Draw your Own Manga: Beyond the Basics
Grade 7 Up–With Japanese art influencing everything from action figures to breakfast cereals, the question is not where to find books on drawing manga, but which of the many available titles are best for your library. This book is by far the most authentic–having been written, illustrated, and endorsed by Japanese manga artists and published first in Japanese.Basicscovers characters, effects, backgrounds, and coloring. It teaches drawing by way of explanatory text and samples rather than showing a step-by-step production of a character. This style allows serious art students to feel as though they are being taught rather than simply learning to copy a specific drawing. Because this book was translated from a right-to-left-reading format into a left-to-right format, and because much of the book takes place in panels, comics-style, there is a slight learning curve involved in reading it. Still, manga fans will have no problem deciphering it and will benefit from its mixture of playfulness and professionalism. The book includes an interview with Shinji Mizushima, who draws baseball-themed manga, a welcomed respite from the usual sci-fi/fantasy-themed art that is, admittedly, more popular in the United States. He offers some interesting insights into what it's like to be a professional manga artist.–Steev Baker, Kewaskum Public Library, WICopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.