Wizard's How to Draw books....

[Super Sonic]

Does anyone own any of the Wizard: How to Draw books (Heroic Anatomy, Character Creation etc.)?

Are they any good?

Worth getting? Especially if shipping will cost me a fortune?

Or, are there bettter "How to Draw" books out there?

[lonewolf23k]

Does anyone own any of the Wizard: How to Draw books (Heroic Anatomy, Character Creation etc.)?

Are they any good?

Worth getting? Especially if shipping will cost me a fortune?

Or, are there bettter "How to Draw" books out there?

Well, I find them useful.. I also recommend "How to Draw Manga" by Antarctic Press (which is actually useful for more then Manga).

[Bored at 3:00AM]

Wizard is telling people how to draw comics?

Lemme guess, it involves a lot of unessesary cross-hatching, big tits and thongs...

[Super Sonic]

Wizard is telling people how to draw comics?

Lemme guess, it involves a lot of unessesary cross-hatching, big tits and thongs...

So it is my type of book. =P

[Samurai]

Wizard has a feature each issue where some famous artist spends 2-4 pages or so on an art lesson... Adam Hughes on women's faces, Jim Lee on musculature, etc, etc (those are just made up samples). The Wizard books are compilations of those short art lessons. On the plus side, they tend to feature the top artists in the business, usually doing what they are best known for. On the downside, each mini lesson is self-contained and doesn't really build on previous ones, and the large number of styles may mean one artist might contradict another.

I flipped through 1 of them (anatomy, I think) at the last con, and while it was interesting, it didn't grab me enough to buy it. I already have several other art books, though, so it was more because I didn't see anything amazingly new compared to the books I have, not because it didn't look well done.

By contrast, I did buy Jeff Johnson's book "Draw Fight Scenes Like a Pro" because it had a lot of stuff that my other books didn't cover.

Other art books I own and use are the classic "Draw Comics the Marvel Way" (not bad, but rather dated looking now), Andy Smith's "Drawing Dynamic Comics" (great book), Chris Hart's "Drawing Cutting Edge Comics" and "Drawing Cutting Edge Anatomy" (each has some great parts, some not very good), Ben Caldwell's "Fantasy Cartooning" (great for more cartoonish styles), Steve Miller's "Freaks" (book on fantasy creatures), etc.

If I had to recommend just 1 book, it'd probably be Andy Smith's.

[Lester C.]

Samurai did not mention this but he is a working commercial artist so he is more than qualified to give you advice. If I were in your position I would listen to his words carefully.

[Alex Dragon]

Does anyone own any of the Wizard: How to Draw books (Heroic Anatomy, Character Creation etc.)?

Are they any good?

Worth getting? Especially if shipping will cost me a fortune?

Or, are there bettter "How to Draw" books out there?

I glanced through them and I don't think they were worth the money overall. There are some decent tips from a few artists but they're only 2 pages in length and doesn't really cover what they're talking about in such a short space. Plus, the books in my mind could only be helpful to someone who's already got the basic stuff down and their work only needs polishing. They aren't good for a beginner or someone's got most of their game down.

Depending on what level you're at or what you want to improve is important in what type of books you should consider. There's no one book that'll show you all you need to be an artist in general much less a comicbook artist.

If you need to work on anatomy go with the very inexpensive Walter Foster anatomy book(s). Those are very bare bones and covers only the most important muscles/proportions (which is 70% of all you need to know). The next step up would be How To Draw Manga: Bodies and Anatomy. It's a very good book that simplifies all the basics. Even if you don't want to draw in the manga style this book is still great.
Stay away from the big thick expensive anatomy books. Most of them have way too much info that you'll most likely will never need or use. Buy a couple of Muscle mags to get a understanding of what exaggerated muscles look like on a figure.

Also, any books by George Bridgman, Jack Hamm or Andrew Loomis would be great. Personally, I'd stay away from the Chris Hart books. Some aren't too bad depending on the artists who's in any particular one but overall they aren't that good. Please stay away from the Hogarth books even if someone gives them to you.

Basically you don't want to learn to draw from comics. Learn to draw from life and then learn how to do comics by looking at comics. When you get the drawing part down some good "How To" books on comics are...

The book from Bart Sears that came out years and I can't remember the name.

"Drawing Dynamic Comics" by Andy Smith (andy was taught by Bart Sears)

Joe Kubert did a book that was pretty good but it's another one I can't remember the name of...

"DC Guide To Pencilling" by klaus Janson.

Honestly, there aren't really that many really good books on "How To" for comics. The people who usually do those types of books are usually people who aren't good enough to get real comic gigs. If they were good enough they'd be drawing comics and not "how to" books. The ones by names you've heard of are usually the best. I've bought a bunch of them over the years and rarely look at them.

[Clement]

Stay the fuck away from those Wizard books.

A couple of Greg Capullo's columns were actually usefull (those that had to do with composition and storytelling, not those on how to render veins and muscles), but the rest is basically fluff.

how to Draw comics the marvel way is like 40 years old, and most of that stuff still applies. It teaches storytelling, composition, shadowing, dynamic drawing, stuff like that. Of course the parts about inking and rendering are a bit dated now, but the basics haven't changed.

all you need is that book, a few muscle and fitness magazines, the Ikea and Sears catalogs and years of practice and hard work :)

[Jeff Brady]

Stay the fuck away from those Wizard books.

Quoted for Fucktons™ of Truth. Clement knows what he's talking about. Click the link in his sig.

(Fuckton™ 2006 Kevin Church.)

So, you wanna draw comics, eh?

Before I begin the lecture, let me tell you my credentials. I graduated from the School of Visual Arts in 2000 with a BFA in Cartooning. Among my teachers were Carmine Infantino, Sal Amendola, Jack C. Harris, Tom Palmer, and Klaus Janson. Will Eisner, Harvey Kurtzman, art spiegelman, and Walt Simonson used to teach there. Joe Quesada (EIC at some company called Marvel) graduated from there, as did Patrick McDonnall (Mutts comic strip). Becky Cloonan (indie artist extraordinaire) was a year behind me. Khary Randolph (TMNT & Boondocks style guides, Spiderman & Teen Titans Go!) was in my classes. I'd estimate 1/5 of the people working in the comics industry (artists, editors, production artists, colorists, letterers) had some education at SVA.

Q: But Jeff, if you're so damned self-righteously qualified, how come you're not drawing comics?

A: Because right after graduation, I had to deal with a Fuckton™ of personal issues and pretty much forgot everything I learned, then lost the will to draw, fell into a deep depression, etc, etc.

Q: Geez, you artist types are a tempermental bunch.

A: Tell me about it.

Lately, I've been feeling the itch to draw again. Although I was creatively dormant, I did not stop searching for information. I'm going to share a few ideas, and list many books for you to look up. I'll add that there is a bit of good advice in the previous posts. I'll touch on them as I go through. Ready?

Pay attention in art class And ask your teacher for help.

In order to learn how to draw, you must learn how to see. Therefore, draw from life. If you can't draw from life, draw from photos.

Ask a friend to sit still for a while and draw him. Don't get discouraged, don't worry about mistakes, don't worry if your model moves. Use your whole arm, not just your wrist and fingers. Use as much time as you can.

Pick up Dr. Betty Edwards book Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. I read this book a few months ago. Great googley moogley, it sure did make a few synapses fire. Dr. Edwards covers the physical and mental processes of drawing (how the brain works when drawing), as well as a bit of art history. She also covers proportions, perspective, texture, light & shading, color, space, and composition. You don't need a PhD to understand the book. Take it slowly if you need to.

Now that you're pretty good at Seeing, it's time to get a bit more technical. You have to start Knowing. Specifically, human anatomy. As hinted at, there are Fucktons™ of anatomy books.

Alex Dragon made a few great recommendations, and anti-recommendations. Artists Walter Foster, George Bridgman, Jack Hamm or Andrew Loomis are masters. Avoid Christopher Hart and Burne Hogarth. They both have warped senses of reality and proportion.

Basically you don't want to learn to draw from comics.

There's a few Fucktons™ of Truthiness in that.

Q: You like saying "Fucktons™" a lot, don't you?

A: You bet I do. I try using it everyday, in normal conversation. Moving along...

There's a good book called An Atlas of Anatomy for Artists by Fritz Schider. It combines photo reference, sequential frames from film of moving figures, studies from Michelangelo (and other Turtles/Artists). It uses male and female models, ranging from ages 4 to 19, so you get a good range of anatomical development.

Alex also mentions that you avoid "the big thick expensive anatomy books. Most of them have way too much info that you'll most likely will never need or use." He's right, for the most part. I have two, and I got them for free. There's another that I bought, that's loaded with photo reference with transparent overlays. It's called Anatomy for the Artist by Sarah Simblet. It's a really beautiful book, full of very healthy & athletic models. I really recommend it.

The other two I have are Anatomy for the Artist by Jeno Barcsay, and Cyclopedia Anatomicae by Gyorgy Feher and Andras Szunyoghy. The latter features indepth studies of many animals, like horses, dogs, cats, and others. This book is HUGE. I love it.

Q: You forgot the accent marks on those authors names.

A: Please. You're lucky I tried to spell them right. I'm not opening up Windows Character Map for this.

Q: All this talk about anatomy is killing my need to draw titties.

A: 90% of the books I'm telling you about has many pictures of naked women.

Q: Only 90%?

A: Actually, it's probably less than that. More like 60%.

Q: Dang.

A: Trust me, there are LOTS of naked women in these books. It makes up for the other 40%.

Q: It better!

A: Dude, the next three books are 90% naked women. I'm not lying this time.

Q: What's the other 10%?

A: Naked guys.

Q: AWWWW, you mean I can see their wang flopping around?

A: Eh, you'll get used to it. After four years of life drawing classes, simple nudity will stop affecting you. Now be quiet.

The Nude Figure by Mark Edward Smith, The Figure in Motion by Thomas Easley & Mark Edward Smith, and the Atlas of Foreshortening by John Cody with Ron Tribell.

Q: I'll bite. What makes these books so great?

A: For starters, it's all photo reference, full of healthy, athletic models. They are all in great poses at different angles. You know all that anatomy you just learned? These books show you more about how they interact with each other, with the skin over the muscles. You get to see all the "landmarks."

Q: BORING.

A: Turn to pages 79-81 of The Nude Figure.

Q: *drools*

A: Are you done questioning me?

Q: Yes, sir. Sorry, sir.

Since we're now looking at more surface detail as opposed to the underlying structure, I'll bring up Alex's other good point:

Buy a couple of Muscle mags to get a understanding of what exaggerated muscles look like on a figure.

This is good because it's still actual human anatomy, and not some freak experiment from Rob Liefeld's laboratory. You can learn how to apply the steroid-fueled anatomy to the poses from the other books.

Q: Yeah, but those muscle mags...the women scare me.

A: It's okay, just think happy thoughts.

Q: Pages 79-81...

A: That's the Spirit.

Q: I've heard of him.

A: I'll get to that soon.

There are three other books that are just about drawing I think you should consider. The first is The Artist's Complete Guide to Facial Expression by Gary Faigin. If you're really into drawing in the anime style, this will help you immensely. You know how lots of artists use emotional shorthand, like the throbbing X veins on the forehead, or the giant teardrop? Those people are lazy. It saddens me that we have to resort to using multiple symbols to convey emotion instead of just drawing it right in the first place.

But if that's your bag, then fine. I won't bitch about it any more.

The next two books deal with the same concept, energy in drawing. One is called High Focus Drawing by James McMullan, an instructor at SVA, who came up with the department within the department. The other is called Force by Mike Mattesi. I took the HFD class, and had a bit of trouble getting it at the time. Towards the end of the year, I made some breakthroughs. If you want your characters to breathe, to jump off the page, you may want to give it a look.

Continued...

[Jeff Brady]

Now, let's talk about comics specifically.

Q: FINALLY! You're a wordy bastard, aren't you?

A: It depends on the subject. I'm usually the quiet type.

The rest of the books I'm going to cover overlap in subject matter, because they are specifically about the Art of Comics. I'll try to make this as easy as possible.

How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way by Stan Lee and John Buscema is a GREAT overview of the creative process, even if it is outdated in parts and very basic in terms of the different aspects of cartooning.

Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud gives you the history of Comics, by way of an art history lesson. Comics have been around since at least 1300 BC, in the form of Egyptian hieroglyphics. As Will Eisner said, "UC is a landmark dissection and intellectual consideration of comics as a valid medium. Everyone...anyone interested in this literary form must read it."

Q: Will Eisner...I've heard of him. He did that Spirit guy, right?

A: Oooh, lordy, that ain't all he did. Will was the first guy to really examine what can be done with comics. He practically invented the graphic novel. He wrote the first textbooks on how to properly tell stories through comics. The first is Comics & Sequential Art, the second is called Graphic Storytelling. Another book he wrote was a collection of discussions with many artists about the medium called Shop Talk. I also recommend reading his biography A Spirited Life. You get a good idea as to how influential he was on the industry during the Golden Age.

Q: I take it Will is an important guy.

A: You don't know the half of it.

Klaus Janson used to hammer into our heads every week in class, that storytelling hinges on two elements: Clarity, and Entertainment. This is Eisner's lessons distilled into a sound bite. It's something to keep in mind while you're at the drawing board. In order for other people to understand the story, things must be done clearly and effectively. If something doesn't make sense, there's risk of losing the reader. Once you've got clarity, then work on making it look interesting, make it look entertaining. The story can be as clear as day, but if it's boring, the reader is already mashing buttons on his Xbox controller.

Now, for something more technical, I offer Perspective for Comic Book Artists by David Chelsea.

Q: Oh, my head.

A: It's cool, trust me. Like Scott McCloud in Understanding Comics, he teaches you about perspective by telling you about it in the form of a comic story. Will Eisner was the first person to use comics as a teaching tool, while he was in the Army during WWII.

Q: Okay, I get it, Eisner is very important.

A: They didn't name an award after him for nothing, you know.

Let me get back to some good points from another poster:

Jeff Johnson's book "Draw Fight Scenes Like a Pro" because it had a lot of stuff that my other books didn't cover...Andy Smith's "Drawing Dynamic Comics"...

I don't actually own those books. Yet. I've looked them up, and they seem pretty good, especially Jeff Johnson's.

Up next is Panel Discussions: Design in Sequential Art Storytelling by Durwin S. Talon. This book examines the work of a few great artists (and editors). It has really interesting discussions about their thinking processes. Mike Mignola, Walter Simonson, Brian Stelfreeze, Mark Chiarello, and, you guessed it...

Q: Will Eisner?

A: Bingo.

Q: Are you...okay?

A: It's 5 AM, and I have a massive man-crush on Will Eisner, may he rest in peace. No, I'm not okay. Six more books, then I'm done.

Artist Gary Martin has put out a couple of books on The Art of Comic Book Inking. I have the first two volumes; I think there was a third. There are quite a few contributors to these books, all pros working in the field today. There are many techniques discussed, and many misconceptions are cleared up; ie, they're not tracers.

The last four are from the DC Guide(s) to: Writing, Penciling, Inking, and Coloring & Lettering Comics.

Q: Why do I need to know about the writing, lettering, and coloring?

A: Because you need to know what the other collaborators are doing to make the best product possible. Denny O'Neil wrote the guide to writing, Klaus Janson wrote Penciling & Inking books. Mark Chiarello and Todd Klein wrote the Coloring & Lettering book. The latter deals with how computer technology is used to make comics look so darned pretty, and why computers are so important to comics today.

Yikes. I can't believe I wrote all that.

I gotta go to bed!

[spazzy mcghee]

Jeff, would you recommend all or at least most of these same books for someone who wanted to WRITE comics? You talk alot about cross-training and understanding what the other componets are doing /not doing / can't do.

[Dennis]

neal adams was recently on the art bell show, and he said that all comic book artists started drawing when they were, like, 6. i think joe q started drawing later in life, but if he had started at 6, he would have kicked ass. so what if your drawings as a 6 year old suck?

[Michael P]

If this is anyone but Steve Allen, you're stealing my bit.

[Alex Dragon]

Jeff, would you recommend all or at least most of these same books for someone who wanted to WRITE comics? You talk alot about cross-training and understanding what the other componets are doing /not doing / can't do.

Hope you don't mind me chiming in on this...

I think it's important that a writer understands the art of comicbook storytelling from the artist perspective because the writer needs to understand what an artist can or can't pull off in certain panels and what type of shots make for the best impact for getting their ideas across. Especially in cases were a writer is writing full script and doesn't want the artist to change or modify anything or in the case of working with an artist who's new and not familiar with certain things.

No need to worry about actual books on drawing but reading and understanding books like the "DC Guide to Pencilling" the Einser books on storytelling would be very helpful to a writer. one of the biggest complaints from artists aqbout writers are that many of them can't think visually. That complaint covers everything from having too many pages of visually dull stuff to asking for too many panels on a page to not setting up a scene correctly to asking for too much movement within one panel to not understanding when to use close-ups and medium shots effectively, etc...

Not understanding that stuff can ruin even the best of stories. In the end no matter who well written if the pictures/art isn't working like it's supposed to it's going to mess up the story. Remember, the script isn't the actual thing being published. It's the art/pictures that actually end up telling the story (for the most part). Comics are just like movies in the sense that a great script can be ruined by bad direction, editing, lighting, acting, camera angels, pacing etc....in comics all those elements are supplied by the artist. It's always a good idea for the writer to as much about the art aspects as possible.

[Alex Dragon]

neal adams was recently on the art bell show, and he said that all comic book artists started drawing when they were, like, 6. i think joe q started drawing later in life, but if he had started at 6, he would have kicked ass. so what if your drawings as a 6 year old suck?

Of course you're drawing will suck at 6 years old because...you're 6. Some 6 year olds will be better than others but at the end of the day it's probably still a crappy drawing by a 6 year old. The important thing is that that 6 year old keeps drawing. In time the drawings will be better. A lot of people seem to think that the ability to draw is something a person is magically born with. In some cases some people have something inside them that might make them great but in general everyone has the ability.

I remeber when I was really little I used to draw and I had classmates, friends and relatives that were much better than me. The biggest difference between them and me was I kept at it and worked to develop it while they lost interest and never an effort to improve. That's true of most talents. There are things people might be fantastic at but they simply don't care about it enough to make the effort it takes to be great.