Cartooning Basics: Creating the Characters and More
Gr. 5-8. The Barnharts, artists both (Duane is a professional cartoonist), have added 400 new illustrations to this edition of their cartooning primer, first published in 1997. A lot of kids will skip the illustrated cartoon time line, which is pretty slight anyway, and go right to the technical stuff, appropriately introduced by a cartoon character called No. 2 (as in No. 2 pencil). Step-by-step directions for drawing heads--straight-on, in profile, and looking up, down, and sideways--lead off, followed by tips on creating facial expressions, body poses, hand movements, and several popular animals, along with hints on putting together single-panel cartoons and strips. Aside from some information on perspective, there's not much on backdrops, and there's nothing aboutmanga. But kids (even teens and adults) who want guidance in traditional cartooning and character development will find solid instruction, encouragement, and loads of inspiration and examples to copy. The bibliography wants updating, but that's a small problem in an otherwise wonderful beginner's guide.Stephanie ZvirinCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved