does cover several aspects of the trade.
   
   As the title suggests the genre is more towards the 'Action' side, as opposed to a style such as Disney, Asterix or that of Herge's Tintin.
   
   A significant amount of the book focuses on the figure and its action, which is so vital to this type of comics, and these are real gems. The quick setup of a pose, the dynamism needed for convincing action, the looseness of the approach, and then the focus on the form, the details of the figure the head and so on are very effectively presented.
   
   the other important ingredients of composition, perspective, foreshortening are covered in detail.
   
   There are of course couple chapters that deal with comic book covers, and the all important comics inking.
   
   Though obviously this was written in a pre-digital period, all the information can be readily applied to today's all-digital comics creation.
   
   Coming from successful practicing veterans, the entire book is packed with practical information.



5. I have a feeling that most of you contemplating buying this book are replacing an ancient or lost copy of it and know exactly what you're getting, in which case you won't be disappointed. Over the years the title has become somewhat misleading and should now read, "How to Draw Comic the way Marvel did it from the late 70s to the late 80s using the tools available at that time" or perhaps more marketably: "How to Draw Marvel-style Retro Comics."
   
   Stylistically, I wish this book would recirculate around the Marvel offices to remind creators what their comics are supposed to be like. It is far from cutting edge or eye opening, however. At the time of its publication I think it was extremely innovative and captured an innovative style. But styles have life cycles...
   
   Having said all that, I love this book, although I suspect that a big part of that is because of my nostalgic feelings for it.

1 comments about Educational Administration: Theory, Research, and Practice.

1. Even though it falls a bit short in a lot of practical application, Hoy & Miskel do a superb job in outlining just about every possible ed admin theory that is relevant in educationa entities today.
   
   The top sections of this book that are DEFINITELY worth reading are Chapter 10's discussion on shared decision-making, Chapter 12's discussion on leadership, Chapter 4's discussion on what motivates individuals, and Chapter 5's section on climate & culture.
   
   I recommend this book and along with Caruso & Fawcett's SUPERVISION IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION: A DEVELOPMENTAL PERSPECTIVE.

5 comments about Perspective for Interior Designers.

1. This is a great book to have. Easy reading, nice illustrations, great information.



2. I really like the book!...
   The content of this book it's easy to understand.



3. This book is a helpful tool for those of us struggling with perspectives. Page by page written and visual instructions assist in not just drawing perspectives, but really understanding how they are put together! Even for those who are new to the world of drawing and explaining concepts via drawing! THANKS!



4. When I first started looking at the explanation for perspective I thought it was pretty good. But as it went on, I thought no one is going to pay me to take this much time to do a rendered drawing! This book could be good for developing your eye and understanding of perspective but there are short cuts that will give you better than acceptable results. There are also books that have more to offer in terms of rendering the presentation. I have found that no one singular book completely communicates everything you need. This one, I could have done without.



5. John Pile presents the two point perspective in a simplified, clear, concise manner yet it's very extensive in content. I would highly recommend it for any Interior Designer wanting to know more about perspective drawings.

5 comments about Comic Artist's Photo Reference - People & Poses: Book/CD Set with 1000+ Color Images (Comic Artists Reference).

1. Do you ever get that perfect composition in your head but can't seem to work it out when sketching? I know I do. As a comic book artist and cover painter I have the usual reference library of cheesecake pin-ups, muscle magazines, and old comics laying about. A new addition to my reference library is People and Poses. This is a terrific resource and helps me nail the anatomy in my drawings and paintings the first time. People and Poses brings me real life, right now, awesome poses to help me turn my creative ideas into reality. A must for any artist's library.
   
   Brian Miller, Author: Hi-Fi Color For Comics: Digital Techniques for Professional Results



2. This book is great for getting proper perspective and foreshortening etc. into your action drawings. I'll take a whole lot more of them! Perfect for graphic novel or comic illustration where you don't have models available for reference shots, or you need an inspirational shot for a particular mood. Like I said, my only complaint is that I want more! It includes a CD also so you can reference that as well, but I haven't checked to see if that has different poses or not yet. Hopefully it does. As an accurate anatomical reference for drawing humans or heroes in action, it is great! It does what it sets out to do. Top Notch.



3. I was very disappointed after purchasing this book. The content is average at best and the CD doesn't even contain ALL of the images found in the book which I thought was very misleading to the customer - you have to scan the images not on CD that you want - what a waste. You can do better by finding image references through Google Images and those are free. This book has some value, perhaps if one is just starting out, but hardly a top resource for anyone else. The "extremely positive" reviews here are no doubt either people who fall into this newbie category or friends of the author looking to help him out by placing positive reviews. Pass on this one or get it used / discounted somewhere. Not worth the full price that's printed on it. I was suckered.



4. The book would be ideal if it was wire-bound, and you could flip to a certain photo, then lay the book flat to draw from it. Otherwise, it's hard to keep it open to one page without clips, clamps or otherwise incovenient tools. While the CD is helpful, leaving the computer on the whole time to draw from it wears your eyes out quickly.



5. I'll list the GOOD, then I'll list the Not-So-Good (aka. BAD).
   
   The best two things about this book are:
   
   1) A decent amount of images therein show the models in clothing (cloaks, some street clothing).
   2) There's some decent reference of models holding weapons in "battle" poses.
   
   That's it, really...
   
   The *not* good (ie. BAD) things about the photograph are as follows:
   
   1) The images are SMALL. Even the ones on the enclosed CD-ROM. Seems like the largest they get is around 700-800px on the longest side.
   
   2) The camera's focal length causes the subjects to look distorted (ie. Huge hands close to the lens, tiny feet far away). For example:
   http://is.gd/21M0
   
   3) Only 4 models total. And two of them don't take their socks off. It may seem like a small thing, but not showing the feet is kind of huge. There's a lot of important detail in the tendons/bones/toes that is completely missing from half the images in this book.
   
   4) The lighting creates strong shadows. This could be good or bad. Good because you get some nice play of light across muscles/tendons. Bad because sometimes parts of the model cast shadows on their face/etc, and obscures expressions and such.
   
   All in all, it's OKAY. Frankly, I wouldn't buy it again. I'll keep it now that I have it, but my recommendation is to look elsewhere for a good reference book.

5 comments about Fashion Design Drawing Course.

1. Very basic, it goes on a summary overview of areas of fashion design. So, it's great for a beginner that is looking for a quick introduction to what fashion desing drawing would include. Not for someone that has a general idea on what fashion design entails and is looking for more "hands-on" more sophisticated projects. For example, I was looking on how to actually draw clothes wore by people...there was only one area for that, it covered actual drawing of the human body; about 4 pages. A lot of general, finding your style, mood boards, etc. To the title I would add "101" so it is not misleading, then it would be an excellent book!



2. This book is more about collection development than it is about fashion drawing. And the worst part is... it's so sparse on the information even for how to develop a collection. Everything is in a nutshell. It's like picking up a children's book-- you don't get much out of it other than the obvious.



3. But about how to draw inspiration from common everyday things. It`s really not about rendering or drawing fashion, but more about the thought process in making the garments.



4. I bought this book acually wanting to draw and create clothes but I didn't do any of that. On the other hand it does teach you the right way to do certain things like how to get inspiration and how to get it on paper but again you don't actually draw.



5. It is interesting and well written. It guides through but not as deeply as I was expected.

4 comments about Drawing from Life.

1. "Drawing from Life" is a treasure an artist, teacher, and drawing lover finds once in awhile. It is very logically layed out. I enjoyed variety of illustrations, the learning exercises, and glossary. Alas... some negatives: the price, the quality and detail of the reproductions, especially the anatomy ones. The book needs to be bigger in size and make use of detail enlargements to show the beauty of the drawings



2. This book gives you the bones to enrich your experience with figure drawing. Professor Brown draws from varied sources and presents helpful images along with text that is intelligent and imformative. It is filled with sketches from masters such as Da Vinci as well as descriptive sketches from Clint addressing the figure as a subject filled with motion. I have continued to refer back to the book and appreciate its portable size. This is a book to take with you and keep even if you are moving around!



3. Excellent book for anyone interested in drawing the human figure. Deals well and extensively with proportion, anatomy and nuances of figure drawing. Required by my art teacher and worth the money as an on-going reference source.



4. I bought this book for a class I was taking and I ended up keeping it for myself once I finished the class. It is filled with information and instruction. I love this book and I very rarely keep book I buy for classes and this is one of the few I kept because I know I will use it many more times in the future. It works well for references and how to stuff.

5 comments about Transmetropolitan Vol. 1: Back on the Street.

1. Spider Jerusalem is a reporter that has bailed out of The City and is literally living On The Mountain. He is now a hairy hillbilly Grizzly Adams type recluse, and a wild not.
   
   Unfortunately for him, an old editor calls, and tells him he still owes him a couple of books of a book deal, and Spider is forced to go back to the City and start working again.



2. I just recently started reading graphic novels and I've been actively searching for some of the more critically acclaimed publications. I started with Preacher and Y: The Last Man. I found both extremely enjoyable -- fantastic art, intriguing stories, and always a healthy dose of humor.
   
   I had high hopes for the same in Transmetropolitan, but ultimately didn't get it. I can see the intelligence in the writing and potential in the central character (Spider), but the perpetual nihilism and references to strange and abstract futuristic concepts left me bored. It reminded me of the popular cyberpunk style of writing, which I never enjoyed either. So in a nutshell this one just wasn't a fit for my personal taste -- I gave up after the second volume. Three stars for the creative effort and strong artwork.



3. This is a must read for any Warren Ellis fans out there. I have been reading Warren Ellis's stuff for over 6 years and i can't tell you that Transmet is his best work, but its certainly up in his top three books. Be for warned Ellis doesn't hold back at all when he speaks out society and government. He has a dark twisted view of our possible future that is more than entertaining. He is a word smith and he certainly shows it in this series.



4. The first volume in Warren Ellis and Darick Robertson's TRANSMETROPOLITAN is more of a set up for what is to come than a self-contained graphic novel. There is a very brief story, but mainly it focuses on introducing us to the character Spider Jerusalem. We've met Spider before. He is pretty clearly patterned on Hunter S. Thompson, albeit one on steroids. There is even some physical resemblance between them as well as similar journalistic styles and affection for guns and cigarettes. Thompson had a larger than life public image that he carefully cultivated and it isn't surprising to see someone appropriating that image for a graphic series.
   
   There really isn't much negative to say about this first entry in the series except to say that there isn't a lot to it. The whole thing runs to barely 70 pages. Not enough to tell a rich and complex story, but at least enough to set the scene and leave the reader ready for more.
   
   I haven't read most of the books in this series but look forward to doing so. My hope is for a series that deals to some degree with the importance of journalism in a viable society. This is extremely topical, having seen America's journalistic community fail us for several years during the Bush years (Bush was as bad his first year in office than he was when his popularity finally began to plummet, but because the press -- especially the television and radio talking heads -- failed to criticize an obviously incompetent and dishonest president, we were as a nation duped enough to elect the moron twice [though, granted, "elected" might be up for debate]). When those in positions of power, usually some combination of a military-corporate economic elite (Eisenhower's military-industrial complex), control the flow of information, the people suffer. We'll see if this is the direction the books go. The first book, even with Spider's absurd posturing, takes a nice step in this direction.
   
   Definitely interested in working my way through all of these books.



5. Great art, a well-envisioned dystopian future, and a loathsome antihero. Who could ask for anything more?

5 comments about John Howe Fantasy Art Workshop.

1. This is a wonderful book. I am a big fan of Mr. Howe's work and much of the advice in this book is familiar from John's forum but it's a good chance to see how he works step by step, as well as how he organizes his studio and prepares for illustration jobs. While there are only a few "walkthroughs" featuring new art, the book is full of interesting tidbits of information about the creation of other paintings. There are lots of tips even I who has been painting for many years didn't think of before. John Howe makes a point to encourage readers to find their own unique style and way of painting, unlike many how to books which only show one way of doing things. I particularly love that his sense of humor shows. He honest about illustration and admits that he isn't perfect and procrastinates as much as possible before every job.



2. John Howe is the artist I credit for making me interested in fantasy illustration, and will always be one of my favorites. It should come as no surprise that the artwork in this book is amazing, and the information presented is also quite insightful. It is not an art how too book, so much as it is a general treatise of John Howe's way of thinking about his work, and going about his creative process. He actually expresses pretty clearly his dislike of anything that feels like a how too process, or is so forumulaic that it can be presented as if there is only one set way to do it. One of the best additions to my art library.



3. I'm always interested in any collection of John Howe's work and this book does not dissapoint in that regard, it is chock full of illustrations and examples of his approach and techniques. The addition of his insight and advice just makes this a terrific volume with no failings. In addition to being very useful as an instructional book, it's also inspirational. It's worth every penny of it's very reasonable price.



4. This is a great book and those I've shown my book to agree with me. Amazing talent and very well illustrated. The workshops show amazing creativity.



5. This is a very lovely book for showing how a professional artist goes about his business. I appreciate the lack of product endorsement.
   
   Howe can get rather verbose and sometimes repetitive, but this book is filled with great inspiration in text and pictures.

5 comments about Fashion Artist (Fashion Design Series).

1. I bought this book for my 16 yr old daughter who is an aspiring fashion designer. To get into design school & possibly qualify for a scholarship, she must prepare a portfolio. She expressed concern that her sketching skills would look amateurish so she asked for a book to help her.
   
   This book shows in picture and text detail the supplies needed to do a project & an easy format to follow. She loved it and was so excited to have a guide to help her. This book not only helps in this regard, but has several sections that gives pointers on design elements and much more pertinent information.
   
   If you or someone you know is an aspiring fashion designer, do not hesitate to get this book. It will be a valuable tool that will be put t good use.



2. I'm wanting to become a fashion designer and i bought this book and i was amazed. it really teaches you how to draw fashion models (and people in general) in all different poses. it shows you so many different poses both with an actual person modeling the pose and then a block figure showing you how to draw it. after the structure is learned, it teaches you in a really easy way how to flesh it out, and then how to draw the clothes and how the clothes are supposed to look at folds and creases. if you like this book, i recommend Draw Fashion Models! by Lee Hammond, a great book that goes in depth into more poses and how you should draw the clothes and how they look when the arms are raised, when you're leaning on one hip, etc.
   
   i really recommend buying this amazing book, it's straightforward and very helpful!



3. I haven't really had a chance to play a lot with this book since I got it a month ago, but so far, I like it. There are very colorful designs, croquis', and many illustrations. It seems like it gives a lot of information in a short amount of time.



4. This book is a great start for beginners who want to work in the fashion industry or for those who consider fashion designing a hobby and want to improve on their illustration skills, like myself. Burke starts with the basics, like learning how to draw the female figure in different poses and drawing some examples of clothes, but she also touches upon fabric rendering and ideas on how to make a presentation. There's even a section on designing for men, childeren, and costumes. Overall a very informative, clear and consise book to get started and to encourage and inspire amateurs to want to learn more.



5. I wore holes in piles of paper trying to work up to the basic points so magnificently outlined in this book! It's like having an art teacher with you (without the snide remarks) to bring your abilities to the top.
   
   If you are planning on studying fashion, or just doing it for fun, you need this book.
   
   Highly recommended!

No comments about Engineering Design Graphics with AutoCAD 2007 (12th Edition).