021 4 I love this book it was the book that got me on drawing manga . It goes through everything in basic porportions and even goes in to chibis ^ _ ^ This book breaks down everything in a simple manner so even a brain dead monkey like me can draw manga . Although if you are intermediate or advanced you may not want this book because its made for those who have never drawed before but it does add a new way of looking at chibis thatcould be valuable ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
014 4 This book is very good , though the graphics are not professional , still they have great quality and makes it easier to follow and do . This book is perfect for the beginner of manga or anime drawing . I found this book very easy to follow with drawings showing each step of the way and it also showed ideas of doing backgrounds , different postions of eyes , head , hair , mouth and bodies . Very helpful ! ! !
019 4 This book reley tough me how to draw manga . It is very good for all ages .
048 4 This book is okay , so I've given it three stars . It's fine for beginners , but the drawing style's a bit annoying and there are a few art mistakes . Also , for those who are more aware of differences , the style is more animé than manga .
026 4 I started out with a How to Draw Manga book that was way to advanced for me . All my characters looked awful . But then when I bought this book my drawing improved . I really recommend this book for beginning manga artist or those who are looking to improve on the basics .
It has six sections 1 . getting started 2 . faces 3 . expressions 4 . bodies 5 . finishing touches 6 . materials
The artwork my not look like it came right out of some anime because it is mostly colored in pencil but the instructions are great .
It tells you how to draw faces in diffrent perspectives , and sheds a new light on how to draw chibi's among other things .
All in all this is a great book , and absolutly dose not deserve the bad opinions from more experienced artists . I completely recommend this book .
003 4 There are only two American artists in the profession that are great at mastering the japanese style of manga and Katy Coope is not one of them . If you are serious of wanting to draw manga or you want to learn the correct technique of drawing manga then I suggest you focus more on the Japanese How To Draw Manga books . Don't go in a panic . . . they are not in Japanese but in English . So I would look up How To Draw Manga or go to howtodrawmanga.com for better books than this because this book is a BIG diappointment to maga and anime .
008 4 I bought htis book because one of my friends brought it to school one day , and then I saw it , and i had to buy it because it looked so easy , as when Amazon shipped it to me , and I recieved it , I started drawing right away , and right at once my art started to improve , she makes everything into a couple of simple steps , and she puts everything into a couple of pages , frm Chibi Characters , to the heads , hair , eyes , body , coloring , and materials , the only thing that she does.nt teach how to do is Computer Coloring . It is really easy , and it's only one volume , unlike those How to Draw Manga books . In my opinion , everyone should have this in stock if they want to learn how to draw like a pro .
010 4 Okay , this book , is just awful . The characters are just TOO demented , and you do not draw blush lines on every expression of a character . There's a reason why it's called BLUSH lines .
Next , this book lies . In manga , color pencils are NOT the main untencil for coloring . Geez , don't tell people incorrect things .
And so , today , I watch my How to Draw Manga Collect dust on the shelves . Serves that book right . Don't waste your money , people . . _ . ' '
011 4 Before i got this book all i could draw were demented stick figures ( seriously ) now i can basically draw manga . . . if you have any knowledge of how to draw already this probably isn't the book for you . It covers drawing a basic face really well , and has a good method for drawing chibi's too . But it doesn't go very deeply into the full figure , shading , backgrounds and stuff like that . Still , it's an extreamly useful book for someone just starting out .
017 4 This book is really well written ! It shows you step by step of drawing manga . Don't be scared because you are bad at drawing , just buy the book and you have confident in yourself . I think we should all buy this book and bring the word manga to a whole new level ! So buy it now and show off how good of a drawer you are ! Who cares if you're not good at it at the first time , just keep on trying until you are a master of manga ! Don't just stand there , buy this book ! GO !
033 4 I purchased this book thinking , ok I'll buy it and see what this is all about , it could be cool And then I thumbed through the pages and immediatly went on a frantic search for a sketchbook , because I was thinking I can SO do this.This book made it easy for me to learn the basics and it slowly opened the gate to the wonderful world of Anime / Manga for me . It is great for people who are just learning but even though I have moved on to more detailed drawing books I will always keep this one , in case I forget something . : )
034 4 I think that this book is really basic . Unless you are just starting out , you really don't need this book . However , if you are just staring out and want to draw faves then this is the book for you . The author goes into great detail on the faces ( exept for the fact that she only draw knoses in one small section ) . She does , however , skimp on the bodies . She doen't actually show you haw to draw them . This is a good book though , and it's a necesity for beginners .
040 4 This the best manga book I've ever read ! Seriously !
2 years ago , someone bought the book from Scholastic . I thought the book was a stupid book before I read it . Once I read the book , I wanted the book so badly !
I don't have the book , but I'm getting the sequel : How to Draw More Manga , because I saw how good the first book was , so I'm definatly getting the second one . Buy it , or regret it !
Literaly ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
041 4 this book is good for starters and pro's learn to draw easy step by step buy it now is worth it trust me i have it and i like it so don't wait another minute there buy it now ! ( . . . )
045 4 This book taught me everything I know about drawing Manga . I can't wait to get her second book ! This book is well written and awesomly illustrated . You don't need to have too much ( but some ) drwing skills before you read this book . It teaches really well and will please anyone . I give it a 5 .
046 4 this not very complicated manga but its good for a begginer but even i still use it . Okay remember those books that you'll draw manga like a pro in 10 secs but those are the books that say that there are step by step guide to them but there isn't but the katy coope ones do have step by step guides to them and i think that it's easier to the little little kids .
047 4 Right title , wrong author . This wasn't what I was expecting to get , but it was useful nonetheless .
028 4 Katy may not have purfect anime but she can teach you the basic's well . Dont go out and try to learn from the ' how to draw manga ' series from Graphic-Sha if you an ABSOLUTE BEGINNER . That's for expert's . I know because when I wanted to try and draw manga I went to go get the Sha book's and I gave up because it was too hard . Untill I had one of my friend's tell me it was for intermediat and expert's .
The reason why most people give it a low-rating is because they are most likly above the stage of beginer's and basic's and this did . Anyway , after I got this book I got better after a day . But the reason why I give it a 4 out of 5 is because she use's blush to much .
Blush is for showing emotion like shyness or emberassment or even anger . She use's it willy-nilly like it's apart of their face or something ! I mean come on , look at other manga and anime t.v show's and you can tell they dont blush in every sceen . She doesnt even tell you WHY you put blush . It's just there . But that's the only setback .
After you get good at this buy her other book ' How to draw more manga ' and / or get the how to draw book's from sha . Only when you think you have mastered her book though .
024 4 With the craze for manga in America comes the rush of American artists trying to cash in . . .
. . . sadly , this is an ample example .
Parents and friends , if you know anyone who is serious about drawing in the manga style , do NOT , I repeat , DO NOT get them any manga drawing books WRITTEN BY AN AMERICAN AUTHOR . NEVER , EVER DO THIS ! PLEASE ! I've got about four crappy books , this one included , from my dad that are absolute garbage .
There are PLENTY of books that would be perfect to beginners or experts of the manga style . Might I suggest , instead , the How to Draw Anime and Game Characters series ? They were published in both English and Japanese and are illustrated by a talented Japanese artist who knows what he is doing . Very good books for beginners and also those already familiar with the style .
Please reconsider buying this product for anyone serious about manga or anime . It is totally not worth it . . .
030 4 This is possibly the worst book on drawing manga I have ever seen . It's plain to see that Katey Coope doesnt even know what manga is , she obviously has never read one before ; she describes it as ' sailor moon , pokemon , dragon ball and speed racer ! ' Good grief . . .
If there's one thing worse with these annoying people who call themselves ' MANGA SUPER FANS ! ' who
a ) cant even pronounce the word
b ) have the vaguest , most generalized and stereotypical view of what ' manga ' is ( ' japanese cartoons about people with spikey hair , big eyes and super powers ! ' * groan * )
b ) cant draw to save their lives
and
c ) insist on doing so anyway
it's when they think they can TEACH people about something they know nothing about themselves .
The art in this book is absolutely PATHETIC , it looks like some retarded fanart of a really cliche anime that gives anime / manga in general a bad rep .
If you want to draw , learn from japanese artists who KNOW what they're on about , KNOW how to draw , and dont suck so chronically .
035 4 First off ;
all you elitist jap-fans out there . . . If you're already a professional , and you bought this book , don't whine about it . I'm pretty sure it states it's for beginners . Don't have a heart attack-this book is great for everyone else . If you don't like it , honestly , you don't have to read it .
Nice name , Manga Ka . You know it's one word , right ? You sound like the elitist guy who makes MangaSecrets .
So then , what I think , not what the fascists think . This book was well-made , though it did impose that style on beginners . And I REALLY hate that style of eyes . Ouch . Knocked off a star .
However , valuable beginner's information on hands and feet . Almost a save . So again ; this book is great for beginners . If you say AAGH NO MARKERS WAAAAGH . . . guess what ? Most kids under the age of 16 who don't work for a living can't buy a bunch of copic markers , Trias , and Prismacolors . Colored pencil keep it seeming in reach .
Of course , when I started my arts with those professional books , I just gave up . I figured the pros didn't need to use guidelines , and all sorts of stupid things like that . Seeing someone that's not ungodly at drawing , but pretty good , gives you the idea , hey , that's not so hard i can do that rather than Screw this . I have a better chance of making my toaster into a time machine .
The text , narration , and all that was very good . Explained almost everything , and showed how to draw the head at key angles .
If you wanna be a pro , don't start with the pro books or you'll get lost . And not with the How to Draw Manga Super Basics either . You'll be wondering why all your people look so terrible . In fact , like some kind of blob with eyes .
Seriously , to elitists their own , but this is the best book to start with . Not even with How to Draw More Manga , that's just extra stuff .
002 4 If your children are in any way serious about being good at drawing manga - or drawing , period - this is NOT the book to buy for them . I can only assume books like this come about because some clueless publisher has a 13 year old daughter who draws anime , because this is not up to what any sane person would consider publishable how-to-draw book standards . Anatomy ? Not important here , not even stylized anatomy . Proportions ? What are these pro-por-ti-ons you speak of ? This book sure doesn't know . It disturbs me that so many how-to-draw manga books are illustrated by people who , frankly , need one of these books themselves . Don't doom your children to hours of failure and frustration .
This book is absolutely awful . Look elsewhere .
004 4 Well I would just like to say , I'm quite impressed.Well you see I use to draw stick figures , now I can draw otaku art ! ( Fan art ) I mean I've only had it for a day and I'm doing more then great . The author goes through it step by step , foucses on one thing at a time , face to facial experssions its here.My personal favorite is how she added chibi charecters . ( Small big eyed . . Well you know ! )
It first covers getting started , then switches to Faces.The great thing about this is that the author takes diffrent angles.Then to expressions , bodies , finishing touches , and last materials .
Now the only reason I gave it four and not 5 is , this book is ONLY for begginners.Although intermedaite might find it ok , beginners will love it .
Final thoughts is , pure goodness.If you think How to draw books are very unusefull , not this one , trust me . If you didnt find it usefull go ahead and mark my review wrong , I will stay true to my opinion . Have a nice day .
006 4 I am a total beginner drawer . I recommend trying
the various websites on drawing animation and then
getting this book . It is very good for the basics
and show you what to do step by step . It will
also allow you some success very quickly which
helps to build confidence even if you don't
really care about drawing manga . Most beginners
like we dont want to spend 3 days completing a
still life , so this is a good book to start with
The biggest mistake I have made so far
was trying to skimp on materials , you
will REALLY need a kneadable eraser
and india ink along with the book .
007 4 Far be it from me to discount a teenager's preferred doodling style , because lord knows I used to draw like this when I was 15 and just getting into the Japanese anime and comics scene . But when the teenager deigns to tell others that his or her style is the correct way to draw it becomes a bit of a problem to me . Manga is popular , for sure , but there is no more a certain particular way to draw Japanese comics than there is a certain particular way to draw American comics . All it is is stylization of the human form , but if you're going to stylize something it's really better to know how to draw the real thing first . Learning a style is not going to help anyone develop their artistic skills if they are serious about it . I'd recommend that any young people who are interested in comics and manga and seriously want to try to become a better artist to learn to draw the human figure from observation , or at least from really good books on the subject ( there are a multitude of good choices available from amazon , just search for figure drawing ) . It's also important to learn perspective in order to create a believable space for your figures to live in . Once you have a rudimentary grasp on anatomy , you can begin to apply stylizations to your characters and they will look alive and full of personality , not just like cookie-cutter examples of manga .
009 4 In the 5th grade I bought this book from a book fair in my library . It showed me the very basics of the basics , gave me art at a low enough level to replicate , and started me off on the right foot .
I'm now a much - much - better artist , High school graduate , currently doing commissioned artwork , but for the first year of learning how to draw , this was where I began . I'd highly recommend this to young children , 3 - 6th grade , because the art is simple enough that they can focus on the basics that they do not have .
For someone starting to draw manga characters ( and people in general ) for the first time , the book starts you off with facial proportions . It walks you through some basic facial angles . Teaches you about male and female eye shapes , gives you some basic hair examples as well as some facial expressions . Then it goes on to body proportions , how many heads tall an anime figure should be . ( It does this for more adult anime figures and Chibi anime figures which are more cartoonish , and those in between ) . Shows you some basic clothing , how it folds on the body , different poses , as well as some shading .
This book is not for anyone who knows about proportions , angles , and how a human body moves through space , which should be apparent from the cover . But if you have a kid in the 4th grade who really wants to draw his favorite anime characters , get him this book . It's simple for someone who needs a simple beginning . I can even think of some 21 year old beginner artists who could benefit from this book .
After about a year of practicing with this book , move on to something more advanced , but don't look any further for a beginner .
012 4 This is THE single worst How to Draw Manga book I have ever seen . This girl is my age , and gets props for getting herself published , but , speaking as a fellow artist , I certainly hope that after the publication of this book she pursued further artistic training , because her own abilities as put forth in this book are sadly lacking . She demonstrates how to draw anatomy but fails to implement good Manga-style anatomy into her own demonstration images . While I can understand using the over-simplification of the style for young readers , it would be far better to start out learning the style from someone who offers a more accurate example of the art style .
I think this book would be better titled How NOT to draw Manga . If you are an aspiring artist looking for solid tips on how to draw the manga style , don't bother with this book .
015 4 If you're above the age of eight , this book is not for you . It shows you how to draw over-simplified figures that can hardly be called manga . Well , it doesn't really show you . Coope hardly gives you four steps for drawing a face , and it's difficult to imitate unless you know what you're doing . I guess I can't criticize too much , since this book is obviously aimed towards the younger crowd , like I said in my title .
Still , I don't recommend copying her style and attempting to create manga , because it actually doesn't look like the real thing , to be blunt . It's ridiculous . Each character has blush on top of their noses , and now that I brought up noses , the noses she draws are horribly small . Where is the collar bone on the neck ? Even if you ignore the deformed facial features , how are you supposed to draw a side view of your manga characters Coope-style if the noses are so small ?
I could go on and on , but I think you get the point . Not really recommended .
~ Lina-chan
022 4 This review is from :
How To Draw Manga ( Paperback )
I befriended the author and artist of this book on a website , and was amused to hear her low opinion of the book . I became curious and ordered it .
I am well beyond the reccomended age for the book , but I was able to use the basic drawing tips inside .
Yes , it's a very basic drawing level and you're not going to learn how to draw say , the Princess Mononoke style from this book .
But considering that it's aimed toward a younger audience , that makes perfect sense . It's easier for kids to draw fatter cheeks and bigger eyes .
I use this book a lot for my sketching and I would reccomend it to anyone who wants to work on facial expression or body shape .
A great book for the young artist or just someone who wants a little help with the basics .
023 4 I befriended the author and artist of this book on a website , and was amused to hear her low opinion of the book . I became curious and ordered it .
I am well beyond the reccomended age for the book , but I was able to use the basic drawing tips inside .
Yes , it's a very basic drawing level and you're not going to learn how to draw say , the Princess Mononoke style from this book .
But considering that it's aimed toward a younger audience , that makes perfect sense . It's easier for kids to draw fatter cheeks and bigger eyes .
I use this book a lot for my sketching and I would reccomend it to anyone who wants to work on facial expression or body shape .
A great book for the young artist or just someone who wants a little help with the basics .
025 4 This is not good for anyone above the age of twelve or thirteen . Explanations are incredibly simplistic , everything is colored with pencils , and it's quite a short book .
This might be good for someone who is just learning to draw , but does not go into depth of technique . Everything is very basic without much detail . Also , the author's finished drawings are not very good .
029 4 This book is horrible and a waste of money , time , and energy .
The artist is so , not talented and if you like this book , go buy yourself some taste in books . It's in the supermarket next to the get a brain aisle .
037 4 When I was in 4th grade , I was starting to get into anime alot more than just watching it , I was trying to mock the drawings freehand - - it didn't work . Frusturated , I looked everywhere for a guide on how to draw anime until I'd finally found this .
The guide has a very appealing cover that would attract basically any mindless teenybopper who doesn't even know what manga is . The explanations are very simplified for the 4 - 8 age group and the artisically impaired . The only explanations I'll complain about are the eyes , perspective , side view and drawing stick figures . The eyes seemed a bit complex and the explanation seemed a bit ambiguous , the perspective just wasn't detailed , and the stick figures / bodies part was alittle inaccurate ( eventhough they're cartoons , they still have to look right ) and puzzling , the side views just were plain inaccurate and also puzzling , but the rest is okay for a rookie . One smaller problem is that the art is very stylized , so don't plan on marketing a comicbook based on what techniques you learned from this , because this is the author's art , NOT YOURS .
After this , I had enough skill to continue my pursuit in manga / anatomy drawing and bought more complex books after this . After three years , I look at it as a sentimental relic . It's a great start if you are a young anime fan and REALLY determined to learn .
038 4 I have seen much better How to draw Manga / Anime books . It did give me a good example on how to create full length bodies , and went through all of the essentials of a good anime drawing , and gave a lot of ideas of hair styles , expressions , etc . Going through the book however , a lot of things bothered me . First of all , most of the characters have practically the same eye style ( big and triangular , with variations of the eye color ) . Second , the way she draws the noses bother me ( they're sometimes out of proportion ) . Lastly ( and the most noticable ) , all the characters blush . I have seen a great deal of anime and manga , and is knowledgable that the characters do NOT always blush .
042 4 No offense to people who disagree , but this book is completely for amateurs . My friend bought this at a school book fair and she gave it a shot , and she liked it . For a little while . It's okay for little kids , but it can often confuse them . True mangakas will scoff at how it concentrates mostly on inproportionate chibis . The pictures on the cover may look good , but after looking at them for a while you'll realize how unprofessional they look . And did I mention that they're mostly in colored pencil ? The only reason I gave this two stars instead of one is that you don't have to worry about ' anatomy lessons ' for the upper half of a female , if you know what I mean . So you can buy it for a kid with no worries . But other than that , it's only worth the price of the paper in it .
018 4 This book has been out since i was in public school and now i'm in College . . by the cover even you can tell this is a bad buy . The book is a pamphlet , barely showing anything and the style is horrid .
if you want to buy a real manga teaching series , check out the how to draw manga !
2 / 5
for old memories sake
039 4 Well , I'm pretty young right now , but I thought I might have a future in cartooning . So I bought some how to draw , books . well , I have to say , this book really was helpful in teaching me beginning manga drawing . It shows the basics and what you can draw using pencils . I really liked it and it helped along the road to cartooning a lot . I may buy a more advanced book later , but this got me started . My advice is buy this if you want to learn to draw manga .
the author patiently goes through the steps of drawing heads , adding expressions , buidling bodies , but doesn't bog down in the true technical details which might swamp a novice or young reader ( like tones , and advanced technique ) .
Her own illustrations are all done in colored pencil , which lacks the glossy completeness of paints . Keep in mind though that this is a kids book ; thus they are more likely to have colored pencils or crayons to use . And they won't be so intimidated by all those pretty professionally done illustrations which so few people tend to point out are actually done by TEAMS of people : penciller , inker , colorist , etc . By sticking to pencils alone , she shows what a person on their own can do . And her pencils are pretty good as it is .
In the end , I own a number of how-to-draw books and for the price I'm definitely glad I added this one to the collection . Her discussion ( breifly ) of short little chibi characters alone added a new dimension to what I'd already known . The only reason I didn't rate it as five stars ( * * * * * ) is I tend to be conservative ; most of the time I blow over high rating reveiws because they are usually stuff and nonsense . Not to mention this isn't a perfect book for anyone , although I enjoyed it .
001 4 This is a SCHOLASTIC version intended for young anime / manga aspirants . It does an okay job going through the basics of drawing characters , then adds a little about setting and a couple pages about art supplies . Looking at it in terms of it being aimed at young kids , it works pretty well : the author patiently goes through the steps of drawing heads , adding expressions , buidling bodies , but doesn't bog down in the true technical details which might swamp a novice or young reader ( like tones , and advanced technique ) .
Her own illustrations are all done in colored pencil , which lacks the glossy completeness of paints . Keep in mind though that this is a kids book ; thus they are more likely to have colored pencils or crayons to use . And they won't be so intimidated by all those pretty professionally done illustrations which so few people tend to point out are actually done by TEAMS of people : penciller , inker , colorist , etc . By sticking to pencils alone , she shows what a person on their own can do . And her pencils are pretty good as it is .
In the end , I own a number of how-to-draw books and for the price I'm definitely glad I added this one to the collection . Her discussion ( breifly ) of short little chibi characters alone added a new dimension to what I'd already known . The only reason I didn't rate it as five stars ( * * * * * ) is I tend to be conservative ; most of the time I blow over high rating reveiws because they are usually stuff and nonsense . Not to mention this isn't a perfect book for anyone , although I enjoyed it .
020 4 This book is good for starters who are just beginning to recognize their love for Manga , like me .
I'm no professional in drawing so this is why I said that , I read the other reviews and they sum up about how this book is for beginners but not professionals who want more , and I agree .
Would I recommend this book ?
Yes , I will because it is a good book for starters mainly because of the step-by-step instructions . That will give Beginners an idea of how some Manga is drawn , but with that comes improvement . So don't worry if this book doesn't teaches the professional drawings , but things take time , and this book helps Starters get threw that time .
031 4 Wow . . .
It's been nostalgic coming back to review this book .
When I , a young fifth-grader , so innocently bought this book at the school book fair . . . I had no idea what I was getting into .
This book has something for me that it doesn't really have for most other people - - this was the clincher . It really tied together the ideas of art and storytelling for me .
Although I have improved much over the years , I still have a certain fondness for this book , and looking over it again I have realized that I can still learn from it - - whether it be what to do ( or what NOT to do ) . I still find the line work an example ( if maybe not the BEST of examples - - still , an example ) of where I need to head , and the fact that she wrote it at age sixteen astounds , overwhelms , and confuses me no end .
Thank you Katy Coope ! My hat is off to you .
032 4 This book I have found to be helpful for me , I have had a really hard time finding books that explain the basics - like turning a circle into a head that doesn't originally look like a circle , and other things like that . This book is great for the true beginner that SEEMS to have no talent or underestimates themselves . The examples are great , exactly step-by-step .
But that is all this book is , for the beginner . Those who need a book with more detail in the details of drawing anime or manga do not need to get this book . This book is for the beginners . I recommend you go and get the how to draw manga books , for those that don't need the exact step-by-step instructions or can draw exactly what they see .
I know though , through buying both types of books ( this one and five of the how to draw manga books ) that this is a first to have for learning how to start from the real beginning and then the others to work on your details and scenes .
Katy Coope's book is just on drawing the basics , nothing more . That is why I give it four stars out of five . And it has helped me out a great deal !
036 4 I love this book because it has actual colored-pencil drawings for illustrations . Seems logical enough . . . but most manga / anime drawing books feature computer-colored illustrations that although they look great , do not truly represent what a reader of the book will be able to achieve on their own . There are no better tools for becoming a better manga artist than a good ol ' pencil and paper . Author / illustrator Katy Coope , a self-taught manga artist , backs up this theory with lots of detailed drawings showing readers how to build drawings step-by-step . This book focuses on chibi-style , cute manga characters in a rich , multi-toned illustration style . And its all real ! Note to parents : Published by Scholastic and distributed via schools , the book is especially safe content for young people , as is not always the case with books on this subject !
