How to Draw Manga: Developing Shoujo Manga Techniques

Rating:
Summary: Wondeful but..
Review: I really enjoyed this book and thought it was extreamly helpful. I did start with this book even though it was number 5... if i had to choose again i would probably have started with somthing a little more detail on the basic structures and less on details. Although i found this book very helpful with drawing hair, bodys, and backrounds when i got up to them. I also think that this book is a little more like realistic drawings.. its still alot like manga but the style isent really present time manga.

Rating:
Summary: Great book
Review: The picturess in this book are great. This book shows you how to get all textures in the hair just right and it also shows you how to set some scenes. Its great for those who want to draw shoujo manga. (girls manga)

Rating:
Summary: Maginificent!
Review: This book is the 5th volume in the original "How to Draw Manga" series. It's a great book, and it's not all just about drawing pretty girls. It also teaches you techniques about drawing backgrounds, seasons, manuscripts, line effects, perspective, and MUCH more. The artwork in the book appears to look based off of a style similar to Yuu Watase's, so if you've ever wanted to draw like her, there's one other reason to purchase this book.

Rating:
Summary: Great for starters
Review: This is basically a good introduction to most of the technical information needed in creating a shoujo ("girls'") manga, and most of the information can be applied to any kind of manga. Two things you need to keep in mind, though: 1) none of the art in this book is really professional-level quality, and 2) it is a direct translation from Japanese, and does not take into account the requirements for printing a book anywhere other than Japan. The book (like the whole "Society for the Study of" series) was created by enthusiastic amateurs, but the art is both out of date and sub-par. Look at current shoujo manga to get an idea of what current standards are like. An example of the poor qality of the art can be found on page 6, in the example of a face shown from below. Here the artist makes the mistakes almost all beginning manga artists make. Anyone can see that it is unnatural and ugly. If you are planning to have your work printed outside Japan, check with the printer about paper size, margins, the printability of screen tone (often called "zipatone" in English), lettering, etc. The final chapter ("How to Create Manga Manuscripts") is written for people planning to submit their work to a Japanese manga publisher. If you're going to have your own work printed, you'll have to do the lettering yourself, and this book doesn't tell you how to do that. The translation seems largely accurate, but is stiff and awkward in many places. It would have been nice if the publisher had consulted with artists accustomed to working in the English-speaking world and adjusted the content to better suit that audience. Nonetheless, if you've never drawn manga or comics before and are eager to try, this book is a very good place to begin. (By the way, I teach young apsiring cartoonists at the Department of Comic Art, Kyoto Seika University, Japan, which I hope qualifies me to make these judgements.)

Rating:
Summary: Good, but be aware of the limitations
Review: This is basically a good introduction to most of the technical information needed in creating a shoujo ("girls'") manga, and most of the information can be applied to any kind of manga. Two things you need to keep in mind, though: 1) none of the art in this book is really professional-level quality, and 2) it is a direct translation from Japanese, and does not take into account the requirements for printing a book anywhere other than Japan. The book (like the whole "Society for the Study of" series) was created by enthusiastic amateurs, but the art is both out of date and sub-par. Look at current shoujo manga to get an idea of what current standards are like. An example of the poor qality of the art can be found on page 6, in the example of a face shown from below. Here the artist makes the mistakes almost all beginning manga artists make. Anyone can see that it is unnatural and ugly. If you are planning to have your work printed outside Japan, check with the printer about paper size, margins, the printability of screen tone (often called "zipatone" in English), lettering, etc. The final chapter ("How to Create Manga Manuscripts") is written for people planning to submit their work to a Japanese manga publisher. If you're going to have your own work printed, you'll have to do the lettering yourself, and this book doesn't tell you how to do that. The translation seems largely accurate, but is stiff and awkward in many places. It would have been nice if the publisher had consulted with artists accustomed to working in the English-speaking world and adjusted the content to better suit that audience. Nonetheless, if you've never drawn manga or comics before and are eager to try, this book is a very good place to begin. (By the way, I teach young apsiring cartoonists at the Department of Comic Art, Kyoto Seika University, Japan, which I hope qualifies me to make these judgements.)

Rating:
Summary: For those interested in Shoujo Manga
Review: Though some information is a rehash from other HTDM editions, thankfully, there are some that are new and very informative including common anatomy drawing mistakes. Chapters 3&4 (How to Create Stories and How to Create Manga Manuscripts) are very useful considering it is generally explained briefly in other books. The first two chapters focused on characters and backgrounds.

This book would be best for the person interested in focusing on shoujo manga. It teaches a bit of everything from anatomy, backgrounds, toning, how to put together a story, paneling, and putting it all together on paper.

This is a good starter book much like the first edition of this series (sans more explicit drawings) as it encompasses everything in the manga process but is half useful if you already have other books in the HTDM series.