Draw Manga: How to Draw Manga In Your Own Unique Style | 
| Author: Bruce Lewis
Publisher: Collins & Brown
Category: Book
List Price: $17.95
Buy New: $12.21
You Save: $5.74 (32%)
New (30) Used (7) from $10.10
Rating:  14 reviews
Sales Rank: 10499
Media: Paperback
Pages: 128
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 10.8 x 8.4 x 0.4
ISBN: 1843401886
Dewey Decimal Number: 741.5
EAN: 9781843401889
ASIN: 1843401886
Publication Date: June 28, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Bruce Lewis, one of the first professional cartoonists to bring the manga-style to the United States, takes an entirely fresh approach to the subject that's perfect for beginners.
Manga is all the rage, the hippest and most popular form of comic book drawing today. That's why so many aspiring illustrators long to master the style. But too many of the available how-to manuals don't offer the appropriate help for the westerner-or understand which products are available to artists here. Bruce Lewis, an American who's stepped in manga culture, offers something different: an excitingly visual from-the-ground-up explanation of manga and its roots, the conventions of manga illustrations, and advice on developing an individual style. His handbook builds skills, from drawing the basic figure to creating believable characters, from setting the scene to developing the story. There's even information on creating dramatic lettering. By the time artists have worked their way through this essential guide, they'll feel confident drawing their own manga works and know how to get them published too.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 9 more reviews...
 More than just a "how to draw" book October 12, 2006
J. R. Tatarek (Lancaster, OH USA)
31 out of 33 found this review helpful
Far too many aspiring artists who want to be the next big thing in comics or manga concentrate on the art; on how to draw their characters. What they often negelct is everything else that surrounds their characters: the backgrounds and environments, the plot and diologue, the underlying reason for their project in the first place.
Bruce Lewis' "Draw Manga" covers all of these things and more. People looking for one of those paint-by-numbers-hey-look-I-can-draw-a-hot-chick books will be sorely disappointed with this one, solely because it challenges the reader to think about everything concerned with what they're trying to accompish.
What the author is trying to convey here is that a successful (both to oneself as well as one's potential audience) manga is so much more than just nice pictures, and puts those critical elements first and foremost before the first character is ever drawn.
This is a book that should be on every new and experienced manga artist's reference bookshelf, right next to Scott McCloud's "Understanding Comics".
For Thoughtful Manga-ka in Training June 21, 2007
Brian Gill (Minnesota, USA)
15 out of 16 found this review helpful
What this book is not: a trace-this how-2 for drawing Princess VaVoom of Planet Whoopee.
Lewis' "Draw Manga" promises to show the reader "how to draw figures, create believable characters and develop stories." And the book delivers.
Back to Princess VaVoom for a moment: addressing the interests of hormone-addled male teenagers, the author does devote four paragraphs on page 57 to cheesecake.
Not everyone will find the brief history of ukiyo-e and Hokusai-san's best seller, "Hokusai Manga" as interesting as I did: but I found it useful in setting up a sort of mental cargo pallet to hold the book's other thoughts.
That pallet got pretty full after reading this book. Lewis covers obvious topics, like drawing eyes and hands, discusses workspace design, the importance of research (and how to avoid it), props real and imaginary, how to shamelessly swipe plots and characters, and how to create your own unique style of art, characters, and plots.
The edition of the book I bought had a howler in it. On page 101, four balloons march across the top of the page, illustrating two good, and two not-so-good choices for digital lettering. Problem is, all four balloons contain the same sans-serif font.
However, in the same section Lewis gives a pretty good introduction to leading, size, kerning, and other aspects of making lettering legible.
That's the only glitch I can recall finding in this book's 120-odd pages, which is pretty good for something as content-rich as this.
Someone could learn to create a manga with engaging characters and good plots without reading this book, but that person would be missing a fine resource.
Read this if you didn't understand what the other guy said!!... lol December 1, 2006
Imelda Cota-velazquez (South lake tahoe, CA)
14 out of 15 found this review helpful
well.. first i'd like to say that this book ... is f******* awesome.. really . you would have to have one of you own to really understand how helpful this book really is... im not an expert in manga but i've learn tons of things thanx to this book. And if you're wondering if this book has like thos "step-by-step" instruccion on how to draw characters their way instead of yours... well that's what make it so awesome. it gives you examples of the estructures of the characters so you can create your own style. I've read some other books about this subject but so far this has been the best one.. im really glad i bought it. And its even cheaper than those other books that only tells you how to draw certain things in each volume.. definetly a GREAT BOOK
Manga Fans Rejoice! April 24, 2006
Our Lady of the Flowers
7 out of 10 found this review helpful
The sheer completeness of Draw Manga alone earmarks it for the shortlist of indispensable guides, but add to that Bruce Lewis's own imitable artistry, his warm, forthcoming approach, his peerless knowledge on the subject, and you've got yourself that rarest of the rare: a Manga tutorial that does exactly what it says it does. Whether you're an aspiring Manga artist struggling to find your own voice, or a seasoned fan of Lewis's magnificent work in the genre, Draw Manga is a treasure trove. Strongly, strongly recommended.
The perfect complement for the "How to draw manga" series September 7, 2007
Hernan Gajardo (Santiago, Chile)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Let's face it: you won't learn how to draw with this book. But if you already have started drawing, and specially if you already have the HTDM series, this book will help you face manga in a way I've never seen before. The HTDM series is focused on specific subjects for each volume, which are translations from the original japanese versions (which means that some things are not explained, since they're common knowledge for japanese people), with lots of (dispair quality) drawings. You won't find that here. What you WILL find is a series of advices that will help you develop your own style of manga. I was dissapointed whe I opened the book for the first time. The first drawings I saw were not nearly as good as the ones you're used to on other books. But when I started reading it... It has a detailed method to create your first manga from the beginning: honing your skills. And it will guide you to the completion of your work (research, preparation, composition, coloring/toning, printing, etc.).
Summing up, a good complement for your collection (don't expect it to be THE one on it).
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