50 Manga Babes to Draw and Paint: Create Cutting Edge Manga Figures for Comic Books, Computer Games, and Graphic Novels (Barron's Educational)

Cartoonists, art students, anime artists, and computer game designers will find inspiration for creating fantastic female characters in this heavily illustrated book. The author begins with several basic but alluring babes to get readers started—Schoolgirl, Princess, Geisha, Cat Girl, French Maid, Gothic, and others. He presents each of them in a full-page, fully rendered illustration, accompanied by working sketches, character sheets, and detailed technical instruction on how to recreate the design. He explains all techniques for both traditional and digital media, from creating black-and-white line art to adding color and screen-tone effects. Students will also find advice on creating a useful work space for themselves, choosing and using their tools and materials, developing drawing and painting techniques, working digitally, and learning to render correct proportions, scale, skin tone, and foreshortening in figure drawing. Here are femmes fatales, bookish maidens, punk and hip-hop babes, and even grandma and teacher types. More than 300 full-color, highly instructive, often provocative illustrations.

Customer Review: Lots of Babes

Not only are there 50 manga babes, but there are tips on setting up your studio, a good list of materials, and books and videos of the best of manga/anime to review. The only problem as I see it is that the book is heavily oriented towards digital work instead of hands-on drawing. Each section (babe) has a particular set of tips, which are helpful, but it would have been better to have more of these, even at the cost of increasing the size and cost of the book. I would be willing to pay more for more advice.
Buy Now

50 Robots to Draw and Paint: Create Fantastic Robot Characters for Comic Books, Computer Games, and Graphic Novels

The ability to render eye-catching, convincing robots is a vital skill for artists who design computer games or illustrate graphic novels and comic books. This book presents 50 robot designs for artists to copy, and then embellish with their own creative flourishes. Each design features step-by-step constructional drawings, with instructions for shading and coloring. Among them are—

Basic robots, easy-to-create “starter” models

Wizards and alchemists

Clockwork robots, constructed from gears, cogs, and mechanical parts

Bipedal anti-tank robots engaging in future wars

Insect-like robots with computer brains

Robotic shock-troop robots for interstellar warfare
Readers will also find advice on effective storytelling, avoiding simplistic clich©s, seeking out constructive criticism, and maintaining productive work habits. More than 200 instructive color illustrations.

Customer Review: For the advanced student

Beginners need not apply. If you are an advanced artist and/or looking to get into the field of digital art or computer games and need some challenging work, this might be a good book for you.



Also, I found very few of the pictures inspiring. Many look impossible, giant lumbering war machines balanced on tiny feet, 50's retro robots that didn't interest me, a micro robot made out of proteins, a Geisha robot in a long flowing dress which took up most of the picture and didn't make her look like a robot at all, etc.



It does start with some detailed pages of what advanced art supplies a professional might use, which is a nice addition.



I know how to draw, though I'm a beginner. If the book was more my level (not the books fault, really) or if the pictures were more inspiring and interesting (this part is subjective, of course) I might give it one more star.



This book is a good example of what can go wrong when you buy a book on Amazon. Had I flipped through it at the book store I would have known immediately that it wasn't for me.

Customer Review: 50 robots to draw and paint

this had alot more pics of some pretty cool robots and what they would look like today and in the past..I really dug the war robots both past and present but then there are a few that are more "george jetson" type ots like the "Assitant" and a few others..its a pretty good book..least it inspires the imagination to come up with a drawing or two of your own robots working off what this book offers...all in all..prob find better or just as good ideas in Epic or Heavy metal magazines off Ebay
Buy Now