The Cartoonist's Workshop

By Steve Marchant

Book Overview

An award-winning artist concocts a really fantastic-looking drawing workbook that's as fun, colorful, and carefully structured as the cartoons themselves--and a must on every aspiring cartoonist's bookshelf. From mastering the correct facial proportions to drawing believable scenes with human and animal figures: that's where this effective and engaging how-to course takes would-be cartoonists, whether they want to create a superhero or mock the latest political shenanigans. It teaches basic drawing skills, provides guidance on the necessary tools, covers a wide range of styles and techniques, and offers thoughtful projects that encourage experimentation and originality. The plentiful images delight while they instruct beginners on perspective and foreshortening; depicting the figure in movement and through body language; portraying furniture and common objects; and defining a sense of place. Develop a good sense of composition, see how to come up with ideas, and put together an effective portfolio. An artist's gallery presents a range of enjoyable professional work, including caricature and political satire, children's cartoons, slice-of-life sequences, and more.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1843401460
• ISBN13: 9781843401469
• Release Date: September 2004
• Publisher: Collins & Brown
• Length: 128 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 11.0" x 0.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Best guide I've seen

I found a copy of The Cartoonist's Workshop in the 90% off clearance bin of a closing Barnes & Noble store. I figured at less than two bucks, what did I have to lose? After going through the exercises in this book, I feel like I had found a Faberge egg in a thrift shop's dollar bin. The exercises start with the basics of what tools you will need, and drawing faces. The first exercise feels so ridiculously simple, that you worry you will have nothing to gain from this book. As the book progresses, so does the level of the exercises. By the end of the book, you have the confidence and skill to put together a comic book of your own. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is wanting to get into drawing cartoons, comics, web comics, et cetera. It's a great reference and the exercises to train you up are tried and true. What I especially liked about this book, is he doesn't teach you how to draw a specific style. He gives you the skills to create a strong foundation for moving on to specific styles of drawing and creating your own unique style.

Filled with extraordinary information & examples.

This book is loaded with a lot of information for the cartoonist. It is not just a book for an artist with the talent to create a story line for a comic strip or book, but the suggestions work for all types of drawing. Hatching marks (or shadows, wrinkles, personality...) are imperative, and should never be so busy you lose the image. This book will also help a person judge proportions and perspective so that whatever type of art they choose to do, help is in these pages.