Kerry Gammill's Drawing Monsters & Heroes for Film & Comics

Rating:
Summary: What An Artist! What A Helpful Guide To The Industry!
Review: I know Kerry Gammill slightly, so you're free to dismiss this as a Buddy's Puff Piece if you wish. The title of the book is a misnomer; it sounds like a how-to book, when in fact this is a guided tour through the portfolio of a very gifted, very flexible artist. Useful for any adolescent with an interest in monsters or superheroes (or for anyone with an adolescent heart), Kerry's book strongly illustrates the changes in horror/hero art stylistics over the decades. Starting in the Sixties (when Kerry was a schoolboy), we see him recreate the stark imagery of the Universal horror heroes, followed by the "so busy I think my eyes will pop" style of Jack Kirby's Marvel comics, and we close with a detailed view of Special Effects artistry, and see the heavy hand of H.R. Giger (Icky ooky organs! Spooky spiky spines!), which seems to predominate in this unheralded branch of the art world. No, Kerry's not Vermeer (I like to imagine the Dutch minimalist leafing through a copy of X-Men), but he is a very talented artist working in a strange but awfully fun corner of the imaginative world. If you (or your children) love monsters or superheroes, or you're interested in an insider's view of the Special Effects world, this book is an excellent addition to your library. Note: general intensity of imagery and a few nudes and kinda-nudes make this book inappropriate for very young fans.

Rating:
Summary: A portfolio to charm any fanboy
Review: I know Kerry Gammill slightly, so you're free to dismiss this as a Buddy's Puff Piece if you wish. The title of the book is a misnomer; it sounds like a how-to book, when in fact this is a guided tour through the portfolio of a very gifted, very flexible artist. Useful for any adolescent with an interest in monsters or superheroes (or for anyone with an adolescent heart), Kerry's book strongly illustrates the changes in horror/hero art stylistics over the decades. Starting in the Sixties (when Kerry was a schoolboy), we see him recreate the stark imagery of the Universal horror heroes, followed by the "so busy I think my eyes will pop" style of Jack Kirby's Marvel comics, and we close with a detailed view of Special Effects artistry, and see the heavy hand of H.R. Giger (Icky ooky organs! Spooky spiky spines!), which seems to predominate in this unheralded branch of the art world. No, Kerry's not Vermeer (I like to imagine the Dutch minimalist leafing through a copy of X-Men), but he is a very talented artist working in a strange but awfully fun corner of the imaginative world. If you (or your children) love monsters or superheroes, or you're interested in an insider's view of the Special Effects world, this book is an excellent addition to your library. Note: general intensity of imagery and a few nudes and kinda-nudes make this book inappropriate for very young fans.

Rating:
Summary: THE BEST WAY TO DRAW MONSTERS AND SUPER HEROES
Review: Kerry Gammil's drawing Monsters and Heroes For Film and comics is a great book for beginning drawers and advanced drawers . It is great for learning muscles and for animation . It goes from basic figures to story boards for film and T.V. Learn to make comics and Body suits . I learned a lot from this book ,you will too. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to draw comics .

Rating:
Summary: What An Artist! What A Helpful Guide To The Industry!
Review: Kerry Gammill is a one superhero of an artist! Boy, I've read his comic book work over the years (SPIDER-MAN to SUPERMAN to POWERMAN/IRON FIST) but never knew the extent of his talent until I read this wonderful book. Gammill not only can draw, he can tell a crackerjack STORY! Please, Hollywood. Use this guy more often! (Your current crop of films are so lame). Looking over the beautiful illustrations it's no small wonder that he was picked to design make-ups for horror movies and TV shows. I learned volumes of helpful tips from the background information concerning his influences. Every kid should use this for their own references on who and what to study if they want to be the best. And Gammill's youthful experiences doing homemade make-ups for his little backyard "movies" got him friendly with STAR WARS make-up artist Rick Baker! Baker who has won six Oscars and probably will again for the new PLANET OF THE APES! How can you beat that for an inkling of how good Kerry's make-up designs are? If you want to learn what it takes to become a professional artist AND how much fun it can all be in the process (with lots of drawing to get there), get this book! Buy it for yourself but you'll probably have to get one for a kindred soul/best buddy that loves comics and movies. This will become a special book among those up and coming "new" comic book artists and special effects make-up designers of tomorrow. Someday, I'm sure one of them will list it as one of THE books of their formulative years.