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How to Draw Those Bodacious Bad Babes of Comics

How to Draw Those Bodacious Bad Babes of Comics

List Price: $19.95
Your Price: $19.95
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A Good Book For The Aspiring Comic Book Artist
Review: Although the title is incredibly cheesy, the book itself is pretty good. They cover solidly the foundations of comic-style character design and how to implement them into a scenario. The only thing I really disliked was that they didn't spend enough time on manga. But, there are many many other books that take care of it. The other thing is the cheesiness of the "good girl" in their book. I don't know of a single MODERN comic that had heroines that look like that... they ALL look like the "bad girl" these days!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A Good Book For The Aspiring Comic Book Artist
Review: Although the title is incredibly cheesy, the book itself is pretty good. They cover solidly the foundations of comic-style character design and how to implement them into a scenario. The only thing I really disliked was that they didn't spend enough time on manga. But, there are many many other books that take care of it. The other thing is the cheesiness of the "good girl" in their book. I don't know of a single MODERN comic that had heroines that look like that... they ALL look like the "bad girl" these days!

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Flashy but useless book
Review: As an instruction book this one's useless. It's full of finished drawings and sketches, but it has exactly zero instructional material -- it's perhaps nice to look at, but you won't learn a thing from it. Most of this series is this way, btw, a lot of stuff is being offered that's flashy but useless for a student. I suggest working with a more basic drawing books, like drawing human figure, face, etc., the ones that deal with anatomy and movement. Then, this one perhaps can be good to add a style. Iow, at best, this is not a beginner's book. At worst, it's good for nothing at all. Definitely peruse it in a store, don't buy it off the web without looking at it first.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: sadlly lacking
Review: did you ever see an aging movie actor try to revive his career by doing a grade b movie flick and wind up having the public feel even more sorry for him than a bum in a soup kitchen line?....

the only reason I gave a one-star rating to this fluff is because amazon doesn't allow anything lower.

the review of this reader...

1st the dynamic duo of frank and mike attempt to tackle posing.... bad, inconsistent, awkward posing... here the writing out-merits the amateurishly illustrated bad sketches. foreshortening is not this artist's strong suit and shouldn't have been attempted. yes, there are good sketches here, but inconsistently strewn thoughout the third of material in this book. Take a look at Loomis' or Hogarth's books to see consistent GOOD posing... and better foreshortening.

2nd, we move on to features like hairstyles, hands and faces that seem to mimic current as well as golden age comic styles.... juxtaposed... I'm not kidding. it's like the Jack Kirby Good Girl meets the Marc Silvestri Demon Spawn. nothing here that wasn't in marvel's "How to Draw Comics The Marvel Way".

3rd, an interesting foray into Manga and 40's style pin-up art. just barely touched on. there's nothing here to even comment on except BUY EISNER'S BOOKS FIRST, if you want to see real pin-up art.

4th, we get into some material that this reader believes shows the meddle of both the writer and artist. do they pursue it to any substantial point that it's worth you plunking down money? No way, fan-boy. 2 pages dedicated to the nightmare of perspective... you're kidding right? Try David Chelsea's book. 2 pages dedicated to inking...try 88 pages with over a dozen contributing artists in Gary Martin's book.

next, frank and mike plunge us into more fluff material... weapons and powers. I hate to say it.... but even Christopher Hart's books are marginally better here with slightly MORE material.

finally, they finish up with computer commentary. a whole book in it's own right could have been written on comic book coloring and pre-press software and Mike only mentions the barest essentials.

I don't know who 1st approached who in this travesty, but this book is fluff. the only professional thing in this book is Mark Wheatly's coloring. hopefully this hasn't dragged his career down.

Here's a suggestion to the publishers... pick one thing that you can professionally illustrate and pursue it consistently. Take a look at the books I mentioned above to get an idea of the longevity of good material.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: ... and those good girls of comics too
Review: Good and Bad babes are shown into perspective here with this book, how they relate, how they are different, and how to render both. Topics covered include (but are definitely not limited to):

Facial Features, Costumes, Weapons, Values and Hues, Inking, Hand Expressions, etc etc (to both good and bad girls respectively)

The two sections worth the price of this book itself are the sections on hand and facial expression... two 'highly' overlooked areas where I feel beginning (and even some pro) artists oversee. These guys didn't make special topics about them for nothing! Don't worry, there are more than just hands and faces to be learned in drawing these ferocious gals, see for yourself...

The downfall is that I got through this book in half an hour, tops. The written work is minimal and the pictures very large. I like alot of text to read, but then again many people may like this books' format?

Awesome book, the artwork is pretty good, and of course,... the babes! Females seem to be the toughest to draw (for me and many other 'breaking in' artists), but you'll learn how to draw 'em right here, no doubt about it... the authors are very clear about what they are trying to teach you.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: ... and those good girls of comics too
Review: Good and Bad babes are shown into perspective here with this book, how they relate, how they are different, and how to render both. Topics covered include (but are definitely not limited to):

Facial Features, Costumes, Weapons, Values and Hues, Inking, Hand Expressions, etc etc (to both good and bad girls respectively)

The two sections worth the price of this book itself are the sections on hand and facial expression... two 'highly' overlooked areas where I feel beginning (and even some pro) artists oversee. These guys didn't make special topics about them for nothing! Don't worry, there are more than just hands and faces to be learned in drawing these ferocious gals, see for yourself...

The downfall is that I got through this book in half an hour, tops. The written work is minimal and the pictures very large. I like alot of text to read, but then again many people may like this books' format?

Awesome book, the artwork is pretty good, and of course,... the babes! Females seem to be the toughest to draw (for me and many other 'breaking in' artists), but you'll learn how to draw 'em right here, no doubt about it... the authors are very clear about what they are trying to teach you.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Some Parts are quite useful
Review: I buy most every art book on how to draw comics, and leapt at the chance to purchase this book, sight unseen.

My biggest beef with this book, is the lack of diagrams and real drawing reference. Instead we get a lot of 'figure drawing' style sketches accompanied by an occasional full color illo. Not bad, but not what I'm looking for in a drawing instruction book.

This book needs more diagram style drawings with art measured in head lengths (muscles) we women have them you know...(Grin). And step-by-step instructions. Regretfully, this book is composed of nearly finished illustrations. The "turnarounds" that exist are small and amateurly done (page 12 & 13), and should reflect MORE body types and have better details in the arms and legs.

Also the artist seems to have trouble drawing arms. The arms seem disproportionate, and at times are drawn so long, they appear almost ape-like, other times they hang at awkward angles as thought the artist doesn't know quite what to do with them.

Additionally, many of the illustrations in this book, look like they were done in figure drawing class, and don't look like comic book women.

The sections on faces needed to be expanded and improved. Women are drawn with staring eyes and open snarling expressions, making them look like they are suffering from a bad hangover.

What I DID like was the fabulous use of color. Some art is quite good, such as the art used to head each chapter.

While this book is not likely to provide you with anything new in the way of art reference, it has some decent artwork overall and may be able to give the beginning artist some insiration.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Horrible amateurish drawings
Review: I can't believe how bad the drawings are in this book. Awkward bodies and faces that look like they came from a high school kids figure drawing class. These guys worked in comics? Incredible.

Don't expect much instruction and you DO NOT want to practice your skills by looking at the junk in this book. The bodies are oddly distorted and faces unattractive and unbalanced. Just bad bad stuff.

Avoid this book like the plague.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The lost great among hundreds of so-sos
Review: I've been searching for the information contained in this book for 3 years now and had all but given up. An excellent starting point for beginers with critiques on how to go from traceries to inkings to color, it appeals to those just starting out. But my reason for finding it a fantastic book was how simply the marker work was made. Referencing exact colors and techniques that were at best difficult, if not impossible to achieve without watching someone else do it.

I highly recommend this book and look forward to any further books by these two authors! Kudos!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Good book, terrible title
Review: If you're like me and a bit serious about comics (and older than 15), the title of this book probably puts you off. Don't let it, as it's a good guide to drawing the female form in the modern comics style. Better than the modern style, often, as they pay attention to anatomy and proper structure rather than focussing too heavily on certain, um, assets.

The book also discusses Manga and pin-up girls, but too briefly for my tastes. It would have rounded out the book more to provide a stronger background in these alternative styles. And while they cover hands and hairstyles, they ignore that other bugbear, feet. Personally, I have trouble with feet and was disappointed to find the subject wasn't discussed.

On the plus side, the parts on weapons, coloring and computers are great, and useful for comics beyond drawing good-looking superhero babes. If you want to draw comics, or improve your technique, this does belong on your bookshelf.


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