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Kupocake
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 03, 2007 11:40 am


The Exciting
List o' Tutorial and Reference Books

This is a list of Tutorial and Reference Books you can buy. If you found a book that isn't on this list that you found useful, please post the title of the book and the author's name, along with a brief description of the book including what the book is about, and why you thought it's useful. Please also note if the book is out of print and hard to find.

Table of Contents
...Post 1...Introduction
.................You are here.
...Post 2...Manga Tutorial Books
.................Tutorials especially for manga-styled drawings.
...Post 3...Other Tutorial Books
.................Tutorials that aren't manga-styled, but are still very useful.
...Post 4...General Tutorial Books
.................Tutorial Books that could apply to any style.
...Post 5...Reference Books
.................We all need a little insight.
PostPosted: Wed Jan 03, 2007 11:45 am


Manga Tutorial Books

This is a list of books that are especially for manga artists.


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How to Draw Anime & Game Characters, Vol. 1: Basics for Beginners and Beyond
By Tadashi Ozawa
Description: Probably the best HTDM book out there, it covers all the fundamentals of anime-styled drawing, even in different styles such as shoujo and shounen. The entire Anime & Game Characters line-up is great, but I highly recommend this for any beginner to manga-styled drawing. It still proves to be useful to advanced manga artists.
(Note: The current cover for this book has changed)


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How to Draw Anime & Game Characters, Vol. 2: Expressing Emotions
By Tadashi Ozawa
Description: My personal favorite out of the series, this book covers all aspects of anime-styled emotion. From facial expressions to body expressions, once again done in different styles such as shoujo and shounen, this is a must-have for anyone struggling to draw manga-type emotions.
(Note: The current cover for this book has changed)

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How to Draw Manga Computones Volume 1: Basic Tone Techniques
By Knife Senno
Description: If you're thinking of creating a manga or webcomic, this is one book you can't overlook. Not only does it come with a CD-ROM with 100 "computones," the book by itself is valuable for anyone who wants to produce authentic toned drawings via the computer. Please note that the CD-ROM will only work for people with Photoshop 5.0 (or higher), Paint Shop Pro (7.0 or higher) and Photoshop Elements (1.0/2.0). Operating Systems: Windows 98 SE, Windows ME, Windows 2000, or Windows XP (sorry, not MAC). Meet or exceed the following hardware specifications: Intel Pentium or 100% compatible CPU (Pentium 3 800 MHz or higher recommended), CD-ROM Drive, 128MB RAM or more (256MB+ recommended), 250MB or more of free local disk space (950MB+ recommended).

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How to Draw Manga: Ultimate Manga Lessons Volume 4
By Graphic-Sha
Description: I don't know why but this book is unbelievably good. I've looked through others in this series and none are as useful as volume 4. I'm serious, I teach 80% of my lessons out of this book and the first one you mentioned. It is an invaluable tool and its very cheap as well, just $13. Its all over the place currently, go into a Barnes and Noble and check it out. The subject of the book is making the characters come to life through motion. Great book for anybody who feels that their characters are too stiff and lifeless. ~smackbringer

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PostPosted: Wed Jan 03, 2007 11:46 am


Other Tutorial Books

This is a list of books that aren't manga-styled, but are still useful to know.


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How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way
By Stan Lee, John Buscema
Description: Stan Lee and John Buscema, two of the most prominent figures in the comic industry, wrote an incredibly detailed book covering everything about drawing Marvel comics. Even as a manga artist, this is one book that will still be useful to you. Oh c'mon, it has a picture of Spiderman with a beret on the back!

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Dragonart: How to Draw Fantastic Dragons and Fantasy Creatures
By Jessica "NeonDragon" Peffer
Description: From the artist of neondragonart.com comes one amazing step-by-step book on drawing dragons. The fantasy creatures portion isn't exactly informative, but I found the rest of the book very useful. A must-have for any fantasy artist.
PostPosted: Wed Jan 03, 2007 11:47 am


General Tutorial Books

This is a list of books that cover the pure fundamentals of art, useful for any style.


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Dynamic Wrinkles and Drapery: Solutions for Drawing the Clothed Figure
By Burne Hogarth
Description: Probably the best book out there on drawing wrinkles and folds, this is one book that I recommend for every artist of every level. If you want to draw realistic clothing, you can't miss this book.

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Drawing Dynamic Hands
By Burne Hogarth
Description: Although it may be too dynamic, this is a great book for anyone struggling to draw hands. Just be warned, they're very exaggerated.

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PostPosted: Wed Jan 03, 2007 11:51 am


Reference Books

This is a list of books that are collections of photos, drawings, etc. that one may find useful, especially in those hard to draw poses! Also covers other subjects, such as clothing, weapons, and others.

Please also note that to be classified as "reference," it has to be mainly just a collection of drawings or photos. If it gives insight on how to draw them, it's considered a tutorial book.

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How to Draw Manga: Costume Encyclopedia Volume 1: Everyday Fashion
By Hikaru Hayashi, Kimiko Morimoto
Description: This is a book covering a wide variety of everyday fashion, all done in a manga style. If you're having trouble thinking up a costume for your character, this book will be very handy to you. However, this barely covers anything for men.

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How to Draw Manga: Bodies & Anatomy
By Society for the Study of Manga Techniques
Description: This book is probably one of the best for poses, if you ignore the fact that the face porportions might be a bit off and the naked people. It describes, in detail, off of the muscles in the body and goes into how the muscles expand or contract depending on the pose. Also, it has pages after pages of everyday and not-so-everyday poses. ~Water Sorceress

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The Nude Figure: A Visual Reference for the Artist
by Mark Smith
207 pages of full body nude photos, (1-4 to a page, front and back, more girls than guys) what more do you need? All the models are generally young and in shape, (and no body builders or anything) but there's still a pretty good variety of body types within those limits. Tons of great poses, in motion and not! ~Guac

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Anatomy for the Artist
by John Davis and Sarah Simblet
This book is just way too cool. It's got tons of great photos, (awesome lighting) along with drawings and models of muscle and bone, transparent pages that overlay photos so you can see how the internal stuff relates to the outer shape, tons of front/back comparison, photos recreating famous paintings... just everything awesome you would ever want. (And also a pleasant amount of text woven into the mix.. I haven't read it, but I'd imagine it's packed with great info just like the visuals!) ~Guac

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An Atlas of Animal Anatomy for Artists
by W. Ellenberger and Frances A. Davis
Despite being slim, cheap, and rather modest, this is THE BEST reference book for mammal anatomy I have ever seen. It has full body illustrations of cats, dogs, horses, farm animals, bats, seals, monkeys, and more, (a great variety of different mammal body types) from all angles, with skin/fur, and also with muscle/bone. The illustrations are perfectly detailed, but also incredibly clear and easy to understand. ~Guac

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Drawing Human Anatomy
By Giovanni Civardi
Description: Also, for anatomy, there's an artist named Giovanni Civardi. His books are cheap ($15) and consist almost entirely of full figure poses drawn in hard pencil. I compared it to Anatomy for artists and I found the Civardi books far more useful for copying the human figure and doing sketches. ~smackbringer

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Drawing the Female Nude
By Giovanni Civardi
Desciption: (see Drawing Human Anatomy) ~smackbringer
Guac: I just checked this book out when I was last in the bookstore, and I'd like to doubly recommend it. ;D Lots of informative life drawings, and great short descriptions that really explain how the body works in different situations!

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Drawing the Male Nude
By Giovanni Civardi
Description: (see Drawing Human Anatomy) ~smackbringer
Please note that this book is out of print and hard to find. As of February 1, 2007, the price on Amazon.com is $62.34, Ebay: n/a, Half.com: $61.33.
PostPosted: Wed Jan 03, 2007 11:52 am


Misty steals this reserve~ :3

I'm going to stick the once sticky in here, 'kay? I feel like the tute section is getting weighed down by random stickies.

------

Feel free to look at them when you need an example to look at. 3nodding
[Head/Neck/Eye Positioning]

"This I know a lot of people have problems with, but I tried my best to draw the best hands I can so you guys can use them as refrences biggrin "
[Hands]

Kupocake
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Kupocake
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 03, 2007 11:53 am


~Reserved~
PostPosted: Wed Jan 03, 2007 12:42 pm


Annnnd... it's open!
Sorry Juneberry. Your sticky titles for "List o' Tutorials" were just too good to not copy. XD

Kupocake
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JuneBerry
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 03, 2007 2:58 pm


No, it's awesome! I'm glad you're keeping a unified feel to it! biggrin
PostPosted: Wed Jan 03, 2007 5:50 pm


Yaaay, I'll add some! *3* And.. some more later.. once I find the rest of my books.;; *doesn't know the titles, even though they're my favorites*;;;

Guacamole-kun
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Pann-yu

PostPosted: Wed Jan 03, 2007 8:23 pm


Er...I don't have a picture handy, but How to Draw Manga: Bodies and Anatomy has a lot of good reference. 3nodding

...I also totally forgot the author's name... *has let away my copy*

Description: This book is probably one of the best for poses, if you ignore the fact that the face porportions might be a bit off and the naked people. It describes, in detail, off of the muscles in the body and goes into how the muscles expand or contract depending on the pose. Also, it has pages after pages of everyday and not-so-everyday poses.
PostPosted: Fri Jan 19, 2007 6:19 pm


Yaay, I found the ones I was looking for! *updates the ref section*

Guacamole-kun
Crew


smackbringer

PostPosted: Wed Jan 31, 2007 11:19 am


I've been thinking about making one of these but I see you already did. I wonder if I could make some suggestions about great books i've found.

How to Draw Manga: Ultimate Manga Lessons Volume 4
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9784766115574&itm=1

I don't know why but this book is unbelievably good. I've looked through others in this series and none are as useful as volume 4. I'm serious, I teach 80% of my lessons out of this book and the first one you mentioned. It is an invaluable tool and its very cheap as well, just $13. Its all over the place currently, go into a barnes and noble and check it out. The subject of the book is making the characters come to life through motion. Great book for anybody who feels that their characters are too stiff and lifeless.

Also, for anatomy, theres an artist named Giovanni Civardi. His books are cheap ($15) and consist almost entirely of full figure poses drawn in hard pencil. I compared it to Anatomy for artists and I found the civardi books far more useful for copying the human figure and doing sketches.

These three are fantastic.

Drawing the Human Anatomy Book
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9780289800898&itm=10

Drawing the Female Nude
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9780289800904&itm=7

(The Drawing the Male Nude Book is out of print and is hard to find. Try ebay.)
PostPosted: Thu Feb 01, 2007 9:29 pm


Thank you, smackbringer!
Would you like to make a more detailed description for Drawing Female and Male Nude? As of right now, I could only refer to Drawing the Human Anatomy Book.

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PostPosted: Tue Feb 27, 2007 11:02 pm


Shoujo Manga Techniques: Writing Stories By Maku Itsuki

I've been meaning to post this, but I kept forgetting.

rofl

It's SHOJO -- Ohdarn. Nuhuh! The entire book is written in manga format, so it's kinda got it's own storyline as well as actually TEACHING you how to put together an original story. C:

So it's an interesting book, and wonderful referencing when you're in a writing block.

** maybe I should write a proper description? XD ... Un~ Later. Yell at me. XD **

(( I own this book too, so it's kinda like a testimonial? XD ))
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