Drawing and Sketching Book Reviews: Anime Mania

 
Reviews of Anime Mania: How to Draw Characters for Japanese Animation (Manga Mania)

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Review #1: A good resource if you want to learn how to draw anime-inspired characters
Review #2: excellent instructional book
Review #3: Useless





Review #1

A good resource if you want to learn how to draw anime-inspired characters

This book provides tips on how to draw in an anime style, and includes some interviews with anime professionals at the end. It's definitely aimed at teenagers and young adults, with the writing style and the advice the author chose to include. For the different character types and the creatures, the author shows the steps needed to draw the desired object, as well as what the finished product looks like. The author also goes into basic character construction, how to draw characters in different poses and performing various actions, and how to draw special effects.

Near the end of the book, the author includes tips on how to make pencil sketches, how to draw clothes and costumes on characters, and different kinds of character groups. There is also an example storyboard included, information on backgrounds, information on equipment used by animators, and information about going to art school. There are even brief interviews with the international relations manager at a Japanese animation studio, an American who works as a director in Japan, as well as with a Japanese director.

Personally, I think the author does a good job explaining the basics of drawing. However, for a book that claims to teach readers how to draw characters for Japanese animation, I feel the book doesn't entirely show how to draw in an anime style. While it's evident the drawings that are included are inspired by anime, many of the pictures feel like the author is simply inserting some elements of anime drawing into his own drawing style (with the author's own drawing style being more prevalent of the two styles).

By the time I finished reading Anime Mania: How to Draw Characters for Japanese Animation, I thought it would be a good resource for young people who want to learn how to draw anime-inspired drawings for a hobby. This is especially true by the time you read the interviews in the back of the book. The people who are interviewed make it clear that the anime industry in Japan is hard to break into, and that the pay (especially starting out) isn't the best. Personally, I would recommend this book to people who are interested in learning to draw anime-inspired characters as a hobby.




Review #2

excellent instructional book

I bought this for my daughter and she was so very happy to get it. The instructions are clear and easy to follow. Excellent for anyone who wants to learn how to draw anime.




Review #3

Useless

This is a picture book that discusses, in very general terms, anime drawing. It does not teach anything. There are no outlines of how certain anime staples are created, etc, etc. A waste of money.




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Anime Mania: How to Draw Characters for Japanese Animation (Manga Mania)

by Christopher Hart

Format: Paperback
Publication Date: 2002-07-01
Publisher: Watson-Guptill
ISBN: 082300158X

    List Price: $19.95
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Page last updated on: 22 Mar 2010