Recommended materials for the beginning cartoonist:
See also: Drawing Words & Writing Pictures supply list.
Adventures in Cartooning by
In this action-packed cartooning adventure, kids will have as much fun making comics as reading them! Once upon a time . . . a princess tried to make a comic. And with the help of a magical cartooning elf, she learned how – well enough to draw her way out of an encounter with a dangerous dragon, near-death by drowning, and into her very own adventure! Like the princess, young readers will discover that they already have the drawing and writing skills it takes to make a comic – they just need a little know-how. AndAdventures in Cartooning supplies just that.
Art for Kids: Comic Strips by
Kids love comic strips and now they can devise their own imaginative illustrations and stories with the help of a professional artist who designs for the Cartoon Network. He provides advice on the basic tools and materials; demonstrates how to construct bodies and faces; explains how to come up with appealing characters and build an ensemble cast; and provides ideas for fine-tuning the finished work with proper inking techniques, shading, and color use. There are loads of practical tips and hands-on activities to hone technique, along with tutorials on writing jokes. Plus, Roche gives the low-down on the big business of comic strips, including suggestions for getting published. To top it off, readers watch as the author produces a brand-new strip, from start to finish.
Art of Drawing Manga by
Fusing the Japanese terms man (spontaneous, whimsical, distorted) and ga (drawing, painted, or printed image), Manga has become the hot style for comic book and graphic novel aficionados. But what does it take to master this lively and kinetic technique? Take this unmatched class, which provides drawing basics with a stunningly illustrated history that gives you a greater understanding of the genre s diversity and richness. A discussion of tools, narrative structure and composition set the creative process in motion and it continues with guidance on character development, visual perspective and depicting nuances of light and shadow. Find out how to move from frame to frame, change settings, imbue a protagonist with personality and more. Every page is an inspiration!
The Beginner's Guide to Drawing Comics by
Love superheroes? Create your own, with the help of Christopher Hart--the world's most popular author of how-to-draw books, with six million copies sold. Bam! Crash! Pow! Even beginners can learn to draw a superhero-style comic, filled with energy and action. Bestselling art instruction author Christopher Hart provides the basics of capturing the bold faces and chiseled physiques of these compelling characters, along with a cast of supporting figures, including super-villains, mutants, reporters, and more. He demonstrates not only the classic, dynamic poses, but also how to place the figures in the perfect layout and composition. Complete with Hart's step-by-step guidance and tutorials on everything from creating expressions and costumes to adding light and shadows, this truly comprehensive book will have aspiring artists drawing immediately--while more seasoned illustrators will see how to take their work to the next level.
Draw Out the Story by
Whether kids want to write or draw a comic that's funny or scary, long or short, made-up or true-to-life, cartoonist and author Brian McLachlan maintains there are just ten crucial things they need to know to get started. Using colloquial text, images, and examples, each chapter hones in on a different secret to creating great comics. Budding comic artists will learn how to make text and illustrations work together, how to give characters personality, how to choose the right tool for each project, and much more. A worthy addition to the how-to comics canon, Draw Out the Storysimplifies advanced concepts for younger readers, providing invaluable lessons and pointers for kids who want to learn to write and draw — and imagine — great stories.
Kids Draw Manga by
The characters from manga-or Japanese comics-have begun to dominate the world of kids' cartoons and comics. Now kids can learn to draw their own manga-style characters with Kids Draw Manga, the newest addition to the Kids Draw series. Young artists will find a complete introduction to the basics of manga style, from the well-known shiny eye to manga-style noses, mouths, and body types. Pages of step-by-step drawings offer a diverse range of cool manga characters with appeal to both boys and girls, including a basic manga girl and boy, a schoolgirl, a mysterious swordsman, a hero knight, a flying robot soldier, and a laser fighter. More elaborate manga characters, like a spaceship commander and a dark-magic sorceress, are offered for kids who are either older or have worked through the book and are ready for the next level. As in all Kids Draw books, each dazzling spread is easy to follow, fun to look at, and guaranteed to charm a new generation of artists! • The 10th book in the best-selling Kids Draw series • Follows the success of Kids Draw Anime, which sold over 20,000 copies in one year • Capitalizes on the manga craze for kids: from Sailor Moon to Yu-Gi-Oh! • Author has sold more than 1.5 million books • Packed with colorful, fun spreads
Making Comics by
Scott McCloud tore down the wall between high and low culture in 1993 with Understanding Comics, a massive comic book about comics, linking the medium to such diverse fields as media theory, movie criticism, and web design. In Reinventing Comics, McCloud took this to the next level, charting twelve different revolutions in how comics are generated, read, and perceived today. Now, in Making Comics, McCloud focuses his analysis on the art form itself, exploring the creation of comics, from the broadest principles to the sharpest details (like how to accentuate a character's facial muscles in order to form the emotion of disgust rather than the emotion of surprise.) And he does all of it in his inimitable voice and through his cartoon stand-in narrator, mixing dry humor and legitimate instruction. McCloud shows his reader how to master the human condition through word and image in a brilliantly minimalistic way. Comic book devotees as well as the most uninitiated will marvel at this journey into a once-underappreciated art form.