How to Draw Manga Books Bad Art

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· 162 ratings · 19 reviews

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Feb 17, 2011 mazohyst rated it did not like it

I remember reading this when I was in elementary school (6-7 years ago). It used to be my manga drawing bible. Looking back on it, it's not that great. I was surprised looking at the cover, because I used to think it looked so professional and amazingly awesome. Now I've grown a lot in drawing, and I'm glad to say that I've improved a lot. But it was a great beginners book that got me started. If you really want to know how to draw manga though, I recommend reading manga and studying actual Japa I remember reading this when I was in elementary school (6-7 years ago). It used to be my manga drawing bible. Looking back on it, it's not that great. I was surprised looking at the cover, because I used to think it looked so professional and amazingly awesome. Now I've grown a lot in drawing, and I'm glad to say that I've improved a lot. But it was a great beginners book that got me started. If you really want to know how to draw manga though, I recommend reading manga and studying actual Japanese artists draw. And anatomy of course. Anatomy is a must. ...more

May 03, 2021 gma rated it it was amazing

This book was iconic. Ignore the haters, these 5 stars are for the day I found this chillin on a shelf at my 3rd/4th grade Scholastic Book fair and for the hours I spent each day after school drawing from it in pure joy.

Jan 27, 2011 Taralen rated it liked it

This book was made by a kid for kids really.
Unlike the more refined "How to Draw Manga" series, this book is easier to follow in its steps, and none of the content is seriously offensive to adults.
Katy Coope's style was (yes, WAS as she doesn't draw much like this anymore) simple yet cute. Though it's outdated by the modern Anime industry's more cutesy "moe" style, it still holds its place as a "manga" style, if not a retro one that shouldn't die off.
This book was made by a kid for kids really.
Unlike the more refined "How to Draw Manga" series, this book is easier to follow in its steps, and none of the content is seriously offensive to adults.
Katy Coope's style was (yes, WAS as she doesn't draw much like this anymore) simple yet cute. Though it's outdated by the modern Anime industry's more cutesy "moe" style, it still holds its place as a "manga" style, if not a retro one that shouldn't die off.
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I just stumbled upon this in recommendations, this was the first manga drawing book I got,at a school book fair I think. At the time I thought it was fantastic and I remember I did learn a lot from it.
However the art style is far from beautiful or detailed as seen from the cover art, this is more of a Digimon/Pokemon style than the exquisiteness of Arina Tanemura,but if you're completely new,it'll get you going! I just stumbled upon this in recommendations, this was the first manga drawing book I got,at a school book fair I think. At the time I thought it was fantastic and I remember I did learn a lot from it.
However the art style is far from beautiful or detailed as seen from the cover art, this is more of a Digimon/Pokemon style than the exquisiteness of Arina Tanemura,but if you're completely new,it'll get you going! ...more

Feb 18, 2019 Nyssa rated it did not like it

I read this when I started focusing more on my art, and I truly believe this book held me back. I liked it as a child, but looking back as an adult, I regret it.

Better than it looks. The simple, concrete instructions are reminiscent of Christopher Hart's style. Better than it looks. The simple, concrete instructions are reminiscent of Christopher Hart's style. ...more

This is a pretty good Manga tutorial book. It's great for beginners and I'm sure more advanced Manga artists could find something useful in it as well.

The Things I Liked:

I love the way the artist draws eyes. They are simple to draw and it is easy to modify them to create different characters, which the author shows you with examples of different faces. Quite a large section of the book is dedicated to eye tutorials, which I think is a good thing, because eyes are definitely one of the most impor

This is a pretty good Manga tutorial book. It's great for beginners and I'm sure more advanced Manga artists could find something useful in it as well.

The Things I Liked:

I like that the author shows you how to draw faces from different angles, i.e. looking up or down, towards or away from you. I've never seen this in a Manga tutorial book before and I think it could be really useful, especially when conveying different emotions.

Another thing I've never seen in another Manga book before is example of different expressions shown on the same face. Usually authors give you examples of expressions but use a different face each time but I liked Coope's approach because it is easier to see differences in expression when you use the same face every time.

Probably my favourite thing about the book was the chapter on colour, which is not a subject that most Manga tutorial books go into detail with. Coope explained the colour wheel as well as complementary and contrasting colours, which I thought was great. Coope also shows you how to create different textures using colour, for example clothing fabric, metal, wood or soil.

The Things I Disliked:

There were SO MANY typos in the book when I was reading it I thought 'did no one even edit this?!' The mistakes were usually things like putting a random capital letter in the middle of a word, for example 'coloUrs' which I thought was a bit strange really.

I think that the author could have devoted more time to Chibis in this book. The section on Chibis was very small and I know that they're only a sideline of Manga but still, I wished for more.

I found that I had little interest in the very large section in which the author talked about her own characters. Sorry, but I want to be shown tips on how to create characters of MY OWN.

I suppose I can't complain too much. I got this book at a discounted price of £2.99 (the RRP was £12.99!). And I think it has enough useful stuff to make it worthwhile.

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Jun 10, 2012 quoc rated it really liked it

I was only 9 years old when I got a hold of this and it changed my life. I never knew what manga was and I my peers around at the time called it "anime" even though manga was the correct term.

This book was the stepping stone for getting me into line drawing as well as basic figurative drawing. This book gave step by step guides on how to draw characters as well as getting a basic form laid out.

If it weren't for my eagerness to learn new things as a child I wouldn't have been where I am today a

I was only 9 years old when I got a hold of this and it changed my life. I never knew what manga was and I my peers around at the time called it "anime" even though manga was the correct term.

If it weren't for my eagerness to learn new things as a child I wouldn't have been where I am today as a full pledged artist. This book helped me to get where I am today.

For anyone who would like to start manga drawing, this book is definitively recommended!

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Nov 22, 2010 Chukkzy rated it really liked it

This might not be the wonderweapon that teaches you how to draw like Leonardo DaVinci but its a very nice primer for the foundations of drawing things, especially if you always thought that drawing and painting is magic and voodoo. If you want to buy some book for your kids and they have zero experience then this is better then the good lot of these books around. However do not expect wonders from it, it should only be seen as something that is fun to read and gives stuff to try out. Art should This might not be the wonderweapon that teaches you how to draw like Leonardo DaVinci but its a very nice primer for the foundations of drawing things, especially if you always thought that drawing and painting is magic and voodoo. If you want to buy some book for your kids and they have zero experience then this is better then the good lot of these books around. However do not expect wonders from it, it should only be seen as something that is fun to read and gives stuff to try out. Art should be fun and it is with this book. ...more

If you are a newbie, a reeeeeeeeeeally n00b newbie, this might be useful however, in the moment you start gaining skill, don´t look at it again.
Faces with sharp corners, stiff poses, dull coloring and don´t get me started with the blush in EVERY. SINGLE. FACE. always OVER THE NOSE. Nope.
Instead of wasting your money on this, it´s better to look at tutorials on Deviantart.

It was a present from a cousin and I regret that they wasted their money on this.

Feb 07, 2012 Maverynthia rated it really liked it

This book isn't going to make you the uber manga artist that you'll see touted in various art magazines and such, however for beginners it does a lot the other "How to draw manga" books don't. It breaks things down a lot better. I particularly loved the chapter on drawing hair. I found it the most helpful.

Overall this book is a good start if you've never draw much of anything yet, however more advanced artists might not find much in it.

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I literally looked this book up for fun. I figured there would be tons of results but this exact one was the first result and it was the one I imagined. Such embarrassing elementary/middle school memories...so many bad sketches....still good times though. A true memory of my gen. Haha

Jul 20, 2012 Matthew rated it did not like it

I really wish I hadn't read this when I was 11. Or any age, frankly. I expect it would have saved a lot of time getting out of bad drawing habits. I really wish I hadn't read this when I was 11. Or any age, frankly. I expect it would have saved a lot of time getting out of bad drawing habits. ...more

This book had some interesting diagrams, but it wasn't overly insightful compared to others I've read. Definitely liked the visual resources in it though. This book had some interesting diagrams, but it wasn't overly insightful compared to others I've read. Definitely liked the visual resources in it though. ...more

Apr 12, 2013 Ir280385 rated it really liked it

i think this is awesome but i am gonna draw like that