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Bruce Lewis: Draw Manga 3 stars

Review of 'Draw Manga' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

I picked this up when I happened to see it in a clearance bin. I wasn't looking for any art help, but was attracted by the cheap price and the number of pages about how to draw people (in a cartoon/manga style). I'm not an artist by any means, but I enjoy doodling on occasion and have never really worked out how to draw realistic-looking people. There are some good tips in here and my skills have greatly improved already.

The book is divided into three sections. The first section is the history of Manga. It's interesting, but probably not why you're here.
The second section is "how to draw". This is the bit I was interested in. I skipped the life-drawing classes as I'm not actually trying to become a decent artist. How to pose people, get the proportions right, and some pages about drapery, hands and hair I found useful, and have helped me draw people who aren't deformed or have birds nesting on top of their heads.
The third section is about constructing comic strips and publishing books of manga. There were some drawing tips here about perspective and which pens to use, but I skimmed the entire section as I'm not trying to write a comic or get into the industry.